This week on CineTV the contest is a discussion about your (in this case, my) favorite comedy series. Oh, boy, so hard to choose from as there have been so many great sitcoms that I have enjoyed. Do I go with a classic series from my youth, like Get Smart or Hogan’s Heroes (the latter being my daughter’s favorite), something more recent like Red Dwarf or Homeboys from Outerspace (short lived, but rollicking fun series), or something modern like Ghosts (which is quite entertaining)?
The Cast of Gilligan's Island - IMDB
I’d have to say that my all time favorite sitcom is Gilligan’s Island. Like Star Trek, I rarely missed an episode during its afternoon syndicated broadcast when I was growing up. And yes, I could even sing the theme song (still can!). So many of the episodes were such fun, whether the castaways were dealing with a Mad Scientist (Vito Scotti appeared as the Mad Scientist in two episodes, both times with a nefarious plan – “Scientist – yes! Mad – no!”), vintage pilot Wrongway Feldman. whose plane they helped make airworthy, or the astronauts, robots, and a host of other situations that could have led to their rescue, only to be foiled by...Gilligan.
Vito Scotti as the Mad Scientist - IMDB
I’ve always loved this series, and still do. When the series was released on DVD, I of course picked it up and discovered two episodes I was certain I had never seen. No idea how that happened. Why I loved it is simple, it always brought out a good laugh, and was a series that was pure escapist entertainment.
The cast, led by Bob Denver had great chemistry and they all worked well together. Alan Hale, whose father was also an actor (Alan Hale, Sr., appeared in a lot of movies with Errol Flynn and the skipper – Alan Hale, Jr., looked a lot like his dad), always ended up a part of Gilligan’s physical comedy, and the two worked exceptionally well together. Dawn Wells as Mary Ann, the proverbial girl next door, for whom my answer to the question of “Ginger or Mary Ann” always came up Mary Ann. I could go on and on about the great cast, but you get the picture.
Some of the funniest episodes, aside from the two visits by the aforementioned Mad Scientist, had to be the episodes with dream sequences, whether it was Mary Ann dreaming that she was dying due to eating “poisoned mushrooms” while the Professor, Gilligan and the Skipper courted her, or the episode taking liberties with the story of Jack and the Beanstock. Fun stuff.
I should also mention a personal story. When I was stationed in Spain (mid-80s), there was zero chance of seeing Gilligan’s Island, even on video. My mom asked if there was a particular show I missed, and the first one I mentioned was Gilligan’s Island. That year, for Christmas, I received a VHS tape of Gilligan’s Island episodes that she had a friend record. BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER! To make a short story long, word got out I had a tape of Gilligan’s Island episodes and it made the rounds of my unit. There was even a bit of a waiting list as it made the rounds in my unit. Sadly, I no longer have that tape, but the memory of it and the enjoyment it brought to so many of the people I served with in Spain lingers on.
For more info on the CineTV weekly contest, visit - @cinetv/cine-tv-contest-34-favorite-television-comedy
Thanks for stopping by.