Posted
on September 26, 2013
A
silly TV show about seven people shipwrecked on an island first aired
on this date in 1964. The struggle to survive on a desert island, and
to escape, doesn't sound all that funny, but somehow the 98 episodes
of Gilligan's Island managed to nurse the theme for laughs for three
seasons.
The
show was successful, but not a huge hit.
After it was cancelled, however, the show began to appear in re-runs, and it grew and grew in popularity.
After it was cancelled, however, the show began to appear in re-runs, and it grew and grew in popularity.
Now Gilligan is considered an American cultural icon. Apparently work has begun on Gilligan's Island, the Musical (a show meant for Broadway). A TV-movie featured the rescue of the castaways, and a big-screen movie was in the works for a while, too (and may still happen, who knows?). Gilligan's Island's long-lasting popularity has been discussed and analyzed and has even been the subject of a documentary!
The
funniest thing about the show, perhaps, never appeared on the screen.
Apparently the United States Coast Guard got several telegrams from
concerned viewers who begged the Coast Guard to rescue those poor
people on the deserted island.
The Coast Guard just forwarded the mail to the show's producer!
The Coast Guard just forwarded the mail to the show's producer!
 |
| The first season was shot in black- and-white but has been colorized for syndication. |
Celebrate!
Listen
to—and maybe learn—the catchy theme song.
Have
a Gilligan's Island dinner! Check out what one family did here.
Enjoy
some of the professor's inventions here. (Scroll down a bit.)
Check
out the bite-sized bits of Gilligan videos here.
Also
on this date:
Plan Ahead!
Check
out my Pinterest pages on September
holidays, September
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in September.
And
here are my Pinterest pages on October
holidays, October
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in October.
