TotonotinKansas I was about 7 years old when this show was first broadcast, I was captivated by the boat, the scenery, the sense of free-spirited adventure. It was one of my favorites even though as a kid the plot intricacies didn't always hold my attention. I always kept AIP in the back of my mind, I'm sure it contributed to an interest in sailing which continues to this day. I had an opportunity to view some dvds of the original shows recently. It was interesting to see how they held up, at least in my mind, in the context of 50 years of TV evolution. It was a bit like being in a time machine, I was a kid again. Like most other "serious" shows of the era, AIP was somewhat formulaic; the passengers brought the drama on board with their baggage, usually a bad guy with a gun, and an attractive femme fatale who would fall for Capt. Troy, who would bring her to her senses in the end with gentlemanly resistance, there would be a fist fight and the bad guy would be hauled away. Seems funny now to see that all the women passengers wore dresses, heels, and jewelry on board the Tiki, the June Cleaver standard of the times. Even with these criticisms, I still consider it a great show of its era, and an awesome nostalgic trip for those like me who originally watched it back in the day. Great to see it well-rated here, I couldn't agree more.

roghache My husband & I both grew up on this series and remember it fondly, though for different reasons. He liked the adventure tales (sometimes involving a certain sense of danger), while I was besotted with Adam Troy, the handsome, likable young captain, oozing with boyish charm and wonderfully portrayed by actor Gardner McKay. I haven't seen the program for decades so have no adult take on it, but expect based on my memories, that I would find it entertaining escapist fare. I was very surprised to discover recently that this series was created by James Mitchener, the famous author of Hawaii and other books.The series revolves around the seafaring adventures of an American Korean War vet named Adam Troy, who captains the schooner, Tiki III, around the South Seas. Accompanied by his first mate, he drifts from one adventure to another, carrying both cargo and passengers around exotic locales. During his tropical travels, he encounters many old friends, enemies, and lost loves. Others have commented that Troy is too young to have had such a rich past, but that certainly didn't bother me at the time. Realism was definitely not a requirement.Apart from the charm of the captain, the series with its exotic paradise travels appealed to some sense of wanderlust in me. Admittedly, I haven't managed to do much tropical traveling, but if I did...the ports of call from Adventures in Paradise would rank high on my list, especially French Polynesia. To this very day, whenever I hear the names of some of these South Pacific islands (especially Tahiti and its capital, Papeete), I recall Adam Troy and his romantic schooner sailing adventures.

schappe1 I, too, remember this one from my youth. I recall it as being re-run in the afternoons in the 60's, about the time I got home from school. It enabled me to immediately release the problems and tensions of school and go off into another world. I eventually made it only as far as Hawaii, (I'm kind of a homebody), but my brother has spent much of his life traveling the world, including many of the real locations the fictional Adam Troy had visited and, as a professor of history at the University of Hawaii has written extensively about that area of the world.I've been able to get some episodes of the series from internet collectors and thus have been able to revisit Adam Troy's world four decades later as an adult. Naturally, that impacts my thinking on the subject.My first impression is that, as good a job as they did with this, what an incredible show this would have been if they'd decided to shoot it on location and in color! That wouldn't have been such a far-fetched idea. Bonanza debuted the same year in color with many scenes shot on location in Nevada and California. Route 66 started the next year, (that also should have been in color), with episodes shot all over the country and not too many years later, I Spy was shot in color around the world. There is a trend toward remakes of old shows, both in the movies and on TV and Adventures in Paradise would be an ideal subject if they did it right- which would include setting it in its original time period, in the places where it takes place and in vibrant color.My major problem with the show, however, is that Gardner McKay is simply too young to play this character. He's clearly a sailor of considerable experience and has spent enough time in the pacific to have old friend, old enemies and old flames in every port. It takes a while to build a life like that up. In one episode, ( 11/16/59 Safari at Sea), Troy meets an old friend from his college days and they reminisce about their graduation five years before and how they couldn't have imagined being where they are now. (the friend, played by John Ericson, is married to a movie star). In other words, Troy, in five years, has learned all he knows about sailing schooners around the South Pacific and had all kinds of previous adventures where he has met all these people.I prefer to think of Troy as what Lt. Cable of James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" would have become had he lived. Cable was from Philadelphia, (Troy is from Texas), and found himself in a different world after he joined the Navy during WWII. He overcame his prejudices to fall in love with the new place and with the native girl in the story. Supposed he had lived and something had happened to end that relationship. He might have, after the war, sought a position in the merchant marine, decided to save up to buy his own boat and wound up in the Tikki. He might have gotten that in the early 50's and had a decade of adventures in Paradise and all the knowledge and relationship building the character has clearly gone through by the time the show started in 1959. He would have been young enough to still be handsome and sexy but old enough to be an experienced seaman and adventurer.That would have pushed the agreeable but boyish Gardener McKay out the picture. Who would have played Cable/Troy then? Among the actors that come to mind who were working in television then are Robert Stack, (who got a good gig for himself that same year as Elliott Ness), John Russell, (who already had one on "Lawman"), Guy Williams, (whose "Zorro" was just winding up at that time), Anthony George, Richard Egan, Tom Tryon and- how about this- Jack Lord! All were about a decade older than McKay or a little more but still handsome and virile. They all would have been convincing as WWII veterans, (as I suspect they all were in one way or another), who elected to stay in the Pacific.But then there's the opinion of a friend who also remembered the show from his youth and told me that Adam Troy didn't look too young to him at the time because he was just a kid. I suspect that the secret of enjoying this series is to be "just a kid" and to allow it to return you to your youth whenever you get to see it.

Tocky I was only eleven when the series debuted, but immediately developed a major crush on "Adam Troy". Yes the music was great. I know I would recognize it if I heard it but couldn't begin to tell you how it goes. Many balmy summer nights as I tried to get to sleep, I would fantasize about living in Tahiti on a white beach with turquoise water lapping at my feet, learning to surf, sailing a catamaran, sailing to exotic locales with "Adam" etc etc. You get the picture. Gardner McKay's life story was unique. Not your typical Hollywood ego maniac hunk. He seems to have been much more interested in the world than in having the world interested in him. Was very sorry to hear of his death in Nov 2001.