Did the Gilligan's Island TV Movies Satisfy Fans With Closure for the Series?

[Brian Damage]

Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes. So the show just stopped. The last episode was the one where natives mistake Gilligan for an island goddess.

There were three made-for-tv movies made ten years later. In the first one, the castaways build a boat and are caught up in a tidal wave that brings them back to civilization. They try to go back to their old lives but find it difficult. At the end of the movie that decide to reunite for one last three hour cruise and they end up crashing back on the same island. This ending was chosen so more TV movies could be made.

In the next one, they find some WWII planes and are rescued again and decide to turn the island into a resort. The final TV movie is really bad. I've never seen it so I don't quite know what happens but I know it has the globetrotters fighting evil robots.

[JWood201]

"The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" was awful. I can't even discuss it, haha.

I read in Bob Denver's book about how Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor getting married and having a whole mess of kids. Not sure what the full plot would've been, but I'd rather that movie to "Globetrotters." A little character development instead of a basketball game with robots, haha.

Although it basically would've been 90 minutes of jokes like this:

Girl: "MOM! Dad fell in the quicksand again!"
Mary Ann: "Sigh. Where's your brother?"
Girl: "He fell in with him!"
Ginger: "OH NO, NOW THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

And then some little redheaded boy builds a spaceship out of leaves, haha.

To answer your question, though, the first movie was decent and provided a certain amount of closure with a rescue, but the second and the third I could do without. They concentrated more on the visitors to the island hotel rather than the Castaways themselves, which takes away from the whole point of the series. People want to see the 7 get into trouble and weird situations, not the hotel guests.

[treky]

I only remember seeing the first one YEARS ago when it first aired (on NBC on a saturday night I remember) and I hated it. I remember thinking that it must have been written by a 12 year old and it'd be more appropriate for a saturday morning or afternoon airing.

I never saw the other two, though.

I remember reading somewhere when the first one aired; that they made it because the reruns were so popular, and a lot of people were wondering if they ever got off the island.

[Steve Carras]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes. So the show just stopped. The last episode was the one where natives mistake Gilligan for an island goddess.

There were three made-for-tv movies made ten years later. In the first one, the castaways build a boat and are caught up in a tidal wave that brings them back to civilization. They try to go back to their old lives but find it difficult. At the end of the movie that decide to reunite for one last three hour cruise and they end up crashing back on the same island. This ending was chosen so more TV movies could be made.

In the next one, they find some WWII planes and are rescued again and decide to turn the island into a resort. The final TV movie is really bad. I've never seen it so I don't quite know what happens but I know it has the globetrotters fighting evil robots.

I watched the Rescue from.. one and it was rather mediocre, especially the expected ending that got them back on the same Island, and for the very same reason that you mentioned, BD. All that I remember basically is that Ginger doesn't want to do nudity in "1970s Hollywood", and that ending..I do like the Mary Ann picture - btw on the WWII planes..there's a handful of references to that war on the old show..speaking of which:
If I were a WWII vet I would have shunned a Ginger pic--I'd go with Mary Ann..

[The Flying Dutchmans]

I guess the closest we will ever get is Season 2 ep 16 of Baywatch's Now just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. In where Eddie gets knocked out after hitting his head, and he dreams that he finds Gilligan and Maryann stranded on a near by island, in where Maryann finally confesses her love for Gilligan.

Originally Posted by JWood201

"The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" was awful. I can't even discuss it, haha.

I read in Bob Denver's book about how Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor getting married and having a whole mess of kids. Not sure what the full plot would've been, but I'd rather that movie to "Globetrotters." A little character development instead of a basketball game with robots, haha.

Although it basically would've been 90 minutes of jokes like this:

Girl: "MOM! Dad fell in the quicksand again!"
Mary Ann: "Sigh. Where's your brother?"
Girl: "He fell in with him!"
Ginger: "OH NO, NOW THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

And then some little redheaded boy builds a spaceship out of leaves, haha.

To answer your question, though, the first movie was decent and provided a certain amount of closure with a rescue, but the second and the third I could do without. They concentrated more on the visitors to the island hotel rather than the Castaways themselves, which takes away from the whole point of the series. People want to see the 7 get into trouble and weird situations, not the hotel guests.

