TV Series

Gilligan’s Island is a classic 1960s American TV sitcom about seven castaways stranded on a remote Pacific island after a “three-hour tour” goes wrong. It became one of the era’s most iconic light comedies and has stayed popular in reruns and streaming.

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Basic show info

Gilligan’s Island originally aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967 and ran for three seasons totaling 98 episodes. Episodes are about 25–30 minutes each and follow the group’s comic attempts to survive and escape.

​The series was created by Sherwood Schwartz and stars Bob Denver as Gilligan and Alan Hale Jr. as the Skipper, with an ensemble including the Howells, Ginger, Mary Ann, and the Professor. The show later spawned TV reunion movies and animated spin‑offs extending into the 1970s and beyond.

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Premise and tone

The story begins when the charter boat S.S. Minnow and its five passengers plus two crew are shipwrecked during a storm on an uncharted Pacific island. Most plots center on rescue opportunities that fail, often because of Gilligan’s clumsy mistakes, mixed with slapstick humor and character-based gags.

​Despite the survival setup, the tone is broad, family-friendly comedy with running jokes about the Howells’ wealth, the Professor’s inventions from bamboo and coconuts, and Gilligan’s well-meaning blunders. The show also used fantasy sequences and dream episodes that placed the characters in Western, pirate, or prehistoric scenarios.

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Notable production details

The pilot and early island exteriors were filmed on location at Moloaʻa Beach on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Later seasons used a studio backlot lagoon set in California for most outdoor scenes.

​The fictional S.S. Minnow’s departure scene was shot at Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Waikiki, while the “real” boat used for promotion and tourism now resides in Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island, where short charter tours are offered. The castaways are finally rescued in the 1978 TV movie Rescue from Gilligan’s Island, which shows them returning to civilization and then ending up marooned again.

Bob Denver as Gilligan, the hapless first mate of the S.S. Minnow whose bumbling often thwarted rescue attempts.

Alan Hale Jr. as Captain Jonas Grumby, better known as "The Skipper," the gruff but kind-hearted captain of the boat.

Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III, the snobbish, eccentric millionaire who brought along a fortune in cash and luggage.

Natalie Schafer as Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell, Thurston's wife and a high-society socialite.

Tina Louise as Ginger Grant, the glamorous and sophisticated Hollywood movie star.

Russell Johnson as Professor Roy Hinkley, a brilliant, multi-talented academic who could build almost anything from island resources (except a working boat).

Dawn Wells as Mary Ann Summers, a wholesome farm girl from Kansas who won her spot on the "three-hour tour" in a lottery. 

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