Jumping the shark

[Tonio]

Anyone familiar with http://www.jumptheshark.com? I noticed that Gilligan's Island is listed. Was it possible for a show this dumb to ever jump the shark? Sherwood Schwartz clearly wrote for 7-year-olds who never wondered how the Skipper stayed fat on a desert island, or why Greg and Marcia never gave in to their raging teenage hormones with each other. Schwartz must have been a genius, because those of us who grew up in that era still remember his shows, even though we know how badly written they were.

Here's my plot for a GI episode--the third time Gilligan sabotages an effort to get off the island, the others kill him for meat. Then they mount his skeleton outside the Professor's hut like in biology class, and dress it in Gilligan's red shirt and sailor hat. Later, the Skipper walks by and trips over the skeleton's foot. He picks himself up and growls at the skeleton, "Thanks a lot, Gilligan." He hits it with his captain's hat and knocks Gilligan's skull onto the sand.

(To complete the Jump the Shark cycle, Bob Denver would return as Gilligan's evil twin or cousin Milligan. Or else a 10-year-old Ted McGinley would wash ashore, serving a dual purpose as the New Kid in Town. In a Very Special Episode, the Professor would lure McGinley into his hut to study human anatomy.)

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by Tonio
Sherwood Schwartz clearly wrote for 7-year-olds who never wondered how the Skipper stayed fat on a desert island, or why Greg and Marcia never gave in to their raging teenage hormones with each other. Schwartz must have been a genius, because those of us who grew up in that era still remember his shows, even though we know how badly written they were.

This is interesting to think about - I mean, common sense they would have somehow managed to get off the island - for God's sake...they had the chance every freaking episode! I always loved that show, though, and still watch it when it's on!

[vraiblonde]

I could never figure out why Ginger and Mrs. Howell brought all those clothes for a three-hour tour.

[mainman (Premo)]

Originally posted by PFgal
and still will watch it if it's on

Its all becoming so clear to me now...

[mainman (Premo)]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
I could never figure out why Ginger and Mrs. Howell brought all those clothes for a three-hour tour.

Yet, you are not perplexed by Thurston having a trunk full of cash?

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
I could never figure out why Ginger and Mrs. Howell brought all those clothes for a three-hour tour.

Exactly, and if their boat capsized what are the chances they'd have 'saved' so many of them!! Besides, they were on that island so long and the clothes would have gotten really, really ratty. And poor Gilligan and Skipper, with their one shirt each, would have been nude by the 6th or 7th episode in real life.

[JabbaJawz]

Originally posted by mainman
Its all becoming so clear to me now...

Dag, I'll admit that I got a little out of control with that sentence...

Let me edit just for you!

I use to watch and love these shows.

I could never figure out why Ginger and Mrs. Howell brought all those clothes for a three-hour tour.

I wondered the same thing.

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by mainman
Yet, you are not perplexed by Thurston having a trunk full of cash?

Nah, I was more interested in clothes than cash at that age. And Ginger had an endless supply of makeup and hairspray!

[Tonio]

Amazing, isn't it? Edwin Hubble discovered the existence of other galaxies and helped create the Big Bang Theory. But most people only know his name from the jokes about the telescope named after him. But Gilligan's Island and the Brady Bunch remained forever embedded in our subconsciousness, mine as much as anyone else's. Say "Ginger or Mary Ann?" at any party and watch every guy in the room chime in with a vote. (I'm waiting for someone to yell out "Mrs. Howell!" )

Do your kids watch Schwartz's shows, or do they reject them as too dumb? There is plenty of kids' entertainment that is intelligent--Looney Tunes and Shrek are good examples. These are meant to entertain parents as well as kids. I like a lot of Chuck Jones' Looney Tunes, like the one with the frog that sings "Hello My Baby", and Bugs and Elmer Fudd doing opera. These hold up on repeated viewing. But a few years ago, I tried watching a Gilligan episode. It was like going back to the house where you grew up and realizing that your "big" yard was absurdly small.