http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/GilligansIsland

The island isn't really Gilligan's, but don't tell him that. note

Clockwise from bottom center: Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Professor (Russell Johnson), Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus), Lovey Howell (Natalie Schafer), Ginger Grant (Tina Louise), the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.), Mary Ann (Dawn Wells)



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..." "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,A tale of a fateful tripThat started from this tropic port,Aboard this tiny shipThe mate was a mighty sailin' man,The Skipper brave and sure.Five passengers set sail that dayFor a three hour tour,

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Iconic "stupid sitcom" from the 1960s, filled with Idiot Plots, What an Idiot! moments galore, a Laugh Track, and a great cast of actors. The show featured seven stereotyped characters  a millionaire, his snobby wife, a famous actress, a farm girl, a college professor, an innocent misfit klutz, and the captain of the charter boat on which all of them had sailed  trapped on a Deserted Island. Their little colony of survivors was usually awash in schemes, alliances, betrayals, and petty manipulations, usually over the most minor of things. Their own foibles and blind spots frequently sabotaged any chance of rescue or escape, and nobody ever seemed to learn anything from their mistakes.

...Wait, did we get mixed up with the article on Survivor? How about Lost? No? Okay, just checking.

Gilligan's Island was created in 1963 by veteran TV writer/producer Sherwood Schwartz (who would later make a career out of The Brady Bunch). Schwartz was an academic with degrees in zoology and psychology, and originally intended for the program to be a meaningful examination of American life. Inspired by Robinson Crusoe, Schwartz intended to create a microcosm of American society by stranding representative members of different subcultures and seeing how they interact. He chose his representatives carefully, claiming later that "Anybody who is watching can identify with someone." How this ostensibly academic and rather intriguing concept turned into the show that actually aired is anyone's guess.note CBS president James Aubrey and his vice president of programming, Michael Dann, might have been responsible, as they believed audiences needed "bosoms, broads and fun". It lasted for three seasons on CBS (196467), then became a perennial favorite in daily syndication. With its timelessness and endless amount of reruns, the series firmly cemented itself and its beloved characters a place in pop culture history.

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Three reunion TV movies followed, first rescuing, then re-stranding, then re-rescuing the castaways, who then turned the island into a resort. Two cartoon series, a stage musical, and a docudrama about the shows creation were also produced. In the strangest twist, though, 2004 saw Gilligan's Island become the first (and maybe only) Sitcom ever revived as a Reality Show, with the broadcast of The Real Gilligan's Island on TBS...a show which combined the original series with Survivor in a bizarre blend.

Some of the cast reportedly disliked the show. The actress that portrayed Ginger (the movie star), Tina Louise, refused to do either the cartoons or the reunion movies because she considered the show "silly" and the concept ridiculous while also resenting that she'd ended up being typecast.

A big-screen adaptation is currently trapped in Development Hell after an initial release date of March 30, 2012.

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Not to Be Confused with Gullah Gullah Island.

Just sit right back and you'll read some tropes: