TV Flash
All episodes Season 1 S01E02 1977-10-01 60 min 1970s ABC

The Love Boat

Oh, Dale! / The Main Event / A Tasteful Affair

TV Flash files “Oh, Dale! / The Main Event / A Tasteful Affair” as hour 2 of 245 in the TV Flash guide — The Love Boat (1977–1986) on ABC, season 1, episode 2, aired 1977-10-01, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S01E02: listed hour 2 of 245 in the The Love Boat guide, hour 2 of 25 in season 1. It aired 1977-10-01 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Captain and the Lady / One if By Land / Centerfold” (S01E01). Next is “Ex Plus Y / Graham and Kelly / Golden Agers” (S01E03).

The Love Boat — Oh, Dale! / The Main Event / A Tasteful Affair (S01E02)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

In "Oh, Dale!," John Ritter plays a rejected suitor hot on the trail of the girl he loves, who happens to be a heartless fortune-seeker named Joann (Jennifer Shaw). When Joann boards ship to be with wealthy Peter Pringle (Mark Thomas), Dale (John Ritter) is forced to masquerade as a woman because the only cabin available on ship must be shared with Susan (Tovah Feldshuh). Matters are complicated when Dale, in drag, catches the Captain's eye. In "The Main Event," Maurice and Stella Marshall (Sherman Hemsley and LaWanda Page) attempt to salvage their stormy 23 year marriage by taking a second honeymoon. Enroute to dinner with the Captain, they get stuck in the ship's elevator and rediscover each other. "A Tasteful Affair" stars Jaclyn Smith as Jeanette Brad ford, a neglected young wife on a solitary cruise, tailed by a handsome private eye, Dennis Kingsley (Dennis Cole). But detective Dennis has trouble arranging professional and emotional priorities when he falls for the lady whose husband has hired him to catch Jeanette in a compromising situation.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Oh, Dale! / The Main Event / A Tasteful Affair sit in the The Love Boat guide?

S01E02 is listed hour 2 of 245 — hour 2 of 25 in season 1, season 1 episode 2.

When did The Love Boat S01E02 air?

Oh, Dale! / The Main Event / A Tasteful Affair aired 1977-10-01 and is listed at 60 minutes.

Do I watch in order?

No. It is a multi-story guest-star anthology with a regular crew. Sample any cruise; Stubing's ship is the constant.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Filed by Lana Reyes · Red Carpet Reality · Show package

Gavin MacLeod's Captain Stubing hosts three guest-star storylines a week while Julie, Doc, Gopher, and Isaac keep the Pacific Princess meddling. Aaron Spelling cruise-ship anthology as comfort franchise: formula as feature, theme as furniture. Bon voyage, subtlety — the cameo sport still photographs.

The first image is white: uniforms, rails, Pacific soft-focus, and Gavin MacLeod's Captain Merrill Stubing hosting three guest-star storylines before the dessert cart. ABC's The Love Boat (1977–1986) turned cruise vacation into Aaron Spelling's floating hit factory — nine seasons, 245 episodes, formula as feature. Lauren Tewes's Julie McCoy, Ted Lange's Isaac, Bernie Kopell's Doc, and Fred Grandy's Gopher never age out of meddling. Jeraldine Saunders' nonfiction about cruise life inspired the premise; Wilford…

Open the The Love Boat package · Season 1 hub

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Also in season 1

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