Gilligan's Island

The pilot episode, "Marooned", was filmed in November 1963. The pilot featured seven characters (as in the series), but only four of the characters—and their associated actors—were carried forward into the series: Gilligan (Denver), the Skipper (Hale) and the Howells (Backus and Schafer).

Because of the three significant character and casting changes between the pilot episode and the first series episode, the pilot was not shown before the series first aired on September 26, 1964. The original pilot eventually aired over 29 years later on TBS.

The three characters who did not carry forward from the pilot were two secretaries and a high school teacher. In the pilot, the scientifically inclined Professor was instead a high school teacher played by John Gabriel. Ginger the movie star was still red-haired Ginger, but she worked as a secretary and was played by Kit Smythe. She was more sarcastic than the later incarnation. Mary Ann the Kansas farm girl was instead Bunny, Ginger's co-worker, played as a cheerful "dumb blonde" by Nancy McCarthy.

The pilot's opening and ending songs were two similar calypso-styled tracks written by John Williams and performed by Sherwood Schwartz impersonating singer Sir Lancelot. The lyrics of both differ from those of the TV series and the pilot's opening theme song was longer. The short scenes during this initial music include Gilligan taking the Howells' luggage to the boat before cast-off and Gilligan trying to give a cup of coffee to the Skipper during the storm that would ultimately maroon the boat.

After the opening theme song and credits end, the pilot proper begins with the seven castaways waking up on the beached SS Minnow. It continues with them performing various tasks including exploring the island, trying to fix the transmitter, building huts and finding food. Contrary to some descriptions, the pilot contained no detailed accounts of the characters' backgrounds. It concludes with the ending theme song and credits. The background music and even the laugh tracks of the pilot appear nearly identical to those used during the series.

The first episode actually broadcast, "Two on a Raft", is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the series pilot. This episode begins with the same scene of Gilligan and the Skipper awakening on the boat as in the pilot (though slightly differently cut, to eliminate most shots of the departed actors) and continues with the characters sitting on the beach listening to a radio news report about their disappearance. No equivalent scene or background information is in the pilot, except for the description of the passengers in the original theme song. Rather than reshooting the rest of the pilot story for broadcast, the show just proceeded. The plot thus skips over the topics of the pilot; the bulk of the episode tells of Gilligan and the Skipper setting off on a raft to try to bring help but unknowingly landing back on the other side of the same island.

The scene with the radio report is one of two scenes that reveal the names of the Skipper (Jonas Grumby) and the Professor (Roy Hinkley); the names are used in a similar radio report early in the series. The name Jonas Grumby appears nowhere else in the series except for an episode in which the Maritime Board of Review blames the Skipper for the loss of the Minnow. The name Roy Hinkley is used one other time when Mr. Howell introduces the Professor as Roy Huntley and the Professor corrects him, to which Mr. Howell replies, "Brinkley, Brinkley."

The plot for the pilot episode was recycled into that season's Christmas episode, "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk", in which the story of the pilot episode, concerning the practical problems on landing, is related through a series of flashbacks. Footage featuring characters that had been recast was reshot using the current actors. For scenes including only Denver, Hale, Backus and Schafer, the original footage was reused.

The last episode of the show, "Gilligan the Goddess", aired on April 17, 1967, and ended just like the rest, with the castaways still stranded on the island. It was not known at the time that it would be the series finale, as a fourth season was expected but then canceled.[5]

One of the trademarks of Gilligan's Island was its frequent use of dream sequences. The showrunners used this device as a way to keep the setting of the show from becoming redundant and to showcase the acting talents of the cast. Many episodes that feature dream sequences are ranked among the most memorable episodes of the show, as most of them parodied or drew inspiration from works of literature, film, and other television shows of the day.

The dream sequences always corresponded to the real-life situation of the episode and usually featured symbolism that prompted a change of heart in whichever castaway was dreaming. Of the seven castaways, Ginger was the only one who never had a dream sequence.

