The Gilligan's Island Creator Made A Sitcom Using The Show's Sets And Props
by Joe Roberts · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
Google Discover
It's impressive to think that "Gilligan's Island" became such a pop culture staple given it only ran for three seasons. Thanks to being relentlessly rerun in syndication, audiences quickly became accustomed to the Castaways as an ever-present feature of the culture, a trend only bolstered by three "Gilligan's Island" TV movies and two animated spin-offs. Before creator and all-around sitcom legend Sherwood Schwartz developed those various follow-ups, however, he created another show that was so similar to "Gilligan's Island" it even borrowed sets, props, music, directors, and the lineaments of its predecessor's premise.
At the start of 1967, "Gilligan's Island" was in the midst of its third and final season. "Gunsmoke" would ultimately ensure the sitcom's cancellation that same year, after CBS big shot William S. Paley ordered the Western series renewed despite one of his underlings having already canceled it, leaving Gilligan and the castaways without their time slot. Ironically, "Gilligan's Island" shared sets with "Gunsmoke" during its run because both shows were filmed at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles. In particular, the lagoon set was used in the Western series for several shots that required water.
This wasn't the only time that set was reused, however. Before "Gunsmoke" pushed "Gilligan's Island" off the air, Schwartz debuted one of his lesser-known sitcoms. "It's About Time" was a show about two astronauts who accidentally send themselves back through time and end up stranded in the prehistoric era. Castaway characters stuck in a primitive land? Sounds an awful lot like another sitcom of the era, right? Well, it wasn't just the premise of "It's About Time" that made it feel like a "Gilligan's Island" retread.
It's About Time was immediately recognizable as a Gilligan's Island clone
"It's About Time" debuted on CBS on September 11, 1966, one day before "Gilligan's Island" Season 3 began airing on the same network. While the former was more of a fantasy sitcom, its debut episode, "And Then I Wrote 'Happy Birthday to You,'" immediately established the close link between the two CBS series.
For one thing, the series premiere was directed by Richard Donner, who'd previously helped smooth things over by directing three episodes of "Gilligan's Island" Season 1. But even without knowing that the future "Superman" and "The Goonies" filmmaker had overseen the "It's About Time" premiere, the episode itself opened with a sequence set in a location that would have been very familiar to "Gilligan's Island" fans.
"And Then I Wrote 'Happy Birthday to You'" begins with astronauts Mac McKenzie (Frank Aletter) and Hector Canfield (Jack Mullaney) landing by a prehistoric lagoon in a spacecraft named "Scorpio EX-1." It seems that during their mission, the pair traveled at the speed of light, which catapulted them back through time and dumped them in a primordial age. The show went on to follow Mac and Hector as they adjusted to their new (old) surroundings and ingratiated themselves with a Neanderthal family who remained highly suspicious of their presence.
Before any of that happens, however, the series premiere opens with a shot of the Scorpio EX-1 landing by the very same lagoon that was specially built for "Gilligan's Island" two years prior. What's more, that same spacecraft was later used in the "Gilligan's Island" episode "Splashdown," in which it represents an experimental NASA craft that falls to Earth and ends up on the island. The similarities didn't stop there, either.
It's About Time is best left in the past
For its first 18 episodes, "It's About Time" followed Mac McKenzie and Hector Canfield as they navigated their prehistoric surroundings and the native customs. Imogene Coca played the matriarch of the natives, Shag/Shad, alongside Joe R. Ross as Gronk. The couple also had two children, 18-year-old Mlor (Mary Grace) and 14-year-old Breer (Pat Cardi). Sadly, none of the cast seemed to be able to overcome the show's ratings woes, and after those first 18 episodes, Sherwood Schwartz reworked the show to revitalize audience interest.
Episode 19 of "It's About Time," entitled "20th Century Here We Come," did indeed see Mac and Hector travel back to their own time, bringing their prehistoric friends with them in what was essentially a reversal of the original premise. But even then, the show maintained links with "Gilligan's Island." Multiple musical cues used to accompany the castaways' antics were reused on "It's About Time," as were the directors.
Aside from Richard Donner, "It's About Time" benefitted from the directorial talents of the great Jack Arnold. The sci-fi movie legend who gave us "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and Clint Eastwood his first acting role contributed to 26 episodes of "Gilligan's Island." When Schwartz needed directors for "It's About Time," he once again enlisted Arnold, who oversaw three episodes. Other "Gilligan's Island" directors who helmed "It's About Time" installments include Gary Nelson, Jerry Hopper, and George Cahan. None of them seemed to be able to make the show a hit, however.
"It's About Time" ran for one season of 26 episodes before being canceled. Today, a "Gilligan's Island" reboot movie doesn't seem like a bad idea. "It's About Time," however, is — like its astronaut-leading men — best left in the past.