On ARC of Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom Gilligan's Island which first debuted in 1964, has been well documented by TV historians. Because it was so broad, unrealistic, and silly, the series won some pretty negative reviews from critics. Gilligan's Island, after all, takes place in a slapstick universe where none of the characters have to struggle for survival; Their food and water supplies seem to be well taken care of, and all the characters are more or less getting along. The only horrible fate the Castaways faced Is it repeatedly called the reality that they will never return to civilization. Which, from the looks of it, wasn't too terrible of a thing to think about, since they had a bottomless supply of pure water and fruit salads.

Audiences seemed to latch on to the show's generally unremarkable tone, however, and the show was an almost instant success. After three seasons, "Gilligan's Island" was folded in a syndication deal that allowed reruns to stay on the air almost indefinitely. Decades of young people grew up watching the show, and it became a staple of American popular culture. Despite the criticism, "Gilligan's Island" was a hit among viewers.

Notice, however, that I said it is Almost Instant success. The first few episodes of Gilligan's Island seem to have been filled with a mixture of indifference and confusion. The show's first season was shot in black and white, so audiences may not have keyed in on the show's bright, cartoonishness.

In 1966, Alan Hale, who played the skipper on Gilligan's Island, and Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, spoke to the Orlando Sentinel (interview hand-transcribed by MetV), and they remembered the bewilderment of the viewer. Was "Gilligan's Island" supposed to be this light and insubstantial? As it happens, yes. Still, Hale and Wells knew audiences picked up on the show pretty quickly.

Hale knew what "Gilligan's Island" was right away, of course. It was a gentle, uncomplicated slapstick comedy series, and it didn't need to delve into deep questions of the human condition. "I think at first people didn't know what to do on the show," he said. "They soon realized it was a complete farce." Indeed, it was not meant to be satire, to veer into more optimistic territory; Sherwood Schwartz said that "Gilligan's Island" could serve as an idealized version of American democracy in actionserved in microcosm.

It's worth noting that "Gilligan's Island" was released at a time when realism was coming into vogue, and dramatically grounded shows like "Peyton Place" and soaps like "One Life to Live," "General Hospital" and "Leading Light." rating. Gilligan's Island was, in its construction, something of a throwback, almost vaudevillian in its tone.

Wells also noted the lightness of "Gilligan's Island" and also recalled that the play started a little slowly, but gained popularity quite quickly. It's a new approach," she said. "I think people have discovered that they're having fun, which is a word that's become almost extinct. Welles thought audiences were ready for a return to light silliness, and when they finally saw that's what Gilligan's Island had to offer, they were hooked.

The series spun off into spin-off TV movies in the 1970s and early '80s, as well as two animated shows. Characters from Gilligan's Island have appeared in Back to the Beach, Baywatch and Alf. Strangely, there hasn't been a Gilligan's Island feature film yet.