• The Sound of Quacking (S1E7) — Parody of Gunsmoke. Afraid that the starving castaways will eat his pet duck Emily, Gilligan dreams that he is U.S. Marshall Gilligan, whose primary task is keeping the rowdy citizens of his town from eating Emily, who he keeps locked in a jail cell. Features the Skipper as the Marshall's limping deputy, Ginger as a sultry saloon girl, Mary Ann as the Marshall's sweetheart, Mrs. Howell as a duck-gravy-making Spanish señora, and Mr. Howell and the Professor as a lynch mob.
• St. Gilligan and the Dragon (S1E20) — All four men react to the girls' recent demand for equal rights by having dreams that reflect what they expect from their women. The Skipper dreams that he is a sultan with Ginger, Mary Ann, and Mrs. Howell as his dancing girls. Mr. Howell dreams that he is relaxing in a spa with all three girls catering to his every whim. The Professor dreams that he is Cary Grant emerging from his dressing room only to be assaulted by the girls, his crazed fans. Gilligan, always childlike, dreams that he is a bullfighter and that the girls each bring him a gift.
• My Fair Gilligan (S1E35) — Gilligan's fears of his new life as the Howells' adopted son are manifested when he dreams that he is a spoiled prince who callously orders the beheadings of any supplicant who displeases him in the slightest. Features Mr. and Mrs. Howell as the pampering King and Queen, Mary Ann as a shepherd girl, the Professor as a wizardly astronomer, Ginger as a simpering court lady, and the Skipper as a naval admiral.
• The Little Dictator (S2E3) — Having just been appointed the puppet ruler of the island, Gilligan dreams that he is the dictator of a small foreign country on the brink of war, and the other castaways serve as his cabinet, who desperately try to convince him to look out his window at the chaos outside. Features Mr. Howell as the minister of finance, the Skipper as the secretary of the navy, Ginger as an undercover agent, the other castaways as cabinet members, and guest star Nehemiah Persoff as the masterminding dictator. Notable for being the only dream sequence to feature a guest star as a main character.
• The Sweepstakes (S2E5) — Obsessed with finding Gilligan's lost sweepstake ticket, Mr. Howell dreams that he is a grizzled prospector in the Old West who has just struck millions of dollars' worth of gold, but the kingly treatment he receives in town is quickly revoked when he realizes that he doesn't have proof of his claim. Features the Professor as a crooked bank owner, Gilligan as the corrupt U.S. Marshall, Ginger as a smooth-talking saloon owner, Mary Ann as an impoverished country girl, and the Skipper as a cheating gambler. Notable for being one of the few dream sequences in which one of the castaways does not appear (Mrs. Howell, in this case). Jim Backus reprised his role as the prospector in the three-part Grand Canyon episode in the third season of The Brady Bunch.
• The Postman Cometh (S2E18) — Inspired by Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey. Afraid that she is going to die from eating poison mushrooms, Mary Ann falls asleep listening to her medical soap opera radio show and dreams that she is a patient in a hospital for a fatal disease. Features Mr. Howell as the kooky Dr. Zorbagillespie, Gilligan as Dr. Charles Boyer, the Skipper as Dr. Matt Dillon, the Professor as Dr. Cary Grant, and Mrs. Howell and Ginger as somewhat sympathetic nurses.
• V for Vitamins (S2E30) — Inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk. Gilligan falls asleep while guarding the last of the castaways' citrus rations and dreams that he is a farm boy named Jack tasked with retrieving oranges for his starving family, but he ends up buying magic beans, climbing a beanstalk, and entering a giant's castle. Features Mrs. Howell as Jack's mother, Mr. Howell as a W.C. Fields-inspired gangster, Mary Ann as the Giant's helpful maid, the Skipper as the Giant, and Ginger and the Professor as elderly captives in the Giant's dungeon. In the sequence where Jack runs from the Giant, Bob Denver's young son Patrick played Jack in combination with forced perspective to make Jack look extra small.
• Meet the Meteor (S2E32) — When the Professor's measurements of radiation on a newly-crashed meteor show it to be lethal, Gilligan dreams that the castaways have aged to extreme feebleness in only a few days. The castaways hobble from their huts to the dining table to celebrate one final anniversary on the island before they die of old age or before an electrical storm destroys the island.
• Up at Bat (S3E1) — Inspired by Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. After supposedly being bitten by a vampire bat, Gilligan dreams that he is a ghoulish vampire inhabiting a haunted castle and eagerly awaiting the arrival of his guests, who also double as his dinner. Features Ginger as the vampire's ghostly wife, the Professor as Sherlock Holmes, the Skipper as Dr. Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Howell as unsuspecting guests in the house, and Mary Ann as the hideous housekeeper. Notable for being filmed on the same haunted mansion set from the earlier episode "The Friendly Physician" (S2E29) and climaxes with a brawl with onomatopoeic words superimposed on the visual like the competing series, Batman .
• The Invasion (S3E11) — Inspired by James Bond. Gilligan's fears of being hunted down by secret agents show up in his dream, in which he is suave spy Agent 014 fighting against a criminal empire and its formidable group of assassins out to kill him and take away his top-secret briefcase. Features the Professor as the Chief Good Guy, Mr. Howell as Mr. Evil (inspired by Ernst Stavro Blofeld), Mrs. Howell as Mr. Evil's moll, Mary Ann as the deadly receptionist, Ginger as Gilligan's treacherous fiancée, and the Skipper as an evil agent disguised as Gilligan's mother.
• And Then There Were None (S3E13) — Inspired by Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Gilligan believes that he may be a murderous psychopath and dreams that he is on trial as an Oscar Wilde-style Doctor Gilligan, who transforms into a hideous monster at the mention of food. Features Mrs. Howell as his defense attorney Mary Poppins, Mary Ann as the loyal Eliza Doolittle (who has apparently confused Henry Jekyll for Henry Higgins), Ginger as the Lady in Red, Mr. Howell as a biased judge, the Professor as the prosecuting attorney, and the Skipper as the bailiff.
• Court-Martial (S3E17) — Gilligan dreams that he is Lord Admiral Gilligan, the youngest in the British fleet, charged with protecting the three noble ladies onboard when the ship is attacked and captured by uncouth pirates. Features Mr. Howell as Captain Hook, the Professor as Long John Silver, the Skipper as Captain Kidd, Mrs. Howell as the queen mother, and Ginger and Mary Ann as her daughters.
• Lovey's Secret Admirer (S3E19) — Inspired by Cinderella. After a fight with her husband, Mrs. Howell dreams that she is Cinderella, oppressed by her wicked stepfamily but determined to attend the royal ball and meet the prince. Features the Skipper as Cinderella's stepmother, Ginger and Mary Ann as the ugly stepsisters, Gilligan as the inept Fairy Godfather, Mr. Howell as the self-absorbed prince, and the Skipper and the Professor as pages.
• The Secret of Gilligan's Island (S3E25) — Gilligan's discovery of an ancient stone tablet on the island leads him to dream that he and the castaways are cave people, each with a goal or fear about leaving their familiar caves in search of a better land. Features Gilligan as an artistic stonecutter, the Skipper as his best friend, Mr. Howell as the dictatorial chief, Mrs. Howell as his jealous wife, Ginger and Mary Ann as cave girls seeking husbands, and the Professor as an inventor.

