The Fourth Season That Never Was - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Steve M. · 02-16-2010, 02:22 PM

Sherwood Schwartz reportedly had numerous ideas for GI episodes for the 1967-68 TV season until the show was canceled to make room for "Gunsmoke." Could it be that some of those episode ideas ended up being storylines in the "New Adventures" cartoon series of the mid-1970s?

callensensei · 02-16-2010, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve M.

Sherwood Schwartz reportedly had numerous ideas for GI episodes for the 1967-68 TV season until the show was canceled to make room for "Gunsmoke." Could it be that some of those episode ideas ended up being storylines in the "New Adventures" cartoon series of the mid-1970s?

If these are the storylines posted on the Gilligan's Island Fan Club under "Lost Epsidodes/Fourth Season," then no, they don't bear much resemblance to the episodes of "The New Adventures of Gilligan." However, there are a few echoes in the second animated series, "Gilligan's Planet." In one of the fourth season ideas, Gilligan shrinks, while in Gilligan's Planet, he grows. He does get the pet dinosaur that the CBS studios wanted, and plenty of silly aliens show up.

Happily, Ginger is not replaced by "Miss Krissy" and "Miss Sally" in either of the animated series, even though the animated Ginger is similar to live-action Ginger in name only.

Steve M. · 02-16-2010, 11:04 PM

Miss Krissy and Miss Sally? I must be a little rusty, I don't know what that means.

callensensei · 02-16-2010, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve M.

Miss Krissy and Miss Sally? I must be a little rusty, I don't know what that means.

On that same site about the fourth season, it says that since Tina Louise planned to leave the series, Sherwood was going to write the character of Ginger out, explaining that she had been rescued after being dragged out to sea while swimming. She told everyone the castaways were alive, but didn't know their location. (Yeah, I know. Not too probable, even for GI!) Two new female castaways later arrive, who are known as Miss Krissy and Miss Sally. We end up with eight stranded castaways.

I don't know how accurate this information is, but if it is true, I'd say it was a blessing in disguise that Gunsmoke got GI cancelled. Can you imagine the series so drastically changed?

Steve M. · 02-16-2010, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callensensei

On that same site about the fourth season, it says that since Tina Louise planned to leave the series, Sherwood was going to write the character of Ginger out, explaining that she had been rescued after being dragged out to sea while swimming. She told everyone the castaways were alive, but didn't know their location. (Yeah, I know. Not too probable, even for GI!) Two new female castaways later arrive, who are known as Miss Krissy and Miss Sally. We end up with eight stranded castaways.

I don't know how accurate this information is, but if it is true, I'd say it was a blessing in disguise that Gunsmoke got GI cancelled. Can you imagine the series so drastically changed?

Oh, definitely! I know Tina Louise regretted taking that role, but I find it hard to imagine that show going on without her.

Sometimes a cast change can reinvigorate a show, but I don't see how such a cast change could have worked.

Jack77 · 02-21-2010, 03:04 AM

It was just a rumor. The real story was that Sherwood only thought up the idea but like most of you on here, CBS was not buying it & was already scrambling to find another actress to take over the role of Ginger since early 1967 when word was that Tina was already telling everyone that she was not coming back for a fourth season. If production had begun for a fourth season in August 1967, it was more than likely we would have seen another actress playing Ginger Grant when the first episode of season four would have aired in September 1967. Also more than likely they would have had to reshoot the opening & closing titles once again.

CBS had the same problem over on The Munsters when they were forced to replace Beverley Owen with Pat Preist. Same thing also happened several times on Bewitched with the cast changes of Darrin Stephens, Mrs. Kravitz & Louise Tate & a couple others.
You see that Tina was not a part of the three Gillgan reunion movies & simply replaced by Judy Baldwin for the first two films & Connie Forslund for the third film. There was no crazy storyline of Miss Krissy & Miss Sally arriving just because Tina was not present!
A well known character can always be played by different actors. It's been done in the movies with the Batman & James Bond series as two examples, but it's most frequently done in theatre & soaps all the time!

ph1l · 02-21-2010, 04:19 AM

That makes the most sense. Coincidentally, of all the characters to be replaced by another actor/actress I'd say Ginger's would have been the easiest.

biffbronson · 02-21-2010, 10:14 AM

Don't forget "Dusty's Trail," 1973 -- there may have been bits of unused Gilligan-type of business or ideas that wound up being recycled for use in that short run, especially since the characters were patterned or carbon copied from the Castaways.

callensensei · 02-21-2010, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack77

It was just a rumor. The real story was that Sherwood only thought up the idea but like most of you on here, CBS was not buying it & was already scrambling to find another actress to take over the role of Ginger since early 1967 when word was that Tina was already telling everyone that she was not coming back for a fourth season. If production had begun for a fourth season in August 1967, it was more than likely we would have seen another actress playing Ginger Grant when the first episode of season four would have aired in September 1967. Also more than likely they would have had to reshoot the opening & closing titles once again.

