Gilligan's Island

ClassyCo

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I searched this site and I cannot seem to find a thread about Gilligan's Island, which just happens to be one my absolute favorite sitcoms of all time. I first bought the box set several years ago, and I binge-watched the episodes right away. It almost instantly became a favorite of mine, and whenever I get in the right mood, I want to sit back and enjoy the goofiness offered up from those seven stranded castaways on Gilligan's Isle.

The best characters to me are snotty millionaire Thurston Howell III and his socialite wife Lovey Howell, played to perfection by the delightful Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer, respectively. Their one-liners, mannerisms, and their voices are all rolled into one delicious performances and I really cannot get enough of them. They're fabulous. It was a treat once I found out that Jim Backus ad-libbed a lot of his dialogue and he encouraged Natalie Schafer to do the same.

I don't mean to undermine the other members of the cast. Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr. make for a classic comedy duo as Gilligan and the Skipper. They were evidently inspired by the comedy teams of Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello. They play well together. Russell Johnson has his moments too as the level-headed Professor, spitting out all that science jargon that I still say was made up. And we can't forget those two beauties in the mix: red-haired Tina Louise was the glamorous and occasionally flirtatious Hollywood actress Ginger Grant, and brown-haired Dawn Wells as the wholesome and sometimes shy Mary Ann. I once did my personal poll on who people found more attractive (or liked better) out of Ginger and Mary Ann. I like the variety of characters, and that the show is pretty much an ensemble. Many episodes focus on characters other shows might have bypassed or overlooked as "secondary", but this show gives each actor/actress the chance to be center stage and star in their own episodes.

Gilligan's Island is one of those pop culture shows that the critics tear apart. It was bashed when it was originally on, despite receiving solid ratings, and the reviews are not much better today. It has remained popular in syndication, however, and has garnered many fans since its initial network run concluded.

Any fans?


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Crimson

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GILLIGAN'S ISLAND is the only one of the 60s sitcoms where I prefer the color seasons over B&W. There's something vaguely eerie about the first season; not just the B&W cinematography but an odd, disconnected tone to the dialogue audio. The plots are slightly more grounded but, whereas I considered that a plus for shows like BEWITCHED, the stories in the first season of GI just feel rather mundane (well, as mundane as being comical castaways on an island can be).

With the switch to color, the show fully embraced the absurdist nature of its premise; no other show of the era -- not even the almost surreal GREEN ACRES -- ran with the ridiculousness of its premise as thoroughly. The snarky past time in the 80s of poking holes in the show's plot -- "Why would Ginger bring so many clothes on a 3-hour tour?" -- missed the point entirely. The show was fully aware of its ludicrousness; that was the point

It's good the show only lasted 3 seasons, and didn't limp along to exhaustion like BEWITCHED or THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES.
 

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There's something vaguely eerie about the first season; not just the B&W cinematography but an odd, disconnected tone to the dialogue audio. The plots are slightly more grounded but, whereas I considered that a plus for shows like BEWITCHED, the stories in the first season of GI just feel rather mundane (well, as mundane as being comical castaways on an island can be).
It's that eerie early-'60s thing I was talking about on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW thread. Although I wouldn't call Season 1 of GILLIGAN mundane exactly, because they're too oddly atmospheric than that. The first season of GILLIGAN in B&W had that strange soothing quality I found appealing, while the first two seasons of BEWITCHED, both in B&W, feel somewhat different from each other: Season 1 had a rather mystical flavor in B&W, while Season 2 always feels like a color show they shot in washed-out B&W by mistake (as do most series still shot in B&W during the 1965/66 TV season). It's like they made the switch to color one year late, in 1966 (the year all network shows had to make the switch to color if they hadn't done so already). Which is why I view the colorization of Season 1 of BEWITCHED to be virtually blasphemous, while colorizing Season 2 is something I'm okay with.

It's why the first season of I DREAM OF JEANNIE always feels so pointless in B&W --- the B&W "mood" of the 64/65 year is gone by 65/66 (the first season of JEANNIE).

I agree, though, that both GILLIGAN and BEWITCHED had to make the early switch to loud, late-'60s color in order to come into their own.
 

