The premise of Sherwood Schwartz’s standard 1964 sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” is handily defined in its theme music: 5 passengers verify right into a three-hour boat tour, run by the skipper and first mate of a tiny vacationer boat known as the S.S. Minnow. The ship hits some dangerous climate and is thrown miles off target, touchdown on an uncharted desert isle. The seven vacationers grow to be seven stranded castaways. No telephones, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxurious. Like “Robinson Crusoe,” it is as primitive as will be. The septet should study to reside collectively, often to comedic impact.
Gilligan (Bob Denver) was the above-mentioned first mate, and his harmless cluelessness and tendency to bumble typically thwarted the castaways’ potential to flee. He shared the island together with his Skipper (Alan Hale), a professor (Russell Johnson), a pair of married millionaires (Natalie Schafer and Jim Backus), a farmer (Daybreak Wells), and a display screen actress (Tina Louise). In a refreshingly democratic twist, the castaways all appear to get alongside nicely, and their miniature group thrives; few “Gilligan’s Island” tales middle on intense interpersonal battle.
Schwartz has mentioned in interviews that the germ for “Gilligan’s Island” was merely placing seven disparate characters in a scenario the place they have been pressured to work together. Schwartz initially thought that an workplace constructing could be a great place for that, however he did not like the concept of a office drama, because the characters could be allowed to go residence on the finish of the day. On “Gilligan’s Island,” they have been pressured to remain collectively 24/7.
“Gilligan’s Island” was vastly standard on the time, and, because of superior syndication offers, stayed in reruns for actually a long time thereafter. “Gilligan’s Island” is a part of American tradition now. Naturally, different showrunners and writers have thought to emulate the sequence in a method or one other, and plenty of of “Gilligan’s” kids will be now be loved.
Listed here are a number of exhibits (and one film) like “Gilligan’s Island.”
Misplaced (2004 – 2010)
Maybe the obvious parallel to Schwartz’s present is J.J. Abrams’, Damon Lindelof’s, and Jeffrey Lieber’s ultra-popular thriller sequence “Misplaced.” “Misplaced” additionally takes place on an uncharted desert isle, this time following airplane crash survivors. Not like “Gilligan’s Island,” “Misplaced” delves deeply into every character’s backstory, and explains why they have been on that ill-fated flight to start with. However like “Gilligan’s Island,” the island itself appears to be a magnet for eerie and unexplained phenomenon. “Misplaced” includes a polar bear and a mysterious smoke monster. “Gilligan’s Island” will get visits from war-ready gorillas, robots, and the Harlem Globetrotters. Additionally not like “Gilligan’s Island,” the island on “Misplaced” has a mysterious … factor … within the floor, and it appears to be warping the material of actuality. “Gilligan’s Island,” in the meantime, came about in a cartoonish world the place actuality was simply sort of naturally warped.
“Misplaced” is much much less democratic than “Gilligan’s Island” as nicely. A few of the characters on “Misplaced” collaborate to outlive, however ersatz factions start to kind, and sure characters start to kind their very own schemes and objectives with out telling any of the others. “Misplaced” has protagonists and antagonists. “Gilligan’s Island” has solely buddies.
“Misplaced” wasn’t only a massive hit, however popularized a sure sort of “thriller field” storytelling that bled broadly all through all pop TV of the period. Viewers have been inspired to maintain watching, because the central mysteries of the present would not be defined till a lot later. On “Gilligan’s Island,” we did not want the mysteries. We might simply settle for that everybody introduced a number of trunks of garments on a three-hour tour.
Dusty’s Path (1973 – 1974)
A decade after “Gilligan’s Island,” Sherwood Schwartz tried to recreate his present’s success by primarily repeating the same premise in a brand new style. “Dusty’s Path” additionally starred Bob Denver and a equally bumbling character, and Forrest Tucker performed his very Skipper-like captain. There was additionally an mental (Bud Cort), a glamorous dancehall woman (Jeannine Riley), a farmer (Lori Saunders), and a pair of married millionaires (Lynn Wooden and Ivor Francis). Solely this time, as an alternative of being misplaced on a desert island, the septet could be misplaced on the American frontier within the Eighteen Eighties.
The S.S. Minnow was now a stagecoach on its method to California, however it might grow to be separated, and the principle characters would spend the sequence wandering across the deserts of the Outdated West, unable to get again on monitor. On condition that it is easy to navigate by the solar and the celebs, this premise appeared much less believable. “Dusty’s Path,” in its setup, was extra like “Wagon Prepare” than “Gilligan’s Island.”
