. . . just what action figure lines might we be collecting? Many of us remember with a special nostalgia the particular niche of kitsch that was MEGO. Whether it was playing with 8" figures donning cloth outfits and squishy heads, or 3 3/4" figures with bent knees and oddly sculpted left hands. (You know what I’m talking about.) MEGO had some great lines like World’s Greatest Super Heroes, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Eagle Force, and Micronauts. Then there were some head scratchers like Happy Days and The Waltons. But I think their decision to produce a line based on the TV series The Love Boat takes the cake!
I started thinking about this after reading a blog post on i-mockery entitled: Stupid Toys. Yes, The Love Boat figures made the list and the hilarious comments are well taken. But, hey, you gotta give credit to a company that decided it’d be cool to produce a wave of figures where all the characters are wearing suits! In fairness, back in 1981 when these figures hit the shelves The Love Boat was a popular show. In fact, the 1980-1981 season was its best according to the Nielsen Rankings (#5.) Aaron Spelling was at the peak of his TV dominance. Yes, it was frivolous and light but, hey, it was the late 70′s. Along with The Love Boat I fondly remember sitting on the floor at a relatives house down in South Jersey watching shows like Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, Magnum PI, and Charlie’s Angels on a big console TV – you know, the kind that looked like furniture. Innocent shows for an innocent time of life.
MEGO released one wave of The Love Boat figures which contained 6 characters: Dr. Adam Bricker (Bernie Kopell,) Vicki Stubing (Jill Whelan,) Captain Merrill Stubing (Gavin McLeod,) Isaac Washington (Ted Lange,) Julie McCoy (Lauren Tewes,) and Burl "Gopher" Smith (Fred Grandy.) I’m going to assume that only this one series was ever considered. Although if the line turned out to be a hit there would have been endless guest stars to choose from for future waves. I don’t think there was an actor of that era who didn’t show up on that ship. The sculpts are reasonable for the time but not spectacular. Actually, Julie and Vicki’s head sculpts are pretty bad and bring the line down a notch. The Captain, Doc, and Gopher come with removable hats that fit their heads and stay put rather well. At some point there was a production change between not having and then adding knee joints for the men and from cloth to plastic skirts for the ladies (or vice versa – I’m not sure which variation came first.) I’m not sure if an actual Love Boat playset would have helped the line, but it couldn’t have hurt.
Like MEGO’s line of action figures the main cast of The Love Boat all kinda fizzled after the show was canceled. Fred Grandy, however, did run and was elected to the U.S. Congress where he served for 4 terms as Iowa’s representative. He then ran for Governor but lost.
When I consider this little line of figures I have to wonder, "If MEGO were around today, what properties would they be taking gambles on?" I tried to think of current TV shows that fit a Love Boat mold. Although I’ve never seen an episode I’m told that The Casino (or was it Las Vegas?) is probably the closest fit. (An exploration of the personal dramas that unfold among the guests and employees inhabiting the world of a hotel / casino.) But beyond shows of a similar vein, we’d no doubt already have long overdue Randy, Paula, Simon, and Ryan action figures from an American Idol series. There probably would have been a The Sopranos line. (After all, MEGO did have a Dallas series planned.) We would have had Seinfeld figures.
Otherwise, companies like McFarlane and Mezco are doing a good job of filling MEGO’s unique shoes. You just have to appreciate a company going out on a limb to produce figures for properties like Lost, Napoleon Dynamite, Heroes, South Park, and 24.
To a degree, all action figures are kitschy. Some lines just excel at it. Well, for folks like me who believe "the kitschier the better," lines like MEGO’s The Love Boat fill a special place in our collections.
Great post, I would disagree with one comment, the height of Aaron Spelling’s TV dominance had to be in the 90′s with Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place.
Guess what, Dan… There was a Love Boat playset…
http://www.toymania.com/334archives/love/playset.htm
Yes, the one you reference came with smaller scale non-articulated crew and passengers. Since it wasn’t in scale with the 3 3/4 line I just left it out. This, on the other hand, may have been to scale, but had a very limited release (scroll down a little:)
http://www.megomuseum.com/teevee/loveboat.html
Thanks!
I never collected these, but over the years I wondered how they would look displayed on the U.S.S. Flagg. You could “pretend” Captain Stubing and crew were really disguised Cobra agents who took over the Flagg from Keel-Haul and the Joes. Or they could be “guests” who got captured by Destro and his EELS while boarding the carrier.
Ah, childhood imagination. What fun!
Perhaps the guy who thought “The Love Boat” would make a great toy line moved to a different company after Mego went belly-up and championed that odd “M*A*S*H*” action figure line from a few years later – remember, it had Klinger in drag …?
Clutch – I was imagining these figures working alongside Barada, Klaatu, and Nikto on Jabba’s skiff!
Houman – Good call. I’ve been looking to add the MASH line to my collection for some time. Just waiting for the right auction. The Klinger in drag is always the most expensive. But first I need to get a new Mork with his Eggship!
If Mego were around today, they’d be going after the same things other companies were – Harry Potter, Lost, Superhero and movie license… it’s just whether or not they’d get them is the issue. You have to admit, Mego was pretty aces about getting licenses until that whole Star Wars thing threw a spanner into the works and they were on “not quite catch-up” mode from that point forward. Even after that, they still pulled in some pretty impressive licenses for the time…
I think we’d def see:
Smallville
Charmed
One Tree Hill
Battlestar Galactica
Alias
Buffy and Angel
Scott – completely agree and am definitely not dissing MEGO. Looking back close to 30 years its easy to say “What were they thinking?” when you see a line like Love Boat. But at the time I’m sure it didn’t seem so odd. This post was just some good natured ribbing of a company that gave many of us our first action figures. Thanks for posting!
After reading this my mom is asking for Desperate Housewives figures and my brother was wondering if Mr. Rourke and Tattoo figures were ever made. Ha!
I’ve always wanted Isaac to go behind my cantina bar…
Wow, I miss Mego! Now those were the days!
I spent many a happy summer day with Batman, Robin, Aquaman, and Superman ganging up on the likes of Fist-fighting Joker, Penguin, and Mr. Mxyzptlk down in the Batcave.
Then you could switch over and have the Green Goblin and the Lizard trying to beat up on Spiderman (gosh, who didn’t love that Spidey??), Captain America, and that short stubby little Hulk!
Then it was over to a battle of the Mad Monsters… Dreadful Dracula, the Horrible Mummy, the Human Wolfman, and Frankenstein! A Mad Monsters Castle would have made my life complete back then!
Thanks for the memories!