Gilligan's Island

File:Gilligan's Island.jpg

The cast of Gilligan's Island. (From Left to Right) Back row: Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III, Natalie Schafer as Lovey Howell, Tina Louise as Ginger Grant. Front row: Russell Johnson as the Professor, Bob Denver as Gilligan, Alan Hale, Jr. as the Skipper, Dawn Wells as Mary Ann Summers

For the NES video game, see Gilligan's Island (video game).

Gilligan's Island was an American TV sitcom which aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26 1964 to September 4 1967. The show chronicles seven castaways who are a representative microcosm of American society as they attempt to escape from an island where they have been shipwrecked. It ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first 36 episodes were filmed and shown in black-and-white (later colorized in syndication) with the remaining 62 episodes and three sequels filmed in color. Enjoying solid ratings during its original run, the popularity of the show grew enormously during decades of syndication. Today the title character of Gilligan is widely recognized as a comedic American popular culture icon, ranked for example at 80th place in the July 2003 list of 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons compiled by VH-1 and People Magazine.

The show's theme song, "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle" (written by George Wyle and Sherwood Schwartz), is a well-known example of ballad meter, and it begins:

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...

The song was written to give new viewers a capsule summary of the unusual situation in which the castaways find themsleves. Another verse was played over the closing credits, after the invariably unsuccessful attempts of the castaways to leave the island.

The last episode of the show, "Gilligan the Goddess" (prod. no. 1098-670417), aired on April 17 1967, and ended with the castaways never succeeding in leaving the island. Under a wave of pressure to reverse the threatened cancellation of Gunsmoke, which aired late on Saturday nights, CBS cancelled Gilligan's Island to open up early air time on Monday evenings, despite the sitcom's relatively high ratings at that time.

Cast

Bob Denver	– Willy Gilligan (Gilligan)
Alan Hale	– Skipper Jonas Grumby (Skipper)
Russell Johnson	– Dr. Roy Hinkley (Professor)
Jim Backus	– Thurston J. Howell III (Mr. Howell)
Natalie Schafer	– Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell (Mrs. Howell)
Tina Louise	– Ginger Grant (Ginger)
Dawn Wells	– Mary Ann Summers (Mary Ann)

Gilligan, of the show's title, was the hapless first mate of the S.S. Minnow. Other characters are the Skipper (referred to as Jonas Grumby in the first broadcast episode), the Professor (referred to twice as Roy Hinkley), the millionaire Thurston J. Howell III and his wife Eunice, nicknamed Lovey, movie star Ginger Grant, and Kansas farm girl Mary Ann Summers.

Bob 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 make it. He chose instead to play the lead in My Mother the Car, which premiered one season later. The producers then looked to the lovable beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs, from the The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Denver embraced the role.

Alan Hale, Jr. both embodied and relished the role of the Skipper. A long time actor in B-westerns, Hale so loved his role as the Skipper, that long after the show was off the air, he would still appear in character in his Hollywood restaurant. Although the Skipper was a father figure to Gilligan, Hale was only 14 years older than Denver.

Jim Backus was well known by the time he took the role of the Millionaire, Thurston Howell, III. He was perhaps best known as the voice of the cartoon character Mr. Magoo. He used some of the voice inflections and mannerisms of Magoo in the role of the Millionaire. He was well known for his ad-libs on the set.

Natalie Schafer had it written into her contract that there were to be NO close-ups of her during filming. This was perhaps due to her advanced age. She was 62 when the pilot was shot. Reportedly, no one on the set or in the cast knew her real age, and she refused to divulge that information. Originally she only accepted the role because the pilot was filmed on location in Hawaii, and she looked at the job as nothing more than a free vacation as she was convinced that a show this silly would never get on the air.

Tina Louise, as the character of Ginger Grant, created a version of the quintessential Hollywood star and even her name, an amalgam of Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant, was an homage to Hollywood's past. When regular shooting began, Louise clashed with producers, because she believed she was the main focus of the show, despite its being titled "Gilligan's Island". In addition, her character was originally written as a sarcastic and sharp-tongued temptress but Louise argued that this type of character was too extreme and refused to play it as written. A compromise was reached and Louise agreed to play her as a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball. The evening gowns and hair style used were designed to recreate the look of Myrna Loy. Louise continued to clash with producers and was the only cast member who refused to return for any of the TV movies that followed the series cancellation, saying that the role had destroyed her career as a serious actress. However, after the series ended she did appear in a reunion of the cast on a late night TV talk show in 1988, on an episode of Roseanne in 1995, and as the mistress of J.R. Ewing in five episodes of Dallas.

Dawn Wells was a former Miss Nevada when she auditioned for the role of Mary Ann. Her competition included Raquel Welch. She was part of the replacement cast that was hired after the pilot was shot and the network wanted the roles of the professor and the two girls recast.

Russell Johnson took over the role of the Professor from John Gabriel. The network thought Gabriel looked too young to have all the degrees attributed to the professor. Ironically "the Professor" was in reality just a high school science teacher, not a university professor.

Charles Maxwell was the uncredited voice of the "Radio Announcer", whose plot-advancing radio bulletins were eagerly tuned in to by the castaways in many episodes.

