Hotel was The Love Boat on land but a little soapier. I never thought of it as a primetime soap though.

11 hours ago, DRW50 said:

What sizzling plots could cause Hotel to skyrocket to #1 in the ratings?

1984 National Enquirer commercial

10 hours ago, te. said:

My first thought was the bisexual storyline in 2x04 (aired October 24th, 1984). Otherwise since it has Gary Coleman dressed like Indiana Jones it would probably be around Halloween. Maybe they had a good slate of guest stars in the November sweeps?

The Gary Coleman photo is from his February 1984 TV movie The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins. He played an imaginative kid who ends up in a real life adventure.

Hotel's February 1984 plots, according to IMDB, included:

"A father is determined to make a man out of his very reluctant son. A man who is a klutz around women arranges to meet up with a woman with whom he has been corresponding."

"The St. Gregory is hosting a wedding between two people from wealthy families. However, the groom's father is having money troubles and the bride's father is having an affair. And that's just the start."

"Christine is enamoured with a man who can only remember his past through brief flashbacks. An infertile couple are in San Francisco for artificial insemination when the husband wants to change their plans."

Real ratings winners, the whole lot of them ...