Adventures in Paradise

I was 14 years old when I 'fell in love' with Captain Troy. Then I became enamored with the whole idea of sailing on a schooner while classical music buoyed our spirits and encouraged us to participate in fantastic adventures on the South Seas. This early visual escapist series has always resided in my 'happy childhood memory bank.' While sailing, one did not have to worry about the mundane life issues such as bills, taxes, etc.

When I recently visited Hawaii, I managed to sail on a schooner for a couple of days and I fondly remembered this series. .

I know a lot of preservation work is occurring with old movies and TV series as technology improves. If a DVD box set ever comes available, I would be proud to own a set. With all the complications of today's world, a visit to a more innocent time would be happily welcomed.

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.

This series enjoyed enormous popularity here in Australia due to its South Pacific setting. In fact, several Australian actors cropped up in the cast during the life of the show.

"Adventures" became a favorite of mine in the 1970s when it was being re run in a late afternoon time slot. Of course, these days, we all know that the whole thing was filmed on a back lot at 20th Century Fox in smoggy old L.A but it looked convincing. Gardner McKay may not have been the most animated actor but he was ideal as the authoritative Captain Adam Troy, master of the romantic Edwardian schooner the 'Tiki' and it was always a pleasant hour of entertainment.

As others have already mentioned, the musical theme was so dreamy and evocative of the South seas. One of my most prized collectibles is a copy of the sheet music with a photo of Captain Troy on the cover standing at the wheel of the "Tiki" which, by the way, was moored in Sydney Harbour for several years as I understand.

The music was haunting. I can almost, just almost, grasp it now. Yes, even though I was a lot older than the previous commentator, the pull of exotic places was a good part of the programme's attraction, the desire to be far away doing anything and being anyone than where and what I was. However, for some reason I saw nothing of the last season.

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE held itself out to be a product of James A. Mitchener before I knew who he was, although Mitchener was already famous as the author of HAWAII which was published in 1959. The title came from his early work, but I cannot recall if he had anything substantive to do with the programme, but probably not given the notes on this web site.

This might be a mix-up with another series, but I think the first time any television episode was set in South Viet Nam was an ADVENTURES IN PARADISE number. One does recall, however, the knock-about Captain Troy was all over and a part of me wanted to be there under palms leaning with the night wind.

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.