Love Boat: The Next Wave is an American comedy television series that aired on UPN (now The CW) from April 13, 1998 to May 21, 1999. It was a revival of the original run of the ABC series The Love Boat from 1977–1986.
A reunion-themed episode reunited some cast members of the original The Love Boat[2] – Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Bernie Kopell (Dr. Adam "Doc" Bricker), Ted Lange (Isaac Washington), Jill Whelan (Vicki Stubing) and Lauren Tewes (Julie McCoy). This episode revealed that Julie and "Doc" had been in love all along.[3]
The Sun Princess welcomes a new captain (Robert Urich)--and his son (Kyle Howard), who has had problems with the law. The captain tries to delegate his parental duties to the ship's staff only to learn that what his son really wants is a father. A comedian (Lenny Clarke) hired for the cruise brings his girlfriend (Talia Balsam), who has agreed to move in with him. However, when his routine features jokes that demean the institution of marriage, she is upset. In the third story, a young man (Kadeem Hardison) spies a woman (Shari Headley) across a craps table and decides that the two of them will be married, though they have not met and do not know each other's name. When he does propose suddenly, she agrees to marry him only to develop cold feet when she finds out that the captain, who is to perform the ceremony, is divorced.
The captain's son is attracted to a girl (Jessica Alba) who is traveling with her recently divorced mother (Christine Ebersole). When the two teens sneak off to a broom closet, they are caught, and the girl's mother demands to see the captain. As it turns out, the mother and the captain have a romantic history, and the two of them attempt to rekindle that romance, thoroughly disgusting the teens. A congressman (Paul Satterfield) on the ship is surprised to find his estranged wife (Cari Shayne) on the cruise. The congressman's bodyguard (Ben Reed) hits it off with the ship's chief security officer (Joan Severance), who, in an effort to demonstrate her physical strength, injures herself and tries to hide the injury from the bodyguard. The final storyline involves two Scrabble players who have had an ongoing online romance but never met. They are excited to meet, but when he (Curtis Armstrong) turns out to be significantly shorter than she (Pam Stone), chances of a real-life romance seem to fizzle.
The original "Love Boat" crew reunites for Vicki's (Jill Whelan) marriage to her fiance, Bill. Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod) is Vice President of Princess Cruises. He and his wife are awaiting word on whether he will get promoted to president. Kennedy is nervous about Stubing's visit, and in fact, Stubing makes several critical remarks about the Sun Princess and its crew, making Kennedy even more unsettled. Vicki gets cold feet because Bill fawns over her and appears unable to recognize even a single flaw in her. Isaac (Ted Lange) befriends Paolo and reveals that his time on the Pacific Princess made him unable to maintain a long-term relationship. Meanwhile, Doc (Bernie Kopell) and Corey ogle female passengers and share "war stories" about the women they've bedded. Eventually, Kennedy puts Stubing in his place, and they share a heart-to-heart talk. Stubing learns that he has indeed been promoted, but he informs his wife that (without consulting with her) he has declined the corporate position and instead taken an opening as captain of another ship. Isaac meets a woman he pushes away at first, but they eventually fall in love. Vicki confronts Bill, who expresses his true feelings and insults Vicki several times, which reignites her passion and saves the wedding. Finally, Julie (Lauren Tewes) overhears Doc admitting to Corey that he had secretly been in love with a co-worker during his time on the Pacific Princess. After Julie confronts him, they declare their mutual love. Gopher (Fred Grandy) is mentioned, but his absence is unexplained.
The Sun Princess enters the Bermuda Triangle and rescues a man in the water. The man claims to have been a pilot, but his story seems unlikely in that he claims to have served during the 1940s. Strange events become the norm. The bar manager (Randy Vasquez) suddenly develops almost magical skills of dexterity à la Tom Cruise's character in Cocktail. Chief Purser Will Sanders (Phil Morris), overwhelmed by several problems, finds himself able to tackle his many duties when there are apparently several versions of him on the ship. Security Chief Camille Hunter (Joan Severance) and the rescued aviator are drawn to each other. Cruise Director Nicole Jordan (Heidi Mark) is suddenly in love with the ship's doctor (Corey Parker), apparently returning the feelings he has long held for her. The ship's captain (Robert Urich) meets his dead father, while the captain's son (Kyle Howard) develops the power to read minds.
Carole Horst of Variety called it "a pleasant one-hour trip" that will appeal to fans of the original show.[5] However, in his review, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a grade of D+.[6]
^Snierson, Dan (September 7, 2007). ""The Love Boat" flashback". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2017-05-28. ...and the cast reunited on a 1998 episode of Love Boat: The Next Wave, UPN's unsuccessful franchise relaunch.
^Mitchelmore, Pam (2005). "Reunion", Love Boat: The Next Wave. Epguides.com.