[Big3sCompanyFan]

Originally Posted by treky

I only remember seeing the first one YEARS ago when it first aired (on NBC on a saturday night I remember) and I hated it. I remember thinking that it must have been written by a 12 year old and it'd be more appropriate for a saturday morning or afternoon airing.

I never saw the other two, though.

I remember reading somewhere when the first one aired; that they made it because the reruns were so popular, and a lot of people were wondering if they ever got off the island.

If you saw the E! True Hollywood Story Sherwood Schwartz actually said that some people back in the 60s called the police/coast guard to tell them that there were 7 stranded castaways in the Pacific on a deserted island!!

They actually thought the castways were really on a deserted island!!

I think the movies tied things up well but they were supposed to have a 4th season if it wasn't for stupid Gunsmoke and they REALLY should have!!

[Big3sCompanyFan]

Originally Posted by JWood201

"The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" was awful. I can't even discuss it, haha.

I read in Bob Denver's book about how Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor getting married and having a whole mess of kids. Not sure what the full plot would've been, but I'd rather that movie to "Globetrotters." A little character development instead of a basketball game with robots, haha.

Although it basically would've been 90 minutes of jokes like this:

Girl: "MOM! Dad fell in the quicksand again!"
Mary Ann: "Sigh. Where's your brother?"
Girl: "He fell in with him!"
Ginger: "OH NO, NOW THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

And then some little redheaded boy builds a spaceship out of leaves, haha.

To answer your question, though, the first movie was decent and provided a certain amount of closure with a rescue, but the second and the third I could do without. They concentrated more on the visitors to the island hotel rather than the Castaways themselves, which takes away from the whole point of the series. People want to see the 7 get into trouble and weird situations, not the hotel guests.

That would've been AWESOME! Why didn't anyone pick it up or produce it?? You could've had so many funny storylines!!

[TV_on_the_Porch]

The author of one of the several Gilligan guide books published around 20 years ago rated the Harlem Globetrotters movie highest of the three. That didn't make any sense to me, but the rationale was that it was the movie which came closest to capturing the spirit of the series. Whatever.

I liked the first movie at the time, but saw it again recently and thought the dialog reflected lazy writing at best and was just plain bizarre at worst. The Skipper can't wait to get home so he can bone some chicks? And this thinly veiled bit of TMI is elicited by the otherwise uptight Professor...? The same Professor who, later in the film, is seen rebuffing the advances of an amorous lady as if he has no idea why anybody would ever act that way. Seems to be suffering multiple personality disorder.

Far more bothersome in recent viewing is Judith Baldwin's cartoon Ginger. Even for a show that the creator himself admits is populated not so much with characters as caricatures, her shallow, sing-song interpretation of Ginger is painfully lame. After all, we got to know Ginger pretty well watching those 98 episodes over and over. She had a complicated personality. She was sexy when she wanted to be, shrewd, resourceful and possessed of a fiery temper--and a way with a line. Judith Baldwin played her as a one-note vapid bimbo.

Call me naive but I did not see the ending coming. I also thought the "Minnow I" signage that Gilligan found was ridiculously unnecessary, as if the castaways or the audience couldn't tell tell the difference between a freshly painted bit of wood and one that had been weathering for fifteen years. Just...dumb.

The second movie's premise was a bit of a shock, but I warmed to it and really hoped that it would go to series. Jim Backus wanted very much to do it. He said he and Natalie Schaeffer could be their island's Roarke and Tattoo. What I recall reading is that the hesitant one was Sherwood Schwartz. Why? I don't recall a specific reason, but I'd like to know considering the second movie looks for all the world like a pilot, complete with a slightly reworded theme song which kept the line "join us here each week".

The third movie was delayed by the actors strike of 1980. When it finally surfaced on TV, it was a relief to see that they hadn't forgotten the island was now a tourist resort (you think a continuity error of that magnitude is impossible in the Gilligan universe?), but somehow the spell had broken in the two years since the transformation. Hope for a new series had faded into a grim realization that you really can't go home again. Thurston Howell IV? Please...just...please. Connie Forslund replaces Judith Baldwin without anyone noticing at all, much less noticeable improvement. Notable for being the last onscreen pairing of then husband-and-wife (and frequent costars) Martin Landau and Barbara Bain and for very little else.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

As an aside...why do I think the photograph in the OP is actually from the Harlem Globetrotters movie? I could be wrong, but I think it is.

