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Well, it's a reunion for the cast, but not for the characters.
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I liked RESCUE. I actually thought it was well done for the most part. I mean them getting stuck back on the island after finally finding a way to leave was such bitter irony but also quite funny.
Now the last two movies? I really don’t know what to say. They were just plain awful for me.
Now the last two movies? I really don’t know what to say. They were just plain awful for me.
“The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island” is such a blatant series pilot. The castaways get rescued again within the first half hour or so. Then the timeline is moved up a year, where Thurston Howell has bought Gilligan’s Island (from whom?) and turned it into a resort, making his fellow castaways partners. And then it transitions into a Love Boat-style show, with the guests as the center of attention, and the original castaways working at the resort.
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There's an interview with Sherwood Schwartz out there where he says just that. The network wanted Schwartz to stretch the GILLIGAN'S ISLAND into an hour show and use guest stars frequently to "take the load off" the older original cast members. Schwartz wasn't a fan of the idea, and the idea eventually fell flat. It didn't sell and the network never committed to another reunion movie.
In 1988, when the gang appeared with Ross Shafer (even Tina Louise was there), Bob Denver said "Sherwood has a script for it", meaning that another TV movie was perhaps in the works. Nothing become of it though.
In 1988, when the gang appeared with Ross Shafer (even Tina Louise was there), Bob Denver said "Sherwood has a script for it", meaning that another TV movie was perhaps in the works. Nothing become of it though.
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It seems to be the consensus here that as the show became goofier and more colorful (figuratively and literally), the more enjoyable it was; I agree. Of course Ginger packed all of those clothes (they were designed by Nolan Miller) wouldn't you?
Anyone remember Dusty's Trail? Sherwood Schwartz's failed attempt at a reboot/remake. It aired in syndication and, in addition to Bob Denver, it starred Billie Jo Bradley #1, Bobbie Jo Bradley #2 and Genie Francis' father.
Anyone remember Dusty's Trail? Sherwood Schwartz's failed attempt at a reboot/remake. It aired in syndication and, in addition to Bob Denver, it starred Billie Jo Bradley #1, Bobbie Jo Bradley #2 and Genie Francis' father.
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As much as I loved the show, I’m so glad this didn’t happen. Gilligan’s Island meets The Love Boat would’ve been awful. I just can’t see it working out. And making it an hour show? This would’ve been a shipwreck. (Pun intended)
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There was a third one, though: The Harlem Globetrotters on . . . It had more focus on the original cast and more of the spirit of the old show with Martin Landau and Barbara Bain as a pair of mad scientists, but they kept the resort idea as well.
Yes. And Far Out Space Nuts, again virtually the same character, with Chuck McCann in the Alan Hale part.
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Although the GI reunion movies had varying levels of quality, none of them came close to matching the appeal of the series. GI wasn't just about seven castaways; it existed in a very specific moment in time that could never be duplicated. Sitcoms in the mid-60s were, for the most part, gaudy, loud, empty and weird. Most shows of that era were honestly atrocious but GI took those same qualities and improbably made them work.
The reunions may have had (more or less) the same format and (mostly) the same cast, but they lacked the sheer kinkiness of the era GI existed. Plus the main thing that worked on the show was the cast and by the time the movies were done, the cast lacked the same vitality; they all had varying levels of a resentment to a show that made them famous but trapped.
The reunions may have had (more or less) the same format and (mostly) the same cast, but they lacked the sheer kinkiness of the era GI existed. Plus the main thing that worked on the show was the cast and by the time the movies were done, the cast lacked the same vitality; they all had varying levels of a resentment to a show that made them famous but trapped.
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The main thing the movies lacked was heart. The chemistry just seemed a little off. The main was Tina Louise refused to return, and her replacements (Judith Baldwin and Constance Forslund) just didn't play Ginger correctly.
Didn't they include the laugh tracks in the TV movies too? The copy I have of RESCUE has a laugh track.
Didn't they include the laugh tracks in the TV movies too? The copy I have of RESCUE has a laugh track.
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The last few times I recall seeing Bob and Alan do their "Skipper & Little Buddy" act (I assume in the mid-80s to early-90s), it reminded me of late era Three Stooges: frail old men gamely trying to do ancient schtick.
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Although I would have obviously preferred Tina Louise to return -- and I don't think either of her replacements were good -- I don't know that it would have made much of a difference. I don't think Tina Louise could have summoned her mid-60s "magic" 15 years later. I always liked seeing her pop up in shows, but I also noted that her later appearances were mostly devoid of the spark she brought to Ginger. Even on DALLAS, she was merely perfunctory.
His age is surprising but, then again, perhaps not. Both of my uncles were lifelong smokers who looked like they were 80 when they were 60.
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I watched two episodes yesterday with my wife. We watched "Erika Tiffany Smith to the Rescue" (which guest stars Zsa Zsa Gabor) and "Operation: Steam Heat" from season two. My wife said, while she finds Mary Ann the prettier of the two girls, she thought Ginger to be the funnier.