I feel as gullible as Gilligan for believing and spreading that rumour. Your argument makes far more sense, and is indeed borne out by the movies. I'm so relieved! It seems as though the script ideas for that "Lost Fourth Season" that somebody found the notes for may well be a rumour as well, which would explain some of the increasingly bizarre story ideas.

caladon · 03-04-2010, 02:23 AM

I've posted this on a previous thread quite awhile ago; but in the event of a 4th season I came up with the following idea regarding the departure of Tina Louise.

Take a look:

IMHO; The easiest way from a logistical standpoint is for the character to be turned over to another actress; I personally don't think that it would've worked because Tina Louise made that part her own. No matter how talented the replacement actress, it wouldn't have been the same.

The other alternative is to write out her character in a way so it would appear that she had not shafted the other castaways by not coming back for them; and to do this without using the old amnesia ploy.

Here are a couple of ideas:

The first episode of the fourth season, deals with the return of Wrongway Feldman. It seems that Wrongway's paradise didn't last too long after he ran afoul of some of the male natives on the island where he landed. He managed to leave just in time and was able to find his way back to the island.

However, before taking off, one of the native girls had been curious about the plane and had crawled into the tail section out of curiosity. Wrongway and the other castaways discover her after Wrongway arrives.

Wrongway now feels obligated to take her back and then to look for another island paradise. Mr. Howell convinces Wrongway that if he reports to the authorities about the castaways and gets them off the island, he'll buy the island and turn it over to Wrongway for his very own, and he can live out his life in peaceful solitude. Wrongway agrees and all the castaways pitch in to help get the plane ready for the trip. As take-off time approaches, Ginger, who is anxious to return to her career, decides to not take any chances this time. She has a talk with the native girl and convinces her to switch places at the last minute. So Ginger, disguised as the native girl, manages to take off with Wrongway.

So now, both Ginger and Wrongway are gone and a new face is on the island.

The season would then deal with the native girl and the rest of the castaways learning each other's customs and behavior and becoming friends. There will be times when her knowledge of survival and other tribes, comes in handy.

Now, the other idea is that if the fouth season had been planned as the last season, a final 90 minute series conclusion would have dealt with the volcano coming out of it's dormancy and getting ready for a major eruption, which the Professor has determined will destroy the entire island.

The castaways scramble to complete a giant raft to hopefully flee the island. Although it's completed in time, Gilligan, staying true to form, manages to launch it before anyone climbs aboard. Before the volcano is about to erupt, the US Navy arrives and rescues the castaways. Once on board the navy battleship, the Skipper asks how they found them. At that moment, Ginger appears and explains that although they intially got lost, and wound up on another island, it was an island that was in the shipping lanes. Then it was simply a matter of waiting for a ship to arrive and then alert the Navy about the castaways from the Minnow. As a final scene the volcano erupts with a violent explosion and all seven of the castaways watch their island sink into the ocean.

BTW, a few years back, I wrote a letter to Sherwood Schwartz. It basically dealt with the fact that he was known to always be several scripts ahead of production requirements and I wondered about the 4th season scripts he had no doubt already written prior to being told that the show had been cancelled. I suggested putting them in a book form for the fans to read. His reply was that any scripts he may have written at that time would still be the property of CBS and therefore not available for publication.

02-16-2010, 02:22 PM	#1
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,307	The Fourth Season That Never Was Sherwood Schwartz reportedly had numerous ideas for GI episodes for the 1967-68 TV season until the show was canceled to make room for "Gunsmoke." Could it be that some of those episode ideas ended up being storylines in the "New Adventures" cartoon series of the mid-1970s?
	__________________ I don't really get out a lot. When I do go out, I couldn't be happier. I love being in a nice milieu. I'm as happy as a clam. Just as long as I'm not in some club playing hip-hop. You hear that sort of thing in a lot of places. That's not my milieu. Rock and roll is good-time music. I love rock. So did my parents.

02-21-2010, 04:19 AM	#7
ph1l Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 19, 2004 Posts: 1,362	That makes the most sense. Coincidentally, of all the characters to be replaced by another actor/actress I'd say Ginger's would have been the easiest.
	__________________ 60's TV forever

02-16-2010, 11:04 PM	#3
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,307	Miss Krissy and Miss Sally? I must be a little rusty, I don't know what that means.

