The Gilligan's Island Set Was Cleverly Reused In This Hilarious '60s Sitcom

"Gilligan's Island" lasted just three seasons, yet its influence extended much further. A significant syndication deal, two animated "Gilligan's Island" spin-offs, and three TV sequel movies ensured the castaways stayed in the public consciousness. But the show also lived on via other TV series that re-used its sets. Those shows included its fellow 1960s sitcom "Get Smart."

"Gilligan's Island" was shot at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, where multiple other hit series were filmed. Over the course of three seasons, those other shows took advantage their proximity to the castaways, and even "Gilligan's Island" creator Sherwood Schwartz made a sitcom that used the show's sets and props. Specifically, "It's About Time" featured the lagoon set in its pilot episode, as well as a spaceship later used in a Season 3 episode of "Gilligan's Island." What's more, the short-lived sitcom borrowed directors, musical cues, and arguably its predecessor's basic premise to boot. And it wasn't just Schwartz's productions that helped themselves to the "Gilligan's Island" sets, either.

The legendary Western series "Gunsmoke" likewise used the "Gilligan's Island" lagoon for several scenes, while the latter borrowed two major "Gunsmoke" locations for its dream sequences. Clearly, then, there was a lot of recycling of sets and props over at CBS Studio Center. So, when "Get Smart" wanted to tell a story set on a secluded island, it merely headed for Studio City.

"Get Smart" lampooned the spy genre at a time when the James Bond film series was beginning to establish itself as the blockbuster franchise we know today. Co-created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the comedy show stars Don Adams as agent Maxwell Smart (Agent 86), who, alongside Barbara Feldon's Agent 99, works for the secret United States government counterintelligence agency known as CONTROL. "Get Smart" ran for five seasons, beginning on NBC in 1965 and switching to CBS in 1969 before wrapping up altogether in 1970. Prior to going off the air, though, Agents 86 and 99 paid a visit to Gilligan's Isle in an episode that used the exact same set on which the castaways had been stranded for three seasons.

By 1969, "Gilligan's Island" had been pushed off the air by "Gunsmoke" of all shows, wrapping up its three-season run in 1967. But its massive lagoon set, constructed on the CBS Studio Center backlot, remained for years to come. In fact, it stayed standing until the mid-1990s when it was razed to create more parking at the studio. That meant "Get Smart" could make use of the whole thing for Season 4's "Schwartz's Island."

This 1968 episode was, of course, named for "Gilligan's Island" creator Sherwood Schwartz, and it sees Max and 99 honeymooning on a yacht in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, they end up shipwrecked and marooned on a secluded island, which must have looked extremely familiar to "Gilligan's Island" fans as it was, in fact, the exact set on which Schwartz's beloved sitcom was shot.

By 1968, the sound stage sets for "Gilligan's Island" had long since been packed up. But the lagoon was still standing on the backlot, and it was here that Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 found themselves marooned in "Schwartz's Island." The episode sees them investigate their surroundings only to discover the entire isle has been constructed by KAOS scientist Schwartz and is inhabited by Smart's arch nemesis Siegfried (Bernie Kopell) and his henchman Starker (King Moody). As it turns out, Siegfried has constructed a large magnet that he plans to use to attract the United States Sixth Fleet before sinking the island along with the ships. It certainly wasn't the first time the lagoon set had played host to a zany invention.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Gunsmoke" and "Get Smart" weren't the shows to make use of the "Gilligan's Island" lagoon. Western series "The Big Valley" and "Wild Wild West" also featured the set, as did the drama "St. Elsewhere" and the Burt Reynolds-led sitcom "Evening Shade." Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," told the Times that even during the original filming of the show, she would frequently arrive at CBS Studio Center to an overhauled lagoon. "We'd go on the stage a few days," she recalled, "and all the tropical trees would be replaced by sagebrush and tumbleweeds for a 'Gunsmoke.'"

It makes sense that multiple shows were shot on the lagoon set. After all, it remained standing for almost three decades after "Gilligan's Island" was canceled. But "Get Smart" was the only one to pay homage to Sherwood Schwartz and acknowledged the hallowed ground on which its Season 4 episode was filmed.