Pilot vs. first broadcast episode

The first episode broadcast is often wrongly referred to as the series' pilot. This episode begins with the characters on the beach, immediately after they were shipwrecked, listening to a radio news report about their disappearance. This is the scene which reveals that the Skipper's name is Jonas Grumby and the Professor's name is Roy Hinkley.

In fact, there was an entirely different episode from this one that actually served as the show's pilot or marketing prototype. That episode dealt more with the characters' background and how they came to be shipwrecked. However, there were significant cast and character changes made after the pilot. The part of the Professor (originally played by John Gabriel) was re-cast to Russell Johnson. The parts of the two secretaries, Ginger (played by Kit Smythe) and Bunny (played by Nancy McCarthy), were changed to a movie star, Ginger Grant, and a Kansas farm girl, Mary Ann Summers, and re-cast respectively to Tina Louise and Dawn Wells. These changes meant that when the show was finally broadcast, the original pilot could not be used as its first broadcast episode.

Rather than re-shoot the same pilot story again for broadcast, the show just proceeded on, and the series would begin broadcasting with what otherwise would have been the show's second episode—the episode beginning in the immediate aftermath of the shipwreck. In recognition of the fact that by doing this, the audience would have lost all of the background that the pilot episode provided, the scene with the castaways listening to the radio broadcast was added to provide that background as succinctly as possible.

Episode list

For the full list of episodes, see List of Gilligan's Island episodes

Typical plots

The show's plots seem to be centered on one of three primary themes. The first theme is a show about life on the island (example episode 1.06 - "President Gilligan", or episode 2.16 - "Not Guilty"). The second theme involved some contrived visitor to the "uncharted" island. The third common theme was the use of dream sequences, in which one of the castaways would "dream" themselves as some character that relates to that week's storyline (example: Gilligan dreams he is Dracula after being bitten by a bat). All of the castaways would appear as characters within the dream, as was done in The Wizard of Oz, with the exception of a dream had by Mr. Howell in which Mrs. Howell was not present.

Almost every episode involved some failed attempt to get off the deserted island where they have been shipwrecked. Most often the failure of that week's rescue attempt was due to some bumbling error committed by Gilligan. Every so often, Gilligan's bumbling of the rescue plan results in his having saved the others from some unforseen impending catastrophe. For example, in the episode where an unmanned space capsule lands on the island, Gilligan lets the capsule drift free while the rest of the group argues on the shore about who should get to go aboard. Thus he foils the potential rescue. As the group realizes that the capsule is gone, it is blown up by NASA via remote control. Once again, Gilligan's error has saved their lives. Another example is in an early episode when while looking for tree sap for Mary Ann's pancakes, Gilligan discovers a glue like substance that the Professor believes will repair the damage to the Minnow. However, the substance is temporary and dries off. Just a few minutes before they're to cast off, Gilligan tries to warn everyone, but no one will listen. Suddenely, the boat starts to break apart until it is completely destroyed.

Visitors to the uncharted island

One challenge to a viewer's suspension of disbelief is the frequency with which the presumably uncharted island is visited by people who do nothing to help the castaways get rescued. Some have ulterior motives for not helping to rescue the castaways, some are simply unable to help as detailed below. Also the island is home to an unusual assortment of animal life, some of it native, some just visiting. In various episodes they are encountered by :

