Eulogies
I know it’s screwed up to want to mourn a TV bumbler and beatnik when so many thousands of people died in such horrible ways last week, but I can’t help but link to these two Slate articles:
Like Maynard G. Krebs, Gilligan was an endearing if hopelessly inept dreamer—in fact, 11 of the show’s episodes were structured around Gilligan’s dreams, in which he imagined himself, Walter Mitty-style, as a prince, a vampire, a caveman, or a secret agent. In episode after episode, the castaways’ elaborate escape plans were foiled by Gilligan’s clumsiness and sloth—when the crucial moment came, he always seemed to be off napping in a hammock somewhere. Did Gilligan even want to be rescued?
and
there’s something sweet about this story: the image of the then 59-year-old Mary Ann acting as Gilligan’s [marijuana] supplier; his loyalty in refusing to name her in court; and most of all, the image of an aging Gilligan/Maynard G. Krebs, still dreaming away in his hammock or jamming on his bongo drums, smiling, a little high, and not quite ready to leave the island yet.
September 8th, 2005 at 3:03 pm
You got me to go to an angelfire page — I hope you’re pleased with y’self.
When I was a (nearly TV-free) kid, I thought Gilligan’s Island was a scary show because each of the three times I saw it, there was a creepy dream sequence that gave me nightmares. The vampire episode 69 is the only one I recognize for sure. I also have a vivid memory of an episode in which the islanders construct a simple deadfall, which Gilligan of course gets stuck in. He falls asleep and dreams that he’s been there so long he’s starved to death, and proceeds to hover around haunting the castaways (my memory is attempting to supply A Christmas Carol/It’s a Wonderful Life allusions, but I can’t swear to those, logical as they seem. Did I manufacture this out of whole cloth, or did Steven Bailey miss a doozy? I also vaguely recall a giant spider, but that could have easily fit in the caveman dream from episode 93.
September 8th, 2005 at 7:51 pm
Mr. Villain: the only thing I see on this here episode guide that sounds plausible is Episode 9:
“While the Castawys prepare to leave the island on the Minnow’s inflatable life raft, Gilligan discovers a gold mine when he falls into a pit. Mr. Howell stakes a claim and has Gilligan mine it for him. Everyone becomes greedy, stowing away bags of gold on the raft until it eventually sinks. ” …
Maybe you dreamt it. Didn’t Descartes say something about not knowing if he was Gilligan dreaming he was a Summervillain or a Summervillain dreaming he was a Gilligan?
September 9th, 2005 at 6:59 am
Hmm. We have confirmation of Gilligan into a pit, which I’m inclined to construe as supporting evidence. Perhaps the dream sequence I remember was cut from the episode to make room for more commercials at some point in the syndication cycle. That’s almost plausible, ain’t it?
Mr. Villain! I like the sound of that. Lemme just put on my black hat. And my Jack Elrod stippling.
September 9th, 2005 at 12:12 pm
I’m happy to see that our main page, such as it is at this point, now gives updates on your blog, which it hadn’t since some time in May. This is a good development.
As for Gilligan’s Island, it’s one of those shows that I saw in endless reruns as a kid. I feel like I left a lot of those shows behind and just haven’t thought about them at all in ages, but looking at the episode guide, I realize I’ve seen probably most of them. A few I particularly recall… Home Sweet Hut; New Neighbor Sam; They’re Off and Running; My Fair Gilligan; Beauty Is as Beauty Does (must have seen that one 20 times); Will the Real Mr. Howell Please Stand Up?; Allergy Time; Mr. and Mrs.???; Up At Bat; Pass the Vegetables, Please; Man with a Net; Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow; All About Eva; The Second Ginger Grant; Bang! Bang! Bang!; and Gilligan, the Goddess. I really recall that last one. That and Hi-Fi Gilligan.
Look at all the Russians, Russian spies, etc. !
The giant spider is in The Pigeon.
And as I sit here thinking about all this, the clearest subconscious memory I have of the show is of the laugh track, now playing along in my head.
I think I saw all of this on the old WPIX. Those were the days of ads for Sunny Day day-camp (I think that’s what it was called), (Phil Rizzuto for) The Money Store, and yes–Garden State Brickface and Stucco.
September 9th, 2005 at 12:21 pm
>which it hadn’t since some time in May.
Dude, you didn’t tell me. I don’t usually go to that.
September 9th, 2005 at 12:39 pm
I’m sure I did tell you, but I didn’t harp on it. You have other things to worry about.
September 9th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
Ahhh! Giant spider! I feel so vindicated. (I didn’t get that far, obviously.) Though now I wonder if I could have conflated “The Sound of Quacking” (running low on food+dreams) with “The Big Gold Strike” (Gilligan falling into a hole).
September 9th, 2005 at 11:14 pm
I second that Ahhh! Giant spider! That rubbery-looking thing scared the bejabbers out of me on more than one occasion, and aside from the episode that was included a Beatles parody (the Bugs? the Mosquitos?) and some generic bumbling/hat-slapping/hammock-spinning, that’s about all I remember. And something about sugar beets making people walk around really really fast.
Also, while I’m free-associating-slash-Touretty: Bricco and Stuckface!