Island Paradise
Story introductions, story tags, and possibly missing scenes written by various authors for all 98 episodes (in broadcast order), "Here on Gilligan's Isle!"
Entire series-canon-based, extended universe (filling in the blanks) as their story unfolds.
Episode Tag – Two on a Raft
"Skipper gone!" Gilligan, one smart Marubi!" The first mate smiled to himself and let off one more horrific growl, just in case one of the other six castaways had come back to the cave… but none of them did.
Grinning again, Gilligan carefully climbed back into the cave he had just come from and grabbed his clothes. He couldn't leave them behind! They were his uniform! He had other clothing on the boat, all looking the same… his uniforms, really, but who knew how long they would be here? Besides, this was his big brother's shirt. Mark had left it in Hawaii the last time his family had visited, and Gilligan had never mailed it back… he would kill him if he lost or damaged it!
"Wonder if Mark thinks I am dead now?" Gilligan pondered, "Not to mention, Mom, Dad and Peggy… they must be worried to death about me… I know I am!" He changed quickly and tossed the native paraphernalia and mask back in the cave. They might need it again someday.
Suddenly he was in a hurry to get back to the beach, and the wreck of the Minnow. Breaking into a run, he started in the direction of the camp, and his fellow castaways.
oOo
The sun was setting by the time Gilligan reached the Minnow, but he could see that someone, most likely the Skipper, had started a fire, and the others were grouped around it. Professor Hinkley, the science teacher, was grilling a large fish over the flame. When his captain saw him coming, he ran toward him. The first mate started to make an about-face, not wanting a cap-slap, or a balling out, but to his surprise, the Skipper stopped him and enveloped him in a big, enthusiastic, teddy bear hug. The others were close behind him, all welcoming Gilligan with open arms.
"Little Buddy!" the Skipper cried, "You're okay? You got away?"
"What happened to the Marubi warrior, lad?" Mr. Howell added, looking around nervously, "He isn't following you, is he?"
"I hope not!" Mrs. Howell sniffed, "I am not dressed properly to meet anyone!"
"We were worried about you, Gilligan!" Ginger and Mary Ann said together, and as a group, they led him toward the crackling fire. Having taken the fish from the flames and placing it on a large serving tray taken from the Minnow, the Professor gave a relieved sigh.
"Amazing you got away from him, Gilligan… the Marubi are fierce warriors, and killers."
"We weren't going to leave you all alone, Little Buddy," the Skipper added, "But the passenger's safety comes first, as you well know. I needed to get everyone back to where it was safe, and then we men were going to come and rescue you."
"I was going to stay behind and prepare for the headless… ahh… wounded!" Mr. Howell put in quickly, and Mrs. Howell nodded. Her husband was known as 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' but was not in any way a wolf when it came to bravery, or fearlessness.
"Uhm… he's gone now…" Gilligan hedged. I don't think he is on the island anymore; guess nobody is, but us!"
"He must have had an outrigger canoe of some kind hiding at the lagoon," Roy Hinkley shook his head, "Too bad we didn't locate it first… one or two of us could try to leave this place… again."
"That headhunter probably knows something about sailing in the ocean we don't, if he got away," Mary Ann added. "The raft you two built didn't really get past the tides and current, right?"
"Yeah… not to mention the sharks," Gilligan shuddered.
"Right," the Professor nodded. "I need to do a lot more research before we attempt such a thing again."
"Ya got that right…" Gilligan said. "Say, that fish smells good. "Is it ready to eat?"
"A few minutes, more, I think," The scientist, who had returned to the fire ahead of the others, kneeled, and held the fish back over the flame. "The Skipper found a couple of cans of green beans to go with it, too, and Ginger and Mary Ann located a pineapple patch nearby. So that's the menu for this evening!"
"Yum!" was Gilligan's only reply, and they all headed toward the fire… and food.
oOo
After dinner, The Skipper found four blankets and seven sheets in the linen storage cabinet onboard his wrecked ship, and brought them out where everyone had gathered around the fire.
"This is it, folks… all we have in the way of bedding. Sorry I didn't remember to distribute them before Gilligan and I set out on the raft! I would like to suggest we spread the sheets out on the ground as much as possible and you five use the blankets as needed. Gilligan and I can make do on just the ground."
Ginger and Mary Ann shook their heads.
"You have to sleep on something!" they both protested, "There are bugs and crabs and other creatures in the sand. You have to have some protection!"
"They're right. Roy Hinkley stated flatly, and Mr. and Mrs. Howell, shrugging their shoulders elegantly, gave their assent as well.
Once everyone was settled, and in their places for the night, Gilligan threw another log on the fire that had started to dwindle, and the Skipper cleared his throat.
"Folks, I would like to hope we will find a way off this island, or be rescued soon… I mean, we haven't heard anything on the radio yet about the search for us being called off… and Gilligan and I will do everything in our power to make a rescue come to pass, but in the meantime, I think it would be nice if we all knew at least a little about each other… don't you?"
