Gilligan’s Island I
Source: WikipediaGilligan’s Island. A three-hour tour? Are we sure about that? There was no scuba gear aboard, so it couldn’t been a diving tour. The ship had to be far enough from shore that it couldn’t escape the incoming storm in time to be swept far from Hawaii’s coasts, so it certainly wasn’t a coastal tour. So what were they doing out there in the middle of nowhere?
A millionaire on board with suitcases full of hundred-dollar bills and enough clothing to last months? “Professor” Roy Hinkley, with his luggage full of test tubes and beakers, and an amazing knowledge of synthesizing chemicals from local plant life? Coincidence? It seems so, especially for a high school teacher researching a new book called Fun with Ferns out in the middle of the open sea where there just aren’t any ferns.
And why “The Minnow”? Mr. Howell and his wife weren’t the type that chartered dinky little sea-going boats manned by two inexperienced ex-Navy men. They were the luxurious yacht type. They must have needed a skipper who, for a few extra bucks shared with first mate Gilligan, would deviate from the standard “three-hour tour” to rendezvous with someone somewhere else.
Why? Simple. Mr. Howell and his wife were drug smugglers who chartered The Minnow to make a multi-million-dollar drug deal. The Professor came along to ensure the quality of the goods.
Think about it…
