Why One Gilligan's Island Star Didn't Return For Gilligan's Planet

Saturday morning cartoons were seriously big business in the 1980s, and that meant TV shows and movies generally targeting adult audiences were getting animated spin-offs for the younger crowd at a surprising rate. Sometimes the properties they chose to adapt into kids' fare were truly shocking — like the "RoboCop" cartoon or "Rambo: The Force of Freedom" — but other times it made a bit more sense, like when the rather family-friendly 1960s castaway sitcom "Gilligan's Island" got its second cartoon spin-off in 1982. After the relative success of "The New Adventures of Gilligan," the animated "Gilligan's Island" spin-off that ran for two seasons in the 1970s, the folks behind the show decided to give it another go with "Gilligan's Planet."

"Gilligan's Planet" was essentially just an animated version of "Gilligan's Island" set in space instead of on a deserted island, but it did have the draw of featuring most of the voice cast from both "The New Adventures of Gilligan" and the original "Gilligan's Island," including Bob Denver as Gilligan, Dawn Wells as Mary Ann, and more. As it turns out, just one main cast member was missing. But since she didn't appear in any of the "Gilligan's Island" spin-offs or reunions, it's not a huge surprise. Tina Louise, the actor who portrayed Ginger, wasn't interested in reviving the role for a 1980s cartoon, and that led to some interesting tweaks to the original formula. 

Over the years, people have assumed that Tina Louise absolutely hated "Gilligan's Island" because she refused to have anything to do with the franchise after the initial series went off the air, but she really was just glad to be done with all of the stresses that came with it. There were rumors aplenty about disagreements with various co-stars, ranging from a major feud with the show's primary star, Bob Denver, to tensions with some other members of the cast after she refused to appear with them for cast reunion spots on other shows, costing everyone money since it was an "all or nothing" kind of deal. 

When "Gilligan's Island" was over, Louise wanted to move on in her career instead of re-playing the same character again and again, and that meant she wasn't about to spend time voicing an animated version of Ginger. Thankfully, co-star Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," was willing to voice the cartoon Ginger. According to pop culture historian Geoffrey Mark, Wells said Tina Louise wanted "nothing to do with it" and so she took on the double role. Previously, Ginger had been voiced by prolific voice actor Jane Webb in "The New Adventures of Gilligan," and to possibly help separate the cartoon Ginger from Louise a bit more, the team at Filmation chose to animate her with platinum blond hair instead of her typical fiery red bob. This was kept consistent in "Gilligan's Planet," as the Wells-voiced Ginger also has platinum blond hair. Since Ginger means "redhead," changing her hair color feels kind of odd, but kids in the 1970s and 1980s might not have cared. 

"Gilligan's Planet" followed the unlucky castaways from "Gilligan's Island" after they built a homemade wooden rocketship to get off the island, but they then ended up crash-landing on a deserted planet, marooned once more. It's a cute, if not strange idea, but unfortunately, "Gilligan's Planet" only ran for one 13-episode season.

As for Tina Louise, she eventually came around to really appreciate her time on "Gilligan's Island" after a heartfelt encounter with a fan, changing how she felt about the series as a whole. It's a shame that she wasn't able to reconcile her feelings toward the series earlier and maybe participate in some of the spin-offs, but that's alright, because there were five other actors all willing to fill her heels and play Ginger after the series ended.