Crimson

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both GILLIGAN and BEWITCHED had to make the early switch to loud, late-'60s color in order to come into their own

My opinions on BEWITCHED have shifted considerably through the years. For a long time, I would have said I favor the color Dick York years; somewhere along the line, I preferred the B&W seasons. Now -- well, so many of these classic sitcoms that I once loved now look stale and formulaic. I can still dip into BEWITCHED for a few random episodes, but I grow tired of it real fast.

So it surprises me that GILLIAGAN holds up as well as it does. It's never been one of my favorites and I wouldn't make any arguments about its quality, but its so confident in its preposterousness that it just kind of works. The vampire episode from the 3rd season was one of my favorite pieces of TV when I was a kid; I still kind of like it, even though it lacks the faux-spookiness if it had been filmed if B&W. I found myself watching a similar episode of THE MONKEES on Youtube recently, and got bored in about 7 minutes.

I don't think Sherwood Schwartz had too many tricks up his sleeve. I think GILLIAGAN is the only good (-ish) thing he did. I know THE BRADY BUNCH has its adherents and I guess it's kinda watchable, but Robert Reed's sourpuss assessments of the show were pretty spot-on. And then there was this monstrosity:

 

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My opinions on BEWITCHED have shifted considerably through the years. For a long time, I would have said I favor the color Dick York years; somewhere along the line, I preferred the B&W seasons. Now -- well, so many of these classic sitcoms that I once loved now look stale and formulaic. I can still dip into BEWITCHED for a few random episodes, but I grow tired of it real fast.

So it surprises me that GILLIAGAN holds up as well as it does. It's never been one of my favorites and I wouldn't make any arguments about its quality, but its so confident in its preposterousness that it just kind of works. The vampire episode from the 3rd season was one of my favorite pieces of TV when I was a kid; I still kind of like it, even though it lacks the faux-spookiness if it had been filmed if B&W. I found myself watching a similar episode of THE MONKEES on Youtube recently, and got bored in about 7 minutes.

I don't think Sherwood Schwartz had too many tricks up his sleeve. I think GILLIAGAN is the only good (-ish) thing he did. I know THE BRADY BUNCH has its adherents and I guess it's kinda watchable, but Robert Reed's sourpuss assessments of the show were pretty spot-on. And then there was this monstrosity:

And you're right -- GILLIGAN is the best thing he did. Was it the casting? Probably.

PS: I still get the IAT theme song in my head.
 

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Was it the casting? Probably.

I've read more than a few pros in the industry say that sitcoms are 90% casting and 10% writing, and I think there are plenty of shows to prove that correct. GILLIGAN did have an abnormally strong ensemble cast that seemed to click together quite well.
 

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I wouldn't say I'm a fan, exactly. That would imply some active thought on my part. But it was one of those shows that was on endless rotation in the after-school time slot as I was growing up and as a result I can still quote passages of dialogue that still seem hilarious.
 

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I don't know if I have any preference to the black-and-white or color seasons of Gilligan's Island. There's episodes that I love from both periods. The first season gives me two of my favorites, namely "The Big Gold Strike" and "So Sorry, My Island Now". These are two defining episodes of the show (in my opinion) because they center around failed attempts to be rescued with the latter featuring a quirky guest star stirring up havoc among the castaways.

Gilligan's Island was really made for color. Once the show switched to color, the silliness was knocked up a notch. It fit the zaniness of the show, even if Sherwood Schwartz always stuck with his "social microcosm" concept of seven different people learning to live together. Sure, the earlier episodes offered us some glimpses of the castaways learning to get along, but eventually all that was filtered out and physical comedy took its place. Schwartz was apparently always going to offer up this kind of show. The Brady Bunch, which he sold as a comedy about a blended family learning to accept and love each other, was basically a mildly amusing children's show where almost no one ever mentioned that this family did not originate together.


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ClassyCo

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GILLIGAN'S ISLAND is the only one of the 60s sitcoms where I prefer the color seasons over B&W. There's something vaguely eerie about the first season; not just the B&W cinematography but an odd, disconnected tone to the dialogue audio. The plots are slightly more grounded but, whereas I considered that a plus for shows like BEWITCHED, the stories in the first season of GI just feel rather mundane (well, as mundane as being comical castaways on an island can be).

