What Happens To The Castaways?

Thanks to the earworm that is “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island,” most viewers know how Gilligan (Bob Denver) and the other castaways became stranded. Gilligan and the skipper (Alan Hale) were taking five passengers on a planned three-hour tour of the Hawaiian Islands when they encountered bad weather and veered off course. The ship docked on the shores of an unexplored desert island and the seven castaways had to learn to survive. Because “Gilligan’s Island” was vast and cartoonish, survival was never punishing or even particularly difficult. There were rarely shortages of food or water, and everyone brought huge quantities of clothing and supplies. In fact, life seemed good on Gilligan’s Island, despite the total isolation.

The creator of the series, Sherwood Schwartz, stated that he wanted “Gilligan’s Island” to be an idealized microcosm of a well-functioning American democracy. Seven characters, all from different classes, are forced to live together under extreme circumstances, but they have managed to survive, thrive, and get along without killing each other. For Schwartz, “Island” was an optimistic series.

Of course, in its structure, “Gilligan’s Island” is also a portrait of Sisyphean futility. At the start of each episode, an object or person appears on the island, offering the castaways an opportunity to escape. The professor (Russell Johnson) designs their escape route and the hearts of the castaways fill with hope. Then, like a cosmic agent of fate, Gilligan fails in his escape and the castaways sink once again into despair. Hope is fleeting; our own weaknesses and ignorance keep us trapped.

The series also never had a proper ending. After three seasons and 98 episodes, the castaways have never escaped. Their escape wouldn’t happen until a 1978 TV movie, and even then it was only temporary. In this sense, “Gilligan’s Island” had multiple endings.

The final episode of “Gilligan’s Island” was titled “Gilligan, the Goddess” (April 17, 1967), and its story was as typical as any previous episode. A neighboring king from a neighboring island is looking for a young woman to sacrifice to the volcano gods (gotta love that 1960s cultural sensibility), so the castaways dress Gilligan in drag and offer her up in her outfit. There is nothing epic or significant in this episode’s story that could indicate that the series is coming to an end.

Indeed, the showrunners thought that “Gilligan’s Island” would be picked up for a fourth season. Instead, it was pulled from CBS’s schedule at the last minute.

Speaking in a 2013 interview with EsquireMary Ann actress Dawn Wells recalled how the long-running superhit “Gunsmoke” was canceled and the plan was for “Gilligan’s Island” to move into its time slot. However, from what she understands, one of CBS’s top executives pushed to cancel “Gilligan’s Island” instead of “Gunsmoke” at the insistence of their spouse, who loved the latter series. “[Barbara] Paley – the wife of the chairman of the board of directors [William S. Paley] — was on vacation when “Gunsmoke” was canceled, and when she got home she said, “You can’t cancel “Gunsmoke.” It’s my favorite show. So they canceled us,” Wells explained. Ultimately, Schwartz’s show was taken off the air while “Gunsmoke” persisted until 1975.

As /Film already wrote, the cancellation of “Gilligan’s Island” was also the result of new CBS president James T. Aubrey canceling “Gunsmoke” because ratings were declining and the film was running after 12 years. William S. Paley, a longtime champion of “Gunsmoke,” forced Aubrey to cancel the series, allowing the stars to renegotiate their contracts and demand more money. The increased budget for “Gunsmoke” forced CBS to cut corners elsewhere, so “Gilligan’s Island” was canceled.

And so on. “Gilligan’s Island” never had a proper ending and went into everlasting syndication, airing reruns for years.

Thanks to these reruns, “Gilligan’s Island” remained a big hit. Schwartz’s series was never a critical success, but it was a pretty powerful ratings bonanza. Ratings remained high during reruns and the series was seen repeatedly throughout the 1970s. By 1978, interest was still high and audiences were finally invested in the plight of the castaways.

Fan concerns would eventually be addressed in the 1978 TV movie “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island,” an event intended to conclude the “Gilligan’s Island” story. The cast of the series returned, with the exception of Tina Louise (Ginger), replaced by Judith Baldwin. “Rescue” catches up with the castaways after they have been stranded for 15 years. When a radioactive piece of a Soviet satellite lands on the island, the professor converts it into a barometer… only to discover that a storm is coming, big enough to destroy the island. In a last ditch effort, the castaways tie their cabins together to create a makeshift ship.

The ship drifts towards the sea, is spotted by a passing ship and the castaways are rescued. They return to the mainland…and discover that much has changed. Mary Ann faces an unhappy marriage, the professor can’t return to his teaching job due to his fame, and the captain gets bogged down in an insurance story about the fate of the SS Minnow. Additionally, Russian spies are following everyone, hoping to locate their radioactive satellite.

It seems that being rescued didn’t exactly make the castaways very happy. When the insurance payment finally arrives, the castaways gather aboard the SS Minnow II to celebrate. Unfortunately, the Minnow II’s compass is broken and when it encounters bad weather, it will veer off course. The film ends with the castaways returning to the exact same island, once again stranded.

The ending of “Gilligan’s Island” was going to be a big cosmic joke.

“Rescue” was popular enough, however, to get a sequel in 1979 called “Castaways of Gilligan’s Island,” which also brought our seven heroes back to the mainland. It seems the storm from the previous TV movie revealed a secret US Army airport hangar that was still on the island (!), so the Professor builds a working plane from the machines inside. The plane ends up accidentally dropping Gilligan, causing the castaways to crash land on the island, but their flight attracts the attention of the United States Navy. The island is finally mapped and made American territory, and the castaways are saved for good.

The second half of the TV movie was intended to be a pilot for a “Fantasy Island” style serieshttps://www.slashfilm.com/ “Love Boat” in which the Howells open a resort on their old island, complete with guests . begins visiting him regularly for advice on his love life. (In Sisyphean terms, they made their rock “their thing.”) Now situated and happy to live on a beach, it seemed that the castaways’ adventure was finally coming to an end.

“The Castaways of Gilligan’s Island”, however, never gave rise to a real series.

In 1981, Gilligan’s final live-action adventure took place, and it was the strangest yet. “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” sees the titular basketball team crash-land on the castaways’ seaside resort. At the same time, a rival of Mr. Howell tricks young Thurston Howell IV (David Ruprecht) into giving up the rights to the station. To win it back, the Globetrotters must win a match against the rival basketball team, made up of robots.

Yes, it’s real.

There have also been two animated spin-offs of “Gilligan’s Island.”but these are not generally considered canon. One of the shows takes the castaways to a distant planet (!), where they interact with aliens. However, when “Gilligan’s Planet” was canceled in 1983, that was the last anyone heard of the castaways.

That is, until their appearance in 1987 in the sitcom “ALF.” The appearance of “ALF” implied that the castaways were stranded again and still yearning for civilization. It seems their rescue will never be permanent for them.