Bob Denver was not the first choice to play Gilligan; actor Jerry Van Dyke was offered the role, but he turned it down, believing that the show would never be successful. He chose instead to play the lead in My Mother the Car, which premiered the following year and is frequently cited as one of the worst television shows of all time; it was canceled after one season. The producers looked to Bob Denver, the actor who had played Maynard G. Krebs, the beatnik in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Natalie Schafer had it written into her contract that no close-ups would be made of her, but after a while in the series it was forgotten. Schafer was 63 when the pilot was shot, although reportedly no one on the set or in the cast knew her real age and she refused to divulge it. Originally, she accepted the role only because the pilot was filmed on location in Hawaii. She looked at the job as nothing more than a free vacation, as she was convinced that a show this silly would "never go".[15]

Tina Louise clashed with producer Sherwood Schwartz because she initially believed that she was hired as the central character. The character of Ginger was originally written as a hard-nosed, sharp-tongued temptress, but Louise argued that this portrayal was too harsh and refused to play her as written. A compromise was reached; Louise agreed to play Ginger as a Marilyn Monroe/Jayne Mansfield type. Her temperament reportedly made her difficult to work with, but when it came time to shoot, she was always professional. Louise continued to disagree with producers over her role and was the only cast member who refused to appear in any of the three post-series TV movies. After many years of distancing herself from the show, she appeared in a reunion of the cast on two television talk shows in 1982 and 1988 and on an episode of Roseanne in 1995 when the Roseanne cast re-enacted Gilligan's Island. In the pilot episode, the character of Ginger was played by actress Kit Smythe.

