Serious GI stories

[sleestakgod]

There's a writer on this forum who writes the heretofore unheard of: Serious Gilligan stories. I can't remember his/her username, only it begins wiht a "c", but you know the one I mean, who wrote "The Beast at Bay," and "All Through the Night." both stories about Jonathon Kinkaid, and one other one about Gilligan swimming through churning waters and menaced by sharks, etc.

These really brought back memories for me. I'm not talking about just childhood nostalgia here. When I was a child in the first grade, I used to watch GI religiously after school. I always took everything dead seriously. My mother said I never once laughed. I knew it was supposed to be a comedy, I hated it because most of the humor seemed to be at Gilligan's expense. Every school day I would tune in and root for Gilligan. My favorite episode was the Jonathon Kinkiad episode, because it had Gilligan outwitting and outrunning a bad guy.
The "tree scene" at the end didn't really bother me, because I saw everything seriously anyway!

To be honest, I never cared much for Skipper, as he was always putting Gilligan down and swatting him. One incident that makes me cringe is when the Skipper thanks the Professor for removing Gilligan's hat, so he can swat him with his own. He just didn't seem like much of friend to me, but that writer is very correct, the Skipper and the others were 100% on Gilligan's side should his(Gilligan's) life ever be in danger.

Another "favorite" in a wierd way was "Gilligan's Mother in Law", becuase it has Gilligan facing danger all through the episode. However, it alos makes Gilligan look like a complete jerk early on, which contradicts his self-sacrificing behavior at the end of "Hi-Fi Gilligan" and others. I'm convinced the writer Bruce Howard (whom I think worte that one, and pretty much any episode which ill-treated gilligan) hated the character.

Back in the days when I was small, I also invented an orignal backstory for Gilligan, which seems more than a bit bizarre. Anyone want to here it? It will take some time, but it explains very well his swmming and running abilites, which the writer I emtnioned seems to focus on in his/her stories. I'll just say now that the Gilligan of my childhood imagination could never have had a boyhood in Pennsylvania, even though that's the way Sherwood Shwartz wrote it.

Years later, I saw the humor in the series much better, and laughed at some of the episodes. But I was surprised to discover that there were apparently a lot of viewers out there who wanted Gilligan killed. There was a TV spot inthe nineties where this psychologist explained that Gilligan's Island "is all about rage," and he seemed to imply that Gilligan himself represents the frustrations that each of us faces. I've heard others say that they would want to kill Gilligan if they were on the island. There is even the line of a "Weird Al" Yankovic song that says this. These sentiments do not appear to come from true GI fans, however--more like "casual viewers".

Anyway, I don't know how old some of these posts are, and I hope posters will respond, and tell me is maybe I shoud rekindle my interest in the 'serious" Gilligan. I'm waiting...

[ph1l]

Quote from Weird Al" Yankovic
These sentiments do not appear to come from true GI fans, however--more like "casual viewers"

I hope that answers your question.

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by sleestakgod

I've heard others say that they would want to kill Gilligan if they were on the island. There is even the line of a "Weird Al" Yankovic song that says this. These sentiments do not appear to come from true GI fans, however--more like "casual viewers".

I don't think I would want to know someone who would want to kill Gilligan

[gilligan fanatic]

Read Inside Gilligan's Island. Sherwood Schwartz lists each episodes moral. And they don't really seem made up after the fact. That general purpose of the show is entertainment, but you really can take something out of every episode.

[callensensei]

I have been rather menacing the poor boy of late in my stories, haven't I? And the poor Skipper is likely to have a coronary at this rate. Well, my next Gilligan story, which I'm going to post at fanfiction.net, is a comedy. And like you, I always saw Gilligan as a hero, so he's going to be in this story as well!

I find the Skipper and Gilligan's relationship the most complex, fascinating and endearing relationship on the show. The Skipper gets extraordinarily (and unreasonably) frustrated with Gilligan, yet he also shows a fierce and tender protectiveness towards his hapless friend. If you've ever watched Dusty's Trail, where Bob Denver plays a Gilligan-ish sort of character to the Wagon Master, as played by Forest Tucker, you'll see quite a different dynamic. The Wagon Master is a much wiser, braver, more secure person than the Skipper and doesn't get nearly as angry with Dusty as the Skipper does with Gilligan. At the same time, however, the Wagon Master isn't half as funny as the Skipper. It's the Skipper's short-sightedness and short temper that make him funny, because we can see that he's causing his own problems. And the Wagon Master and Dusty don't seem nearly as close as Gilligan and the Skipper, either. The Skipper is heart-breakingly tender towards Gilligan when he thinks his little buddy's in trouble. I'm always reminded of Aslan's words to Lucy in one of the Narnia stories where he explains, "Your friend is weak, but she loves you." That sums the Skipper up. He's weak - Gilligan is the stronger and the braver of the two - but he loves Gilligan. And Gilligan, bless him, knows he's all the Skipper's got.

So what's this about a back story for Gilligan? I'm intrigued. Is he related to Tarzan? Is he from Krypton? Give!

[sleestakgod]

Is he related to Tarzan?

I am an ERB fan, but no.

Is he from Krypton?

Close. This is really wierd, so try to rememeber I was in first grade when I came up with this.

When I was small Gilligan was my imaginary friend. I pretended that I knew stuff about him other people did not. I did not know the backstorys Sherwood Schwartz had invented for the characters at the time. The reason Gilligan was always bumbling and "thick-headed" was that he was not...well, completely human. Gilligan was actually an aquatic human who could swim as well as a dolphin, and could run at super speed. His red shirt and "points" on his collar were actully part of him, living tissue. There were webs on his hands and feet (I never came up with an explanation as to why they wern't visible on the show). Gilligan's people came from the sea, so I referred to him as a "sea creature". But the sea he was from was not on earth. His planet was almost entirely covered with water, with only a few islands. Gilligan was on vacation to planet earth, travel throuhg the galaxy had the speed of light in a comet (his people all had this ability). He flew over the Haiwain islands and crashed into the sea, then washed ashore. Mary Ann was living on the beach at the time in a house with the Professor, who was doing research. They found Gilligan lying unconcisouss on the beach. A tag around Gilligan's neck told them his name. they took him into the palce they were staying. Mary Ann nursed Gilligan back to health. Later, after he recovers, Gilligan saves the Skipper from drowning (NOT pushing him out of the way of a torpedo). In return, the Skipper makes Gilligan first mate. Then Mary Ann, the Porfessor and other go on their three hour tour, and...you know the rest. Except that no one ever knows what Gilligan truely is, except for Mary Ann and the Professor, who keep it a secret.

I saw the show and made stories about Gilligan something like those of Alexander Key, a popular children's author back then, who wrote Escape to Witch Mountain, and The Forgotten Door, about kids who were persecuted because they had super-normal powers and were of alien origin. Key also beleived animals could communicate with humans, and in his stories, these children loved animals, and could communicate with them by supernormal means. Since Gilligan indeed had a strong love for animals, it's a wonder that I never made anything out of this.

There was a kid from another TV show I pretended had an atomic eye that could shoot lasers....but that's another story.