News
Would You Watch Gilligan's Island In HD?
A Warner Bros. executive says the sitcom and other old shows may be re-mastered for high-def.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (August 16, 2006) --  When you say High-Definition TV, crystal-clear images of football fields and beautiful landscapes usually come to mind.

What doesn't pop into your head are the castaways of Gilligan's Island, the 1960s sitcom starring Bob Denver. However, a Warner Bros. executive said yesterday that the faded comedy (and many other old shows and movies) may soon be re-mastered for high-def.


The late Bob Denver, star of Gilligan's Island.

Darcy Antonellis, executive vice president of distribution and technology operations for Warner Bros., says it makes "business sense" to release the studio's library of past programs on new HDTV DVDs. Although the shows were not produced in high-def, the re-mastering process will give the shows significantly greater detail and clarity.

Antonellis made her remarks yesterday at  DisplaySearch's 4th annual HDTV conference in Beverly Hills.

The studio executive said that shows such as Gilligan's Island have nostalgic value and could find a new audience among today's younger viewers. She noted that a recent search found that users of eMule, a peer to peer network, have uploaded 30 episodes of the 40-year-old sitcom.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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