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Summary: Boob Tube Tv show written by a no talent writer....
Review: The creator of the show tries to make his case that Gilligan's Island was an American classic and blames everyone else but himself for it's short run on TV. Actually the reverse was true here. The show from it's first written script was stupid and CBS had every right to pull the show from the air once they saw how stupid an idea was in TV form. The show ruined a lot of careers also, ever after if you were on that show, you could not find any kind of serious work as an actor. Tina Louise was resentful of this and has spend years denounceing this series for destroying her career, Russell Johnson has taken a somewhat similar stand on this. Only Jim Backus continued to work as an actor after this series ended, and while efforts were made to revive the series in the 70's, they were failures thankfully.
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Summary: A MODEST MAN SHERWOOD IS NOT
Review: I have always been a great fan of Gilligan's Island but this book by its creator leaves a lot to be desired. Mr. Schwartz obviously went through a lot getting the show on the air but his description of his efforts seems to be very self-centered and like one man's battle against all odds. Even if this was true, it might have been better if someone else had written it. The book was not about the show so much as it was about Sherwood Schwartz.Mr. Schwartz also seems to blame others for the show's demise and failure to be revived in the late 1970s following the "Rescue From Gilligan's Island" movie. I agree that I thought the show died a pre-mature death. But the success of the "Rescue From Gilligan's Island" movie was probably more attributable to curiousity than to its entertainment value. The original movie was disappointing and subsequent sequels were dismal. He deserves credit for a fun and entertaining TV show but he also deserves criticism for less fun and less entertaining TV shows thereafter.
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Summary: Wrote the series great, wrote the book OK.
Review: Inside Gilligan's Island is an interesting but not spectacular book on the creation of a television phenom. If you are a Gilligan fan it will likely be a must read. If you are not it will be a mixed bag for you. Mr. Schwartz does a great job describing the battles to get the show made and gets the pages turning as we wonder if his series will ever be what he wants it to be. Unfortunately as the book reaches its later chapters it is evident that he has run out of things to say. The last three chapters are a positive chore to read. The epidsode guide is interesting and is many of the behind the scenes production stories, this likely differs greatly from the cast members stories which deal more with the actual production etc. Throughout the book however it seems that Mr. Schwartz is preaching. Now when he put wanted to make a social point with the series he wrote it funny (such as using his own example the implicet respect for marriage see episode 68 Mr. & Mrs.) and taught the lession without giving a speech, we get the speech in the book and its just dulls you away. I did like the book, I don't know if I'd like it enough to buy it again, but I like it enough to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Wrote the series great, wrote the book OK.
Review: Inside Gilligan's Island is an interesting but not spectacular book on the creation of a television phenom. If you are a Gilligan fan it will likely be a must read. If you are not it will be a mixed bag for you. Mr. Schwartz does a great job describing the battles to get the show made and gets the pages turning as we wonder if his series will ever be what he wants it to be. Unfortunately as the book reaches its later chapters it is evident that he has run out of things to say. The last three chapters are a positive chore to read. The epidsode guide is interesting and is many of the behind the scenes production stories, this likely differs greatly from the cast members stories which deal more with the actual production etc. Throughout the book however it seems that Mr. Schwartz is preaching. Now when he put wanted to make a social point with the series he wrote it funny (such as using his own example the implicet respect for marriage see episode 68 Mr. & Mrs.) and taught the lession without giving a speech, we get the speech in the book and its just dulls you away. I did like the book, I don't know if I'd like it enough to buy it again, but I like it enough to read it again.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Book About Getting A Show on TV...the Hard Way!
Review: Simply put this is the best book about the TV industry I ever read. Most of the time we think of the 7 cast members of Gilligan's Island but once you read this book you'll forever know that Sherwood Schwartz was the reason for the show's success. Did you know that they turned the pilot down 3 times? Did you know the Executives wanted Gilligan to have a pet dinosaur. Did you know the only reason it was canceled was some big CBS Mucky Muck wanted Gunsmoke to continue and chose the Gilligan Island time slot to put it in. Did you know TV Executives in the 60's at CBS were idiots? Read this book! God Bless Sherwood Schwartz!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book About Getting A Show on TV...the Hard Way!
Review: Simply put this is the best book about the TV industry I ever read. Most of the time we think of the 7 cast members of Gilligan's Island but once you read this book you'll forever know that Sherwood Schwartz was the reason for the show's success. Did you know that they turned the pilot down 3 times? Did you know the Executives wanted Gilligan to have a pet dinosaur. Did you know the only reason it was canceled was some big CBS Mucky Muck wanted Gunsmoke to continue and chose the Gilligan Island time slot to put it in. Did you know TV Executives in the 60's at CBS were idiots? Read this book! God Bless Sherwood Schwartz!
Rating:
Summary: A MODEST MAN SHERWOOD IS NOT
Review: This book is packed with information about Gilligan's Island . This book tells how Mr. Schwartz picked each member on Gilligan's Island. It to him awhile to find the right Skipper. But then he went to a resturant he found the perfect Skipper! This book is great you have to read it to put how good the book really is in words!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Gilligan's Island Book I have ever read!!
Review: This book is packed with information about Gilligan's Island . This book tells how Mr. Schwartz picked each member on Gilligan's Island. It to him awhile to find the right Skipper. But then he went to a resturant he found the perfect Skipper! This book is great you have to read it to put how good the book really is in words!
Rating: 
Summary: True, "No man is an Island," but Donne forgot about Gilligan
Review: Whatever you think of "Gilligan's Island" (a classic "idiot" sitcom comes to my mind) you have to appreciate that the show's creator Sherwood Schwartz is the one that wrote "Inside Gilligan's Island." The volume promotes itself as "A three-hour tour through the making of a television classic," and within these pages fans of the show will find out where the Howells got all those clothes, learn if Gilligan and the Skipper ever got hurt when the coconuts hit them on the head, discover what was "Lovey's" real name, and shudder to find out what kind of a pet the studio almost gave Gilligan. All of the cast members, even Tina Louise, make brief appearances in the book's Forewords, and the pages are filled with the rare publicity stills you would hope to find, including some nice color shots. "Inside Gilligan's Island" is worth reading for students of television simply for the story of how Schwartz got the show on the air in the first place, which includes the "original" calypso version of the theme song ("Off Florida coast many hundred miles, Is tropical sea full of tropic isles...") and the "complementary" casting of Dawn Wells and Tina Louise (whatever disparaging comments you may rightful inflict upon this television show the Mary Ann or Ginger choice is now a time honored right of passage for adolescent males in this country). Actually, most of the book is devoted to the story of how "Gilligan's Island" got on the air. The show does not actually do so until chapter 22 of 35. Despite all the jokes about the show, it was a hit that managed to win its time period the first three years on the air despite being on three different nights and three different time periods. The final half-dozen chapters have to do with the assorted sequels that found the Castaways rescued, dealing with the Harlem Globetrotters, and other strange fates ("Gilligan's Island: The Musical"). The result will be something of a treat for fans of the series and contain enough stories about the machinations of Hollywood to be of benefit to others as well. The first Appendix provides rather detailed synopses of the 98 episodes of "Gilligan's Island," with Schwartz even providing themes for each episode so that the reader is aware there is more than comedy going on when a crate washes into the lagoon containing a lion ("Feed the Kitty"), but a life lesson ("You can never be sure you've taken the 'wild' out of wild animals"). A second Appendix provides synopses of the various movies and specials as well.
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