4th Place Match: The Love Boat vs. Taxi - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

icecream · 02-09-2022, 03:40 PM

Winner of this match will finish in 4th place. Loser will round out my tournament's top 5 in 5th place. I am expanding the voting period to 12 days for the 4th place match and 14 days for the three show finals.

Since this site considers The Love Boat a sitcom, it made my tournament although I consider it a light drama. The Love Boat aired nine seasons and 249 episodes on ABC from 1977-1986, outlasting Gavin MacLeod's previous successful sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He starred as Captain Merrill Stubing on a cruise ship. There were several famous guest stars who played the passengers. Captain Stubing's crew was purser Gopher Smith (Fred Grandy), bartender Isaac Washington (Ted Lange), doctor Adam Bricker (Bernie Kopell), and cruise director Julie McCoy (Lauren Tewes). A good addition who became a regular in season 3 was Merrill's daughter Vicki Stubing (Jill Whelan). Lauren Tewes left at the end of season 7, Pat Klous replaced her as sister and new cruise director Judy McCoy. In season 8 Ted McGinley also joined the cast as photographer Ace Evans.
How it got this far
1st Round: defeated Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. 8-5
2nd Round: defeated Barney Miller 10-4
3rd Round: defeated Head of the Class (1986) 10-4
Quarterfinals: defeated Family Ties 10-4
Semifinals: lost to Cheers 4-11

It was not sunny in this sitcom where Danny DeVito got his start as super mean boss Louie De Palma. Set at a cab company, Judd Hirsch stars as Alex Reiger, the only cabbie who was there full time not supplementing with another job. Marilu Henner is Elaine Nardo, Tony Danza is Tony Banta, Jeff Conaway is Bobby Wheeler, and Andy Kaufman is mechanic Latka Gravas. John Burns (Randall Carver) was dropped after season 1. Bobby was dropped at the end of season 3. Christopher Lloyd joined the cast as "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski in season 2. Danny DeVito's real wife Rhea Perlman played Zena Sherman in 6 episodes. Carol Kane recurred as Latka's eventual wife Simka Dahblitz-Gravas. Taxi aired five seasons from 1978-1983, the first four on ABC. When they cancelled at the end of season 4, NBC picked up Taxi for a 5th season pairing it with Cheers on Thursday nights. But that did not help Taxi's ratings improve as it was still two years before The Cosby Show would save the night (although I like Fame a lot better than TCS).
How it got this far
1st Round: defeated Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister 9-2
2nd Round: defeated The Wonder Years (1988) 10-1
3rd Round: defeated Newhart 11-8
Quarterfinals: defeated M*A*S*H 9-6
Semifinals: lost to Gilligan's Island 7-11

Bonniegirl · 02-09-2022, 04:09 PM

Welcome aboard it's LOVE OV OV !!!

dakert · 02-09-2022, 06:09 PM

Love Boat is still fun all these years later

Dude111 · 02-09-2022, 07:58 PM

The love boat

AMackII · 02-10-2022, 12:59 PM

The Love Boat because it was entertaining during the late 70s & early 80s

icecream · 02-15-2022, 03:40 PM

It is a close race with 6 days of voting left.

James28 · 02-17-2022, 02:56 PM

As critically-acclaimed as Taxi was, the end of its run was not in the best of terms, so I'm giving this one to The Love Boat because of it having the better ratings history (Love Boat's best season was ranked at #5 compared to Taxi's #10).

icecream · 02-21-2022, 03:43 PM

By a two vote margin, Taxi finishes in 4th place and The Love Boat finishes in 5th place.

Adamantium · 02-21-2022, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecream

By a two vote margin, Taxi finishes in 4th place and The Love Boat finishes in 5th place.

I'm happy to be a part of the two vote margin. It was bad enough seeing Taxi lose to Gilligan's Island. I couldn't see it lose to The Love Boat, too!

scotchnh2o · 02-21-2022, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

I'm happy to be a part of the two vote margin. It was bad enough seeing Taxi lose to Gilligan's Island. I couldn't see it lose to The Love Boat, too!

Agreed!

icecream · 02-21-2022, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamantium

It was bad enough seeing Taxi lose to Gilligan's Island.

Gilligan's Island has had nine lives in my tournament. Frasier, Petticoat Junction, and I Love Lucy are all much better shows than Gilligan (Some Mothers much better also but that is not well known even to many Michael Crawford fans). The GI fanbase has been very dedicated to it, though.

Adamantium · 02-22-2022, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecream

Gilligan's Island has had nine lives in my tournament. Frasier, Petticoat Junction, and I Love Lucy are all much better shows than Gilligan (Some Mothers much better also but that is not well known even to many Michael Crawford fans). The GI fanbase has been very dedicated to it, though.