Various natives, (no less than 8 different episodes) visit the island from supposedly nearby islands. (With so many nearby islands, how can this one be uncharted?) Many are "headhunters" with less than honorable intentions, and most seem to be of Polynesian descent although French Polynesia is about 2500 miles from Hawaii.
- The hostiles have no reason to help facilitate a rescue, the friendlies usually end up angry at the castaways or frightened by them.
Daffy aviator "Wrong-Way Feldman" (played by Hans Conried and obviously based on the real-life story of "Wrong Way" Corrigan), appears in two episodes. In the first, he is discovered to have been living on the island for many years. His plane is called "The Spirit of the Bronx", a spoof of the Spirit of St. Louis. He was already known to the Howells. Many years before he vanished he flew for Howell Airlines. Mr Howell tells how he made the first non-stop flight from Chicago to New Orleans – he was supposed to fly to Minneapolis. In his second appearance he returns to the serenity of the island to escape the hustle and bustle of civilization.
- Wrong-Way is unable to help rescue the castaways, as he is unable to recall where he came from when he returns to civilization at the end of the first episode. The castaways hear on the radio that Wrongway's directions are so imprecise that "Gilligan's Island" could be anywhere from "the Bay of Naples to the Arctic Ocean". He leaves the island in the second episode only to land on his own uncharted isle and there is no one there to whom the castaways could be reported. In his return to Hawaii for medicine, mid-episode on his second appearance, he makes it a point to sneak in and then back out undetected.
A Japanese submariner (complete with mini-sub) convinced that World War II was still in progress.
- It is not known just where the sailor returns to, but as he believes he was on an enemy-occupied island, he would have no motive to report the castaways.
A gangster visits who is on the lam from the law. He is played by Larry Storch, of F Troop fame.
- Another visitor who has no motive to assist with a rescue of the castaways, as it is presumed that he is still on the lam after he leaves the island.
A jungle-boy, played by Kurt Russell, whom the castaways actually send to Hawaii in a homemade helium balloon.
A famous fictional surfer named "Duke Williams" played by Denny Miller who surfs onto the island on a tsunami and leaves on a "reverse tsunami"
- These last two visitors are among those who actually could or should send help, albeit at some point in the future. Initially though, the jungle-boy's inability to help rescue the castaways is attributed to a lack-of-language barrier. The surfer is unable to tell where he has been because he himself is unaware of where he was.
A famous painter, Dubov (also played by Hans Conried), comes to the island to escape the rigors of civilization. He is convinced to return when the castaways set up Gilligan as a rival artist.
- Dubov, who feared competition from Gilligan, would not want to report the castaways upon his return to civilization, for fear that Gilligan's fame would make Dubov passé.
An exiled Latin American dictator, El Presidente Rodrigues, who was left on the island after a revolution overthrew him. He leaves the island and returns home to Ecuarico, after a counter-revolution reinstates him.
- El Presidente actually promises to send a ship for the castaways and rescue them as repayment for befriending him. But as soon as he is home, a counter-counter-revolution unseats him again, ironically because he tells a seemingly-insane tale of being the president of a deserted island with seven people on it, and this time he is sent into exile atop the "highest peak" in the Andes Mountains.
Soviet cosmonauts land on the island.
- Once the cosmonauts have returned home, the Russian government insists that their space capsule landed right on target, thousands of miles away from the island. To rescue, or even report the castaways would be to admit the flaw in their space program.
A rock and roll band, The Mosquitoes (portrayed by The Wellingtons, the group which performed the theme song in the first year). They are driven away when they do not find the peace and quiet they sought, a refuge from their legion of female fans. The members were named: Bingo, Bango, Bongo and Irving.
- The Mosquitoes did not report the castaways for fear that the girls' (Mrs. Howell, Ginger and Mary Ann) own rock and roll group, The Honeybees, would upstage them.
A Hungarian countess and prominent well-to-do socialite, Erika Tiffany Smith, played by Zsa-Zsa Gabor.
- Erika actually wants to help rescue the castaways, but her ship's log is in "plain English translated from Hungarian." The navy is unable to understand her log entries, wherein her directions to the island consist of phrases like "turn left at the beautiful tropical plant, and then pulled over and parked".
A Soviet agent who disguises himself as a ghost to scare the castaways off the island. He provides them with a self-destructing boat.
- Again the Russian government would have no reason to want to rescue these people, who would presumably reveal to the world their attempt to establish a base so close to, or perhaps even on, American territory.
A mad scientist who wants to do mind-swapping experiments on the castaways. In a second visit in the third season, he returns to the island with mind-control rings in an attempt to turn them into robots who will assist him in robbing Ft. Knox.
- The doctor lives on a nearby island, and it is never mentioned that he would have contact with civilization. Even if he did, he would not want to see the castaways rescued as they would surely report his inhumane experiments, or his illegal plots, to the authorities.
A Hollywood producer, Harold Hekuba, (portrayed by Phil Silvers), comes to the island for a vacation. The Castaways stage a musical production of Hamlet in order to convince him to return to society.
- He did not want to report the existence of the castaways as he stole their idea of a musical version of Hamlet, and was in the process of making it a Broadway hit. He would have to share credit and presumably money with the castaways if he helped rescue them.
A world famous Butterfly collector, Lord Beasley, played by John McGiver. Lord Beasley is searching for the elusive Pussycat Swallowtail butterfly and will not leave until he finds it.
- Lord Beasley finds his prized butterfly while the castaways are passed out drunk. He then leaves the island and goes off on his next quest, presumably without actually returning to civilization.
A kidnapper, played by Don Rickles, comes to the island and begins kidnapping the castaways one by one.
- He too would not want to report the existence of the castaways as to do so would lead to his own arrest for crimes committed on the island.
A radio game show contestant, George Barkley, played by Strother Martin is exiled on the island, to survive alone for one week. If he does he will win $10,000.
- Like Hecuba, Barkley would be unwilling to reveal the castaways' existence due to a greed factor, because to do so would mean admitting he cheated at the game, and cause him to forfeit his prize. However, the Castaways have the satisfaction that in the cheater's effort to avoid admitting his fraud by throwing his radio, he also threw away the prize money that was hidden inside.
A big-game hunter, Jonathon Kinkaid, played by Rory Calhoun comes to island to hunt big game. Finding none he decides to hunt the ultimate game, Gilligan.
- Yet another would-be-criminal if he were to report the castaways to the authorities. Instead his inability to successfully bag Gilligan drove him to the brink of insanity.
An out-of-work actor, who is trying to land the role of Tongo, the apeman (played by Denny Miller). He comes to island to practice his character and upon finding the castaways, he decides that if he can convince them that he is a true apeman, then he is certain to land the role of Tongo. Ironically, Miller had already played Tarzan in the 1959 feature Tarzan, the Ape Man.
- The castaways see that he is terrified of a real ape, the island's resident gorilla. He is afraid that if he were to reveal the whereabouts of the castaways they would report his fear to the world and he would lose the role he doesn't actually have.
A Mr. Howell imposter, who while on a cruise spending Thurston's money, is shipwrecked himself.
- The imposter would face jail time if he were to reveal the whereabouts of the castaways; therefore he does not help rescue them.
A foreign, presumably Russian, spy disguised as Gilligan who believed the castaways were on a secret American base.
- Another Russian agent. Again, the Russians have no motive to help rescue the castaways, who would only report their spying.
A suicidal librarian, Eva Grubb, who resembled Ginger Grant. Attempting to befriend the ungroomed woman, Ginger tutors her in cosmetics, poise and general glamor. Grubb returns to civilization intending to impersonate Grant (and so has no motive to arrange for the real Grant's rescue).

