Saturday morning cartoons were seriously big business in the 1980s, and that meant TV shows and movies generally targeting adult audiences were getting animated spin-offs for the younger crowd at a surprising rate. Sometimes the properties they chose to adapt into kids' fare were truly shocking -- like the "RoboCop" cartoon or "Rambo: The Force of Freedom" -- but other times it made a bit more sense, like when the rather family-friendly 1960s castaway sitcom "Gilligan's Island" got its second cartoon spin-off in 1982. After the relative success of "The New Adventures of Gilligan," the animated "Gilligan's Island" spin-off that ran for two seasons in the 1970s, the folks behind the show decided to give it another go with "Gilligan's Planet."
"Gilligan's Planet" was essentially just an animated version of "Gilligan's Island" set in space instead of on a deserted island, but it did have the draw of featuring most of the voice cast from both "The New Adventures of Gilligan" and the original "Gilligan's Island," including Bob Denver as Gilligan, Dawn Wells as Mary Ann, and more. As it turns out, just one main cast member was missing. But since she didn't appear in any of the "Gilligan's Island" spin-offs or reunions, it's not a huge surprise. Tina Louise, the actor who portrayed Ginger, wasn't interested in reviving the role for a 1980s cartoon, and that led to some interesting tweaks to the original formula.