"I already know about you, Skipper…" Gilligan cut in, "I've been working for you for over a year, and before that, we were both in the navy, don't you remember?"
The Skipper rolled his eyes heavenward and gave a sigh.
"Of course I do, Gilligan! But our passengers don't!"
"Oh… Hmm," the first mate responded, "I see… I think!"
"Now as I was saying…" the Skipper continued, "My name is Jonas Grumby, but everyone calls me 'Skipper.' I'm an old navy man, as the saying goes… and served in the navy and fought in World War Two in the South Pacific, starting as a cook, but eventually, I rose to the rank of captain. I also fought at Guadalcanal, but that's another story."
"Impressive," the Professor said, "Most commendable."
"The Skipper had three ships shot out from under him by the Japanese fleet!" Gilligan added. "I wasn't there for that, though… I was still a kid. I met him later, when I joined up. No war going on then."
"Yeah, but you still managed to save my life, Gilligan," Grumby interrupted him, "A depth charge had broken loose from its fastenings on the deck of our destroyer, and started rolling toward me… Gilligan pushed me out of the way, just in time! He broke his leg doing it, too!" He shrugged. That's about it. I retired, and used my commission to buy the Minnow and start my own tour business. Gilligan followed me, and became my first mate on the Minnow, but enough about me. Gilligan, why don't you tell the folks a little about yourself?"
"Who, me?" Gilligan looked at the others. "Someone else can go. I don't have that much to say."
"Then you best go next and get it out of the way, Gilligan, my boy," Thurston Howell put in.
"Yes, do…" Mrs. Howell said. "Everyone has something to say, even if it isn't anything!"
Gillian scratched his head.
"Well, I'm Gilligan…"
"Gilligan what?" Mary Ann blurted out.
"Or what, Gilligan, for that matter," Ginger added.
"I'm just Gilligan," the young man answered, "Have been since I joined the navy. I don't really like my first name. Just Gilligan," he said firmly, and continued before anyone else could question the point. "I was born in Media, Pennsylvania. I lived my whole life there, until I joined the navy. I have an older brother named Mark, and a younger sister named Peggy. There's two years between each of us being born. My mom, and dad and sister and brother all still live in Media. Peggy got married last year, to a guy I went to school with, but Mark isn't married or engaged or anything. He still lives with mom and dad." He took another slice of pineapple and stared at it for a moment. "This would taste really good dipped in chocolate sauce," he mused. "Do we have any, Skipper?" he asked, taking a bite, anyway.
"No, we don't," his captain answered shortly. "Continue, Gilligan."
"Okay." Gilligan swallowed. "Like I said, I joined the navy, served a hitch, met the Skipper, left the navy, and have been working for him ever since."
"And you saved his life once," Mary Ann reminded him.
"And he won a Medal of Honor for it!" the Skipper was quick to say.
"Anything else?" Mr. Howell asked, waving away some large flying insect. "Drat these mosquitoes!"
"I like comic books, collecting butterflies, animals, watching television, hot dogs, licorice whips, and rock-and-roll."
"Heavens!" "Mrs. Howell drew a deep breath, "How ghastly!"
"And I can be a little clumsy, sometimes," Gilligan added sheepishly.
Roy Hinkley raised one eyebrow, but said nothing. This, we already knew, he thought to himself.
"That's about it," Gilligan shrugged, "Who next?"
"I am," Thurston Howell the Third started to stand, but his wife laid a hand on his leg and he settled to his place on the blanket again. "As you already know, if you know anything, I am Thurston Howell the Third, and this…" he turned to his wife, "Is Mrs. Thurston Howell the Third."
"I figured that out some time back…" Ginger whispered to Mary Ann, seated next to her. "Boy, he's a little on the snooty side, isn't he?"
"Oh, at least a little!" Mary Ann whispered back, and grinned at the redhead.
"Lovey and I have been married for eighteen… no, fifteen… no, twenty years. I know, because we eloped in 1944, the day Consolidated General's stock jumped seventeen points!"
"How… romantic…" Ginger stuttered, and then rolled her eyes.
"I'm the Chairman of the Board for Howell Corporation, which has six… no… twelve subsidiary corporations, and Lovey and I make our home anywhere we choose… Palm Beach, Paris, Newport, New York… we have homes in all fifty states. I am a great golfer, and…" he paused. "…And I am a Harvard graduate!"
"Fascinating," Professor Hinkley murmured, and rubbed his chin, wondering if he should mention his six degrees to this little group… he didn't want to sound as pompous and stuck up as this Howell character!
Mrs. Howell surreptitiously dug a not-so-gentle elbow in her husband's side.
"I believe I should go next, Thurston?"
Her husband looked slightly abashed.
"By all means, my dear!"