Dream sequences

Another common story format had the castaways confront a problem and one of the castaways, usually Gilligan, has a silly dream that relates to the problem in question. Almost all of the castaways in later interviews and memoirs have stated that the dream episodes were among their personal favorites.

Gilligan dreams he is a Wild West sheriff who protects a duck everyone wants to eat.

Each of the men has a dream about being an object of adoration to women: Gilligan dreams he is a matador, Skipper's dream is that he is a Sultan with a harem, Mr. Howell dreams he is being pampered, and the Professor imagines himself as a dashing film star.
Skipper hits his head and suffers amnesia. The professor hypnotizes him to try to cure him. Under hypnosis, the Skipper sees the other castaways as childhood classmates, then in another hypnotic session he sees them as Japanese soldiers from WWII.
Gilligan dreams he is a spoiled prince of the Royal Howells, who only wants to be a "normal" boy.
Gilligan dreams he is a puppet (literally) ruler of a country, where he must promise the people "dis, dat and de udder ting"[sic].
Thurston Howell dreams he is a prospector who strikes it rich, but gets into debt and trouble.
Gilligan dreams his own version of Jack and the Beanstalk where the Giant is hoarding oranges.
Mary Ann dreams she is a patient in a hospital everyone wants to pronounce terminal.
Gilligan dreams he is a vampire who battles Inspector Sherlock (The Professor) and Colonel Watney (Skipper).
Gilligan dreams he is Secret Agent 014 ("twice as good as 007") charged with delivering an attaché case with most of the other castaways being assassins.
Gilligan dreams he is Henry Jekyll on trial with Mary Poppins (Mrs. Howell) as his counsel. It is revealed by a witness called "The Lady in Red" (Tina Louise) that Gilligan turns into Mr. Hyde when he hears people talk about food.
Gilligan dreams he is Lord Admiral Gilligan battling pirates on his ship.
Lovey Howell stars in her own dream version of Cinderella with Gilligan as her Fairy Godfather.
Gilligan dreams that the castaways are cave people following a map to get to the other side of the island.

Theme song

The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle is proper name for the theme song for Gilligan’s Island. The music and lyrics were written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle.

There were two versions of the theme during the run of the show, one for the first season and another for the second and third seasons. The lyrics were slightly altered in the second season to add direct mention of the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Anne (Dawn Wells) in the opening credits. According to Schwartz, as the show evolved, the Professor and Mary Anne grew into more important characters than were originally planned. On the annotated first episode on Gilligan’s Island: The Complete First Season, it was reported that Bob Denver insisted that the opening credits be changed to feature all seven actors.

The first season version was recorded by the The Wellingtons and had a more folk music sound. It starts with an acoustic guitar strumming for two bars before the lyrics start. The instrumentation, which includes a slide guitar, is subdued and very Hawaiian sounding.

The second and third season version was not credited to a particular group in the credits, but according to Russell Johnson in his book Here on Gilligan's Isle, it was performed by a group called The Eligibles. It begins with a mini-fanfare, and has a more traditional pop music sound but with some almost reggae-like underpinnings. The instrumentation is much more prominent in this version, and does not have any slide guitar.

Lyrics

Gilligan's Island Theme Song
During opening credits: 1st season: Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin' man, the skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost. The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle with Gilligan, the Skipper, too, the Millionaire, and his Wife, the Movie Star, and the rest are here on Gilligan's Isle. Second and Third Seasons (The final verse changed to): with Gilligan, the Skipper, too, the Millionaire, and his Wife, the Movie Star, the Professor and Mary Ann, here on Gilligan's Isle.	During closing credits: Now this is the tale of our castaways, they're here for a long, long time. They'll have to make the best of things; it's an uphill climb. The first mate and his skipper, too, will do their very best to make the others comfortable in a tropic island nest. No phone, no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury. Like Robinson Crusoe, (pronounced like Caruso) it's primitive as can be. So join us here each week my friends, you're sure to get a smile from seven stranded castaways, here on Gilligan's Isle.

"And the rest"

In the first season theme song, the Professor and Mary Ann were not mentioned by name or role, but rather referred to as "and the rest". Actors Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were originally considered "second-billed co-stars", but with the growing popularity of their characters, their names were inserted into the later-season lyrics.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] Dawn Wells tells the story that it was Bob Denver who went to the studio execs and said that Johnson and Wells names should be in the opening credits. The execs originally refused, stating that it would cost too much to reshoot and rescore the opening. So Denver pointed out that, as the show's star, it was in his contract to have his name anywhere he wanted in the credits, so they could put his name in the end credits with Johnson and Wells'. Obviously the studio HAD to have their stars name appear in the opening, so they capitulated, granting The Professor and Mary Ann a place in the opening credits. Wells said that Denver never mentioned this to anyone in the cast, and she didn't find out until years after the show ended what he had done for them.

