Why Gilligan’s Island was “so ahead” of Adam West’s Batman, according to Jim Backus

Sherwood Schwartz’s comedy series “Gilligan’s Island” was a huge success when it premiered in 1964. The idea is well known to television viewers around the world, thanks to It’s a very catchy song. Five passengers set sail from Hawaii one afternoon, hoping to take a three-hour boat tour of the island, guided by the captain and first mate of the SS Minnow. However, the ship encountered bad weather, veered off course, and crashed on an uncharted tropical island. The series showed the suffering of the seven stranded outcasts as they aimed to survive, constantly thwarted in their attempts to escape. “Gilligan’s Island” takes place in a cartoon world, where scarcity and real death do not exist. Everything was bright and clean and the outcasts generally got along.

Meanwhile, two years later…

Adventure comedy series William Dozier “Batman” It was a huge hit when it premiered in 1966. Its premise was new at the time: it was a superhero show that broadcast individual stories in two half-hour segments, two nights in a row. The first episode will always end with a suspenseful incident, which will be resolved the following evening. Batman and Robin face off against a guest villain in each episode, and the villains were mostly played by interesting actors. However, “Batman” takes place in a cartoon world, where scarcity and real death do not exist. Everything was bright and clean, and Batman and Robin generally got along.

As one can imagine, actor Jim Backus, who played Thurston Howell III on “Gilligan’s Island,” prefers his own take on “Batman.” In fact, in 1966 with the New York Times News Service (Quoted from an article on MeTV), Backus declared that “The Island” was one step ahead of “Batman”, in terms of broad cartoon satire.

Know that both “Gilligan’s Island” and “Batman” were actually comedy shows, first and foremost. As mentioned above, both shows are set in simple, friendly worlds that don’t quite resemble reality. Some would go so far as to call both shows “camp”, which was certainly Backus’ point.

Other similarities: Both shows attracted children’s audiences before adults really attracted them. Both shows were instant hits, but then fizzled out in their third seasons. Critics also described both shows as silly and vulgar (although these words were complimentary of “Batman” and critical of “The Island”). “Batman” was more of a satire, while “Gilligan’s Island” was more straightforwardly optimistic… and seemed more vulnerable to critical attack.

However, Backus felt that “The Island” beat “Batman” in every respect. He said:

“Gilligan’s Island was way ahead of Batman.” (…) It’s a parody, we were camping before the word became popular, but the critics reviewed it as if it was ’90’s theater’. They weren’t actually reviews, they were character assassinations. Originally, only the kids were watching, and after the reviews, we were in great danger of being taken off the air, but eventually, dear old Dad, who was sitting there with his Daddy Martini and the kids wouldn’t let him watch anything else, started laughing too. By sheer exposure, “Gilligan’s Island” attracted an audience.

However, the makers of “Batman” seem to respect “Gilligan’s Island,” incorporating some sort of fun crossover. “Batman” episode “Me and Ogg” It was broadcast seven months after the cancellation of “Al Jazeera”. In the episode, Alan Hale, known as The Commander, appeared as a character named…Gilligan. William Dozier clearly wanted to give Sherwood Schwartz a little wink.