TV Flash
All episodes Season 5 S05E08 1981-11-21 60 min 1970s ABC

The Love Boat

Farnsworth's Fling / Gopher Farnsworth Smith / Three in a Bed / I Remember Helen / Merrill, Melanie, and Melanesia (1)

TV Flash files “Farnsworth's Fling / Gopher Farnsworth Smith / Three in a Bed / I Remember Helen / Merrill, Melanie, and Melanesia (1)” as hour 116 of 245 in the TV Flash guide — The Love Boat (1977–1986) on ABC, season 5, episode 8, aired 1981-11-21, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S05E08: listed hour 116 of 245 in the The Love Boat guide, hour 8 of 29 in season 5. It aired 1981-11-21 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Lady from Laramie / Vicki Swings / Phantom Bride” (S05E07). Next is “Farnsworth's Fling / Gopher Farnsworth Smith / Three in a Bed / I Remember Helen / Merrill, Melanie, and Melanesia (2)” (S05E09).

The Love Boat — Farnsworth's Fling / Gopher Farnsworth Smith / Three in a Bed / I Remember Helen / Merrill, Melanie, and Melanesia (1) (S05E08)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

The crew is in Australia to work on one of the cruise line's ships based there. And a wealthy man named Farnsworth has decided to invite his whole family for a reunion. But, in actuality, he wants to see who, among them, he should keep in his will. And among them is his niece, Marcia, who is not exactly fond of him, because she believes that, because of him, her father became penniless.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Farnsworth's Fling / Gopher Farnsworth Smith / Three in a Bed / I Remember Helen / Merrill, Melanie, and Melanesia (1) sit in the The Love Boat guide?

S05E08 is listed hour 116 of 245 — hour 8 of 29 in season 5, season 5 episode 8.

When did The Love Boat S05E08 air?

Farnsworth's Fling / Gopher Farnsworth Smith / Three in a Bed / I Remember Helen / Merrill, Melanie, and Melanesia (1) aired 1981-11-21 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 5 hub

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Also in season 5

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