Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom Gilligan's Island was a huge success when it premiered in 1964. The premise is well known to TV viewers around the world, thanks to its immensely catchy theme 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. The ship, however, hit bad weather, was thrown off course and landed on an unknown tropical island. The series depicted the plight of seven stranded stranded humans as they aimed to survive, and repeatedly attacked their own escape attempts. However, Gilligan's Island took place in a cartoon world, where there was no real shortage or death. Everything was bright and clear, and the missing generally agreed.

Meanwhile, two years later...

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

However, as one might imagine, actor Jim Backus, who played Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island, prefers his own show over Batman. Indeed, in 1966 with the New York Times News Service (quoted in a MeTV article), Backus stated that "The Island" was a step up from "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 heightened, simple, friendly universes that didn't quite resemble reality. Some might go so far as to call both shows "camp," which was certainly Backus's view.

Other similarities: Both shows attracted an audience of kids before adults really caught on. Both shows were instant hits, but then fizzled out in their third season. Both series were also described by critics as silly and raunchy (though those words were complimentary of "Batman" and critical of "The Island"). "Batman" was more of an angry satire, while "Gilligan's Island" was more straightforwardly optimistic ... and, it seems, more prone to critical attacks.

However, Bacchus felt that "The Island" beat "Batman" to a punch in every way. He said:

"Gilligan's Island" was way before "Batman". (...) It is a montage, a fraud. We used to camp before the word became popular. They weren't really reviews, they were character assassinations. Initially, no one but the kids watched them and, after the reviews, we were in grave danger of being taken off the air Martini, and the kids wouldn't let them watch anything else, started laughing and "Gilligan's Island" drew audiences.

The Batman creators, however, seemed to respect Gilligan's Island as they incorporated a fun crossover of sorts. The Batman Episode "Ogg and Me" aired seven months after the cancellation of "Island". In the episode, Alan Hale, better known as the Captain, had a cameo as a character named ... Gilligan. William Dozier clearly wanted to wink at Sherwood Schwartz.