Gilligan's Island: Difference between revisions

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{{other uses}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}} {{Infobox television | show_name = Gilligan's Island | image = Gilligans Island title card.jpg | picture_format = [[Black and white]] <small>(1964–1965)</small><br />[[Color]] <small>(1965–1967)</small> | camera = Film; [[Single-camera setup|Single-camera]] | audio_format = [[Monaural]] | runtime = 25 minutes | creator = [[Sherwood Schwartz]] | starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Bob Denver]]|[[Alan Hale Jr.]]|[[Jim Backus]]|[[Natalie Schafer]]|[[Tina Louise]]|[[Russell Johnson]]|[[Dawn Wells]]}} | opentheme = "[[#Theme song|The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle]]" | country = United States | company = [[Phil Silvers|Gladasya Productions]]<br>[[CBS Productions]]<br>[[United Artists Television]] | distributor = [[United Artists Television]]<br>(1968-1970)<br>[[Warner Bros. Television Distribution]] | network = [[CBS]] | director = [[Rod Amateau]]<br>[[Ida Lupino]]<br>Stanley Z. Cherry | first_aired = {{Start date |1964|09|26}} | last_aired = {{End date |1967|04|17}} | num_seasons = 3 | num_episodes = 98 plus a 1963 pilot (first broadcast in 1992) | list_episodes = List of Gilligan's Island episodes | followed_by = ''[[The New Adventures of Gilligan]]'' }} [[File:Bob Denver Gilligans Island 1966.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Bob Denver]] as Gilligan]] [[File:Alan Hale Jr. Gilligans Island 1966.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Alan Hale Jr.]] as the Skipper]] [[File:Dawn Wells Gilligan's Island 1964.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Dawn Wells]] as Mary Ann ]] '''''Gilligan's Island''''' is an American [[sitcom]] created and produced by [[Sherwood Schwartz]]. The show had an [[ensemble cast]] that featured [[Bob Denver]], [[Alan Hale Jr.]], [[Jim Backus]], [[Natalie Schafer]], [[Russell Johnson]], [[Tina Louise]], and [[Dawn Wells]]. It aired for three seasons on the [[CBS]] network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967. The series followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive the island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their unsuccessful attempts, for whose failure Gilligan was frequently responsible, to escape their plight.<ref name = "GI Me">{{cite web|url=http://www.metvnetwork.com/shows/gilligans-island|title=MeTV Network - Shows - Gilligan's Island|publisher=}}</ref> ''Gilligan's Island'' ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first season, consisting of 36 episodes, was filmed in black and white. These episodes were later [[Film colorization|colorized]] for [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. The show's second and third seasons (62 episodes) and the three television movie sequels (aired between 1978 and 1982) were filmed in color. The show received solid ratings during its original run, then grew in popularity during decades of syndication, especially in the 1970s and 1980s when many markets ran the show in the late afternoon after school. Today, the title character of [[Gilligan (Gilligan's Island)|Gilligan]] is widely recognized as an American [[cultural icon]]. ==Premise== The two-man crew of the charter boat [[S. S. Minnow|SS ''Minnow'']] and five passengers on a "three-hour tour" from [[Honolulu]] run into a tropical storm and are shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. ===Uncharted island=== The island was close enough to Hawaii to clearly pick up Hawaiian AM radio transmissions on a portable receiver. The location given in the series varies. In the first-season episode "[[Gilligan's Island (season 1)#Ep18|'X' Marks the Spot]]", the radio warns that the Air Force will test launch an armed missile to strike a location near 140° [[latitude]], 10° [[longitude]]. The Skipper calculates this as their island's location, based on their starting point when the storm hit before they "...&nbsp;drifted for that three days&nbsp;... with the prevailing western current&nbsp;...", meaning the deadly missile will hit the island. Later in the first season, the episode "[[Gilligan's Island (season 1)#Ep21|Big Man on Little Stick]]" has the Professor giving the position as "approximately 110° longitude and 10° latitude" without specifying which hemispheres. In the third-season episode "[[Gilligan's Island (season 3)#Ep96|The Pigeon]]", the island is placed about {{convert |300|mi|km}} southeast of [[Honolulu]]. ==Cast and characters== {{Main|List of Gilligan's Island characters}} * [[Bob Denver]] is [[Gilligan (Gilligan's Island)|Gilligan]], the inept, accident-prone First Mate (affectionately known as "Little Buddy" by "the Skipper") of the SS ''Minnow''. Denver was not the first choice to play Gilligan; actor [[Jerry Van Dyke]] was offered the role, but he turned it down, believing that the show would never be successful. He chose instead to play the lead in ''[[My Mother the Car]]'', which premiered the following year and was cancelled after one season. The producers looked to Bob Denver, the actor who had played [[Maynard G. Krebs]], the goofy but lovable [[beatnik]] in ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]].'' None of the show's episodes ever specified Gilligan's full name or clearly indicated whether "Gilligan" was the character's first name or his last. In the DVD collection, Sherwood Schwartz states that he preferred the full name of "Willy Gilligan" for the character. Denver, on various television/radio interviews (''[[The Pat Sajak Show]]''; [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]] radio), said that "Gil Egan" was his choice. The actor reasoned that because everyone yelled at the first mate, it ran together as "Gilligan." In the unaired [[television pilot|pilot episode]], whether Lovey Howell refers to Gilligan as "Stewart" or steward is unclear. On ''[[Rescue from Gilligan's Island]]'', the writers artfully dodged Gilligan's full name when the other names are announced. Little is revealed about Gilligan's past, except that he was born in Pennsylvania, his occasional reference to best friend Skinny Mulligan and a one-time reference to his older brother and that he previously served on a destroyer with the Skipper where he saved the Skipper from a loose depth charge. * [[Alan Hale Jr.]] is [[The Skipper|The Skipper/Captain Jonas Grumby]], the captain of the S.S. ''Minnow''. Alan Hale Jr. was a longtime actor in [[B movie|B]]-[[western (genre)|Westerns]] and the [[look-alike]] son of [[Alan Hale Sr.]], a legendary movie [[character actor]]. Hale so loved his role that, long after the show went off the air, he still appeared in character in his Los Angeles restaurant, Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel.