GILLIGAN'S ISLAND - DVD SEASON & SERIES SETS (2004-2012) - Pros, Cons, Incongruities & Imponderables (1 Viewer)

[Tony Bensley]

The Pilot I'm aware of from the GI season 1 DVD set.

Having now heard the season 3 version of the opening theme, I do now vaguely recall it. In addition, the lightning bolt looks thicker in the original season 3 opening, so there also appears to be a subtle difference, visually! It's too bad this version never made it to commercial VHS or DVD! Perhaps this error could be rectified for a future Blu-ray issue?

Does anyone know whether this was corrected on the season 3 HD remasters? In addition, was the season 3 closing any different from that of season 2?

CHEERS!

I seriously doubt it.
1) It's circa 90 seconds or (2160 frames) they would have to redo.
2) The major difference (perception wise) between season 1 & (2&3) is A) Color B) "The Professor & Mary Ann")

For the Third season of LiS (approximately the same vintage) they picked the best opening in the Masters and worked on that one and added that one in for all of the season 3 episodes

On the upside, at least GILLIGAN'S ISLAND doesn't suffer from "1966" opening credit syndrome (Suffered by BEWITCHED, and also I DREAM OF JEANNIE, I believe!) for all seasons, including episodes that originally aired in prior seasons!

On the other hand, however subtle the audio/visual differences, it is too bad the GI season 3 opening hasn't been properly mastered for DVD and/or Blu-ray ready issuing! Even if the powers that be at Warner didn't wish to spring for remastering the season 3 opening visuals (The lightning bolt was the only difference I picked up on!), surely including the original audio (Even as an alternate audio option!) shouldn't have been that much of a stretch?

CHEERS!

 

[MattHR]

Isn't it just a bit ironic that the GI DVD cover with the most accurate color representation of the series actually appears on its lone Black & White season? Weird!CHEERS!

Also ironic is that The Season 2 cover features a colorized B&W photo.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Also ironic is that The Season 2 cover features a colorized B&W photo.

While the series as presented on the Warner DVD sets look great overall, there are a few definite quirks present!

This topic is indeed, proving rather educational.

CHEERS!

 

[Tony Bensley]

One quirk that I thought I'd spotted was in the GI season 1 opening. During the storm, the Skipper to me appeared to be smiling, which would seem somewhat inappropriate.

However, when it came down to doing screen captures from that part of the show's opening, whether the Skipper actually recognizably smiles, appears rather inconclusive!


The following 2 shots (Especially the first!) in my opinion, best capture what some might interpret as the Skipper smiling during the storm:

Any thoughts?

CHEERS!

 

[Ron1973]

One quirk that I thought I'd spotted was in the GI season 1 opening. During the storm, the Skipper to me appeared to be smiling, which would seem somewhat inappropriate.

However, when it came down to doing screen captures from that part of the show's opening, whether the Skipper actually recognizably smiles, appears rather inconclusive!


The following 2 shots (Especially the first!) in my opinion, best capture what some might interpret as the Skipper smiling during the storm:
View attachment 32429

View attachment 32430

Any thoughts?

CHEERS!

It looks like he's grimacing to me!

 

[Tony Bensley]

It looks like he's grimacing to me!

That is how it appears in still form. When in motion, it sometimes appears to me that the Skipper's smiling, but that might very well be an illusion.

CHEERS!

 

[Tony Bensley]

I noticed when viewing "X Marks The Spot" (Season 1, Episode 13), that the running time is only 24:34, whereas the previous episodes are all above 25 minutes, with most of them clocking in at around 25.30. It doesn't seem as though anything is missing, but I thought somebody else might know something more about this episode?

CHEERS!

P.S. Here's a screenshot from the above episode of the Castaways recharging batteries for the radio, using "seawater":

"Hey, where's the USB connection? I mean, really!"

