All episodes Season 1 S01E12 1977-12-24 60 min 1970s ABC

The Love Boat

Old Man and the Runaway / A Fine Romance / The Painters

TV Flash files “Old Man and the Runaway / A Fine Romance / The Painters” as hour 12 of 245 in the TV Flash guide — The Love Boat (1977–1986) on ABC, season 1, episode 12, aired 1977-12-24, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S01E12: listed hour 12 of 245 in the The Love Boat guide, hour 12 of 25 in season 1. It aired 1977-12-24 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Lonely at the Top / Silent Night / Divorce Me, Please” (S01E11). Next is “Family Reunion / Cinderella Story / Too Hot to Handle” (S01E13).

The Love Boat — Old Man and the Runaway / A Fine Romance / The Painters (S01E12)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

Old Franklyn Bootherstone (Will Geer) discovers he knows more about the younger generation than he thought when teenage runaway Nancy Brown (Bayn Johnson) decides to "crash" in his cabin in "The old Man and the Runaway." Howard Albrecht and Sol Weinstein wrote the script and Stu Margolin directed. In "A Fine Romance," Julie is thrilled when Sean McGlynn (Anson Williams) - the object of her girlhood fantasies - comes aboard for a cruise. But neither Julie nor Sean's cabin mate, Mickey O'Day (Tom Poston), are aware that Sean is a priest, out of "uniform" during vacation. The script by Jack Hanrahan and Don Sherman was directed by Stu Margolin. Arte Johnson and Pat Morita are two dingbat painters who are still working on the skipper's cabin when the Pacific Princess goes to sea in "The Painters," written by Ray Jessel and directed by Jim Sheldon.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Old Man and the Runaway / A Fine Romance / The Painters sit in the The Love Boat guide?

S01E12 is listed hour 12 of 245 — hour 12 of 25 in season 1, season 1 episode 12.

When did The Love Boat S01E12 air?

Old Man and the Runaway / A Fine Romance / The Painters aired 1977-12-24 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

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…

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Filed against

Also in season 1

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