<ref>{{Citation | last = Flint | first = Peter B | date = January 4, 1990 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DF1F30F937A35752C0A966958260 | title = Alan Hale Jr., Who Was Skipper On 'Gilligan's Island,' Dies at 71 | newspaper = The New York Times | quote = Mr. Hale's image as the Skipper persisted in the 1980s. After a day of golf, he often headed to Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel, a [[West Hollywood, California]] restaurant, where, wearing his skipper's cap, he greeted customers.}}</ref> In addition, Hale wore his Skipper outfit when four other Gilligan's Island cast members and he appeared on a few celebrity ''[[Family Feud]]'' shows. Although the Skipper was a father figure to Gilligan, Hale was only 14 years older than Denver. Gilligan pushed the Skipper out of the way of a loose [[depth charge]] when they were both serving in the [[United States Navy]]. Skipper is a World War II veteran, and served in the [[United States Seventh Fleet|Seventh Fleet]]. In one episode, he describes his participation in the [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Battle of Guadalcanal]]. In the episode "They're Off and Running" (season 1 episode 28), Ginger is reading from a horoscope magazine and asks the Skipper his birthday, to which he responds, "May 5th." In moments of exasperation, the Skipper would swat Gilligan on the head with his cap. Just as often, the Skipper endearingly called Gilligan "Little Buddy". While everybody else called him "Skipper", the Howells usually called him "Captain". * [[Jim Backus]] is [[Thurston Howell III]], the [[millionaire]]. Backus was already a well-known character actor when he took the part. The origin of the super-rich Howell character dates back to 1949 radio when Backus portrayed "Hubert Updike III" on ''[[The Alan Young Show]]''. Also, in the inaugural 1962&ndash;1963 season (episode 31) of ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', Backus basically plays the same character, this time as the eccentric millionaire Martin von Ransohoff. In the classic 1963 comedy ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'', Backus played another Howell-like character, Tyler Fitzgerald, a boozy and rich airplane owner who briefly gets caught up in the race for the stolen money. Backus was perhaps best known as the voice of cartoon character [[Mr. Magoo]]. He reused some of the voice inflections and mannerisms of Magoo in the Howell role. He was well known for his ad-libs on the set. The character Howell was a [[Harvard University|Harvard]] graduate, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], and a multibillionaire until his losses in the [[Great Depression]] left him a mere multimillionaire. * [[Natalie Schafer]] is [[Lovey Howell|"Lovey" Wentworth Howell]], Thurston's wife, whom he affectionately called "Lovey". Schafer had it written into her contract that no close-ups would be made of her, but after a while in the series it was forgotten. Schafer was 63 when the pilot was shot, although reportedly no one on the set or in the cast knew her real age and she refused to divulge it. Originally, she only accepted the role because the pilot was filmed on location in Hawaii. She looked at the job as nothing more than a free vacation, as she was convinced that a show this silly would "never go".{{Sfn | Stoddard | 1996 | p = 190}} * [[Tina Louise]] is [[Ginger Grant]], the [[Actor|movie star]]. Louise clashed with producer Sherwood Schwartz because she believed that she was hired as the central character. Her character was originally written as a hard-nosed, sharp-tongued temptress, but Louise argued that this portrayal was too harsh and refused to play it as written. A compromise was reached; Louise agreed to play her as a [[Marilyn Monroe]]/[[Jayne Mansfield]] type. Louise continued to clash with producers over her role and was the only cast member who refused to return for any of the post-series TV movies, saying that the role had killed her career as a serious actress. She did, however, appear in a reunion of the cast on a late-night television talk show in 1988 and on an episode of ''[[Roseanne]]'' in 1995 when the ''Roseanne'' cast re-enacted ''Gilligan's Island''. In the first season, Ginger often wore gowns that looked as if they were tailored from ''Minnow'' tarpaulins or similar substitute cloth (some had the name of the vessel stenciled on them). In the pilot episode, the character of Ginger, no last name (then a [[secretary]]), was played by actress Kit Smythe. * [[Russell Johnson]] is [[The Professor (Gilligan's Island)|Professor Roy Hinkley, Ph.D.]] Actor [[John Gabriel (actor)|John Gabriel]] was originally cast, but the network thought he looked too young to have all the degrees attributed to the Professor. Actually, "the Professor" was in fact a high school science [[teacher]], not a university [[professor]]. In the first episode, the radio announcer describes him as a research scientist and well known [[Scout Leader|scoutmaster]]. Johnson, who served as a bombardier in the Pacific during World War II, stated that he had some difficulty remembering his more technically oriented lines. Originally, he was not interested in the role, and was waiting for a TV show of his own, but his agent talked him into auditioning. He had done previous movies like ''[[It Came from Outer Space]]'', ''[[This Island Earth]]'', and a classic western where he shot [[Ronald Reagan]] in the shoulder. Johnson's role in the series was spoofed in a ''[[Bloom County]]'' comic strip for the Professor's technical expertise being unable to get the castaways off the island. This odd contradiction was played up in [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s parody song, "Isle Thing", when the Professor, who is brilliant enough to "make a nuclear reactor from a couple of coconuts" cannot "build a lousy raft". * [[Dawn Wells]] is [[Mary Ann Summers]]. Wells was a former [[Miss Nevada]] when she auditioned for the role. Her competition included [[Raquel Welch]] and [[Pat Priest (actress)|Pat Priest]]. The pilot episode had a different character ("Bunny") played by actress [[Nancy McCarthy]]. After it was shot, the network decided to recast the roles of the Professor and the two young women. Mary Ann became a simple farm girl from [[Winfield, Kansas]]. In 1993, Wells published ''Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook'' with co-writers Ken Beck and Jim Clark, including a foreword by Bob Denver. In February 2007, she starred as Lovey Howell in ''Gilligan's Island: The Musical'', a musical stage adaptation of the TV show. * [[Charles Maxwell (actor)|Charles Maxwell]] was the uncredited voice of the "Radio Announcer" (1964–1965). The castaways listened to his plot-advancing radio news bulletins in many episodes and usually with perfect timing to tune in at the exact moment the news they needed to hear was being broadcast. ==Episodes== {{Main|List of Gilligan's Island episodes}} {{:List of Gilligan's Island episodes}} ===Pilot episode=== The [[television pilot|pilot episode]], titled "Marooned", was filmed in November 1963. The pilot featured seven characters (as in the series), but only four of the characters—and their associated actors—were carried forward into the series: Gilligan (Denver), the Skipper (Hale), and the two Howells (Backus and Schafer). As it happens, only these four characters/actors were featured in the opening [[theme music|theme song]] "cast list" used in the pilot, with the remaining three characters only mentioned as "the rest", although the earlier part of the song gave brief descriptions of all passengers. Because of the three significant character and casting changes between the pilot episode and the first series episode, the pilot was not shown before the series first aired on 26 September 1964. The original pilot eventually aired over 29 years later (on [[TBS (U.S. TV channel)|TBS]] 16 October 1992). The three characters who did not carry forward from the pilot were two secretaries and a high school teacher. In the pilot, the scientifically inclined Professor was instead a high school teacher played by [[John Gabriel (actor)|John Gabriel]]. Ginger the movie star was still [[red hair]]ed Ginger, but worked as a secretary, played by Kit Smythe. Mary Ann the Kansas farm girl was instead Bunny, Ginger's co-worker, played as a cheerful "[[Blonde stereotype#Dumb blonde|dumb blonde]]" by Nancy McCarthy. The pilot's opening and ending songs were two similar [[Calypso music|Calypso]]-styled tracks written by [[John Williams]] and performed by Sherwood Schwartz impersonating singer [[Sir Lancelot (singer)|Sir Lancelot]]. The lyrics of both were quite different from those of the TV series and the pilot's opening theme song was longer. The short scenes during this initial music include Gilligan taking the Howells' luggage to the boat before cast-off and Gilligan attempting to give a cup of coffee to the Skipper during the storm that would ultimately maroon the boat. After the opening theme song and credits end, the pilot proper begins with the seven castaways waking up on the beached SS ''Minnow'' and continues with them performing various tasks, including exploring the island, attempting to fix the transmitter, building huts, and finding food. Contrary to some descriptions, the pilot's [[narrative thread|storylines]] contained no detailed accounts of the pilot characters' backgrounds. The pilot concludes with the ending theme song and credits. The background music and even the [[laugh track]]s of the pilot appear all but identical to those used during the series. ===First broadcast episode=== The first episode actually broadcast, "Two on a Raft", is sometimes wrongly referred to as the series pilot. This episode begins with the same scene of Gilligan and the Skipper awakening on the boat as in the pilot (though slightly differently cut, to eliminate most shots of the departed actors) and continues with the characters sitting on the beach listening to a radio news report about their disappearance. No equivalent scene or background information is in the pilot, except for the description of the passengers in the original theme song. Rather than reshooting the rest of the pilot story for broadcast, the show just proceeded on. The plot thus skips over the topics of the pilot; the bulk of the episode tells of Gilligan and the Skipper setting off on a raft to try to bring help, but unknowingly landing back on the other side of the same island. The scene with the radio report is one of two scenes that reveal the names of the Skipper (Jonas Grumby) and the Professor (Roy Hinkley); the names are used in a similar radio report early in the series. The name Jonas Grumby appears nowhere else in the series except for an episode in which the Maritime Board of Review blames the Skipper for the loss of the ship. The name Roy Hinkley is used one other time when Mr. Howell introduces the Professor as Roy Huntley and the professor corrects him, to which Mr. Howell replies, "[[Huntley-Brinkley Report|Brinkley]], Brinkley." The plot for the pilot episode was eventually recycled into that season's Christmas episode, "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk", in which the story of the pilot episode, concerning the practical problems on landing, is related through a series of [[Flashback (narrative)|flashbacks]]. Footage featuring characters that had been recast was reshot using the current actors. For scenes including only Denver, Hale, Backus, and Schafer, the original footage was reused. ===Last broadcast episode=== The last episode of the show, "[[Gilligan's Island (season 3)#Episodes|Gilligan the Goddess]]", aired on April 17, 1967, and ended just like the rest, with the castaways still stranded on the island. It was not known at the time that it would be the series finale, as a fourth season was expected but then cancelled.{{Sfn | Stoddard | 1996 | pp = 306–7}} In its last year, ''Gilligan's Island'' was the lead-in program for the CBS Monday night schedule. It was followed for the first 16 weeks by the sitcom ''[[Run, Buddy, Run]]''. The time slot from 7:30 to 8:30&nbsp;p.m. Eastern was filled in the 1967–1968 season by ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', moved from its traditional Saturday 10&nbsp;p.m. time slot. ==Typical plots== The shipwrecked castaways desperately want to leave the remote island, and various opportunities are frequently presenting themselves. They typically fail owing to some bumbling error committed by Gilligan (with the notable exception of "The Big Gold Strike", where everyone except Gilligan is responsible for their failed escape) and the Professor in one episode where he admitting to reading a tablet wrong. Sometimes this would result in Gilligan saving the others from some unforeseen flaw in their plan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metvnetwork.com/shows/gilligans-island/trivia|title=MeTV Network -|publisher=}}</ref> Most episodes have one of five primary themes. The first deals with life on the island. A [[running gag]] is the castaways' ability to fashion a vast array of useful objects from [[bamboo]] and other local material. Some are simple everyday things, while others are stretches of the imagination. Russell Johnson noted in his autobiography that the production crew enjoyed the challenge of building these props. These bamboo items include [[Tiki culture|framed huts]] with thatched grass sides and roofs, along with bamboo closets strong enough to withstand hurricane-force winds and rain; the communal dining table and chairs, pipes for Gilligan's hot water, a [[stethoscope]], and a pedal-powered car. Many scenes occur at the dining table, where the castaways enjoy many dishes that Ginger and Mary Ann prepare while a portable radio provides news and entertainment. Gilligan and the Skipper often catch fish, and the island has citrus trees to avoid scurvy and a good supply of fresh water to drink and to prepare tropical drinks. While most are explained by the Professor's (or occasionally Gilligan's) ingenuity, sometimes they are also explained by things being washed up on shore or falling off cargo ships. Naturally, despite their obvious skill and inventiveness, the castaways never quite manage to put together a functional raft out of bamboo (or repair the holes in the ''Minnow'', though the entire ship fell apart in the eighth episode, "Goodbye Island"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0784358/|title=Goodbye Island|date=November 21, 1964|publisher=|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>). In the television movie ''[[Rescue from Gilligan's Island]]'', the castaways tie all their huts together and use that as a raft for escape, taking advantage of a [[tsunami]]'s propulsion. The second theme involves visitors to the uncharted island. One challenge to a viewer's [[suspension of disbelief]] is the remarkable frequency with which the island is visited by an assortment of people who repeatedly fail to assist the castaways in leaving the island. Some have hidden motives for not aiding the castaways. Others are simply unable to help, are incompetent, or are foiled in their efforts to help by Gilligan's bumbling. There were episodes in which look-alikes of each of Gilligan, Ginger, and Mr. Howell visit the island (played by the actors in dual roles). The island is also home to an unusual assortment of animal life, some native, some visiting. The third recurring theme is the use of dream sequences in which one of the castaways "dreams" he or she is some character related to that week's storyline. All of the castaways appeared as other characters within the dream. In later interviews and memoirs, nearly all of the actors stated that the dream episodes were among their personal favorites. The fourth recurring theme is a piece of news concerning the castaways arriving from the outside world that causes discord among them. Then, a second piece of news arrives that says the first was incorrect. An exception to the latter part of this statement is the episode "The Postman Cometh", where Gilligan and the Skipper hear over the radio that Mary Ann's boyfriend eloped and the three single men try to cheer her up by wooing her; Mary Ann actually lied about having a boyfriend, and she created a romance with "a real creep" so that the others would think she had someone waiting for her back home. The fifth recurring theme is the appearance or arrival of strange objects, like a WWII mine, a crate of radioactive vegetable seeds, or a "Mars Rover" that the scientists back in the USA think is sending them pictures of Mars, and in one episode a meteorite. Most of the slapstick comedic sequences between Hale and Denver were heavily inspired by [[Laurel and Hardy]], particularly by Hale breaking the [[fourth wall]] by looking directly into the camera expressing his frustration with Denver's clumsiness as [[Oliver Hardy]] often did.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/arts/television/07denver.html | title = Denver | newspaper = The New York Times | date = Sep 7, 2005}}.</ref> ==Production== The show was filmed at the [[CBS]] [[CBS Studio Center|Radford Studios]] complex in [[Studio City, Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seeing-stars.com/TVstudios/CBSstudioCenter.shtml |title=CBS Studio Center |publisher=Seeing-stars.com |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref> The same stage was later used for ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' and ''[[Roseanne]]'', which featured ''Gilligan's Island'' prominently on one episode. The lagoon was drained and used as a parking lot during the show's off-season and was the last surviving element of the show when it was demolished in 1997 as part of an expansion project.<ref>{{cite web|last1=WALSTAD|first1=DAVID|title=Civilization Takes Over 'Gilligan's' Lagoon : Television: The set of the 1960s sitcom is turned into an employee parking lot as CBS Studio Center adds production facilities.|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-08-07/entertainment/ca-32412_1_cbs-studio-center|website=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=4 February 2017|date=7 August 1995}}</ref> Four boats played the part of the SS ''Minnow''. One was used in the opening credits and rented in Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in [[Honolulu]]. Another boat, the ''Bluejacket'', was used in the opening credits shown during the second and third seasons and eventually turned up for sale on [[Vancouver Island]] in August 2006, after running aground on a reef in the [[Hecate Strait]] on the way south from Alaska. One boat was used for beach scenes after being towed to [[Kauai]] in Hawaii. The fourth ''Minnow'' was built on the CBS Studios set in the second season.<ref name="CBC Arts">{{cite news| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2006/08/28/minnow-sale.html| title = Gilligan's Minnow no longer lost| publisher = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]| accessdate = 2006-08-28| date=August 28, 2006}}</ref> The ''Minnow'' was named in reference to [[Newton N. Minow|Newton Minow]], chairman of the U.S. [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]], in response to Minow's landmark 1961 speech "[[Television and the Public Interest]];" the speech lambasted television producers for producing, among other things, "formula comedies about totally unbelievable" characters (not unlike ''Gilligan's Island'') and creating a "vast wasteland" of bad television.