Gilligan’s Island was a sitcom and social experiment about seven castaways who survive on an island after their ship wrecks. It was created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz, who went on to create The Brady Bunch. The show ran for three seasons from September 26, 1964 to April 17, 1967.

It starred Bob Denver as the hapless first mate Gilligan and Alan Hale Jr. as Captain Grumpy, aka “Skipper.” Their passengers were Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer as millionaire couple Thurston Howell and Lovey Howell, Tina Louise as movie star Ginger Grant, Russell Johnson as Professor Hinkley, and Dawn Wells as farm girl Mary Ann Summers.

Most episodes were focused on the marooned survivors attempting to find a way off of the island or making themselves as safe and comfortable as possible in their isolated, tropical home. Being that the characters were so different – from their personalities to economic status to intelligence – they often clashed with each other. Since Gilligan was a bumbling screwup, he was often the reason why their attempts to be rescued were unsuccessful.

Because the show was isolated to one location with only seven characters, the writers needed a way to keep the series from becoming stagnant. Their method for keeping it fresh was to use dream sequences that were connected to whatever was happening in their real lives. The dream scenarios were often inspired by other TV shows, movies, and literature, including Gunsmoke, Dr. Kildare, Dracula, and James Bond.