02-21-2010, 03:04 AM	#6
Jack77 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 01, 2003 Posts: 339	It was just a rumor. The real story was that Sherwood only thought up the idea but like most of you on here, CBS was not buying it & was already scrambling to find another actress to take over the role of Ginger since early 1967 when word was that Tina was already telling everyone that she was not coming back for a fourth season. If production had begun for a fourth season in August 1967, it was more than likely we would have seen another actress playing Ginger Grant when the first episode of season four would have aired in September 1967. Also more than likely they would have had to reshoot the opening & closing titles once again. CBS had the same problem over on The Munsters when they were forced to replace Beverley Owen with Pat Preist. Same thing also happened several times on Bewitched with the cast changes of Darrin Stephens, Mrs. Kravitz & Louise Tate & a couple others. You see that Tina was not a part of the three Gillgan reunion movies & simply replaced by Judy Baldwin for the first two films & Connie Forslund for the third film. There was no crazy storyline of Miss Krissy & Miss Sally arriving just because Tina was not present! A well known character can always be played by different actors. It's been done in the movies with the Batman & James Bond series as two examples, but it's most frequently done in theatre & soaps all the time!

02-21-2010, 10:14 AM	#8
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,502	Don't forget "Dusty's Trail," 1973 -- there may have been bits of unused Gilligan-type of business or ideas that wound up being recycled for use in that short run, especially since the characters were patterned or carbon copied from the Castaways.

03-04-2010, 02:23 AM	#10
caladon Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 30, 2001 Location: Massachusetts state home for the bewildered Posts: 1,151	I've posted this on a previous thread quite awhile ago; but in the event of a 4th season I came up with the following idea regarding the departure of Tina Louise. Take a look: IMHO; The easiest way from a logistical standpoint is for the character to be turned over to another actress; I personally don't think that it would've worked because Tina Louise made that part her own. No matter how talented the replacement actress, it wouldn't have been the same. The other alternative is to write out her character in a way so it would appear that she had not shafted the other castaways by not coming back for them; and to do this without using the old amnesia ploy. Here are a couple of ideas: The first episode of the fourth season, deals with the return of Wrongway Feldman. It seems that Wrongway's paradise didn't last too long after he ran afoul of some of the male natives on the island where he landed. He managed to leave just in time and was able to find his way back to the island. However, before taking off, one of the native girls had been curious about the plane and had crawled into the tail section out of curiosity. Wrongway and the other castaways discover her after Wrongway arrives. Wrongway now feels obligated to take her back and then to look for another island paradise. Mr. Howell convinces Wrongway that if he reports to the authorities about the castaways and gets them off the island, he'll buy the island and turn it over to Wrongway for his very own, and he can live out his life in peaceful solitude. Wrongway agrees and all the castaways pitch in to help get the plane ready for the trip. As take-off time approaches, Ginger, who is anxious to return to her career, decides to not take any chances this time. She has a talk with the native girl and convinces her to switch places at the last minute. So Ginger, disguised as the native girl, manages to take off with Wrongway. So now, both Ginger and Wrongway are gone and a new face is on the island. The season would then deal with the native girl and the rest of the castaways learning each other's customs and behavior and becoming friends. There will be times when her knowledge of survival and other tribes, comes in handy. Now, the other idea is that if the fouth season had been planned as the last season, a final 90 minute series conclusion would have dealt with the volcano coming out of it's dormancy and getting ready for a major eruption, which the Professor has determined will destroy the entire island. The castaways scramble to complete a giant raft to hopefully flee the island. Although it's completed in time, Gilligan, staying true to form, manages to launch it before anyone climbs aboard. Before the volcano is about to erupt, the US Navy arrives and rescues the castaways. Once on board the navy battleship, the Skipper asks how they found them. At that moment, Ginger appears and explains that although they intially got lost, and wound up on another island, it was an island that was in the shipping lanes. Then it was simply a matter of waiting for a ship to arrive and then alert the Navy about the castaways from the Minnow. As a final scene the volcano erupts with a violent explosion and all seven of the castaways watch their island sink into the ocean. BTW, a few years back, I wrote a letter to Sherwood Schwartz. It basically dealt with the fact that he was known to always be several scripts ahead of production requirements and I wondered about the 4th season scripts he had no doubt already written prior to being told that the show had been cancelled. I suggested putting them in a book form for the fans to read. His reply was that any scripts he may have written at that time would still be the property of CBS and therefore not available for publication.