Gilligan's first name

Gilligan's full name has been a subject of debate among fans of the series for decades, a debate resolved by the release of Gilligan's Island — The Complete First Season DVDs in 2004. The DVD includes a documentary called "Before the Three Hour Tour" in which Sherwood Schwartz confirms that Gilligan's full name would have been Willy Gilligan, had he needed to ever use the full name. As it turned out, however, this name was never used on the show or any of the films or animated series. This is the same name that Bob Denver mentioned on a talk show.

Suggested alternatives

In the "Slave Girl" episode of the series, The Professor is heard to possibly give a last name for Gilligan. When introducing him to a native girl, The Professor says "Gilligan …" adding, as the girl looks on uncomprehendingly, "… Hohople", which causes her to laugh. Some cite this as evidence that the character's full name is Gilligan Hohople. The Urban Legends Reference Pages has explained that the "Hohople" reference is the Professor asking the girl if she finds Gilligan handsome. While it may sound as if the Professor is asking a question, there is no context for why he would ask such a strange question.
Alan Hale Jr. has repeatedly stated that he always thought that Gilligan's full name was "Gilligan Davis".

Location of the island

In episode 3.28, titled "The Pigeon", the note the castaways pin on pigeon's leg says the island is located approximately 300 miles southeast of Hawaii. This general location is referred to in various episodes.

In episode 1.18, entitled "X Marks the Spot", viewers were informed that the Pentagon had decided to test a new warhead just above the equator at 140 degrees latitude and 10 degrees longitude. This is inaccurate, as latitude is measured north and south of the equator to the poles and only ranges from 0 to 90 degrees. If the coordinates were simply reversed — 140 degrees longitude and 10 degrees north latitude, this would place the island approximately 1200 miles southeast of Hawaii.

A common question is how the castaways, presumably the Professor in particular, were able to determine their location, given that the island itself was supposedly not on any of the Skipper's nautical charts. It is a simple thing to determine one's latitude simply by measuring the angle of the North Star, Polaris, above the horizon at night. Determining longitude is somewhat more difficult. They would need to measure the difference between the time of "noon" at their location, and "noon" of some known position, presumably the central meridian of the time zone that Honolulu is in. However, if they are indeed only 300 miles to the southeast of Hawaii, the time difference between their "noon" and Honolulu's "noon" would only be about 12 minutes, which can be easily measured by any clocks and watches that they may have. The actual Island where the episodes were filmed was in the Bahamma Islands. The Island's film location was next to an Island called Rose Island.

Things they made out of "bamboo"

What many people consider one of the most enjoyable aspects of Gilligan's Island was the vast array of things that the castaways were able to fashion out bamboo and other local material. Some were simple everyday things, some were real stretches of the imagination.

Bamboo framed huts with thatched grass sides and roofs, strong enough to withstand hurricane force winds and rain.
Communal dining table, and chairs
Dishes carved out of wood
Skipper and Gilligan slept in hammocks, but the other five castaways all had beds made from bamboo.
All the huts had bamboo closets
Scientific distillery made from bamboo piping and gourds for liquid containers
Bamboo bowling alley
Bamboo Geiger counter to measure radiation from a meteor that crashes to the island.
A bamboo pedal-powered automobile used as a taxi for the Howells
A bamboo pipe for Gilligan's hot water pipes
A bamboo pipe to supply Gilligan and the Skipper with air
A bamboo bike to charge the batteries
A bamboo bike to wash clothes
Bamboo cages for whenever anyone is locked up
Many kinds of weapons, including spears, clubs, and helmets
A stage used mainly for Ginger's performances
A safe made from wood and bamboo
Barbells made with a length of bamboo connecting boulders

Spin-offs

The success of Gilligan's Island spawned a number of spin-offs:

The New Adventures of Gilligan was a successful Filmation-produced animated remake that aired on ABC Saturday (and Sunday) Morning from September 7, 1974 to September 1977 for 24 episodes (16 installments airing in 1974-75 and 8 new ones combined with repeats in 1975-76). The voices were done by the original cast except for Ginger and Mary Ann, voiced by Jane Webb. An additional character was Stubby the Monkey, voiced by Lou Scheimer.
In a successful 1978 made-for-TV movie, Rescue From Gilligan's Island, the castaways did successfully leave the island, but they had difficulty reintegrating into society. During a reunion cruise at the first Christmas after their rescue, fate intervened and the group found themselves marooned on the exact same island. It starred the original cast except for Tina Louise, who refused to participate and was replaced as Ginger by Judith Baldwin (who seemed much too young for the role, compared to the other actors). The plot of the movie 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 were rescued once again, and the Howells converted the island into a getaway resort, with the other five castaways as "silent partners". (Ginger was again played by Judith Baldwin). This sequel was intended as a pilot for a possible new series in which the castaways would host new groups of tourists each week, using the all-star cast anthology format made popular by The Love Boat. The series never materialized.
In still another sequel, The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981), some villains (played by Martin Landau and then-wife Barbara Bain, who also appeared together on Mission: Impossible and Space: 1999) try to take over the island to gain access to a valuable but unknown substance. (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, only appeared at the very end of the episode, arriving back on the island. David Ruprecht played the role of Thurston Howell IV. This is odd, because it was established in the series that the Howells were childless (though historically, adoption has been considered a perfectly valid method of securing an heir).
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 played the voices of both Mary Ann and Ginger). They escape from the island by building a spaceship, and get shipwrecked on a distant planet. Only 12 episodes aired on CBS (Gilligan's old network) between September 18, 1982 and September 3, 1983. In one episode, they travel to an island, get shipwrecked there, and Gilligan observes, "First we were standed on an island, then we were stranded on a planet, and now we're stranded on an island on a planet."
Gilligan's Island: Underneath the Grass Skirt (1999)
Gilligan's Island: The E! True Hollywood Story (2000), a backstage history of the show, featuring interviews with some of the stars or their widows.
Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History (2001) was a docudrama where Bob Denver, Dawn Wells, and Russell Johnson reminisce about the show.
On November 30, 2004, the TBS network launched a reality series entitled The Real Gilligan's Island which placed two groups of people on an island, leaving them to fend for themselves a la Survivor — 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 marketed by TBS, the show turned out to be a flop with a very "Survivor"-like feel, but little of the Survivor 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.