[Retro4Life]

The first movie was good IMHO (though I watched it as a 13 year old, so I probably wasn't that discriminating). In those days the Gilligan reruns were very popular and those that watched them were always wondering "did they ever get off the island?" so that movie at least satisfied that need in the fans for closure.

At first I was disappointed that they ended up back on the island, but it was kind of neat to think that these people have lived together so long they became like a family and really couldn't bear to be apart anymore. Honestly, it's been so long since I've seen it I've forgotten some of the nuances of the characterizations, so if I watched it today I might have a different reaction.

"Castaways" was OK, obviously as was written above, a pilot for a new series, which I really think was unworkable. I have always liked GI, but the corny, slapstick type humor was too out of place in late 70's America to really have much of a lifespan anyway. It was great to see the cast again, though, obviously.

The Globetrotters movie was ridiculous and really came down hard on the slapstick angle. Honestly I doubt I could watch this whole movie today; being 16 or 17 I was more forgiving and even then it just seemed liked of tired to me.

But to answer your question, YES, it was great to see the characters finally rescued and though they did end up back on the island, it was THEIR choice to do so, and that made a difference.

[Big3sCompanyFan]

Originally Posted by TDRyan

The second movie's premise was a bit of a shock, but I warmed to it and really hoped that it would go to series. Jim Backus wanted very much to do it. He said he and Natalie Schaeffer could be their island's Roarke and Tattoo. What I recall reading is that the hesitant one was Sherwood Schwartz. Why? I don't recall a specific reason, but I'd like to know considering the second movie looks for all the world like a pilot, complete with a slightly reworded theme song which kept the line "join us here each week"

What's this about a new Gilligan's Island series?? What was the premise supposed to have been??

[sixfingers]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes.

Actually, that's not really true. When the third season ended they thought there would be a fourth season, so making a last episode would never have occurred to anyone.

You are right in that it wasn't usually the practice though.

[sixfingers]

I guess you could say that that's another thing Gilligan's Island had in common with Brady Bunch.

[Prince Michael]

Originally Posted by Big3sCompanyFan

What's this about a new Gilligan's Island series?? What was the premise supposed to have been??

Rescue From Gilligan's Island was actually my first taste of Gilligan's Island . I thought it was a good idea to have a final chapter to the original series . The way I remember it, Rescue From Gilligan's Island was shown in two parts . My mom claimed that Gilligan and his friends might get fed up with 1970s society and decide to go back to the island forever . She thought they were better off on their little island than in our society . As it turned out, she was HALFWAY right . They wound up back on the island, but they didn't plan it or want it that way .

The Castaways on Gilligan's Island showed them getting rescued again . This time, Mr . Howell established a hotel and resort on the island, and the other characters had a hand in running it . Gilligan was basically a bellhop, helping the guests with their luggage, Ginger performed in the lounge, and the Professor gave science lectures . Mr . and Mrs . Howell were the hosts . I can't find The Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook by Joey Green right now, so I don't know exactly what Mary Ann and the Skipper did .

I thought the idea of a hotel and resort on Gilligan's Island was definitely the way to go . I though Gilligan and his friends should have been rescued, but they spent the best years of my life on that island, and I hated the idea of them saying "Well, guys, it's been fun, but we all have our own lives to get back to !" . They lived together so long they became like a family, and once they turned the island into a resort, they could all stay together .

When I saw The Castaways on Gilligan's Island, I could definitely imagine a new Gilligan's Island series along the lines of The Love Boat and Fantasy Island . I really wish that had been in the cards . The Love Boat and Fantasy Island focused on the guests, but every so often, there was a story that featured one of the regular characters . A new Gilligan's Island series would have run along the same formula .

I can't find Inside Gilligan's Island by Sherwood Schwartz right now either, but I think Sherwood Schwartz explained that he wanted the fourth season of
Gilligan's Island to depict Gilligan and his friends getting rescued, and Mr . Howell building a hotel on the island . Finally, I never did see The Harlem Globetretters on Gilligan's Island, but part of me wishes I had .

[Big3sCompanyFan]

The biggest problem with GI is it didn't last long enough and never really had a series finale.

It's the same problem with the Jeffersons but GI only lasted 3 seasons compared to 11 for the Jeffersons!