When it comes to its characters, although, it was equivalent. Denver’s Dusty was nearly precisely the identical as his Gilligan, and the “Island” character dynamic was the identical, even with a brand new solid. If one each needed to see what “Gilligan’s Island” would appear to be as a Western, “Dusty’s Path” stays prepared for discovery.
Forged Away (2000)
This can be an apparent selection, however it’s apt. “Gilligan’s Island” is about seven stranded castaways on a tropical island paradise, whereas Robert Zemeckis’ survival drama “Forged Away” is about just one. Tom Hanks performs a FedEx supply man named Chuck Noland whose airplane crashes into the ocean, and who washes up on the in need of an uncharted desert isle. The movie particulars, step-by-step, what Chuck does to outlive. He finds coconuts to eat, teaches himself how you can make fireplace, and learns to spear crabs and fish. He finds a method to safe water and make rope. Chuck turns from a snug city-dweller into an island denizen. Like on “Gilligan’s Island,” he additionally makes use of random gadgets that wash up on shore; he constructs an axe out of a pair of ice skates, as an illustration.
There aren’t any different folks on the island with Chuck, so he creates a companion within the type of a painted volleyball he names Wilson. Wilson provides Chuck one thing to speak to and to retain his sanity.
“Forged Away” is the survival drama that “Gilligan’s Island” intentionally eschewed. Meals and water got here simply to the folks on Gilligan’s Island, and their garments have been all the time clear. Chuck, in the meantime, did not have such magic to help him. In a manner, “Forged Away” and “Gilligan’s Island” are two sides of the identical coin. One posits that tenacity is required to outlive in isolation, whereas the opposite posits that consolation will be had in teams.
Star Trek: Voyager (1995 – 2001)
The “Star Trek” model of “Gilligan’s Island” got here in 1995 with the discharge of “Star Trek: Voyager,” a sequence in regards to the title ship changing into misplaced in deep, deep house, 75 years journey from Earth. “Voyager” dealt just a little bit with the shortage {that a} starship would possibly expertise a few years from the closest ally or dependable supply of restore, however largely explored how the facility dynamic aboard a hermetically sealed, remoted starship would possibly evolve as time passes.
The denizens of “Gilligan’s Island” got here collectively and shaped a democratic dynamic the place everybody thrived. “Voyager” noticed the title starship taking up a number of resistance fighters from a bunch known as the Maquis and assimilated them nearly instantly. As time handed, the ship’s captain (Kate Mulgrew) turned more and more authoritarian, affecting a “what I say, goes” perspective.
The united statesS. Voyager additionally had a number of character parallels to “Gilligan’s Island.” The bumbling Gilligan character turned the jolly Talaxian Neelix (Ethan Phillips), the mental professor turned the strict Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ), and the flashy, “glam” character was gender-flipped to be the hotshot pilot Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill). The harmless farm woman turned the naive Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), in addition to the mild ethical character Kes (Jennifer Lien). The Skipper (Mulgrew) by no means hit folks together with her hat, fortunately. As a result of “Star Trek” takes place in a post-capitalist world, there have been no married millionaires.
Survivor (2000 – current)
CBS debuted Charlie Parsons’ actuality competitors sequence “Survivor” in 2000 and, acceptable to its title, it has remained on the air ever since, spawning 682 episodes over the course of 47 distinctive seasons. “Survivor” was the American model of a Swedish competitors present known as “Expedition Robinson,” created by Parsons in 1997. Each “Survivors” are primarily the sport present model of “Gilligan’s Island.” Contestants, known as castaways, are cut up into two groups, or “tribes,” and despatched to a desert island the place they compete in desert island-themed survival challenges. They should reside on the island for 39 days, and contestants are often voted off the island by their teammates. The ultimate survivor wins a prize of $1 million.
“Survivor” has primarily served as a decades-long experiment to see if the egalitarian democracy of “Gilligan’s Island” would work in actual life (or as actual as competitors TV exhibits permit). Would groups get alongside? And the way would the castaways really feel when one in all their very own begins letting down the entire group? On “Survivor,” they don’t seem to be allowed to bolster their friends, as they’re pressured to vote somebody off. The makers of “Survivor” manufacture a substantial amount of aggressive pressure this manner.
The success of “Survivor” spawned innumerable knock-offs and imitators, till the complete pattern looped again round. In 2004, TBS launched “The Actual Gilligan’s Island,” which staged “Survivor”-like competitions, however with two groups of seven, every chosen as a result of they seemed just like the solid of Schwartz’s sitcom. The “Ginger” characters have been performed by real-life actresses, as an illustration. The Millionaires have been precise millionaires. “The Actual Gilligan’s Island” solely lasted 10 episodes, nevertheless, canceled after two seasons.