 

[Tony Bensley]

Why does the first Season 1 disc only contain the Pilot episode, plus a few bonus extras? Whether on the single-sided DVD, or previously issued flipper discs, even with the extra supplements, this has always struck me as rather awkward! At least with the 2012 reissue, I suppose one could consider this the unofficial last Season 1 supplementary disc, if that makes it any easier. This doesn't quite work for me, unfortunately!

When I included this text in my original #1 post in this topic, I unfortunately made the mistake of thinking Episode 2 on Disc 1, Side 2 was the first episode after the previously unaired pilot, which it is NOT! Episode 1 (Two On A Raft) follows the pilot on Disc 1, Side 1 (Disc 1 on the 2012 single sided DVD reissues!) of THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON set. Thus, my suggestion that this could be considered the unofficial last Season 1 supplementary disc is sadly, incorrect!


GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, SEASON 1, DISC 1 (Disc 1, Side 1 In Previous Releases!) CONTENT:

To Be Fair, "Two On A Raft" Isn't Listed In The Same Format As All Subsequent GI Episodes, Hence My Confusion!:

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, SEASON 1, DISC 2 (Disc 1, Side 2 In Previous Releases!) CONTENT:

Unlike Episode 1's "Two On A Raft" All Subsequent GI Episodes Are Numerically Listed:

Sorry for any confusion my original #1 posting may have caused!

CHEERS!

 

[Tony Bensley]

A couple of anomalies on the GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, Season 2 DVDs:

The Main Menu still shows Gilligan as he appeared during the first season, with his Sailor's Cap folded the conventional way upward. In addition, even though the show's theme was rerecorded by a different musical group (According to Russell Johnson, who played Professor Roy Hinkley, "The Eligibles" was their name.), who oddly enough, were never mentioned in the end credits, unlike The Wellingtons during the first season; whose version is actually what plays on the GI: Season 2 Main Menu page!


GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, SEASON 2, DISC 1

In addition, the GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, Season 3 DVDs, while the opening music from the second season (Previous posts indicate the fate of the proper Season 3 opening music, which did somewhat differ, in tone from that of Season 2!) plays on the Main Menu, the same photo of Gilligan with his Sailor's Cap folded up, is still used.


GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, SEASON 3, DISC 1

CHEERS!

 

[BobO'Link]

^I'd chalk all those inconsistencies up to laziness and/or people unfamiliar with the series/people who probably don't care in the roles of the artists/programmers creating the menu systems. They're likely under instructions/constraints from "suits" who just want it out there and also are unfamiliar with the product and want it done as inexpensively as possible setting up a recipie for poor menu design.

I often wonder why they don't spend a few $$ hiring a "superfan" to double check stuff before it "goes to press." It'd sure save lots of money spent fielding complaints or setting up recalls/replacement programs when something's not right. I'd guess such a system would at worst be a break even proposition and typically save a few dollars.

 

[Tony Bensley]

^I'd chalk all those inconsistencies up to laziness and/or people unfamiliar with the series/people who probably don't care in the roles of the artists/programmers creating the menu systems. They're likely under instructions/constraints from "suits" who just want it out there and also are unfamiliar with the product and want it done as inexpensively as possible setting up a recipie for poor menu design.

I often wonder why they don't spend a few $$ hiring a "superfan" to double check stuff before it "goes to press." It'd sure save lots of money spent fielding complaints or setting up recalls/replacement programs when something's not right. I'd guess such a system would at worst be a break even proposition and typically save a few dollars.

Hi Howie!

Everything you state above makes perfect sense. Still, one would think something basic like the show's theme should have been a no brainer, especially considering when these Discs were originally assembled in 2004, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND was still very much in perpetual syndication! I mean, this wasn't no NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR (With apologies to fans of this one time #1 show, and/or Juliet Mills!) type obscurity, purely in terms of relative lack of widespread syndication!

At the very least, Warner should have got the themes right for Seasons 1 AND 2 for the Main Menu, as they are so completely different, plus the GI Season 2 openings were right there to reference - I mean COME ON!!!!

CHEERS!