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/jarvis.htm|title=Legal Tales from Gilligan's Island|publisher=Santa Clara Law Review & Jamail Center for Legal Research | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050828151410/http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/jarvis.htm | archive-date=2005-08-28 }}</ref> The final day of filming the pilot was Friday, November 22, 1963, the day of the assassination of President [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref name="JC-20">Russell Johnson with Steve Cox, ''Here on Gilligan's Isle'', page 20 (1993).</ref> The cast and crew found out about the assassination late that morning, Hawaii time.<ref name="JC-20"/> Between the filming of scenes, they crowded around a radio, listening to news bulletins.<ref name="JC-20"/> A reminder of the tragedy appears in the opening sequence of the show's first season, when the theme song is played. As the ''Minnow'' is leaving the harbor and heading out to sea, an [[Flag of the United States|American flag]] flying at [[Half-mast|half staff]] can be seen briefly in the background.<ref name="JC-20"/><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfR7qxtgCgY First season opening sequence of Gilligan's Island] From [[YouTube]]. Retrieved on November 6, 2011.</ref> The [[United States Coast Guard]] occasionally received telegrams from concerned citizens, who apparently did not realize it was a scripted show, pleading for them to rescue the people on the deserted island. The Coast Guard simply forwarded these telegrams to producer Sherwood Schwartz.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/escape-gilligans-island |title=Escape From Gilligan's Island |author=Fore, William F|year=1987 |work=medialit.org |publisher= |accessdate=April 14, 2011}}</ref> In homage to those telegrams, the film ''Rescue from Gilligan's Island'' showed the successful rescue where Gilligan lights a fire aboard the castaways' makeshift raft and is chastised for a thoughtless, dangerous action by the others. However, the resultant smoke attracts the attention of a US Coast Guard helicopter, whose pilot commends Gilligan's fire; otherwise the castaways would have been adrift and unnoticed. ===Theme song=== The music and lyrics for the theme song, "The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle", were written by Sherwood Schwartz and [[George Wyle]]. One version was used for the first season and another for the second and third seasons. In the original song, the Professor and Mary Ann, originally considered "second-billed co-stars", were referred to as "the rest", but with the growing popularity of those characters, their names were inserted into the lyrics in the second season. The ''Gilligan'' theme song underwent this one major change because star Bob Denver personally asked studio executives to add Johnson and Wells to the song.<ref name="shales">{{Citation | first = Tom | last = Shales | title = Hey, little buddy! 'Gilligan' DVD drifts into port | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = February 8, 2004 | page = N1 | quote = To his credit, star Bob Denver lobbied Schwartz and others to change the lyrics to the theme song after the second season, so all the characters and not just most of them were listed. Instead of the chorus singing ‘the movie star, and the rest,’ they sang, ‘the movie star, the professor and Mary Ann, here on Gilligan's isle!’}}</ref> When the studio at first refused, saying it would be too expensive to reshoot, Denver insisted, even going so far as to state that if Johnson and Wells were not included, he wanted his name out of the song, as well. The studio caved in, and "the Professor and Mary Ann" were added.<ref name = "green">{{cite book| last = Green| title = Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook}}</ref><ref name="straight-dope">{{cite web | last = Lileth | url = http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgilliga.html | title = Was the "Gilligan's Island" theme song tampered with?| work = The Straight Dope | publisher = Cecil Adams| accessdate = 2006-04-04}}</ref><ref name="50s-web">{{cite web | url = http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv/gilligans-island.htm | title = Gilligan's Island Tidbits | publisher = The Fifties Web | accessdate = 2006-04-04}}</ref> The first-season version was recorded by the folk group [[The Wellingtons (folk group)|The Wellingtons]]. The second-season version, which incorporated more of a [[sea shanty]] sound, was uncredited, but according to Russell Johnson in his book ''Here on Gilligan's Isle'', it was performed by a group called the Eligibles.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://bayviews.blogspot.com/2012/03/home-town-success-story.html | work = Bay views | title=Home Town Success Story | publisher = Google Blogger | accessdate= 2014-09-17}}</ref> The show's original pilot episode featured a [[Calypso music|Calypso]] theme song by future film composer [[John Williams]], and different lyrics. The original length of the voyage was "a six-hour ride", not "a three-hour tour".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.gilligansisle.com/theme.html |title = Gilligan's Island Theme |publisher = Gilligan’s isle |accessdate= 2009-10-17}}</ref> John Williams (or Johnny Williams as he was often listed in the show credits) also started out as the composer of the incidental music for the show (from 1964 to 1965), but was replaced by [[Gerald Fried]] for the remaining seasons (1965–1967).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057751/fullcredits |title= Gilligan's Island Full Cast and Crew |publisher=[[IMDb.com]] | accessdate = 2010-08-05}}</ref> ====Later parody and homage==== The band [[Little Roger and the Goosebumps]] recorded "Stairway to Gilligan's Island," a parody of [[Led Zeppelin]]'s "[[Stairway to Heaven]]", substituting the words to the ''Gilligan's Island'' theme song.