Tributes

This is a list of shows that were either similar in content to Gilligan’s Island or spoofed it in a particular episode:

Dusty's Trail, another Sherwood Schwartz production, put similar characters on a wagon train heading west. Bob Denver starred as Dusty (Gilligan's counterpart), but the other characters (wagon master, rich couple, saloon girl, school marm, and engineer) were played by a different cast. In this series, Dusty was sidekick to wagon master "Callahan" played by Forrest Tucker of F Troop fame. Only 26 episodes were aired in syndication in 1973 and 1974.
ALF featured an episode where Alf, yearning for the castaways' simple life, dreams about being on the island with the Skipper, Gilligan, the Professor and Mary Ann. The Professor has built a TV set (out of bamboo and other miscellany), where they watch a TV show based on the life of the Tanners.
Roseanne, during its 1995 season finale episode, featured a fantasy sequence in which several cast members became characters on Gilligan's Island (Dan becomes the Skipper, Darlene as Mary Anne, Roseanne as Ginger, Jackie as Gilligan, Leon and Bev as Mr. and Mrs. Howell, and so on). During the shows closing credits, as a reversal, we see the surviving original cast of Gilligan's island filling in on the set of Roseanne, as character counterparts (guest starring: Bob Denver, Russell Johnson, Dawn Wells and Tina Louise).
The Movie A Very Brady Sequel created a link between The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island in the form of Carol Brady's former husband being revealed to be the Professor (though this was clearly intended more as an in-joke than as an actual link, because Carol Brady's ex-husband is named Roy Martin, while the Professor is Roy Hinkley). Additionally, Gilligan's father was shown to have funded the Minnow's journey in search of a rare statue. He then imagined the horror of the crew surviving the storm and being trapped on some "uncharted desert isle".
In March 2006, the Applebee's restaurant chain introduced a new advertising campaign for their "Shrimp Sensations” dishes in which two musicians sing about the product to the tune of the The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle.
In the late 1990's, a Western Union commercial featured a spoof talk show that interviews Dawn Wells as Mary Ann. In the commercial, Mary Ann claims she was shipwrecked because she had to take a three-hour tour after her boyfriend didn't wire money in time for her cruise. The commercial ended with Mary Ann saying she dumped her boyfriend "for a professor."
Similarly, a Snickers commercial in the same time period had an older woman pining for her "little buddy," the love she lost to the sea; she says, "it was only supposed to be a three hour tour," while holding a picture of Gilligan. Both of these commercials referenced lyrics from the theme song.
1987 Back to the Beach Alan Hale & Bob Denver guest starred as Bartender and Bartender Buddy. At end of movie Hale has Denver go out on a sight seeing tour-Denver groans the last time he was on a tour he was gone for 30 years-an injoke.

Cultural allusions to Gilligan's Island

On the animated series Family Guy, the youngest child Stewie Griffin's full name is Stewart Gilligan Griffin, in homage to Gilligan's Island.

Along with the spin-offs listed above, Bob Denver appeared as Gilligan or a Gilligan-like character in the television series Baywatch, The New Gidget, and Meego, Far Out Space Nuts as well as in the movie Back to the Beach.

The motto of the starship USS Brattain of the fictional world of Star Trek is "...a three hour tour, a three hour tour", a possible reference to the show's opening theme.

Alan Hale, Jr. guest-starred in episode of The Wild Wild West. At the end of episode he quips he is going to vacation on an "uncharted desert isle", an obvious in-joke.

Alan Hale, Jr. also made a brief appearance in a Batman episode that guest-starred Vincent Price as Egghead. Hale played "Gilligan", the chef/owner of a fast-food diner that Chief O'Hara stopped at.

Bob Denver made a guest appearance on the Fox series Herman's Head, donning his trademark hat, and portraying himself promoting his book Gilligan, Maynard and Me. In the episode he is on an island in the Caribbean for his book-signing tour. Unfortunately, he misses his flight and is stuck on the island for a long period of time.

