"We write and produce for people, not for critics."
~ Sherwood Schwartz
The creator and writer of Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz passed away today. He was 94.
"For all its crude sight gags, low-brow humor and pratfalls, Schwartz viewed "Gilligan's Island" as something more: It is, he proclaimed, "my version of a social microcosm, where seven people from various backgrounds had to learn to live together."
I wasn't around when the show came out but because many stations air re~runs I've seen each episode more than a dozen times and here are a few questions I've never been able to answer:
1. How was The Professor able to create gadgets and inventions like a battery recharger made from coconuts, bamboo and vine for the radio, not be able to fix a simple hole in The S.S. Minnow?
2. How did Gilligan's white pants and signature hat and the Skipper's pants stay so fresh and clean?
3. Why did the Howell's travel with a trunk full of money? Were they perhaps headed to another island to meet with an off shore accountant?
4. Why did Ginger pack so many clothes for a 3 hour tour?
I actually have an answer for that one. Seeing how I always love getting all dolled up regardless of the occasion, a girl never knows when the need may arise to wear a sequence gown.
5. How did Mary Anne bake all those coconut cream pies? Was there a special island~oven? Why was it never shown?
I guess that's the fun in watching Gilligan's Island, nothing ever really makes a whole lot of sense. It's one of those shows that can best be described as plain funny and silly. The funniest thing about the show? Gilligan and his cast mates actually make it off the island to civilization years after being marooned only to end right back on the same island.
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess
4 comments:
Coconut Cream Pie?
Yum... ;o)
~shoes~
You forgot one-- why did a grown man take his teddy bear on a three hr cruise?
I read the Book that Mr. Shwartz wrote about Gilligan's Island and the trials and pitfalls that he had to go through to sell it to the network back in the 60s (much different than it is today). I was interesting reading. His premise was to build the show around the theme song, which was created first and went through a lot of variations before settling on the final version that we know today. He acutally brought the musicaians to play the song during the pitch the show to the network executives. Seems that the network wanted the crew to get standed on a different island each week, to which Mr. Schwartz balked. He wanted to the comedic situations to come to the same island, not find a different comedic situation on a different island each week. It is sad that shows like this don't have a chance on television anymore....but then again, there is always YouTube.
Lotus at 2:14,
I'm not sure how funny that would have been watching the castaways on a different island each week.
The theme song was performed by "The Wellingtons" who made an appearance on the show playing a band called "The Mosquitoes." {A name play on The Beatles}
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