If I was on staff, I would have done what (we know) no one else, at least back then, thought of:
a closure episode.

1967:
The island starts acting strange. Gilligan runs over. Trees jump all over.
It's an Earthquake! Or so it seems. But the professor has what's worse news.

WORSE news?

WORSE


Yes.

THE ISLAND is really about to sink (unlike Season 2's, "Quick, before it sinks".)

The castaways soon all learn of this. the island slowly starts, so the gang can prepare, The professor builds a NEW ship. Clamaties and hilarty (and the usual Gilligan's Island music pieces) all ensue as the Howells get their millions, their newspapers, the magazines, and Thurston's teddy..Mary Ann and Ginger their stuff, the professor his science books and stuff, the skipper and Gilligan their stuff..the island finally falls into the ocean chunk by chunk..SIX of the castaways wind up safly in the now safely completed boat, but Gilligan's hanging onto a volacano.

"Help, skipper, HelP'..

Finally, the screen dances and waves back and forth the music gets very eerie,
flashbacks occur back through the seasons, and then...

POOF (NO spoilers needed)
GILLIGAN wakes up BACK IN HONOLULU, HAWAII, on the SS MINNOW with the SKIPPER!


IT HAD AL:L BEEN A dream!

The skipper explains thaT gILLIGAN certainly was asleep for three years..

GIlligan:"Heh. not as long as Rip Van Winkle but certainly impressivwe" at the end/. The two buddies, who are retiring the cruise go to get a hamburger on the pier.

THE END
(c)1967.(if it aired..) (Of course it would make the nightmares on thre show dreams within drteams..among point of view confusions since save Ginger they all had similiar dreams..)

How's that for a 1960s closure? The WHOLE SHOW was a NIGHTMARE, not real...but we ALL know NO show then...ended wkith c,osure episodes (like Soap operas ythen and now..)

(Crossposted from imdb.com Gilligans Island as gcarras,)

What do you think of the above ending (for the original 1964-1967 show!)

The five castaways NEVER EXISTED and they retired right away andwent and had lunch as if the whole thing never happened! :D :lol:

Of course......the whole idea of the show being just a bad dream would be clashing with the dreams had by the other castaways lol



PS: Say, what it is with this goddamnned message board (with all due respect) and this biz of not showing my signature on my second post? Still no matter I can repost the signature..
__________________
"And that's showbiz......kid"
-Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger, Chicago, 2002)

Great story. Gilligan's Island was really one of those shows that deserved a proper series finale.

On the subject of why they didn't end with a closure episode, I'm sure the primary reason was because CBS had informed Mr. Schwartz that GI would be renewed for a 4th Season before Season 3 filming had even wrapped. Hence the producers figured they were good to go and a closure episode never even crossed their mind. (But of course CBS ultimately cancelled it at the absolute last minute to make way for season THIRTEEN of Gunsmoke)

Though somewhat rare, proper series finales were not unheard of in that time. Examples include The Dick Van Dyke Show (1966) and Leave It To Beaver (1963). The difference here is that the end of the series was decided by the show's producers/cast, etc. and not the all-powerful network. When a network cancels your show prematurely (which happened far too often in the 1960s), chances are it's too late to film a resolution/farewell episode.

I don't remember a final Dick Van Dyke episode.

I don't remember a final Dick Van Dyke episode.

It was mostly a clip show. Rob finishes his autobiography and he and Laura reminisce. In the final scene all the regulars gather at the Petrie house and Alan says he's going to produce a TV series based on Rob's book after the "Alan Brady Show" ends.

Sherwood created 2 sitcoms that either through, 1st run, or syndication became super hits. Almost everytime someone does a knockoff, or something to do with the the Brady Bunch, it's very successful. The same goes for Gilligans Island, but there are not as many to do with GI as there are the BB. I just wish they'd do more about Gilligans Island. Dawn Wells and Tina Louis are the only 2 cast member still with us, that hasn't past away, and Dawn is the only original cast member keeping GI alive. But then again, Tina hated the show, so I guess it would be Dawn only.