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DVD Gilligan's Island - The Complete First Season
Despite critical barbs as sharp as a Maroobi spear, Gilligan's Island has proven unsinkable. Its first season was 1964's top-rated show. The expository theme song is one of television's most quoted, and its characters--the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.), first mate Gilligan (Bob Denver), the millionaire (Jim Backus) and his wife (Natalie Schaefer), a movie star (Tina Louise), "and the rest" (Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells, as the Professor and Mary Ann, wouldn't get their opening credit props until season two)--are pop culture icons. Revisiting the first season's 36 episodes is a not-guilty-at-all pleasure. Some sure and surprising hands piloted these inaugural episodes, including Ida Lupino, Jack Arnold (The Creature from the Black Lagoon), Christian Nyby (The Thing), and Richard Donner (who went on to direct Superman and Lethal Weapon).
The "seven stranded castaways" from the ill-fated S.S. Minnow (slyly named for former Federal Communications Commission head Newton "vast wasteland" Minow) received memorable visits from the likes of Hans Conreid as errant pilot Wrong Way Feldman, a young Kurt Russell as Jungle Boy, and Larry Storch as a Cagney-esque bank robber. But these were mere diversions from the heart of the series; the no-man-is-an-island social microcosm that creator Sherwood Schwartz conceived as an anti-war parable (this courtesy of his optional commentary during the fabled unaired series pilot). In the Christmas episode "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk," Santa Claus himself drops in to lift the disheartened castaways' spirits. "You could have been enemies," he tells them, "instead of a family group who all learned to get along." This is they key to this series' enduring popularity. That, and the unending debate: Ginger or Mary Ann? --Donald Liebenson
Review(s): DVD Gilligan's Island - The Complete First Season
One busy "deserted" island!!
I must admit I have been quite tardy in picking up my copy of this first season of Gilligans Island which has been out almost two years now.I had fond memories of this light hearted show which I hadn't seen since it went off the air many years ago.I knew it wasn't critically acclaimed at the time nor a great show but it did have its' merits and was cute.
I first watched the accompanying pilot and went through its few extras which was just a small laugh-umentary,some factoids on each cast member and just one audio commentary by creater Schwartz during the pilot episode.When I finally got through the first few episodes I found my fond memories fading fast.I knew back then that this was light TV fare but I now realized just how light it was.
The show had its' memorable characters and moments certainly and the cast was wonderfully picked for their parts.I can see why it has retained its' charm for many throughout the years and earned itself a small niche in TV history.But I found that the more episodes I watched the more tedious they became....sad to say.Nor does the show,in my oppinion,stand up over time or bear up over repeated watchings.
The first season is high on physical comedy to be sure.Gilligan and the Skipper are the Laurel and Hardy of the island,from the overall gags,to their looks(fat and skinny)and right down to their pratfalls.The Skippers' constant camera looks and mannerisms are especially indicative of Oliver Hardy(Alan Hales' father appeared coincidentally in Laurel and Hardys' 1936 great classic 'Our Relations').Season two and into three would see less and less of the physical comedy with more emphasize on their overall situation and the professors' wild inventions but the resemblance to Laurel and Hardy never went away.
One reason for Gilligans Islands' final fadeout rests I believe with its concept and it's losing its' touch with reality.In the beginning we could certainly empathize with these people and their predicament,getting caught in a storm,getting stranded then having to survive until rescued.But all good comedy is rooted in some kind of reality,there has to be some thread or connection from show/movie to the viewer that says yes I can believe that this is possible(however slight)and I can relate to these characters.As time went on the shows' believability factor simply just faded away.Even in the first season,just for example,they are visited by a surfer from Hawaii who comes and goes on a rogue Tsunami!!And the plots continued to get wackier and more full of holes than a block of swiss cheese.Then there are the professors' inventions which somehow got more intricate and sophisticated as the show wore on.By the time the show hit its' final season ,even for a comedy,it had lost any empathy or believability and became a parody of itself.It was for lack of a better word just plain silly with little or no real humour left.
In conclusion if you're looking for some VERY light 60s TV fare this is for you.It is certainly not classic,timeless or great TV comedy but I must admit it does retain a certain amount of charm,the acting is good and it does have its' humourous moments.Just check your brain at the door and you'll have a good time!
Reviews
The only reviews necessary for this product are the ones regarding the quality of the DVD's. I doubt seriously that anyone would order this having never seen the show(As if anyone has never seen Gilligan's Island).
The reviews regarding the condition of the cases are helpful, as are the reviews regarding edited scenes and the quality of the DVD's. I agree that one would not expect scenes to be edited from a DVD set, it's bad enough to miss them watching T.V.