With the switch to color, the show fully embraced the absurdist nature of its premise; no other show of the era -- not even the almost surreal GREEN ACRES -- ran with the ridiculousness of its premise as thoroughly. The snarky past time in the 80s of poking holes in the show's plot -- "Why would Ginger bring so many clothes on a 3-hour tour?" -- missed the point entirely. The show was fully aware of its ludicrousness; that was the point
Well, the show wasn't initiated that way. Sherwood Schwartz usually sticks to his "social microcosm" view, although Gilligan's Island was silly and offered up a heavy-handed dose of physical shtick that the show's best remembered for.
It's good the show only lasted 3 seasons, and didn't limp along to exhaustion like BEWITCHED or THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES.
I've thought about it this way before, but you are absolutely right. Had Gilligan's Island went on any longer, it would have orbited into total absurdity, gotten stale, and been unwatchable. I once heard from a guy on Facebook that apparently had "connections" to the old bibles used for the show. He said that Tina Louise (or Ginger, the movie star) wanted out after season three. Her contract was up, and she hadn't any intention on returning. Schwartz was apparently toying with the idea of Ginger being rescued and a blonde-haired movie star replacing her in the ensemble.

That screams "jumping the shark!" Thank goodness it didn't happen.
 

ClassyCo

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It's good the show only lasted 3 seasons, and didn't limp along to exhaustion like BEWITCHED or THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES.
This is an interesting thought, and I'm quite sure many would share it. Gilligan's Island was really already getting tired just three seasons in. Yeah, the show was still funny and turning out quality episodes, but there were several dream episodes that third year. Dream episodes were really the "go-to" episodes after a while, I'm sure, because just about every zany adventure about life on an island had already been used.

Bewitched and The Beverly Hillbillies both drew out their stories probably two or three years longer than they should have. Bewitched should have ended when Dick York had to leave, and The Beverly Hillbillies got off its rocker when the Clampetts started going back to the cabin (well, actually before then really).
 

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Bewitched should have ended when Dick York had to leave,
A lot of those last three season episodes were colour remakes of black and white episodes for the syndication market. If they'd known that colourisation was going to be invented they might not have bothered.
 

ClassyCo

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I do think GILLIGAN probably had one more season in it.
Yeah, had GILLIGAN did another season of 30 episodes, it would've brought the series total up to 128 episodes. Regardless, the show still had ample episodes to air in syndication.

The B&W episodes are sometimes show in their colorized prints. (I don't like that though).​
 

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I really want to repurchase the GILLIGAN'S ISLAND complete series set. The set I have is worn out and its on those old double-sided discs. I want the set with 17 discs that are all single-sided ones.

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ClassyCo

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I would’ve liked another season too. Possibly a final episode where they finally get off the island. I know we had the rescue movie but that was 11 years later. The show could’ve used a proper send off.
Yeah, the reunion movies are... Well, reunion movies. Even though Sherwood Schwartz insists that RESCUE FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND was not a "reunion movie", but instead a "final episode" of sorts for the original series.

I like his persistence, but I don't buy it.

RESCUE FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND just doesn't have the magic of the original show. The life seems to have been pumped out a little bit. The cast is older, and Tina Louise stomped her feet for more money and finally decided not to reprise her role of Ginger. We got Judith Baldwin in her place, and that's a big reason why the movie just doesn't "work" for me.

Judith Baldwin played Ginger in RESCUE and the second TV movie called THE CASTAWAYS ON GILLIGAN'S ISLAND. Constance Forslund took over for Baldwin who had taken over for Louise in the final movie titled THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS ON GILLIGAN'S ISLAND in 1981. That final movie was allegedly used as a potential new series called ALOHA, PARADISE, but the network passed on the project because of the disappointing Nielsen ratings.

What I don't like most about the Ginger re-casts is the way the replacement actresses play her. Louise gave Ginger sexiness and humor, but Baldwin and Forslund amp up the sexiness and are basically vacant of a sense of humor.​
 

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Judith Baldwin played Ginger in RESCUE and the second TV movie called THE CASTAWAYS ON GILLIGAN'S ISLAND
I remember seeing this movie when I was a teenager sometime in the early 90s and I had no clue it wasn’t Tina Louise. I just assumed it would be her. I remember thinking why does she look different? Why is she acting different? This isn’t how Ginger acted! It wasn’t until years later that I understood what had happened.
 
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