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.gilligansisle.com/stairway.html |title=Stairway |work= The Official Gilligan's Island Fan Club | accessdate =March 18, 2011}}</ref> [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] recorded a song called "Isle Thing", a parody of [[Tone Lōc]]'s "[[Wild Thing (Tone Lōc song)|Wild Thing]]", about a rapper whose girlfriend introduces him to the show. Yankovic also used one verse from the closing theme lyrics in "[[Amish Paradise]]" (1996), a parody of [[Coolio]]'s "[[Gangsta's Paradise]]" (1995). The song has also been covered by many bands, including [[Bowling for Soup]] for the [[TBS (U.S. TV channel)|TBS]] show ''[[The Real Gilligan's Island]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bowling For Soup – Gilligan's Island Theme| work = You tube | publisher = Google | url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zpIT5PjPNM&NR=1&feature=fvwp}}</ref> [[Israel Kamakawiwoʻole]] also recorded a comic tribute to the theme song on his album E Ala E. ==Cancellation== During the 1966–1967 television season, ''Gilligan's Island'' aired on Monday nights at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. Though the sitcom's ratings had fallen well out of the top-30 programs, during the last few weeks of its third season, the series was more than holding its own against its chief competitor, ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'', which aired at the same time on [[NBC]]-TV. Therefore, CBS assured Sherwood Schwartz that ''Gilligan's Island'' would definitely be picked up for a fourth year. CBS, however, had signaled its intention to cancel the long-running Western series ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', which had been airing late on Saturday nights during the 1966–1967 television season. Under pressure from CBS network president [[William S. Paley]] and his wife Babe, along with many network affiliates and longtime fans of ''Gunsmoke'', CBS rescheduled the Western to an earlier time slot on Monday evenings at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. As a result, ''Gilligan's Island'' was quietly cancelled at practically the last minute, while the cast members were all on vacation. Some of the cast had bought houses based on Sherwood Schwartz's verbal confirmation that the series would be renewed for a fourth season.{{Sfn | Stoddard | 1996 | p = 306}} ==Nielsen ratings/television schedule== {{refimprove section|date=January 2016}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! style="text-align:center;"|Season ! style="text-align:center;"|Ep# ! style="text-align:center;"|Season premiere ! style="text-align:center;"|Season finale ! style="text-align:center;"|Time slot ! style="text-align:center;"|Rank ! Rating ! Households |- | 1 ([[1964–65 United States network television schedule|1964–1965]]) | style="text-align:center;"|[[List of Gilligan's Island episodes|36]] | September 26, 1964 | June 12, 1965 | Saturday nights at 8:30&nbsp;p.m. | style="text-align:center;"|#18 | 24.7 (tie) | 13,227,700 |- | 2 ([[1965–66 United States network television schedule|1965–1966]]) | style="text-align:center;"|[[List of Gilligan's Island episodes|32]] | September 16, 1965 | April 28, 1966 | Thursday nights at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. | style="text-align:center;"|#22 | 22.1 | 11,900,850 |- | 3 ([[1966–67 United States network television schedule|1966–1967]]) | style="text-align:center;"|[[List of Gilligan's Island episodes|30]] | September 12, 1966 | April 17, 1967 | Monday nights at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. | style="text-align:center;"|#49<ref>The Worst TV Shows Ever, Those TV Turkeys We Will Never Forget...(No Matter How Hard We Try) by Bart Andrews with Brad Dunning (1980).</ref> | N/A | style="text-align:center;"|N/A |} ==Film sequels== In a 1978 made-for-television movie, ''[[Rescue from Gilligan's Island]]'', the castaways do successfully leave the island, but have difficulty reintegrating into society. During a reunion cruise on the first Christmas after their rescue, fate intervenes and they find themselves wrecked on the same island at the end of the film. It starred the original cast, except for Tina Louise, who refused to participate because of her disputes with the producers and was replaced by [[Judith Baldwin]]. The plot involved Soviet agents seeking a memory disc from a spy satellite that landed on the island and facilitated their rescue. In a 1979 [[sequel]], ''[[The Castaways on Gilligan's Island]]'', they are rescued once again, and the Howells convert the island into a getaway resort with the other five castaways as "silent partners". Ginger was again played by Judith Baldwin. In a second sequel, ''[[The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island]]'' (1981), villains played by [[Martin Landau]] and then-wife [[Barbara Bain]] try to take over the island to gain access to a vein of "supremium", a valuable but volatile element. This time, Ginger was played by [[Constance Forslund]]. They are thwarted by the timely intervention of the [[Harlem Globetrotters]]. [[Jim Backus]], who was in poor health at the time, was written out of the script by saying Thurston Howell III was tending to Howell Industries back on the mainland. [[David Ruprecht]] played the role of his son, Thurston Howell IV, who was asked to manage the resort. However, Backus insisted on keeping continuity, and made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. ==Spin-offs== ''[[The New Adventures of Gilligan]]'' was a [[Filmation]]-produced animated remake that aired on ABC on Saturday mornings from September 7, 1974, to September 4, 1977, for 24 episodes (16 installments airing in 1974–75 and eight new ones combined with repeats in 1975–76). The voices were provided by the original cast except for Ginger and Mary Ann (both were voiced by [[Jane Webb]]). Dawn Wells could not participate because she was in an on-the-road play.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} An additional character was Gilligan's pet, Snubby the [[Monkey]]. ''[[Gilligan's Planet]]'' was an animated science-fiction version produced by Filmation and starring the voices of the ''Gilligan's Island'' cast, save for Tina Louise (Dawn Wells voiced both Mary Ann and Ginger). In a follow-up to ''The New Adventures of Gilligan'', the castaways escape from the island by building a [[Spacecraft|spaceship]], and get shipwrecked on a distant planet. Only 12 episodes aired on CBS between September 18, 1982, and September 3, 1983. In the episode "Let Sleeping Minnows Lie", they travel to an island, get shipwrecked there, and Gilligan observes, "First we were stranded on an island, then we were stranded on a planet, and now we're stranded on an island on a planet." ==Reunions and documentaries== {{unreferenced section|date=January 2016}} ''[[Good Morning America]]'' featured a ''Gilligan's Island'' reunion presided over by guest host [[Kathie Lee Gifford]] on November 26, 1982. The entire cast was present, except for Jim Backus who was unable to attend. Backus appeared via a live video remote from Los Angeles. All seven of the original cast members (along with Sherwood Schwartz) reunited on television for one last time