What I Like About You, a sitcom airing on the WB network, featured an episode where the main characters were watching an episode of Gilligan's Island, in which the show's cast played the roles of the castaways. Amanda Bynes, the star of the show, played a Mary Ann who had to stay behind on the island as the rest of the cast escaped the island.

The graphic novel David Boring, by writer/artist Dan Clowes, features an island called "Hulligan's Wharf" where the main characters are stranded, gradually running low on food supplies.

In an episode of Sliders, some of the cast is watching TV at their hotel room, and we can hear the dialogue which suggests an alternate-Earth version of casting. At the station break, the announcer says they'll return to Skipper's Island in a moment.

In 2006, the comic strip Monty had an extended sequence in which the title character was shipwrecked on the island of Lost. He eventually discovered that the mysterious "Others" were in fact Gilligan and his descendants. Gilligan was portrayed as having gone mad and become a figure resembling Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in Apocalypse Now.

In an episode of Married With Children, Mrs. Darcy's Japanese boss comes to see how his bank is being run and she serves him a Japanese dinner. While she is serving him he thinks to himself, "Japanese food for a Japanese man? That is like offering Gilligan a coconut after getting off the Island!"

On an episode of Magic School Bus, Dorothy Ann thinks up names for an island. She says "Gilligan's Island? No. It's been taken."

On an episode of Fairly Oddparents, Timmy, stricken with no emotion and thus thinking in a more logical manner than usual, says, "They couldn't build a boat on Gilligan's Island because it would end the series."

On an early MadTV sketch entitled "La Isla de Gilligan," the entire Gillian's Island cast was represented, but in Spanish, or more accurately, spanglish. Complete with a parody theme song in Spanish, the professor creates a hot air balloon in which they can fly off the island. With the power coming from a tiki torch, alcohol that the Howell's attempt to bring on board becomes as fuel for the balloon. In the end, Gilligan ruins the attempt, because he has "mucho farts" from eating a can of "Boston baked beans" right before boarding the balloon, causing it to explode.

On another MadTV series of shorts asking "What are they doing now....? had a brief shot of skeletons of the castaways beside the lagoon-based upon the closing scenes of the 2nd and 3rd series episodes.

The 2003 novel Gilligan's Wake by Tom Carson is a retelling (or rather, a reimagining) of the Gilligan's Island story as narrated by the seven principals, each telling their stories in the order in which they are named in the opening theme song.

Weird Al Yankovic has referenced the show in a few of his songs. In Amish Paradise two lines from the closing verse are mirrored exactly: "No phones, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury / Like Robinson Crusoe, it's as primitive as can be." Isle Thing, a parody of Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing", is entirely about the show. Also, Stop Dragging My Car Around, a parody of Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's Stop Dragging My Heart Around, opens the third verse with "Now I'm at home and watching Gilligan's Island / Guess it's time to trade my old car in."

In the Histeria! episode "Really Oldies But Goodies", the Kid Chorus sings a song about Easter Island to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme.

In the Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie riff treatment of This Island Earth, which featured Russell Johnson, in the scene where Johnson's character first appears, Mike Nelson quips "What's this 'And the rest' crap?", referencing the original version of the theme song. In another episode, Teenagers from Outer Space, a similar line is employed.

In the Disney cartoon series Darkwing Duck, Herb Muddlefoot was often shown watching 'Pelican's Island', in reference to Gilligan's Island.

Also from Disney, the cartoon series Kim Possible has the main heroes (Possible and Ron Stoppable) fly to an uncharted island in Scotland, and Ron refers to it as "[Duff] Killigan's Island".

In the spoof science-fiction movie Galaxy Quest, Lt Tawny Madison asks the Thermians if they thought Gilligan's Island was real.

In the movie Dazed & Confused some of the girls try to list all of the episodes of the show during the last day of school.

