Movies - TV
The Inspiration For Gilligan’s Island Wasn’t What You Might Think
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
In a 1997 interview with the Television Academy, creator Sherwood Schwartz clarified that, contrary to popular speculation, "Gilligan's Island" was not based on "Robinson Crusoe."
Schwartz noted that he was searching for a TV premise that would trap disparate characters together and force them to interact. Only, he didn’t know how to make it work.
In an office setting, someone would just get fired or simply go home. Stranding them all on a desert island, however, ended up being the perfect solution.
The "Robinson Crusoe" parallels, he explained, were just a coincidence. "It does happen that 'Robinson Crusoe' is a favorite book of mine, but that's not what started it," he said.
"People who believe that have put the cart before the horse," Schwartz added. "I was looking for a way that seven people [...] could [...] be that they couldn't leave each other."