I really don't understand why someone would give a low rating based on the entertainment value. Did they order this not knowing what it was about? Some say they never liked the show, did they buy it and then decide they had made a mistake?
That being said, I'm glad to see much admiration from the fans about the show. Anyone thinkng that the plot should have made more sense clearly missed the point.
Gilligan's Island is a cult classic, appealing to a certain(but a broad demographic. It was fun to watch as a kid becuase things didn't have to make sense to be entertaining, the very reason why we never questioned the endurance and immortality of Wile E. Coyote.
As adults this show brings back memories of times when we didn't have as much to worry about, when we didn't take things so seriously. Of if we did have worries, the show took away our troubles for a while. A time when prepubescent boys first fell in love with Mary Ann or Ginger(Mary Ann by the way). We watched the show knowing that the rescue would inevitably be messed up by Gilligan because that's what happened the last time we saw the same episode.
Many of us that grew up watching this would like to watch it again with our kids, making it like seeing it for the first time.
The black & white episodes from season 1 have an endearing and nostalgic quality about them. If you aren't old enough to remember B&W television, then think of it as going back in time and experiencing the show more like it was, which is almost impossible because any on DVD will look better than any broadcast on and old B&W.
So if there are reviewers trying to turn fans off from buying this merely based on reviews of the show, that is surely a waste of time.
As long as Gilligan's Island is available in some format, there will always be fans.
Awesome!
My kids keep asking to watch these episodes over and over. Brings back great memories and the quality of the DVD's is outstanding. I thought the kids would not like the black and white, but it doesn't seem to bother them. This purchase was worth the money spent.
Related DVD's Gilligan's Island - The Complete First Season
Forget about a three-hour tour--Gilligan's Island fans can sit right back and enjoy all 32 episodes of the much-loved television comedy and even a few extras with this three-disc set. GI aficionados will probably argue which episode deserves to be called the best in the series' three-year history until the end of time, but few will disagree that its sophomore season (1965-66) contains some of its funniest and best-remembered episodes. For starters, season 2 marks the show's debut in color, as well as the first time the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) were mentioned in the opening theme song (all of this occurs in the season opener, "Gilligan's Mother-in-Law"). But it also includes such classic episodes as "Hi Fi Gilligan" (Gilligan picks up radio... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ida Lupino - Richard Donner - John Rich - Rodney Amateau - Tom Montgomery DVD Release Date: Released the 11 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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It has its own stormy weather and fire-breathing housepet named Spot, but the mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Heights is otherwise like any other American sitcom home. This is the address of the Munsters, the family that for two seasons, 1964-66, found a permanent place in pop culture--if not "monster" success. Developed by Leave It to Beaver team Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, the series was a standard sitcom (complete with the same awful canned laughter), except that the Ward Cleaver character was a reanimated corpse.
Dad Herman (Fred Gwynne) was a Frankenstein's monster, mom Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) and Grandpa (Al Lewis) were vampires, and son Eddie (Butch Patrick) a little wolf-boy. Munster niece Marilyn was inexplicably normal, which prompted much worry from the other members of... More Info about this DVD Director(s): David Alexander - Don Richardson - Seymour Berns - Charles Barton - Joseph Pevney DVD Release Date: Released the 24 August 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Though Gilligan and his fellow castaways will remain forever marooned in syndication, the series' network run actually did come to an end in 1967 after a three-year run and 98 episodes. The final 30--which for Gilligan fanatics, include many of the show's best--are compiled in this three-disc set, along with input from creator Sherwood Schwartz. It's not known if Schwartz knew that the series was headed for cancellation, but he and the writers definitely appear to pour on the steam in season 3 to produce some of the series' most imaginative episodes, many of which break out of the island sets through dream sequences; these include the season kickoff, "Up at Bat" (after being bitten by a bat, Gilligan dreams of being a vampire); "Pass the Vegetables, Please" (the castaways gain... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ida Lupino - Richard Donner - John Rich - Rodney Amateau - Tom Montgomery DVD Release Date: Released the 26 July 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Because of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch, writer-producer Sherwood Schwartz will forever be a TV hall-of-famer. They were his only real hits, but they were both grand slams in their prime times and have remained syndicated favorites ever since. Following closely on the Gilligan's Island season 2 release, The Brady Bunch is ready for home theaters with a nicely designed, 4-disc set of 25 first-season episodes. The pilot episode, "The Honeymoon" sets up the story we all know from the theme song (lyrics by Schwartz) by giving us the marriage of Mike and Carol and the coming together of the six kids. Schwartz provides commentary for just this first show, but he fondly recalls his intention of sweet, subdued, and often corny gags the pre-fab family... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Reed Director(s): Leslie H. Martinson - Hal Cooper - John Rich - George Tyne - Jack Arnold DVD Release Date: Released the 01 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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