True. I was shocked when I saw Gilligan's Island defeat I Love Lucy, which to me, is a top 10 best sitcom of all-time. When it defeated Taxi, I had decided to give up on voting in these polls. But when I saw it was tied with The Love Boat and I could have the deciding vote, I just couldn't pass that up, lol. Luckily, someone else voted Taxi after me.

To me, Taxi is easily a top 5 best sitcom of all-time. I have trouble putting shows in order on lists like this, which is why I'm not giving either Lucy or Taxi numbers, but in my opinion, they are two of the finest sitcoms ever made.

I should also mention that I've never been a fan of either Gilligan's Island or The Love Boat. Nothing against either show, they're just not shows that I have ever gotten into.

View Poll Results: Which Show Do You Prefer?
The Love Boat	8	44.44%
Taxi	10	55.56%
Voters: 18. You may not vote on this poll

02-09-2022, 03:40 PM	#1
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,708	4th Place Match: The Love Boat vs. Taxi Winner of this match will finish in 4th place. Loser will round out my tournament's top 5 in 5th place. I am expanding the voting period to 12 days for the 4th place match and 14 days for the three show finals. Since this site considers The Love Boat a sitcom, it made my tournament although I consider it a light drama. The Love Boat aired nine seasons and 249 episodes on ABC from 1977-1986, outlasting Gavin MacLeod's previous successful sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He starred as Captain Merrill Stubing on a cruise ship. There were several famous guest stars who played the passengers. Captain Stubing's crew was purser Gopher Smith (Fred Grandy), bartender Isaac Washington (Ted Lange), doctor Adam Bricker (Bernie Kopell), and cruise director Julie McCoy (Lauren Tewes). A good addition who became a regular in season 3 was Merrill's daughter Vicki Stubing (Jill Whelan). Lauren Tewes left at the end of season 7, Pat Klous replaced her as sister and new cruise director Judy McCoy. In season 8 Ted McGinley also joined the cast as photographer Ace Evans. How it got this far 1st Round: defeated Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. 8-5 2nd Round: defeated Barney Miller 10-4 3rd Round: defeated Head of the Class (1986) 10-4 Quarterfinals: defeated Family Ties 10-4 Semifinals: lost to Cheers 4-11 It was not sunny in this sitcom where Danny DeVito got his start as super mean boss Louie De Palma. Set at a cab company, Judd Hirsch stars as Alex Reiger, the only cabbie who was there full time not supplementing with another job. Marilu Henner is Elaine Nardo, Tony Danza is Tony Banta, Jeff Conaway is Bobby Wheeler, and Andy Kaufman is mechanic Latka Gravas. John Burns (Randall Carver) was dropped after season 1. Bobby was dropped at the end of season 3. Christopher Lloyd joined the cast as "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski in season 2. Danny DeVito's real wife Rhea Perlman played Zena Sherman in 6 episodes. Carol Kane recurred as Latka's eventual wife Simka Dahblitz-Gravas. Taxi aired five seasons from 1978-1983, the first four on ABC. When they cancelled at the end of season 4, NBC picked up Taxi for a 5th season pairing it with Cheers on Thursday nights. But that did not help Taxi's ratings improve as it was still two years before The Cosby Show would save the night (although I like Fame a lot better than TCS). How it got this far 1st Round: defeated Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister 9-2 2nd Round: defeated The Wonder Years (1988) 10-1 3rd Round: defeated Newhart 11-8 Quarterfinals: defeated MAS*H 9-6 Semifinals: lost to Gilligan's Island 7-11
	__________________ Top 200 TV Shows https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...14#post6225214 Top 150 Movies https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...84#post6175384 Top 1100 Scripted TV Characters https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=493306 Top Rookie TV Shows by Calendar Year https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=365017 Top Movies by Calendar Year https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=473533

02-17-2022, 02:56 PM	#7
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,977	As critically-acclaimed as Taxi was, the end of its run was not in the best of terms, so I'm giving this one to The Love Boat because of it having the better ratings history (Love Boat's best season was ranked at #5 compared to Taxi's #10).
	__________________ "When the run of a network TV show has ended, some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, but all are...Future Endeavored." "Stay Safe"? More like "Stay Sad". #2020Hurts

02-09-2022, 04:09 PM	#2
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,642	Welcome aboard it's LOVE OV OV !!!

02-09-2022, 06:09 PM	#3
dakert Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Location: Altoona PA Posts: 3,411	Love Boat is still fun all these years later

02-09-2022, 07:58 PM	#4
Dude111 Forum Legend Join Date: Nov 05, 2013 Posts: 35,998	The love boat

02-10-2022, 12:59 PM	#5
AMackII Member Forum Star Join Date: Oct 23, 2015 Location: St. Louis Posts: 17,215	The Love Boat because it was entertaining during the late 70s & early 80s

02-15-2022, 03:40 PM	#6
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,708	It is a close race with 6 days of voting left.

02-21-2022, 03:43 PM	#8
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,708	By a two vote margin, Taxi finishes in 4th place and The Love Boat finishes in 5th place.