on a 1988 episode of ''[[The Late Show (1986 TV series)|The Late Show]]'' with [[Ross Shafer]]. ''Gilligan's Island: Underneath the Grass Skirt'' is a 1999 documentary featuring Denver and Louise. ''[[E! True Hollywood Story]]'' presented a backstage history of the show in 2000, featuring interviews with some of the stars or their widows. ''[[Surviving Gilligan's Island]]'' (2001) was a [[docudrama]] in which Bob Denver, Dawn Wells, and Russell Johnson reminisce about the show. ==Related productions== {{unreferenced section|date=July 2017}} * ''Gilligan's Island: The Musical'' was first produced in the early 1990s, with a script by Lloyd Schwartz, Sherwood Schwartz's son, and songs by Schwartz's daughter and son-in-law, Hope and [[Laurence Juber]]. * ''[[Gilligan's Wake]]'' is a 2003 parallel novel loosely based on the 1960s CBS sitcom, from the viewpoints of the seven major characters, written by ''Esquire'' film and television critic Tom Carson. The title is derived from the title of the TV show and ''[[Finnegans Wake]]'', the seminal work of Irish novelist James Joyce. * On November 30, 2004, the TBS network launched a reality series titled ''[[The Real Gilligan's Island]]'', which placed two groups of people on an island, leaving them to fend for themselves in the manner of ''[[Survivor (franchise)|Survivor]]''&nbsp;– the catch being that each islander matched a character type established in the original series (a klutz, a sea captain, a movie star, a millionaire's wife, etc.). While heavily [[marketing|marketed]] by TBS, the show turned out to be a flop with a very ''Survivor''-like feel, but little of its success. A second season began June 8, 2005, with two-hour episodes for four weeks. TBS announced in July 2005 that a third season of the show would not be produced. ==Syndication== Syndication is handled by [[Warner Bros. Television]] (under [[Turner Entertainment Co.]], which in 1986 acquired [[United Artists Television]]'s share of the series as part of the classic [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] library). It has aired on [[TBS (U.S. TV channel)|TBS]] from 1990 to 2003, where it also aired with colorization on season one for a while. [[TNT (U.S. TV network)|TNT]] aired it at some point in the 1990s, and also aired the colorized season one. [[Nick at Nite]] later aired the series from 2000 to 2001. It then shifted to [[TV Land]], where it aired from 2001 to 2003 (and again from January to June 2014). Then, in 2004, it aired on [[Hallmark Channel]]. As of 2015, the show aired nationally on both [[TV Land]] and [[MeTV]].<ref name = "GI Me" /> ==DVD releases== [[Warner Home Video]] released all three seasons of ''Gilligan's Island'' on DVD in Region 1 between 2004 and 2005. ''The Complete First Season'' features all 36 episodes unedited with the original theme song. And, unlike other releases of older sitcoms, the episodes are in their original black-and-white format. The special features include the rare pilot episode with commentary with creator Sherwood Schwartz, and three other featurettes. ''The Complete Second Season'' includes all 32 season-two episodes and mentions in an interesting way that this season is in color. Bonuses for this set include: a season-two introduction with Russell Johnson and Sherwood Schwartz and audio commentary on the season's third episode, "[[List of Gilligan's Island episodes#Season 2|The Little Dictator]]". ''The Complete Third Season'' includes all 30 season-three episodes and uses words from the theme song on the back: "Just sit right back... for the final season!" Special features include a season introduction with Russell Johnson and Sherwood Schwartz, commentary on the season's fourth episode, "[[The Producer]]", guest-starring [[Phil Silvers]], and a 15-minute documentary entitled ''Gilligan's Island: A Pop Culture Phenomenon''. ''The Complete Series Collection'' contains all the same bonuses and featurettes, no added features for a complete series box set. All these releases were double-sided discs (which require flipping disc over), and came in boxed sets, containing three discs per season. In April 2012, the series was reissued in new DVD releases, with six episodes per disc and six discs per season, except for season 3, which only has five. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !DVD name !Ep# !Release date |- |''The Complete First Season'' | 36 | February 3, 2004 |- |''The Complete Second Season'' | 32 | January 11, 2005 |- |''The Complete Third Season'' | 30 | July 26, 2005 |- |''The Complete Series Collection'' | 98 | November 6, 2007 |} ==Digitally remastered in high definition== In August 2006, an executive at Warner Bros. announced plans that ''Gilligan's Island'', in addition to other classic TV series owned by the studio, would be digitally re-mastered in HD.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2006/08/18/gilligans-island-coming-to-hd/|title="Gilligan's Island" coming to HD?|publisher=}}</ref> The original TV series was shot on high resolution film, but scaled down for broadcast. On January 20, 2014, [[TV Land]] became the first network to air theatrical-style widescreen HD remastered episodes of ''Gilligan's Island''. This marked the first time the WB remastered episodes were seen by fans and the general public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/gilligans-island-docks-at-tv-land-for-the-first-time-in-10-years/|title=‘Gilligan’s Island’ Docks at TV Land For the First Time in 10 Years|date=January 16, 2014|publisher=}}</ref> HD remastered episodes have been made available for purchase through streaming media sources. ==In other media== A video game based on the series called ''[[The Adventures of Gilligan's Island]]'' was released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] in July 1990. The game features the likenesses of all the original castaways except for Ginger, who is completely absent from the game. A [[Gilligan's Island (pinball)|pinball]] machine, manufactured by BALLY, based on the show was released in May 1991. ==Film remake== Rights to the series were purchased, with an eye towards creating a movie scheduled for release March 30, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1361548/|title=Gilligan's Island|publisher=}}</ref> When Sherwood Schwartz signed a deal granting all rights to the movie, he reportedly said, "[It] just happened in the last 48 hours. I can’t take this much excitement at my age." Schwartz also said he would love to see [[Michael Cera]] as Gilligan and [[Beyoncé Knowles]] as Ginger.