My local Christian stations, like many others, sometimes pad out their otherwise 24/7 religious schedule with “family friendly” old movies and TV show episodes. Usually, these come from the vast inventory of public domain issues, the same stuff you find in the $1 DVD bin at your local bargain store.
The other day, I noted WTGL on one of their subchannels (45.3) was running the 1978 TV-movie “Rescue From Gilligan’s Island.” Sure looked like a typical, rather murky PD print, but I couldn’t imagine that something that relatively recent had fallen into the public domain.
Well, I did a little googling, and several sources do claim that this movie is in the public domain. And, in fact, it has for quite some time turned up on those bargain basement DVDs. But I think this may be mistaken. In fact, it almost definitely isn’t kosher.
The movie was shot right on the cusp of one of several major changes to copyright law. Prior to 1978, a copyright on a movie ran a maximum of 56 years: an initial 28, then optionally renewed for another 28. Starting in 1978, this was expanded to 70 years. (Mainly because the earliest Disney cartoons were starting to get perilously close to falling into the public domain, and we know what kind of clout Disney carries!)
Also, prior to 1978, you had to officially and properly register the work for copyright protection. Starting in 1978, a work was considered to be de facto copyrighted at the moment of creation, even if not registered. (Not registering would certainly make infringement harder to prove, but it would still be a valid legal complaint.)
In 1992, Congress eliminated the need to renew registrations after 28 years, but those works that had already fallen into the public domain for non-renewal were not retroactively re-copyrighted.
The thing is, by every aspect of the law, there is no way “Rescue From Gilligan’s Island” could be public domain so soon. Even if it was never registered, or improperly registered, the changes that took place in 1978 would still have allowed the creators to claim copyright. And even if the 1992 act had not eliminated the 28-year renewal requirement, the movie would have not hit that milestone until 2006, and allegedly PD copies were circulating well before that. No matter how you slice it, the film simply cannot be public domain. There must be some irregularities involved that make folks believe it to be PD, though – anyone ever heard anything in reference to this?
As for the movie itself, watching it for the first time in 31 years was an interesting experience. I saw it when originally broadcast in 1978, and at the time, TV geeks like me were just excited to see 6/7 of the original cast reunited – it was a fun lark. Gilligan’s Island was one of those 60’s shows that were silly, contrived and overacted, yet still possessed a quirky, campy charm to those of us who were juveniles during its original run.
But now, viewing the movie with much more detachment – wow, is it bad. The actors seemed to phone it in, slogging through their lines, if it can be believed, even more broadly and obviously than in the original series, almost becoming caricatures of their characters (which were pretty much stereotypical caricatures to begin with!). It also didn’t help that it was done without a laugh track – while I generally disdain laugh tracks, the artificial enhancement was integral to and expected from the original show, and Gilligan’s dumb lines or the Skipper beaning him over the head with his cap for the nth time just fall flat without canned laughter. (It's kind of like when you see The Three Stooges in one of their live TV appearances, and the pokes, bonks, and slaps are devoid of their expected sound effects.) <g>
And imagine – this is the BEST of the three reunion movies! “The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island” elevated the plot holes and contrivances of the concept to a degree even the original series would have found ridiculous. (C’mon, they were on the island for 15 years...and now that they're marooned there anew, they JUST NOW discover a couple of old airplanes...because the island was an Army Air Corps base in World War II? How big is this frakkin’ island, anyway? And in spite of that history, the island was “uncharted?”)
And I’ve NEVER even ATTEMPTED to view “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.” The title alone screams, “Run! STAY AWAY!!” <LOL>
The other day, I noted WTGL on one of their subchannels (45.3) was running the 1978 TV-movie “Rescue From Gilligan’s Island.” Sure looked like a typical, rather murky PD print, but I couldn’t imagine that something that relatively recent had fallen into the public domain.
Well, I did a little googling, and several sources do claim that this movie is in the public domain. And, in fact, it has for quite some time turned up on those bargain basement DVDs. But I think this may be mistaken. In fact, it almost definitely isn’t kosher.
The movie was shot right on the cusp of one of several major changes to copyright law. Prior to 1978, a copyright on a movie ran a maximum of 56 years: an initial 28, then optionally renewed for another 28. Starting in 1978, this was expanded to 70 years. (Mainly because the earliest Disney cartoons were starting to get perilously close to falling into the public domain, and we know what kind of clout Disney carries!)
Also, prior to 1978, you had to officially and properly register the work for copyright protection. Starting in 1978, a work was considered to be de facto copyrighted at the moment of creation, even if not registered. (Not registering would certainly make infringement harder to prove, but it would still be a valid legal complaint.)
In 1992, Congress eliminated the need to renew registrations after 28 years, but those works that had already fallen into the public domain for non-renewal were not retroactively re-copyrighted.
The thing is, by every aspect of the law, there is no way “Rescue From Gilligan’s Island” could be public domain so soon. Even if it was never registered, or improperly registered, the changes that took place in 1978 would still have allowed the creators to claim copyright. And even if the 1992 act had not eliminated the 28-year renewal requirement, the movie would have not hit that milestone until 2006, and allegedly PD copies were circulating well before that. No matter how you slice it, the film simply cannot be public domain. There must be some irregularities involved that make folks believe it to be PD, though – anyone ever heard anything in reference to this?
As for the movie itself, watching it for the first time in 31 years was an interesting experience. I saw it when originally broadcast in 1978, and at the time, TV geeks like me were just excited to see 6/7 of the original cast reunited – it was a fun lark. Gilligan’s Island was one of those 60’s shows that were silly, contrived and overacted, yet still possessed a quirky, campy charm to those of us who were juveniles during its original run.
But now, viewing the movie with much more detachment – wow, is it bad. The actors seemed to phone it in, slogging through their lines, if it can be believed, even more broadly and obviously than in the original series, almost becoming caricatures of their characters (which were pretty much stereotypical caricatures to begin with!). It also didn’t help that it was done without a laugh track – while I generally disdain laugh tracks, the artificial enhancement was integral to and expected from the original show, and Gilligan’s dumb lines or the Skipper beaning him over the head with his cap for the nth time just fall flat without canned laughter. (It's kind of like when you see The Three Stooges in one of their live TV appearances, and the pokes, bonks, and slaps are devoid of their expected sound effects.) <g>
And imagine – this is the BEST of the three reunion movies! “The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island” elevated the plot holes and contrivances of the concept to a degree even the original series would have found ridiculous. (C’mon, they were on the island for 15 years...and now that they're marooned there anew, they JUST NOW discover a couple of old airplanes...because the island was an Army Air Corps base in World War II? How big is this frakkin’ island, anyway? And in spite of that history, the island was “uncharted?”)
And I’ve NEVER even ATTEMPTED to view “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.” The title alone screams, “Run! STAY AWAY!!” <LOL>
