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[TNG at 30] Flashback To SNL’s 1994 Next Gen/Love Boat Mashup

[TNG at 30] Remembering SNL's 1994 Next Gen/Love Boat Mashup

Star Trek: TNG at 30 ribbon

Captain Picard’s Love Boat

Actor Chris Pine recently appeared on an episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, as a very Shatner-esqe version of Captain James T. Kirk. The segment ignited discussion on social media of past SNL Star Trek skits, including Shatner’s iconic 1986 “Get A Life” sketch. However, one that seemed to go somewhat unnoticed was 1994’s Next GenerationLove Boat mashup, featuring Patrick Stewart himself as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

“And love… life’s sweetest reward. Let it flow, it flows back to you!”The Love Boat theme song

In the 1970’s, one Hollywood TV producer nearly single handedly dominated the television broadcast airwaves. Aaron Spelling, one time actor – appearing in bit parts on shows such as I Love Lucy – became one of the most popular and prolific TV show creators around. Leave it to the master of the hit series TV landscape, Aaron Spelling, to have a connection to Star Trek – however accidental.

Saturday Night Live's Star Trek: The Next Generation/Love Boat skit from 1994

Iconic shows like Charlie’s Angels and Fantasy Island were must watch TV back in the day, and regular viewers of the boob tube simply couldn’t warp away from Spelling’s creative spell even if they had a Starfleet transporter. If visionaries such as Rod Serling and Gene Roddenberry ruled as TV’s “golden age” sci-fi gurus, then Aaron Spelling ruled in his era as an equal master of pop culture escapism.

Crime fighting and fantasy fulfillment aside, Spelling also liked to just have laughs on his shows. That search for chuckles gave television viewers Spelling’s masterpiece of campy, ocean trekking fun – The Love Boat.

Saturday Night Live's Star Trek: The Next Generation/Love Boat skit from 1994

The Love Boat was a one hour ABC sitcom, chock full of familiar faces from yesterday’s silver screen. The mighty Pacific Princess, a luxury cruise liner, led by Captain Stubing, a paternal, take charge, bald commander – captivated viewers for nine seasons.

Set a course for… LOVE!

Saturday Night Live's Star Trek: The Next Generation/Love Boat skit from 1994

Wait a minute… sounds familiar. Bald Captain – a massive, luxury vessel which would ferry an eclectic mix of passengers of all manner and description to exotic destinations… Let’s see. What other TV series does it remind me of? Hmmm…

Watch the classic 1994 Saturday Night Live skit – complete with guest host Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, as he sets a course for romance and love, along with Chris Farley playing Number One and Rob Schneider as ole yellow eyes himself, android Mr. Data.

Did Roddenberry pattern his Jean-Luc Picard after Spelling’s Stubing? Decide for yourself, but the parallels between the legendary shows make for a wonderful parody. Maybe subconsciously Roddenberry’s push for a bigger, prettier more luxurious starship design for his Enterprise D – complete with those nifty ‘hotel like’ furnishings of carpets and plants in the corridors – came after watching Spelling’s opulent creation.

More from Will Stape’s series on TrekNews.net celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation:

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Written By

Will is an Emmy Award nominated screenwriter, book author and content producer. He's written for magazines, the web and for several highly respected TV shows, most notably for the Star Trek franchise. Will penned episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and he was one of the few freelancers to work on episodes for both landmark Hollywood series, born of visionary Gene Roddenberry. He's pitched to Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine & for USA Network's show, Stephen King's The Dead Zone. His articles & celebrity interviews appear in national magazines, websites, newspapers and he's written extensively for publications such as: Yahoo! News, McCall's Quilter's Home, American Chronicle, Bayonne Style, OMG, Shine, Hudson Reporter, The Last Reel & Sci-Fi Pulse. His new book, Star Trek Sex: Analyzing The Most Sexually Charged Episodes Of The Original Series, is published by Bearmanor Media. You can follow Will on Twitter @willstape and @LaughTrek.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Markus McLaughlin

    May 9, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    You forgot to mention Sen. Al Franken as a Ferengi Tourist! 😀

  2. Tod Abbott

    May 10, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    Also don’t forget Akira Yoshimura who appears as Sulu here, as well as in the original SNL Trek skit, and Pine’s skit.

    • Mario Rodriguez

      May 15, 2017 at 8:21 pm

      OMG You’re right! That’s so epic!

  3. alex sleight

    January 3, 2023 at 11:39 am

    Aaaand thats whaaat weeeee callllll Blackfaaaaaace! RIP phil hartman but also OUCH.

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