Do
the names Jonas Grumby, Roy Hinkley or Eunice Wentworth Howell sound
familiar? How about Mary Ann Summers or Willy Gilligan? Certainly,
everyone knows the names Thurston Howell III and Ginger Grant… if not,
you must have been marooned on a desert isle for more than forty years!
Anyway, "Gilligan, the Skipper too, the Millionaire and his Wife,
the Movie Star, the Professor and Mary Ann" are here on DVD now.
With the enormous popularity of owning favorite TV shows on DVD, it was
only a matter of time before GILLIGAN’S ISLAND: THE COMPLETE FIRST
SEASON ($40) would cruise onto the little digital format that everyone
loves. My love for GILLIGAN’S ISLAND started back in my misspent
childhood, when the show was appearing daily in syndicated reruns. As a
kid, I found the show to be totally hilarious and this DVD set allows me
to relive the goofy good fun of my childhood- without the annoying
commercials I hated so much back then.
For
the three of you out there unfamiliar with the premise of GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND, the show features the comical misadventures of the passengers
and crew of the S.S. Minnow, who find themselves marooned on small,
uncharted island after a violent storm blew hundreds of miles off course-
and away from the Hawaiian Island chain where they were taking a three
hour tour. Many episodes had the recurring theme that the castaways would
find a possible way off the island, which the title character would manage
to screw up at the last minute. GILLIGAN’S ISLAND starred Bob
Denver as Gilligan, Alan Hale Jr. as The Skipper, Jim Backus as Thurston
Howell III, Natalie Schafer as Mrs. Howell (AKA "Lovey"), Tina
Louise as Ginger Grant, Russell Johnson as The Professor and Dawn Wells as
Mary Ann. GILLIGAN’S ISLAND probably has endured for four decades
because each member of the cast imbued their character with real comic
charm, not to mention that every episode of featured a strong dose of
physical comedy, which is universal and timeless.
GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON comes to DVD in a three disc set
that features all 36 episodes that were aired in the show’s freshman
year. 36 episodes! Wow! I guess actors worked a lot harder, for a lot less
compensation back in the 1960s. Anyway the 36-featured episodes are as
follows: Two On A Raft,Home Sweet Hut,Voodoo
Something To Me,Goodnight Sweet Skipper,Wrongway
Feldman,President Gilligan,The Sound Of
Quacking,Goodbye Island,The Big Gold Strike,Waiting For Watubi,Angel On The Island,Birds
Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk,Three Million
Dollars More Or Less,Water, Water Everywhere,So Sorry, My Island Now,Plant You Now,
Dig You Later,Little Island, Big Gun,X Marks The Spot,Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy,St.
Gilligan And The Dragon,Big Man On Little Stick,Diamonds Are An Ape's Best Friend,How To Be A Hero,The Return Of Wrongway Feldman,The Matchmaker,Music Hath Charm,New Neighbor Sam,They're
Off And Running,Three To Get Ready,Forget Me
Not,Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home?,Physical Fatness,It's Magic,Goodbye,
Old Paint,My Fair Gilligan andA Nose By Any
Other Name.
Warner
Home Video has made all 36 episodes that comprise GILLIGAN’S ISLAND:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON available on DVD in the proper full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. It should be noted
that season one of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND was filmed in black and
white, while the subsequent two seasons of the show were produced in
color. I was surprised at how good these forty-year-old episodes look on
DVD. With some minor exceptions, the episodes generally appear sharp and
rather well defined. There is the occasional slightly soft looking shot,
plus the credit sequences don’t look as good as the episodes proper, but
for the most part, fans are going to be mighty delighted with this
presentation. Blacks are solid, whites are stable and the grayscale is
quite good. The film elements seem very well preserved, with only
occasional blemishes cropping up. Additionally, film grain remains very
mild, when it is noticeable within the episodes. Digital compression
artifacts are always well contained.
.
.
.
The Dolby Digital monaural soundtracks are perfectly fine. There is a bit
of hiss here and there, as well as an occasional audible anomaly, but for
the most part the sound is quite solid. Dialogue is always totally
understandable, plus the music has adequate fidelity. Of course, the
canned laughter is as grating as it ever was, but that’s Hollywood for
you. No other language tracks or subtitles are present, although English,
French and Spanish subtitles are provided for the episodes.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide one with access to
the standard episode selection and set up features, as well as
supplemental materials. The series original unaired pilot episode is
provided, with optional commentary from creator Sherwood Schwartz. I don’t
think that the series would have worked nearly as well with the three
different cast members featured in the original pilot. Certainly, the
platonic relationships of the series are a lot more believable with the
Professor, Ginger and Mary Ann on the island, rather than with the other
actors and incarnations of the characters found in this unaired pilot. Tropical
Tidbits or pop-up trivia is provided for the episode Two On
A Raft. Gilligan’s Island Survival Guide is a
trivia game that tests ones knowledge of what to do if marooned on a
desert isle. Before The Three Hour Tour offers a glimpse
into the development of the characters, by examining the original
treatment that was devised by Sherwood Schwartz, which was to give the
writers an idea of who the characters were before they became marooned on
the island.
GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND is every bit of the goofy good fun that I remember from my
childhood, maybe even more so, now that it is available on DVD- sans the
annoying interruptions of commercials. Warner has done a fine job with the
show’s presentation on DVD- looking far better than the syndicated TV
rebroadcasts I remember. If you are a fan, then GILLIGAN’S ISLAND:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is a must have for your collection.
Do
the names Jonas Grumby, Roy Hinkley or Eunice Wentworth Howell sound
familiar? How about Mary Ann Summers or Willy Gilligan? Certainly,
everyone knows the names Thurston Howell III and Ginger Grant… if not,
you must have been marooned on a desert isle for more than forty years!
Anyway, "Gilligan, the Skipper too, the Millionaire and his Wife,
the Movie Star, the Professor and Mary Ann" are here on DVD now.
With the enormous popularity of owning favorite TV shows on DVD, it was
only a matter of time before GILLIGAN’S ISLAND: THE COMPLETE FIRST
SEASON ($40) would cruise onto the little digital format that everyone
loves. My love for GILLIGAN’S ISLAND started back in my misspent
childhood, when the show was appearing daily in syndicated reruns. As a
kid, I found the show to be totally hilarious and this DVD set allows me
to relive the goofy good fun of my childhood- without the annoying
commercials I hated so much back then.
For
the three of you out there unfamiliar with the premise of GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND, the show features the comical misadventures of the passengers
and crew of the S.S. Minnow, who find themselves marooned on small,
uncharted island after a violent storm blew hundreds of miles off course-
and away from the Hawaiian Island chain where they were taking a three
hour tour. Many episodes had the recurring theme that the castaways would
find a possible way off the island, which the title character would manage
to screw up at the last minute. GILLIGAN’S ISLAND starred Bob
Denver as Gilligan, Alan Hale Jr. as The Skipper, Jim Backus as Thurston
Howell III, Natalie Schafer as Mrs. Howell (AKA "Lovey"), Tina
Louise as Ginger Grant, Russell Johnson as The Professor and Dawn Wells as
Mary Ann. GILLIGAN’S ISLAND probably has endured for four decades
because each member of the cast imbued their character with real comic
charm, not to mention that every episode of featured a strong dose of
physical comedy, which is universal and timeless.
GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON comes to DVD in a three disc set
that features all 36 episodes that were aired in the show’s freshman
year. 36 episodes! Wow! I guess actors worked a lot harder, for a lot less
compensation back in the 1960s. Anyway the 36-featured episodes are as
follows: Two On A Raft, Home Sweet Hut, Voodoo
Something To Me, Goodnight Sweet Skipper, Wrongway
Feldman, President Gilligan, The Sound Of
Quacking, Goodbye Island, The Big Gold Strike,
Waiting For Watubi, Angel On The Island, Birds
Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk, Three Million
Dollars More Or Less, Water, Water Everywhere,
So Sorry, My Island Now, Plant You Now,
Dig You Later, Little Island, Big Gun,
X Marks The Spot, Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy, St.
Gilligan And The Dragon, Big Man On Little Stick,
Diamonds Are An Ape's Best Friend, How To Be A Hero,
The Return Of Wrongway Feldman, The Matchmaker,
Music Hath Charm, New Neighbor Sam, They're
Off And Running, Three To Get Ready, Forget Me
Not, Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home?,
Physical Fatness, It's Magic, Goodbye,
Old Paint, My Fair Gilligan and A Nose By Any
Other Name.
Warner
Home Video has made all 36 episodes that comprise GILLIGAN’S ISLAND:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON available on DVD in the proper full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. It should be noted
that season one of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND was filmed in black and
white, while the subsequent two seasons of the show were produced in
color. I was surprised at how good these forty-year-old episodes look on
DVD. With some minor exceptions, the episodes generally appear sharp and
rather well defined. There is the occasional slightly soft looking shot,
plus the credit sequences don’t look as good as the episodes proper, but
for the most part, fans are going to be mighty delighted with this
presentation. Blacks are solid, whites are stable and the grayscale is
quite good. The film elements seem very well preserved, with only
occasional blemishes cropping up. Additionally, film grain remains very
mild, when it is noticeable within the episodes. Digital compression
artifacts are always well contained.
.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide one with access to
the standard episode selection and set up features, as well as
supplemental materials. The series original unaired pilot episode is
provided, with optional commentary from creator Sherwood Schwartz. I don’t
think that the series would have worked nearly as well with the three
different cast members featured in the original pilot. Certainly, the
platonic relationships of the series are a lot more believable with the
Professor, Ginger and Mary Ann on the island, rather than with the other
actors and incarnations of the characters found in this unaired pilot. Tropical
Tidbits or pop-up trivia is provided for the episode Two On
A Raft. Gilligan’s Island Survival Guide is a
trivia game that tests ones knowledge of what to do if marooned on a
desert isle. Before The Three Hour Tour offers a glimpse
into the development of the characters, by examining the original
treatment that was devised by Sherwood Schwartz, which was to give the
writers an idea of who the characters were before they became marooned on
the island.
GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND is every bit of the goofy good fun that I remember from my
childhood, maybe even more so, now that it is available on DVD- sans the
annoying interruptions of commercials. Warner has done a fine job with the
show’s presentation on DVD- looking far better than the syndicated TV
rebroadcasts I remember. If you are a fan, then GILLIGAN’S ISLAND:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is a must have for your collection.