Why Gilligan's Island Was 'Way Ahead' Of Adam West's Batman, According To Jim Backus

Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom "Gilligan's Island" was a tremendous success when it premiered in 1964. The premise is well-known to TV viewers the world over, thanks to its immensely catchy theme song. Five passengers set sail from Hawai'i one afternoon, hoping to take a three-hour boat tour of the island, guided by the Captain and the First Mate of the S.S. Minnow. The ship, however, hit bad weather, was thrown off-course, and crash-landed on an uncharted tropical island. The series showed the travails of the seven stranded castaways as they aimed to survive, and consistently bungled their own attempts at escape. "Gilligan's Island" took place in a cartoonish world, however, where there was no actual scarcity or death. Everything was bright and clean and the castaways generally got along. 

Meanwhile, two years later ... 

William Dozier's adventure comedy series "Batman" was a tremendous 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 would always end with a cliffhanger, which would be resolved the following evening. Batman and Robin faced off against a guest villain for every episode, and the villains were mostly played by interesting character actors. "Batman" took place in a cartoonish world, however, where there was no actual scarcity or death. Everything was bright and clean, and Batman and Robin generally got along. 

As one can imagine, though, actor Jim Backus, who played Thurston Howell III on "Gilligan's Island," prefers his own show to "Batman." Indeed, in 1966 with the New York Times News Service (quoted in an article on MeTV), Backus declared "Island" to have been one step ahead of "Batman," in terms of broad cartoonish satire. 

Know that both "Gilligan's Island" and "Batman" were indeed 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' view.

Other similarities: both shows attracted an audience of kids before adults really caught on. Both shows were immediately big hits but then petered out in their third seasons. Both shows also were described by critics as being silly and jejune (although those words were complimentary for "Batman" and critical for "Island"). "Batman" was more of a wry satire, while "Gilligan's Island" was more directly optimistic ... and, it seems, more prone to critical attack.

Backus, however, felt that "Island" beat "Batman" to the punch in every respect, however. He said: 

"'Gilligan's Island' was way ahead of 'Batman.' [...] It's a put-on, a spoof. We were doing camp before the word became popular. But the critics reviewed it as though it were 'Playhouse 90.' They weren't really reviews, they were character assassinations. Originally, nobody but the kids watched and, after the reviews, we were in great danger of being taken off the air. But then finally dear old dad, who was sitting there with his martini and not allowed by the kids to watch anything else, started laughing too. By sheer exposure, 'Gilligan's Island' got an audience."

The makers of "Batman," however, seemed to respect "Gilligan's Island," as they incorporated a fun kinda-crossover. The "Batman" episode "The Ogg and I" aired seven months after "Island" was canceled. In the episode, Alan Hale, better known as the Skipper, had a cameo as a character named ... Gilligan. William Dozier clearly wanted to give Sherwood Schwartz a little wink.