What happens to the outcasts?

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 captain (Alan Hale) are taking five passengers on a three-hour tour of the Hawaiian Islands when they encounter severe weather and are thrown off course. The ship landed on the shore of an uncharted desert island, and the seven castaways had to learn how to survive. Because “Gilligan’s Island” was so broad and cartoonish, survival wasn’t particularly gruesome or even difficult. There was rarely a shortage of food or water, and everyone brought huge amounts of clothing and supplies. In fact, life seemed fine on Gilligan’s Island, despite the complete isolation.

Series creator Sherwood Schwartz said so He intended “Gilligan’s Island” to be a perfect microcosm of a well-functioning American democracy. Seven characters, all from different classes, are forced to live together due to harsh conditions, but they manage to survive, thrive and coexist without killing each other. For Schwartz, “The Island” was an optimistic series.

Of course, “Gilligan’s Island” is also, in its structure, an image of Sisyphean absurdity. At the beginning of each episode, something or someone appears on the island, offering the castaways a potential means of escape. Professor Russell Johnson designs their escape route, and the outcast’s hearts are filled with hope. Then, like an agent of cosmic fate, Gilligan stumbles upon his escape, and the outcasts sink back into despair. Hope is fleeting. Our weaknesses and ignorance keep us trapped.

The series was not given a proper ending either. After three seasons and 98 episodes, The Outcasts have never escaped. Their escape wouldn’t come until after a 1978 TV movie, and even then, it was only temporary. In this sense, there were multiple endings to “Gilligan’s Island.”

The final episode of “Gilligan’s Island” was called “Gilligan, Goddess” (April 17, 1967), and its story was as typical as any that preceded it. A neighboring king from a neighboring island is looking for a young woman to sacrifice to the volcano gods (gotta love that 60s cultural sensibility), so the castaways dress up as Gilligan and offer him her reward. There is nothing epic or significant in the story of that episode that would indicate that the series is coming to an end.

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

talk in 2013 interview with Esquireactress Mary Ann Dawn Wells recalled how the long-running hit “Gunsmoke” was canceled, and the plan was for “Gilligan’s Island” to move into its time period. However, from what I understand, a senior CBS executive pushed to cancel “Gilligan’s Island” instead of “Gunsmoke” at the insistence of their wife, who loved the latter series. “(Barbara) Paley — the wife of Chairman (William S. Paley) — was on vacation when Gunsmoke was cancelled, and when she got home, she said, ‘You can’t cancel Gunsmoke.’ It’s my favorite show. So they canceled us,” Wells explained. Eventually, Schwartz’s show was taken off the air while “Gunsmoke” continued until 1975.

As written/filmed about before, “Gilligan’s Island” canceled It was also the result of then-new CBS president James T. Aubrey canceling “Gunsmoke” because ratings were declining and it was long running after 12 years. Longtime Gunsmoke champion William S. Paley forced the Opry to cancel the show, allowing the stars to renegotiate their contracts and ask for more money. The increased budget for “Gunsmoke” forced CBS to cut back on expenses elsewhere, so “Gilligan’s Island” was cancelled.

And so he went. “Gilligan’s Island” never got a proper ending and moved into eternal syndication, where it aired in reruns for years.

Thanks to these reruns, “Gilligan’s Island” has remained a huge hit. Schwartz’s series was never a huge success, but it was a very strong ratings bonus. Ratings remained high in reruns, and the show was seen repeatedly throughout the 1970s. By 1978, interest was still high, and the public finally paid attention to the plight of the outcasts.

Fan concerns were finally addressed in the 1978 TV movie Rescue from Gilligan’s Island, an event intended to conclude the story from Gilligan’s Island. The show’s cast returned except Tina Louise (Ginger), replaced by Judith Baldwin. “Rescue” follows the castaways after they have been stranded for 15 years. When a piece of radioactive material from a Soviet satellite lands on the island, the professor turns 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 connect their cabins together to create a makeshift sea vessel.

The ship drifts out to sea, is spotted by a passing ship, and the castaways are rescued. They return to the mainland… to find that a lot has changed. Mary Ann is aiming for an unhappy marriage, the professor is unable to return to the professorship because of his fame, and the Commander is embroiled in an insurance issue over the fate of the SS Minnow. There are also Russian spies following everyone, hoping to locate their piece of radioactive satellite.

It seems that the rescue did not make the castaways very happy. When the insurance payment finally arrives, the castaways reconvene aboard the SS Minnow II to celebrate. Unfortunately, the Minnow II’s compass is broken, and when exposed to bad weather, it is thrown off course. The film ends with the castaways landing on the same island, stranded once again.

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

However, “Rescue” was popular enough to get a sequel in 1979 called “The Castaways of Gilligan’s Island,” which also brought our seven heroes back to the mainland. The storm from the previous TV movie apparently uncovered a secret US Army airport hangar that had always existed on the island (!), so the Professor built a working plane from the machinery inside. The plane ends up accidentally shooting down Gilligan, forcing the castaways to land on the island, but their flight gains attention from the US Navy. The island is finally mapped and made an American territory, and the castaways are saved forever.

The second half of the TV movie was intended to be a pilot for a “Fantasy Island” style series https://www.slashfilm.com/ “Love Boat” in which the Howells open a beach resort on their old island, with a guest. He starts visiting regularly to get advice about their love life. (In Sisyphean terms, they have made their rock “something of their own.”) Now that they are happy living on the beach, it seems the castaways’ adventure is finally over.

However, “The Castaways of Gilligan’s Island” did not lead to a live-action series.

In 1981, Gilligan’s last live-action adventure took place, and it was the strangest of all. “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” sees the major basketball team crash at the Outcasts Beach Resort. At the same time, one of Mr. Howell’s rivals tricks young man Thurston Howell IV (David Ruprecht) into signing over the rights to the resort. To win it back, the Globetrotters must win a game against the opposing basketball team, which is made up of robots.

Yes, this is real.

There were also two animated spin-offs of “Gilligan’s Island”.but these are not usually considered legal law. One show takes the castaways to a distant planet (!), where they interact with aliens. When “Gilligan’s Planet” was canceled in 1983, that was the last anyone heard about the castaways.

At least until their 1987 guest spot on the sitcom “ALF.” The appearance of “ALF” indicates that the outcasts are once again stranded and still longing for civilization. It seems that the rescue will not be permanent for them.