Why Gilligan's Island was 'way ahead' of Adam West's Batman, says Jim Backes

Sherwood Schwartz's comedy Gilligan's Island was a huge success when it premiered in 1964. Thanks to its extremely catchy theme song. Five passengers set sail from Hawaii one afternoon hoping to take a three-hour boat tour of the island led by the captain and first mate of the SS Minnow. However, the ship hit bad weather, was thrown off course and crash-landed on an undiscovered tropical island. The series showed the plight of seven stranded people as they struggled to survive and consistently dramatized their escape attempts. “Gilligan's Island” took place in a cartoon world where there was no real scarcity or death. Everything was bright and clean, and the outcasts generally got along.

Meanwhile, two years later…

William Dozier's Adventure Comedy Series “Batman” was a huge success when it premiered in 1966. Its premise was novel for the time: it was a superhero show that aired individual stories in two half-hour blocks, two nights in a row. The first episode would always end with a cliffhanger that would be resolved the following night. Batman and Robin faced a guest villain in each episode, and the villains were mostly played by interesting character actors. But “Batman” took place in a cartoon world where there was no real shortage or death. Everything was bright and clean, and Batman and Robin generally got along.

However, as you can imagine, actor Jim Beck, who played Thurston Howell III in “Gilligan's Island,” prefers his own show to “Batman.” Indeed, in 1966 with the New York Times News Service (quoted in MeTV article), Backus stated that “The Island” was one step ahead of “Batman” in terms of broad cartoon satire.

Know that both “Gilligan's Island” and “Batman” were really comedy shows first and foremost. As mentioned above, both shows took place in an elevated, simple, friendly world that didn't quite resemble reality. Some might go so far as to call both shows “camp,” which was certainly Becks' point.

Other similarities: Both shows attracted children's audiences before adults caught on. Both shows became instant big hits, but then fizzled out in their third season. Both shows were also described by critics as silly and mean (although those words were complimentary of “Batman” and critical of “Island”). “Batman” was more satire of satire, while “Gilligan's Island” was more directly optimistic … and, it seems, more prone to critical attacks.

However, Beck believed that “Island” surpassed “Batman” in every way. He said:

“'Gilligan's Island' was way ahead of 'Batman.'” just kids, and we were in great danger of being taken off the air by Martini after the reviews, and the kids wouldn't let us watch anything else, they also started laughing.

However, it seems that the makers of “Batman” have respect for “Gilligan's Island” as they included a fun crossover. “Batman” episode “The Ogg and I” aired seven months after “Island” was canceled. In the episode, Alan Hale, better known as the Captain, had a cameo as a character named … Gilligan. William Dozier clearly wanted to give Sherwood Schwartz a little wink.