For its part, the television network produced a few new hits during 1977: January saw the premiere of Roots, a miniseries based on an Alex Haley novel that was published the previous year; in September, The Love Boat, a comedy-drama anthology series produced by Aaron Spelling which was based around the crew of a cruise ship and featured three stories centered partly on the ship's various passengers; although critically lambasted, the series turned out to be a ratings success and lasted nine seasons. Roots went on to become one of the highest-rated programs in American television history, with unprecedented ratings for its finale. The success of Roots, Happy Days and The Love Boat allowed the network to take first place in the ratings for the first time in the 1976–77 season. On September 13, 1977, the network debuted Soap, a controversial soap opera parody which became known for being the first television series to feature an openly gay main character (played by a then-unknown Billy Crystal); it last ran on the network on April 20, 1981.