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/gilligans-island-tv-show-creator-wants-michael-cera-and-beyonce-for-new-movie/ |title=Gilligan's Island TV Show Creator wants Michael Cera and Beyoncé for New Movie |publisher=Tvseriesfinale.com |date=January 2, 2009 |accessdate=2009-10-17 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://archive.is/20090122201416/http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/gilligans-island-tv-show-creator-wants-michael-cera-and-beyonce-for-new-movie/ |archivedate=January 22, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref> On December 17, 2013, ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'' reported that [[Josh Gad]] would star and co-write the film with [[Benji Samit]] and [[Dan Hernandez]].<ref>[http://deadline.com/2013/12/gilligans-island-movie-josh-gad-warner-bros/ Warner Bros Sets ''Gilligan's Island'' As Star Feature Vehicle For Josh Gad]</ref> ==Ginger or Mary Ann?== The question of which of these two characters men prefer has endured long after the end of the series.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.today.com/entertainment/dawn-wells-turns-74-question-remains-ginger-or-mary-ann-1C6547688 |title=As Dawn Wells turns 74, the question remains: Ginger or Mary Ann? |author=Gael Fashingbauer Cooper |publisher=[[Today (U.S. TV program)|''Today'']] |date=October 18, 2012 |accessdate=September 25, 2014}}</ref><ref name=BaltimoreSun>{{cite news |title=Author has left Ginger and 'Island' behind. |first=Rob |last=Hiassen |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=September 29, 2007 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-169256802.html}} (HighBeam subscription may be required)</ref> The question has inspired commercials,<ref>[http://fliiby.com/file/567669/w0tw85r844.html Budweiser Ginger or Mary Ann] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016162316/http://fliiby.com/file/567669/w0tw85r844.html |date=October 16, 2011 }} Retrieved on 2011-09-07</ref> essays, videos, and a sermon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uustoughtonma.org/Sermons/Archives/2005-06-05-GingerOrMaryAnn.htm |title=Ginger or Mary Ann? |author=Rev. Jeffrey Symynkywicz |publisher=uustoughtonma.org |date=June 5, 2005 |accessdate=2007-10-24 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226020234/http://uustoughtonma.org/Sermons/Archives/2005-06-05-GingerOrMaryAnn.htm |archivedate=December 26, 2007 |df=mdy }}</ref> By most accounts, the wholesome, down-to-earth Mary Ann has consistently outpolled the glamorous [[Bombshell (sex symbol)|bombshell]] movie-star Ginger by a sizable margin.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russell Johnson on 'Gilligan's Island' in 1993 interview |first=Jim |last=Slotek |newspaper=[[Toronto Sun]] |date=January 16, 2014 |url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/16/russell-johnson-on-gilligans-island-in-1993 |quote=USA Today carried a Ginger vs. Mary Ann fave poll and Dawn Wells' character had 85% of the vote}}</ref> Bob Denver admitted he was a Mary Ann fan.<ref name=BaltimoreSun/> According to Bob Denver in a 2001 interview, Wells received 3,000–5,000 fan letters weekly, whereas Louise may have gotten 1,500 or 2,000.<ref name=USNews>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050907/7denver.htm |title=So which one did Gilligan like best? |first=Marc |last=Silver |publisher=usnews.com ''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'' |date=September 7, 2005 |accessdate=2007-10-24 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226081341/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050907/7denver.htm |archivedate=December 26, 2007 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ginger vs. Maryann|url=http://retrocrush.com/babes/dawn/gingervmaryann.html|publisher=retroCRUSH|accessdate=April 2, 2012}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|32em}} ==Bibliography== {{Refbegin|32em}} * {{cite book | last = Denver | first = Bob | authorlink = Bob Denver | title = Gilligan, Maynard & Me | date = November 1993 | publisher = Carol Publishing | isbn = 0-8065-1413-2}} * {{cite book | last = Green | first = Joey | authorlink = Joey Green | title = Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook |date=April 1988 | publisher = Warner Books | isbn = 0-446-38668-5}} * {{cite book | last = Johnson | first = Russell | authorlink = Russell Johnson | first2 =Steve | last2 = Cox | title = Here on Gilligan's Isle | edition = 1st |date=July 1993 | publisher = Perennial | isbn = 0-06-096993-8}} * {{cite book | last = Schwartz | first = Sherwood | authorlink = Sherwood Schwartz | title = Inside Gilligan's Island: A Three-Hour Tour Through The Making of A Television Classic | date = April 15, 1994 | publisher = St. Martin's Griffin | isbn = 0-312-10482-0}} * {{cite book | last = Stoddard | first = Sylvia | title = TV Treasures&nbsp;– A Companion Guide to Gilligan's Island |date = May 1996 | publisher = St. Martin's Paperbacks | location = New York | isbn = 0-312-95797-1 | ref = harv}} * ''Gilligan's Island&nbsp;– The Complete First Season'' (DVD), 2004, Turner Home Entertainment, UPC 053939673425. * ''Gilligan's Island&nbsp;– The Complete Second Season'' (DVD), 2005, Turner Home Entertainment, UPC 053939692624. * ''Gilligan's Island&nbsp;– The Complete Third Season'' (DVD), 2005, Turner Home Entertainment, UPC 053939733129. {{Refend}} ==External links== {{sisterlinks|display=''Gilligan&#39;s Island''|d=Q1141741|c=Category:Gilligan&#39;s Island|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|s=no|wikt=no}} * {{IMDb title|0057751|Gilligan's Island}} * {{tv.com show|gilligans-island|Gilligan's Island}} * {{IMDb title| id=0291951 | title=Gilligan's Island: Underneath the Grass Skirt (1999 documentary)}} * {{EmmyTVLegends title|gilligans-island|Gilligan's Island}} * [http://www.rgj.com/story/life/2014/09/27/reno-native-wells-celebrates-years-gilligan/16326887/ Sept 2014 interview with Dawn Wells] {{Gilligan's Island|state=expanded}} {{Sherwood Schwartz shows}} [[Category:Gilligan's Island| ]] [[Category:1960s American sitcoms]] [[Category:1964 American television series debuts]] [[Category:1967 American television series endings]] [[Category:Black-and-white television programs]] [[Category:CBS network shows]] [[Category:English-language television programs]] [[Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television]] [[Category:Television series set on fictional islands]] [[Category:Television programs adapted into films]] [[Category:Television programs adapted into video games]] [[Category:Television series created by Sherwood Schwartz]]