Going Overboard – THE LOVE BOAT’s third season washes ashore with this week’s Blu-ray releases

Preston Barta // Editor

THE LOVE BOAT: SEASON 3
Not rated, approx. 23 hours and 20 minutes.
Creator: Wilford Lloyd Baumes
Cast: Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Fred Grandy, Lauren Tewes and Jill Whelan

The ‘70s had a number of groundbreaking shows. It’s when television really pushed the limits of what could be shown. Series like All in the Family and The Jeffersons changed the game by including social commentary in between roars of laughter.

The Love Boat (1977-87) was a different, lighter kind of show. It was an hour-long dramatic sitcom with an added laugh track that featured storylines that most of the time didn’t even involve the regular cast members. Think of an anthology series but with a few captains, if you will, to keep the guest stars in line while they play check-yes-or-no around the deck.

Watching it now — in particular, its 27-episode third season — is just fun fluff, where viewers can experience the pristine aspects of being on a cruise ship. Every day is sun-drenched, sunsets are frame-worthy and every night is a clear sky full of stars. Love is always in the air.

The stories in Season 3, like all episodes in the series, are simple and, for the most part, uplifting. The big drawback of them, however, is each episode is as dramatic as a moody teenager. Plus, they’re pretty repetitive to boot. So if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.

What ultimately makes The Love Boat worth watching (again) are the silly storylines and guest stars. And Season 3 has some good ones: Don Knotts and Frank Sinatra Jr., to name two.

Extras: The Love Boat’s third season is sold in two volumes. They include special features such as “Home and Family: Come Aboard” as well as promotional footage for select episodes throughout the season.

I LOVE LUCY: SUPERSTAR SPECIAL #2
Not rated, approx. 45 minutes.
Creator: Jess Oppenheimer
Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley

In October, CBS released a special colorized version of I Love Lucy on DVD for children of all ages to appreciate with an all-new vintage look. Now the second Superstar Special is hitting store shelves.

Starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as the iconic Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, the special edition includes two colorized versions of the 1955 episodes “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” and “Lucy and John Wayne.”

The two-parter follows Lucy and her friends, Ethel and Fred Mertz (Vivian Vance and William Frawley), as they stumble upon a loose cement slab with John Wayne’s bootprints and signature on it. After they take it home and soon find themselves waist deep in trouble, they go through a series of comedic errors that involve getting the Duke to replicate the original slab.

These episodes are not quite the laugh-a-minute material we saw in the first Superstar Special. Nor does it have the best coloring (nighttime still looks like daytime and police officers’ blue uniforms look like turtlenecks in color). Despite its faults, it still features the great, timeless situational humor the show has always showcased.

Extras: Includes both the colorized and original black-and-white versions of the episodes.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Rated PG-13, 124 minutes.
Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot and Patton Oswalt

One thing that is great about January for active movie watchers is it allows us to cleanse our palates with the occasional good trash. After you watch so many depressing award-worthy titles, there’s nothing quite like shutting your brain off and giggling at absurdity.

Thankfully, Keeping Up with the Joneses is just what the doctor ordered: It contains a non-complex plot about a suburban family getting caught up with their international spy neighbors, a handful of stars (Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot) and enough one-liners to keep you grinning from ear to ear.

Extras: Deleted scenes, a photo gallery, “Spy Game” (a behind-the-scenes with interviews) and “Keeping Up with Georgia” (a promotional piece on Atlanta).

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Rated R, 112 minutes.
Director: Tate Taylor
Cast: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Edgar Ramírez, Laura Prepon and Allison Janney

Based on Paula Hawkins’ immensely popular novel, this mystery has all the parts needed to be a true nail-biter: It has a super-focused plot centered on an alcoholic train passenger (a captivating Emily Blunt) who fantasizes about a couple (Haley Bennett and Luke Evans) she has spent years watching. Unfortunately, this action gets her caught in a web surrounding the disappearance of one of them.

The performances are worthy of note — as each actor gives it their all — but Tate Taylor’s direction goes off the rails, robbing the narrative of its true impact.

Also read Courtney Howard’s full review and interview with screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson.

Extras: An audio commentary with Tate Taylor, deleted and extended scenes, and two featurettes (“The Woman Behind the Girl” and “On Board the Train”).

Also available on DVD and streaming: 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Come and Find Me, Death Race 2050, Fox and His Friends (1975): Criterion Collection, The Hollow Point, Long Way North, Resident Evil franchise re-releases, Ouija: Origin of Evil (our review here), Something Wild (1961): Criterion Collection, Train to Busan, and The Whole Truth.