Trivia

The theme song can be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace and vice versa.
The theme song can be sung to the tune of Semper Paratus, the official march of the United States Coast Guard, and vice-versa.
The lyrics written by Robert A. Heinlein for the song, The Green Hills of Earth, can be sung to the tune of the theme song.
In the Jack and the Beanstalk dream sequence in the episode "'V' for Vitamins," the smaller version of Gilligan, running from the Giant Skipper, is played by Bob Denver's real life son, Patrick Denver.[1]
The show was filmed what is today the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California.[2] The same stage used by the show would later be used by The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Roseanne.
The pilot episode was filmed at Moloaa Bay on the island of Kauai.[3]
The view of the island from the water is actually "Coconut Island" or Mokuoloe. It is located in Oahu's Kaneohe Bay and is the home of the Institute of Marine Biology.[4]
Some fans were convinced that the cast were actually stuck on an island. The U.S. Coast Guard regularly received phone calls and letters to rescue them.
Some fans also thought that Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer (the Howells) were really married in real life.
The S.S. Minnow was named after Newton N. Minow, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in 1961. In a much-publicized speech, he called television a "vast wasteland". The boat was named after the man who, Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz insists, "ruined television". Minow gave networks authority and placed the power of programming in the hands of the networks. He did this after Gilligan's Island was started.[5]
The theme song was sung by a folk group called "The Wellingtons". They comprised three-fourths of "The Mosquitos", the rock group that came to the island to get away from civilization. The other member was Les Brown, Jr., son of big band leader Les Brown.[6]
In the episode "Don't Bug The Mosquitoes", Gilligan makes a reference to The Beatles song "She Loves You" by singing "yeah, yeah, yeah" to the Skipper after he said "no, no, no!"
As of April 2006, Tina Louise, Dawn Wells, and Russell Johnson are the only surviving cast members.
Some the episodes were directed by Richard Donner.[7]
Some of the music for the series was composed by John Williams.[8]
In several episodes where a show is being presented, Jim Backus (as Mr. Howell) does impersonations of Ed Sullivan.
Actor Vito Scotti appeared in four episodes as two different characters: two as a Japanese sailor and two as a mad scientist.[9]
The "Jungle Boy" in the episode "Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy" is played by a young Kurt Russell.[10]
Lakers announcer Chick Hearn [11] and NFL Films narrator John Facenda made voice-over appearances on the program as radio announcers.
In real life, Natalie Schafer (Lovey Howell) was actually born 13 years before her husband on the show, played by Jim Backus (Thurston Howell III).[12] [13]
Bob Denver, Jim Backus, and Tina Louise each had feature episodes where look-alikes came to the island (who were, of course, played by themselves).
Before he played his "signature" role as Jaws in several James Bond movies, Richard Kiel played the ghost in the episode "Ghost a Go-Go".[14]
In the episode "Up at Bat", in the dream sequence where Gilligan believes he's a vampire, the fight sequence is done in the style of fights on the Batman TV series, which was in first run at the same time.
In two separate episodes, a dream sequence featured a western theme. In the first season episode, titled "The Sound of Quacking", Gilligan dreams that he is a Marshal of a western town, protecting a duck. In the second season episode, titled "The Sweepstakes" , Mr. Howell dreams that he is a prospector who loses his assay receipt. Both of these sequences were filmed on the set of Gunsmoke, which, ironically, later was the show responsible for knocking Gilligan off the air.[15]
The theme song is almost rhythmically identical to most of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The subject of a wayward ship voyage is similar, too.
The series was originally a United Artists Television production. The series is now owned by Warner Bros.' Turner Entertainment and the Phil Silvers Trust; this is due to the fact that Gilligan's Island was part of the MGM/UA package purchased in 1986 by Ted Turner (this also included the classic MGM/WB/RKO libraries). Through subsequent acquisitions, Warner Bros. now handles all worldwide distribution, including home video.
The opening scene of the Minnow in a storm was reused in an episode of The Wild Wild West in which several persons are trapped on an island.
The Skipper was born on May 5th.^[4]
In episode "Smile, You're on Mars Camera" Gilligan is reluctant to be seen on camera-he's afraid that his brother will see him on TV and punch him when he get's home-he's wearing his brother's shirt!!
All that is known about the Skipper's Navy service is that he was a Navy Bandmaster and was the best card player in the 7th fleet.

Goofs

In several episodes, latitude and longitude coordinates of the island are given, but they never seem to match with other coordinates given in other episodes. In one episode, the Professor gives the island's position as 10° N 110° W, which would place the island 3100 miles (5000 km) from Hawaii, due south of the Baja California Peninsula and due west of Costa Rica.
In several episodes Mrs Thurston Howell claims to speak fluent French, while in one episode she claims she cannot speak any French.
In one episode the professor gives up in despair after trying to make sparkplugs out of sea shells for the Minnow's engine. A boat of that size, for economy and fire safety reasons would almost certainly have a diesel engine and they do not have spark plugs as does a gasoline engine.

References

Denver, Bob (1993). Gilligan, Maynard & Me. Carol Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0806514132. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Green, Joey (1988). Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook. Warner Books. ISBN 0446386685. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Johnson, Russell (1993). Here on Gilligan's Isle (1st edition ed.). Perennial. ISBN 0060969938. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Schwartz, Sherwood (15). Inside Gilligan's Island : A Three-Hour Tour Through The Making Of A Television Classic. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0312104820. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Gilligan's Island - The Complete First Season (DVD), 2004, Turner Home Entertainment, UPC 053939673425.
Gilligan's Island - The Complete Second Season (DVD), 2005, Turner Home Entertainment, UPC 053939692624.
Gilligan's Island - The Complete Third Season (DVD), 2005, Turner Home Entertainment, UPC 053939733129.

^ * Green. Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook.
^ Straight Dope staff (Lileth). "Was the "Gilligan's Island" theme song tampered with?". The Straight Dope. Cecil Adams. Retrieved 2006-04-04.
^ "Gilligan's Island (Gilligan's Island Tidbits section)". The Fifties Web. Retrieved 2006-04-04.
^ Wilcox's Soaps & More TV Character Address and Trivia Book (2004), (obtained here)

External links

[green-1] * Green. Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook.

[straight-dope-2] Straight Dope staff (Lileth). "Was the "Gilligan's Island" theme song tampered with?". The Straight Dope. Cecil Adams. Retrieved 2006-04-04.

[50s-web-3] "Gilligan's Island (Gilligan's Island Tidbits section)". The Fifties Web. Retrieved 2006-04-04.

[4] Wilcox's Soaps & More TV Character Address and Trivia Book (2004), (obtained here)

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