The Sitcom Arc of Sherwood Schwartz “Gilligan’s Island”, which made its debut in 1964, is well documented by television historians. Because it was so vast, unrealistic and silly, the series sparked rather negative criticism from criticism. “Gilligan’s Island”, after all, takes place in a burlesque universe where none of the characters have to fight to survive; Their food and water reserves seem to be well maintained, and all the characters get along more or less. The only terrible fate that the shipwrecked were confronted was the increasingly dark reality: they would never return to civilization. Which, at first glance, was not too terrible to consider, because they had an inexhaustible reserve of clean water and fruit salads.
However, the public seemed to hang on to the generally non -threatening tone of the series, and the series was an almost instant success. After three seasons, “Gilligan’s Island” was integrated into an almost perfect syndication agreement which allowed the reruns to remain broadcast almost perpetuity. Several decades of young people have grown up watching the show, and it has become the foundation of American popular culture. Despite criticism, “Gilligan’s Island” was a success with viewers.
Note however that I said it was almost Instant success. It seems that the first episodes of “Gilligan’s Island” were welcomed with a mixture of indifference and confusion. The first season of the series was filmed in black and white, so that the public may not really have seized the brilliant and caricatural character of the series.
In 1966, Alan Hale, who played the role of the skipper in “Gilligan’s Island”, and Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, spoke with Orlando Sentinel (An interview transcribed by Metv), and they recalled the confusion of the spectator. “Was Gilligan’s Island” supposed to be as light and insignificant? In fact, yes. Hale and Wells, however, knew that the public understood the series fairly quickly.
The public quickly understood that Gilligan’s Island was a farce
Of course, Hale immediately knew what “Gilligan’s Island” was. It was a soft and simple burlesque comic series, and was not intended to deepen the deep questions of the human condition. “I think that at the beginning, people did not know what to think of the series,” he said. “They quickly understood that it was a total stuffing.” Indeed, it was not a satire, moving towards a more optimistic territory; Sherwood Schwartz said “Gilligan’s Island” could serve as an idealized version of American democracy in action, served in a microcosm.
It should be noted that “Gilligan’s Island” was released at a time when realism became fashionable, and more dramatic programs like “Peyton Place” and soap operas like “One Life to Live”, “General Hospital” and “GUIDING Light “. “obtained high notes.” Gilligan’s Island “was, in its construction, a kind of backwards, almost Vaudevillian in its tone.
Wells also noted the lightness of “Gilligan’s Island” and also recalled that the series had started a little slowly, but had gained popularity fairly quickly. This is a new approach, “she said.” I think people discovered that they were diverted, which is a word that has almost disappeared. “Wells said the public was ready for a Back to light stupidity, and when they finally saw that this is what “Gilligan’s Island” was offered to them, they hung on.
The series turned into a derived television television in the 1970s and in the early 80s, as well as in two animation programs. Characters from “Gilligan’s Island” appeared in “Back to the Beach”, “Baywatch” and “Alf”. Oddly, there have not yet been a feature film “Gilligan’s Island”.