Whether she liked playing Ginger or not (and the record shows she did not), Tina Louise did bring her to life. Not only beautiful, she was funny and charismatic. She was magical on the screen. She gave Ginger a sense of humor that most interpretations leave vacant. Many play up the sexiness, but little else. I think they idea was originated with the original offer of Ginger going to Jayne Mansfield. Jayne was sexy, but funny as well. I think Sherwood wanted that type of movie star.
And that's what he got.
Whether she liked playing Ginger or not (and the record shows she did not), Tina Louise did bring her to life. Not only beautiful, she was funny and charismatic. She was magical on the screen. She gave Ginger a sense of humor that most interpretations leave vacant. Many play up the sexiness, but little else. I think they idea was originated with the original offer of Ginger going to Jayne Mansfield. Jayne was sexy, but funny as well. I think Sherwood wanted that type of movie star.
And that's what he got.
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Sometimes actors can channel their resentments into an excellent performance. Vivian Vance famously resented her role in I LOVE LUCY, but that seems to have pushed her to a brilliant performance. When she was giving a more favorable character to play on THE LUCY SHOW, she settled into a contended professionalism that never came close to matching her role as Ethel. I suspect the same occurred with Tina, especially since she was never as good as she was on GI.
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As a behind-the-scenes enthusiast, I enjoy hearing about GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and its production history. One of the most interesting aspects about the pre-production phase is that real-life movie star Jayne Mansfield had been approached to play fictional movie star Ginger Grant. (There's also a theory out there suggesting that the name "Ginger Grant" was a combination of Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant, but I cannot find anything to validate it.)
From the information I've been able to gather, it seems as if Sherwood Schwartz always wanted a "beautiful redhead" to play Ginger. He wanted a woman both attractive and witty. He originally cast Kit Smythe in the role, but she lacked the sexiness that CBS wanted to exploit. Tina Louise was eventually hired when the network demanded a recast.
This leads me to the assumption that it was CBS that wanted Jayne Mansfield and not Sherwood himself. Mansfield being a blonde would've went against Sherwood's long-held testament of wanting a redhead as Ginger. I theorize that CBS wanted Mansfield because she was a "name" to promote in advertisements. She was a real-life movie star after all. I've never heard Sherwood mentioned Jayne in any of the interviews I've seen, but I've heard Bob Denver mention a time or two that Jayne had been initially slated to appear as Ginger.
Whatever the circumstances were, Jayne apparently turned the offer to play Ginger down flat. She had very strict guidelines to her career: as a "movie star", she wouldn't commit to a TV series. She felt it was somehow beneath her, despite the endless parade of TV guest spots she was doing and the low-grade exploitation movies she was relegated to making abroad. Jayne's career was definitely on the rocks in late 1963, when the offer was likely presented, and she could've used a would-be popular show like GILLIGAN'S ISLAND on her resume. Had she done the show, who knows what would've become of her career. The show could've kept her off the roads traveling in road-side shows and maybe kept us with us longer.
From the information I've been able to gather, it seems as if Sherwood Schwartz always wanted a "beautiful redhead" to play Ginger. He wanted a woman both attractive and witty. He originally cast Kit Smythe in the role, but she lacked the sexiness that CBS wanted to exploit. Tina Louise was eventually hired when the network demanded a recast.
This leads me to the assumption that it was CBS that wanted Jayne Mansfield and not Sherwood himself. Mansfield being a blonde would've went against Sherwood's long-held testament of wanting a redhead as Ginger. I theorize that CBS wanted Mansfield because she was a "name" to promote in advertisements. She was a real-life movie star after all. I've never heard Sherwood mentioned Jayne in any of the interviews I've seen, but I've heard Bob Denver mention a time or two that Jayne had been initially slated to appear as Ginger.
Whatever the circumstances were, Jayne apparently turned the offer to play Ginger down flat. She had very strict guidelines to her career: as a "movie star", she wouldn't commit to a TV series. She felt it was somehow beneath her, despite the endless parade of TV guest spots she was doing and the low-grade exploitation movies she was relegated to making abroad. Jayne's career was definitely on the rocks in late 1963, when the offer was likely presented, and she could've used a would-be popular show like GILLIGAN'S ISLAND on her resume. Had she done the show, who knows what would've become of her career. The show could've kept her off the roads traveling in road-side shows and maybe kept us with us longer.
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I guess it’s hard for me to see anyone playing Ginger other than Tina Louise but the more I think about it I could see Jayne taking on the role.
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I've read the tale of Jayne being offered the role of Ginger often enough to have repeated it myself, but I'm always a bit uncertain if it was true or apocryphal. When sorting through history and tidbits of Hollywood, it always bears in mind that people and an industry that peddle fantasy are often not very reliable sources of truth.
It's possible CBS wanted Jayne on the show, but it also seems like an awkward fit. She was, circa 1963, still just famous enough to be to too big of a star to be a supporting character on a sitcom. She was also pretty scandalous, having just recently become the first mainstream Hollywood actress to do a nude scene. I'm a bit iffy on whether I believe this particular story is true or not.