 

[Garysb]

[QUOTE="Tony Bensley, post: Besides that, the colorized copyright logos appear on ALL of the Black & White seasons for both series, REGARDLESS of whether they're in color or not!
CHEERS! [/QUOTE]

As far as Bewitched is concerned the Mill Creek versions of the B&W seasons do not have the colorized copyright line under the title like on the Sony set. I can't remember if the B&W Season 1 discs have the 1966 or 1964 copyright. I am guessing probably 1966. All the Dick York episodes on DVD by Sony used the same opening credits for the five seasons he was on. This was probably done when the show was first rerun on ABC daytime. They needed an opening without a sponsor. As originally broadcast in the early years ether the Quaker Oats or Chevrolet logo would appear at the beginning of the credits and turn into the moon and then zoom out as the witch flies by .

Here is a 1965 opening with Quaker Oats sponsorship. The announcer is Gary Owens who a few years later was on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Besides that, the colorized copyright logos appear on ALL of the Black & White seasons for both series, REGARDLESS of whether they're in color or not!
CHEERS!

As far as Bewitched is concerned the Mill Creek versions of the B&W seasons do not have the colorized copyright line under the title like on the Sony set. I can't remember if the B&W Season 1 discs have the 1966 or 1964 copyright. I am guessing probably 1966. All the Dick York episodes on DVD by Sony used the same opening credits for the five seasons he was on. This was probably done when the show was first rerun on ABC daytime. They needed an opening without a sponsor. As originally broadcast in the early years ether the Quaker Oats or Chevrolet logo would appear at the beginning of the credits and turn into the moon and then zoom out as the witch flys by .

Here is a 1965 opening with Quaker Oats sponsorship. The announcer is Gary Owens who a few years later was on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In.

I could of swore that somebody posted somewhere on one of the BEWITCHED/I DREAM OF JEANNIE HTF Topics, that ALL of the sets had the colorized copyright logo superimposed over the openings for the Black & White BEWITCHED seasons.

I for one, would love to see a screenshot example of one of these Black & White openings from the Millcreek sets, which could also give an idea as to what degree the visuals are affected by lower bit-rate compression on these!

CHEERS!

 

[Garysb]

I wouldn't think Mill Creek got new transfers of the B&W episodes. Without knowing when the colorized episodes were created and when Nik _At Night started showing the B&W episodes, I would guess Mill Creek used the masters created for Nik -At Night assuming the show aired on Nik-At Nite prior to the creation of the colorized versions. I know the show originally aired uncut Nik-At-Night so new masters would have had to be made as the syndicated versions were cut.

 

[Tony Bensley]

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND - THE ELIGIBLES (UNSUNG AND UNCREDITED!):

At least since the initial DVD release of this iconic 1964-67 comedy series back towards the middle '00s, much has been made of Bob Denver's going to bat for Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells, who weren't mentioned in the opening credits during GILLIGAN'S ISLAND's first season. Actually, Sherwood Schwartz's comments regarding how they came to be added for the second season varies a bit, as the ones for the first season acknowledges Bob Denver's significant input, while in the season 2 introduction, no mention of Bob Denver's input is made.

But I'm already digressing from my main point!

Even as the wrongs of not including "The Professor" and "Mary Ann" in the first season were righted for season 2, a new wrong occurred - a wrong that in this writer's opinion, has never been fully righted, despite later acknowledgement by at least one former "castaway"!

You see, for the first season, the show's opening and closing themes were recorded by a folk group known as The Wellingtons. This isn't difficult knowledge to come by, as they were duly and properly credited during the end credits, where Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were also acknowledged.

Not so The Eligibles, who recorded the show's opening and closing themes for the second and third seasons. Never heard of them? That's because unlike the first season, for the second season, even as Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells received their due for their opening credit billing, it was somehow inexplicably decided to not credit the group this time! Even as a kid viewing the series in syndication, I would look for the group credit in the color seasons, wondering whether they were just well hidden (Of course, the song itself was still credited!), before eventually concluding they were nonexistent, which struck me as rather odd even back in the 1970s! The Wellingtons' closing credit for the Black & White season sure wasn't difficult to spot!

