The culture at large seems to be very ambivalent about Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island." On the one hand, it was massively popular and, thanks to plum syndication deals, remained in the pop culture consciousness for literally decades, feeding its goofy reruns to multiple generations. The seven stranded castaways are all easily recognizable by millions, and kids grew up chuckling to Gilligan's antics. On the other hand, "Gilligan's Island" is often lambasted, critically, as the nadir of television. The series takes place in a lightweight, cartoonish universe, and it doesn't ever reach deeply into the souls of the characters to analyze how they adapt to being stranded on a tropical island. There is no madness or deterioration, just shenanigans.
Anything as popular as "Gilligan's Island" at least deserves a robust and healthy regard, however. Its seven stars may have been playing broad, slapstick archetypes, but their performances certainly struck a chord.
Anything as popular as "Gilligan's Island" at least deserves a robust and healthy regard, however. Its seven stars may have been playing broad, slapstick archetypes, but their performances certainly struck a chord.
- 8/31/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
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