The First broadcast of Gilligan’s Island on British TV occurred on this date in 1965. 10 facts about the show:
For anyone who’s never seen it, the premise of Gilligan’s Island is that a handful of tourists take a boat trip from Hawaii on a boat called S.S. Minnow. A sudden storm blows them off course and the passengers and crew find themselves marooned on an uncharted island. The episodes are about the castaways figuring out how to survive on the island and find a way to get home.
The characters are: Gilligan, a dimwitted sailor, played by Bob Denver; Jonas Grumby, the Minnow’s skipper, played by Alan Hale Jr; Thurston Howell III played by Jim Backus, an Eccentric millionaire, and his wife Lovey, played by Natalie Shaffer; Ginger Grant, played by Tina Louise, a film star; Roy "The Professor" Hinkly (Russell Johnson) a high school teacher and inventor; and Mary Anne Summers (Dawn Wells), a farm girl from Kansas. The pilot also featured a couple of secretaries but they were dropped and didn’t appear in the series proper.
Creator Sherwood Schwartz got the idea at college when his class was asked to speak for a minute on the topic of: If you were stranded on a desert island, what one item would you like to have? Years later when it came to pitching a new comedy series, he thought a bunch of disparate individuals stranded on an island and having to get along would make a great sitcom.
The pilot episode, Marooned, was filmed in November 1963 on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The last scene scheduled to be filmed was the opening scene, SS Minnow setting off from the harbour on its fateful tour. However, on the day it was due to be filmed, the harbour was closed for a period of mourning for John F Kennedy’s Assassination which delayed filming for several days. An American flag flying at half mast is visible in the opening credits.
Natalie Schafer was a millionaire in real life, and allegedly only accepted the role because there was a free trip to Hawaii in it for her. Nevertheless, she proved to be quite a trouper. Even though she was in her mid 60s, she insisted on performing all her own stunts. She was child free, so when she died, she left her fortune to her teacup poodle, with instructions for the money to be donated to the Motion Picture and Television Hospital when the dog died. As a result, the hospital now has a Natalie Schafer Wing.
The last character to be cast was the skipper. After auditioning many actors who weren’t quite right, Alan Hale was put forward. He was making a movie in Utah at the time, and his request for time off to audition was denied. So Hale managed to get to an audition by sneaking set at the end of the day and making his way from Utah to Los Angeles in what could be a movie plot in itself: he hitch-hiked, took cabs and even made part of the journey on horseback. He did the audition and then did the same in order to get back to Utah in time to carry on filming the next day. If that’s not enough evidence of what a tough guy he was, and his dedication, Schwartz would later recall that at an end of season wrap party, Hale told him that now shooting was over, he could do something about his arm. When Schwartz asked what was wrong with his arm, Hale nonchalantly replied: “Oh, I broke it a few weeks ago.” He’d missed the crash pads during a stunt, but hadn’t wanted to disrupt the schedule by going to hospital.
Not all the actors called for audition were as keen. Jerry Van Dyke, Schwartz’s first choice to play Gilligan, turned it down because he thought the script was the worst he’d ever read and signed up for a show called My Mother The Car instead. Which bombed. Whereas Gilligan’s Island, while not a hit with the critics at first, became a cult classic and is still shown on TV today.
Gilligan’s first name is never revealed in the show. According to Schwartz, his initial notes did include a first name: Willy. However, Bob Denver, who played him, was insistent that his first name was, in fact, Gilligan. The relationship between Gilligan and his boss was based on Laurel and Hardy.
Trademarks of the show include the castaways’ ability to make almost anything out of natural items available on the island, like Bamboo and Coconuts. As well as things like cooking utensils and bowls, they managed to create a dental drill, a lie detector, huts strong enough to withstand hurricane-force winds, hot water pipes, a stethoscope, and a pedal-powered car. Another was dream sequences, to get around the limited setting and to showcase the actors a bit more. There were also guest stars, a huge number, given that the action took place on a remote island. None of the visitors succeeded in rescuing the castaways.
The final episode of Gilligan’s Island was broadcast on April 17, 1967. It was called Gilligan the Goddess. As it was being filmed, everyone thought there was to be another series, but the show was cancelled, so the castaways never actually get off the island.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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