The Love Boat
The packaging and selling of love, heterosexual romance, and family
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11268437 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cathy Schwichtenberg (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1984 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 301-311 |
| Publication date | 1984-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media Culture & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/016344378400600309 |
| OpenAlex | W2047492627 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 2 |
The Love Boat: An empty structure inflated with banality According to many critics, The Love Boat is a situation-comedy that should have failed. For instance, Karl E Meyer of the Saturday Review calls the show ‘a cruise ship afloat on pink lemonade and chartered in candyland ’ with ’capsule plots... as in a paint-by-number set ’ (Meyer, 1978: 30); while Newsweek’s television reviewer, Harry F. Waters, states that ’if intelligence and taste ruled the airwaves, ABC’s The Love Boat should have sunk quietly from view ’ (Waters, 1978: 65). The Love Boat, as a purely formulaic show, invites such critical barbs. Its plotline is repetitive and deals with the love problems of old and young, married and unmarried passengers (the featured guest stars), in three interwoven playlets which are parallel and alternate. Unifying the show are the crew of regulars: Captain
Advertising · Art · Business · Literature · Love story · Romance · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Globalization and Cultural Identity · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.12 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1992 - 2020 (29) |
| Highly cited | No |