Our guest passenger Chris Giarusso joins us to discuss Charro's debut as recurring character April Lopez , the stowaway, who lept into our hearts for 9 future episodes. Plus, Bill Bixby pre-Hulk in a weird attempt at a dramatic story, and the first king of variety tv Milton Berle as a practical Joker who never knows when to quit.

It’s time for another voyage of E-Motion Sickness: A Love Boat Re-Watch, and this one’s got everything you want out of classic late-70s TV chaos. Joining John and Franco this trip is artist and pop culture lifer Andy Price, ready to break down Episode 3. An hour packed with crushes, awkward reunions, and Julie getting absolutely zero help from the romance gods.

You’ve got Kristy McNichol going all-in on Scott Baio like it’s teen magazine fan fiction come to life, while exes Robert Reed and Loretta Swit collide on deck with their new significant others… because nothing says “relaxing cruise” like unresolved baggage in formal wear.

And poor Julie? She just can’t buy a win. Every time she thinks she’s got a promising passenger date, the universe steps in and says, “Not on this boat.”

Ahoy again, cruise lovers! Welcome back to E-Motion Sickness, the Word Balloon Love Boat re-watch where we climb aboard the Pacific Princess and relive the romance, comedy, and wonderfully over-the-top guest stars that made this show a Saturday-night TV institution.

Today we’re diving into Season 1, Episode 2, which originally aired October 1st, 1977 — and already you can see the formula that would make The Love Boat a hit for the next decade. Three stories, a boatload of celebrity guest stars, and plenty of romantic chaos on the high seas.

First up is “Oh, Dale!” featuring a very young John Ritter, playing a heartbroken guy who sneaks onto the cruise disguised as a woman just to chase after the girlfriend who dumped him — and winds up sharing a cabin with another jilted passenger played by Tovah Feldshuh.

Then there’s “The Main Event,” where future Jeffersons legend Sherman Hemsley and comedy powerhouse LaWanda Page play a constantly bickering married couple who suddenly have to confront their relationship when they get trapped together in an elevator.

And finally “A Tasteful Affair,” starring Jaclyn Smith and Dennis Cole in a romantic mystery where a woman trying to escape her troubled marriage takes the cruise — unaware that the charming man she’s met on board is actually the private investigator her husband hired to spy on her.

It’s classic Love Boat: disguises, romantic misunderstandings, and a cast list that looks like a 1970s TV all-star game. So pour yourself a tropical drink, grab a deck chair, and join us as we revisit John Ritter in drag, elevator warfare with Hemsley and Page, and one of the early Jaclyn Smith appearances just before Charlie’s Angels took off. This is E-Motion Sickness — a Love Boat re-watch — only on Word Balloon.

“Captain & the Lady”
Captain Stubing’s ex-wife, Stacy Skogstad (Bonnie Franklin), comes aboard with her new husband, Aubrey Skogstad (Robert Symonds), who is a cruise line executive and Stubing’s boss. Stacy makes the trip miserable for Stubing by taking out her resentment on him and the crew.

“Centerfold”
Sandy Rytell (Meredith Baxter) is engaged to Congressman Brad Brockway (Shelly Novack) and is desperate to hide the fact that she once posed for a men’s magazine. Lorraine Hoffman (Suzanne Somers) is part of that storyline as Sandy tries to keep the old magazine from surfacing.

“One If by Land”
Ginny O’Brien (Brenda Sykes) is being pursued by Ronald Baker (Jimmie Walker), the boyfriend she dumped because he would not commit to marriage. Lorraine Hoffman (Suzanne Somers) is part of that storyline as Ginny's cabin roomate.

The third pilot movie of The Love Boat is The Love Boat II (1977). It’s the one that essentially locks in the final core cast, bringing in Captain Stubing and Julie McCoy and forming the crew viewers would see in the weekly series.

And the passenger-story breakdown attached to them is:

• Georgia Engel as a stowaway, in love with Gopher
• Gary Frank and Melanie Mayron as a nervous newlywed couple
• Stella Stevens and Pat Harrington Jr. as a constantly bickering married couple
• Audra Lindley as an outspoken middle-aged passenger, who's trying to present younger
• Phil Silvers as a melancholy widower, with a sad backstory 

The comedy isn't quite there, but this is the basic template that the regular series would follow. 

All aboard for a brand-new podcast that dives headfirst into smooth seas, wild guest stars, and peak pop-culture chaos. E-Motion Sickness: A Love Boat Re-Watch is hosted by John Siuntres and Franco from the Word Balloon Network, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: a loving, clear-eyed, occasionally seasick revisit of The Love Boat, episode by episode.

This isn’t just a recap show. Each episode breaks down the guest stars, the bonkers storylines, and the real-world pop-culture moments happening the very week each episode originally aired. If you’ve ever wondered why this episode feels like 1978 in human form, this podcast has answers.

In the debut episode, the guys start where the series itself stumbled: the two misfire pilot TV Movies, featuring different captains, different crews, and a show still trying to figure out what it even is? 

The results? Absolute Madness. Highlights include:

• A shirtless Gabe Kaplan aggressively pursuing a swimsuit model
• Don Adams attempting to murder Florence Henderson
• And Hope Lange Seducing Lyle Waggoner to get even with her husband Robert Reed 

Before The Love Boat became comfort food television, it was a weird, experimental, celebrity-stuffed fever dream, and E-Motion Sickness is here to chart that journey, one questionable cruise at a time.

So grab a drink with an umbrella, brace for turbulence, and join John and Franco as they set sail into TV history. Bon voyage...and try not to lean over the rail.