Before I delve any further, I wish to credit the late Russell Johnson for having acknowledged The Eligibles in a book he co-authored titled HERE ON GILLIGAN'S ISLE, which was published in 1993, but which I came across online only recently, which brings me to my next point!

That the ramifications of The Eligibles never having received proper screen credit for GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, are still, in many ways, being felt to this day! Many of their online profiles don't even mention their iconic recording of "The Ballad Of Gilligan's Isle," and that just isn't right! In fact, the really skint bios list them as having recorded in 1959, 1960 and that's it; while some of the more detailed ones will include their 1963 recordings, and their multiple 1964-65 appearances on SHINDIG!, itself an iconic Rock N' Roll music variety show, hosted by the late Jimmy O'Neill, on the ABC Television Network. However, only a few mention their "The Ballad Of Gilligan's Isle" recording!

The Eligibles were a Pop vocal group from Renton, Washington formed by Stan Farber (1st Tenor), Ron Hicklin (2nd tenor), Ron Rolla (Bass) and Bob Zwirn (Baritone):

Source: http://gilligan.wikia.com/wiki/The_Eligibles?file=Eligibles.jpg

If/when a Blu-ray set of the series is issued, The Eligibles ought to be properly acknowledged somewhere, perhaps even in the form of captioning/subtitles at the start of the end credits for season 2 and 3! Also, if there's any recordings of the late Russell Johnson, Sherwood Schwartz, or any of the other cast members that acknowledge The Eligibles having recorded the theme for the color seasons, maybe those could also be utilized? Otherwise, perhaps Dawn Wells (She can certainly relate to crediting issues!) and/or Tina Louise might be willing to verbally acknowledge The Eligibles? If any of the band mates are still around, I'd bet they would get a kick out of that!

CHEERS!

 

[Brent S]

... the really skint bios list them as having recorded in 1959, 1960 and that's it; while some of the more detailed ones will include their 1963 recordings, and their multiple 1964-65 appearances on SHINDIG!

The Eligibles received credit for the theme song of THE THREE STOOGES SCRAPBOOK (1960).

 

[Tony Bensley]

The Eligibles received credit for the theme song of THE THREE STOOGES SCRAPBOOK (1960).

I did see that one listed in at least one of their bios. Listening to THE THREE STOOGES SCRAPBOOK (1960) end credit music, I definitely pick up some similarities in the vocals as with "The Ballad Of Gilligan's Isle" second and third season versions, as recorded by The Eligibles!


GILLIGAN'S ISLAND Season 1 Theme 'Words and Music/Sung by" Credit,

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND Season 2 Theme "Words and Music by" Credit (Note the 'Sung by" Is No Longer Present!):

Due to this simple lack of credit acknowledgement, for all I knew, the "Color Episodes" theme might have been a rerecording by The Wellingtons, however unlikely that seemed! I was always trying to make sense of why the band wasn't acknowledged, and to my mind at the time, that it was redone by the same group was the only thing that made any sense to my mind! Of course, in hindsight, that doesn't explain the inclusion of the songwriter credits!

CHEERS!

 

[Hasslein]

So I was watching The Friendly Physician last night. When the castaways return to the machine to fix the transfer, Dr. Boris says to Igor(really Ginger) "Get them!" Igor w Ginger voice says "Get them yourself" Then Tina Louise enters behind the Dr, as Igor, and says "I'm in here" surprising Boris. Wait... Boris didn't know he switched them? What was Igor (in Ginger's body) doing all that time? Was Boris w Igor in Gingers body and didn't know ? That scene makes less and less sense each time I watch it.

 

[paul pisano]

looks like walmart is carrying the complete series.

 

[Tony Bensley]

looks like walmart is carrying the complete series.

I've also seen it in our local Best Buy. Also, Shopper's Drug Mart normally carries the first 2 seasons at $9.99 each, but not the 3rd, which I had to order from Amazon Canada separately!

CHEERS!