Marooned (16 Oct. 1964)

The pilot episode that tells the tale of a tiny ship which set off on a three-hour tour but got caught in a storm and crashed on an island. The pilot was filmed in November 1963, and not aired until almost 30 years later.

Director:

Rod Amateau

Writers:

Austin Kalish, Elroy Schwartz,

Stars:

Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Bob Denver	...	Gilligan
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Jonas 'The Skipper' Grumby
Jim Backus	...	Thurston Howell III
Natalie Schafer	...	Mrs. Lovey Howell
Kit Smythe	...	Ginger
John Gabriel	...	The Professor
Nancy McCarthy	...	Bunny

Storyline

The pilot episode that tells the tale of a tiny ship which set off on a three-hour tour but got caught in a storm and crashed on an island. The pilot was filmed in November 1963, and not aired until almost 30 years later.

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Plot Keywords:

gilligans island | pilot episode has different cast | hot pants | unaired tv series pilot | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1964 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gladysya Productions, United Artists Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first pilot episode for Gilligan's Island, the film stars several different actors who did not continue on into the series, as well as one character, Bunny, who was later renamed Mary Ann. Filmed around the time of John Kennedy's assassination. As a result, flags can be seen flying at half-mast on some of the boats seen in the opening credits.

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Goofs

The boat is called the SS Minnow, but "SS" stands for "steam ship". A small boat like the Minnow would be powered by diesel or gas engine.

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Connections

Followed by Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History (2001)

User Reviews

Before Lost (2004) , Before Lost In Space (1965)...

This is the un-aired pilot that slowly became available to the world in the 1990s...now on DVD! The story details the series premise about a group of mis-matched Americans being marooned on an island together. Mr and Mrs Howell seem to struggle with island life more than the others.

In this century, the mind bending Lost (2004) TV series is sometimes called a straight version of Gilligan's Island. But I am sure most will agree that Lost (2004) always looks better than Gilligan's Island due mostly to the fact that this new take on island castaways actually films on a real beach and in real jungles. Which adds to the reality element. Gilligan's Island was too studiobound...but hey...it did not begin like that.

Marooned is filmed 100% on location and by the end it, the viewer feels like they have just spent 25 minutes on a lost tropical island in the South Pacific. It must have looked great in 1962 because back then going 100% out on location was a big expensive thing. Remember how the world reacted to the location filmed movie South Pacific (1958)? On top of this, as well as the expected comedy, we get the odd concerned remark from The Skipper about island natives causing problems. Normally I hate the G-Rated humour involving The Skipper being hit by coconuts but when you see this in Marooned in a real jungle, it is okay, in fact rather pleasing.

But let me not sell you on the idea that Marooned is a gem, it is not, the footage of Gilligan fishing might look good but it is still as silly as the regular Gilligan's Island series. Mr and Mrs Howell get all the best lines in the un-aired pilot, they are both very funny, three of the other cast members are not the same as the series cast members, but the regular Gilligan (aged just 26 in 1962) and regular Skipper keep the tone of the series that would follow.

The series that would follow began badly with a pilot called - Two On A Raft. Despite lifting a small amount of footage from Marooned, the second pilot is a let down that is more concerned with "A Raft" and the "comedy" that goes with it rather than centering on the island itself. If you are watching the series on DVD I would just jump to episode 22 - Diamonds Are An Ape's Friend (1965) - after watching Marooned. The Ape episode is almost a send up of King King, in fact, Mrs Howell even mentions King King when held captive by the ape.

Added note: A credited John Williams did the music to Marooned but his music sounds nothing like the music he did for the other castaway series of the 1960s, Lost In Space (1965), in fact, it sounds like nothing Williams has done before.