John Gabriel was originally cast as the academic character, a high school teacher. After testing, the network didn't believe the character scored well with the audience. Auditions were held for the revised role of the Professor, which included Dabney Coleman, but the part was ultimately won by Russell Johnson. Prior to his acting career, Johnson had served as a bombardier in 44 combat missions over the Pacific during World War II. On March 4, 1945, the B-25 he was flying as the navigator was shot down, killing the copilot and breaking both of Johnson's ankles. At the time of his audition he was working in film and not very interested in a television show unless it was going to be his own. His film career had been going well, tallying several science fiction and western film credits, including a role opposite Ronald Reagan in the 1953 film Law and Order. In addition to film, Johnson had landed roles on multiple popular television series such as The Adventures of Superman, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. With six other leads, his agent had to talk him into going to the audition, but after meeting Sherwood Schwartz, he started to warm up to the idea of playing the Professor. In discussing his role, he laughingly said he was unsure what was more difficult, remembering the Professor's technically oriented lines, or looking up what they meant.

Dawn Wells was a former Miss Nevada when she auditioned for the Mary Ann role. Her competition included Raquel Welch and Pat Priest. The pilot episode featured a different character ("Bunny") played by actress Nancy McCarthy. After it was shot, the network decided to recast the roles of the Professor and the two young women. Mary Ann became a simple farm girl from Winfield, Kansas.

The music and lyrics for the theme song, "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle", were written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle. One version was used for the first season and another for the second and third seasons. In the original song, the Professor and Mary Ann, originally considered "second-billed co-stars", were referred to as "the rest", but with the growing popularity of those characters, their names were inserted into the lyrics in the second season. The Gilligan theme song underwent this one major change because star Bob Denver personally asked studio executives to add Johnson and Wells to the song.[16] When the studio at first refused, saying it would be too expensive to reshoot, Denver insisted, even going so far as to state that if Johnson and Wells were not included, he wanted his name out of the song as well. The studio caved in and "the Professor and Mary Ann" were added.[17][18][19] The theme song in the original pilot did not even mention the character Ginger, with the last two mentioned by name being "the Millionaire and Mrs. Millionaire" followed by "...and the other tourists".[20]

The first-season version was recorded by the folk group The Wellingtons. The second-season version, which incorporated more of a sea shanty sound, was uncredited, but according to Russell Johnson in his book Here on Gilligan's Isle, it was performed by a group called the Eligibles.[21]

The show's original pilot episode featured a calypso theme song by future film composer John Williams and different lyrics. The original length of the voyage was "a six-hour ride", not "a three-hour tour".[22] John Williams (or Johnny Williams as he was often listed in the show credits) also started out as the composer of the incidental music for the show (from 1964 to 1965), but was replaced by Gerald Fried for the remaining seasons (1965–1967).

The band Little Roger and the Goosebumps recorded "Stairway to Gilligan's Island", a parody of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", substituting the words to the Gilligan's Island theme song.[23] In 1987, The Iceman parodied Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" as "La Isla Gilligan". "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a song called "Isle Thing", a parody of Tone Lōc's "Wild Thing", about a rapper whose girlfriend introduces him to the show. Yankovic also mentions the show in his song "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" and he used one verse from the closing theme lyrics in "Amish Paradise" (1996), a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995). The song has also been covered by many bands, including Bowling for Soup for the TBS show The Real Gilligan's Island.[24] Israel Kamakawiwoʻole also recorded a comic tribute to the theme song on his album E Ala E. The chorus to rap group Big Tymers' Still Fly is based on the Gilligan's Island theme song.[25]