A three hour tour ? A three hour tour with three full sets of luggage ???? A man who could build a working radio receiver out of coconuts but couldn't patch a hole in a boat ? Two able seamen who likewise could neither fix that hole nor their engine? What was REALLY going on ????? Consider Gilligan. An experienced if somewhat feebleminded sailor, an innocent in the ways of the world but devoted to his friend and mentor, the Skipper. Consider the Skipper. A retired navy man now living a simple life with his "Little Buddy" Gilligan. In the 1960s there was homosexuality in the Navy but if you were caught it meant hard time in a Federal prison. Skipper chose the safety of retirement. And he had no problem convincing Gilligan to join him in their private paradise of life in Hawaii, running boat tours to pay the bills. Then there are the passengers. Consider Roy 'The Professor' Hinkley Jr., PH.D. Handsome, articulate, skilled in a number of disciplines... but he couldn't fix a hole in a boat. And why should he? Life on the island turned out to be the perfect getaway. He'd come to Hawaii to get far away from the scandals back home, when the news got out how he'd used those good looks and charm to seduce coed after coed. Then one got pregnant, scandalous enough in 1964 but then the abortion he'd arranged for her went wrong, the doctor was arrested, the coed identified the father.... It was only a matter of time before the extradition papers reached Hawaii.... Ironically starlet Ginger Grant would have loved to have a scandal attached to her name. Now pushing 30, she was finding fewer roles coming her way, fewer producers interested in giving her starring roles in exchange for a little intimacy. She came up with a desperate plan. "Starlet lost at sea!" "The search for Ginger continues!" "Ginger found!" "Ginger stars in new Blockbuster!" She picked out a boat with a simple minded crew who didn't question why she brought so many suitcases. Or why one suitcase contained an inflatable raft and survival supplies.... All she had to do was wait until they were far from shore and go overboard with her raft. A few days of her publicity agent's pre-planned frantic news releases and she'd use the radio to call for help. Then she'd return to Hollywood and the stardom she deserved. Mary Ann Summers would be there too, sitting at her idol's side. Mary Ann was a simple girl from Iowa with a simple obsession, Ginger Grant. Later eras would call her a stalker. In 1964, she was called Ginger's biggest fan in public and a "shadow girl" in private. She'd followed her idol to Hawaii, trailed her onto the boat. Three hours sitting with her dream goddess.... Mary Ann was happy. Thurston Howell was far from happy. His family's centuries-old fortune had been exhausted. His accountants were preparing his bankruptcy, the IRS was preparing to seize his assets. He had to go away and do so in a way that would keep the creditors from hounding him. He packed suitcases with clothes and jewelry and money. Lovey, his wife, was not the smartest of women but she was smart enough to realize that she was about to lose her status in high society. She agreed to join Thurston in his desperate scheme. They'd take a boat ride, a simple short island hopping tour. Once they were far from shore, the mercenaries Howell hired would meet them with their longer-range boat. The Howells would sail for Brazil and a life of luxury.... after the mercenaries made sure there were no survivors. What Lovey did not realize in her gin-soaked mind was that she was going to be part of the proof Thurston Howell was dead. Her body would be found with wreckage from the Minnow. But then there was the typhoon, a storm of unexpected appearance and fierocity. The Minnow was caught helpless far from shore amd carried farther away by the storm's energy. Somehow the Skipper and Gilligan kept the Minnow afloat, burning their fuel to keep the boat pointed safely into the waves that threatened to swamp them. Thurston laughed bitterly at the dark joke that his plans for a fake death at sea could now become real. He was surprised when he realized Ginger shared his mood. The Professor was philospohical; if one had to die, holding and giving comfort to two beautiful women was not a bad way to go. Mary Ann had a similar thought aside from ignoring the Professor. Lovey decided dying in this storm was just too undignified and she drank herself into a stupor. The darkness of the storm merged days and nights. The folks on the Minnow didn't know how many days had passed before there was a crash that knocked everyone into unconsciousness. When they awoke, they found the Minnow beached and the storm passed. They were alive but the boat had taken damage. A big hole had been torn in the starboard, the fuel tanks were empty, the ship's radio broken, and some of their cargo was lost. Ginger was panicked to discover her case with the raft and radio were gone.... Soon they discovered that the island, while it provided everything they would need to survive, did not provide any human help. Either the Polynesians had never found this island or it became uninhabited for reasons unknown. As the reality of their plight sank in, some saw the advantages to be had. The Skipper and Gilligan could have their island paradise away from disapproving eyes. Thurston realized that the IRS would never bother him ever again. Lovey agreed and gave thanks she'd packed enough alcohol to keep a yacht crew drunk. She could dress in her jewels and finery and live out an inebriated fantasy life in an imaginary island high society. The Professor knew enough about nautical design to build a Poynesian catamaran or convert the Howells' liquor supply into fuel but he had no reason to do so. He could go back to certain arrest or he could stay here and enjoy the company of two beautiful women. It was only a matter of time before they'd share his bed. Ginger worried that her stunt might take so long Hollywood would forget her but until then, she could make do with the attention of the handsome Professor and the dutiful adoration of Mary Ann. And Mary Ann was in heaven, effectively alone in paradise with the woman of her dreams, sharing their intimate cottage every night.