"As Thurston said, my name is Mrs. Thurston Howell the Third… known as Lovey Howell to all my friends who are in the Social Register, of course, not to mention Princess Grace, the Prince of Monaco, The Duke of Troy and Prince Phillip, naturally…" She paused for a moment and sipped from a cup of water. "I would like to say, for as long as we are stranded on this God-forsaken island, I insist we all observe the rules of etiquette… one will be dressed properly for all social functions, and preserve all rules of decorum."
"But what about you, yourself?" Ginger asked.
"Chiefly, I am Mrs. Thurston Howell the Third," Mrs. Howell answered, an edge to her voice, and she stared at the movie star for a moment through her lorgnette. "But if you must have more information, I will tell you, back in civilization, I have volunteered as a nurse's aide, and have been voted the head for many a charitable institution, and was once voted Queen of the Pitted Prune Bowl Parade!"
"Anything else?" the Skipper asked, hiding a smile at the rich woman's last comment.
"I think that's quite enough for now," she answered. Miss… or is it Mrs. Grant… as it is ladies first, would you care to go next?"
"Naturally," movie star answered, and for a moment, she looked like she was ready to launch into a scene from one of her movies. "It's Miss, by the way."
"Unusual... for show business… people," Mrs. Howell shot back, not put off in the least.
"I'm a lady, too," Mary Ann Summers muttered, and then bit her tongue, hoping that nobody had heard her comment. She felt a soothing pat on her back, but when she turned around, whoever it was (Ginger, the Professor and the Skipper were all within arm's reach) had removed their hand.
"Well, as I am sure you all know, I am Ginger Grant… actress." the movie star began. "Normally I would give you all a copy of my resume, headshot and recent credits, but I don't have any of that with me… Hadn't planned on getting shipwrecked, after all…" She gave the Skipper a look, but he turned away, rotating back only after he had thrown another log on the fire. "Sorry, Skipper… I guess I shouldn't have said it quite that way!" She gazed for a moment at the small group. "I guess I could give you all my autograph, if you want!"
"That would be cool, Ginger," said Gilligan, but the actress continued without acknowledging the first mate.
"I've been here in Hawaii for a nightclub singing engagement. As a matter of fact, I took this boat tour on a lark… I had ducked out the back door of the club, after my matinee performance, to get away from all my fans, saw the Skipper's boat…"
"She's called The Minnow…" Gilligan put in, but the movie star hardly paused.
"…His boat, and decided, on a whim to take the tour." She shrugged. "Not my best idea, I guess."
"What movies have you been in, Ginger?" Roy Hinkley asked, politely. "I confess I don't get to the movies much. Usually I am too busy, between teaching and trying to get my own private research done, to attend the cinema on a continuous basis."
"I thought everyone would know what I have starred in," the redhead pouted. "But I would be happy to act out the scenes to all my movies for you, Professor!" She gave the scientist a wink. "We could start with The Hula Girl and the Fullback, and then Mohawk Over the Moon…"
"Rain Dancers of Rango Rango is more fun…" Gilligan interjected, and there's that one movie you did where everyone in the movie dies…"
"Maybe later, Gilligan?" Mary Ann interrupted him, wondering if such a thing could happen to the seven of them, "It is getting kind of late, and I'm a little tired." She paused. "Anything else, Ginger?"
"My TV credits…" Ginger started up again.
"I meant about you, personally?"
"Oh. Well, if you insist… both my parents live in Alaska. I haven't seen them in a long time… I moved to Hollywood to pursue acting when I was eighteen. I studied with Strasberg, you know. I have a sister, Cinnamon, two years older than I am. She was going to be an actress, too. We came to Hollywood together, but when she was working on her fourth movie assignment, still no more than an extra, out of nowhere she meets this producer, and they got married... let me think… about ten years ago." She's got four kids now."
"Do you ever go visit them?" Mrs. Howell asked.
"Not often. Her husband I dated a few times. It's… awkward." The movie-star's beautiful mouth settled in a thin line.
"And?" Mr. Howell pressed.
"Just that I had a roommate back in Hollywood… Debbie Dawson. Guess she'll make off with all the evening gowns I didn't bring to Hawaii with me," Ginger added, a bitter edge to her voice. "She's that type!"
"Now, now… let's not give up hope just yet, shall we?" Jonas Grumby said, in the heartiest voice he could muster. "Cheer up, Ginger! Professor Hinkley… Care to tell us about yourself?"
"Mary Ann… Miss Summers should go before I do," the scientist protested.
"You go ahead," the farm-girl waved a hand in his direction. "I'm not sure what to say, anyway."
Still looking a little doubtfully for a moment at the pretty brunette, the scientist began:
"My name is Professor Roy Hinkley, and I live in Cleveland, Ohio, where I teach high school science and American history at Sherwood High School."
"Have you been doing that long?" Mrs. Howell asked, "I always thought teaching could be such a rewarding experience! In the right environment, that is. I attended Vassar, you know."
"No, I didn't," Professor Hinkley answered. "I'm afraid my public high school is nothing like Vassar. Still, for what it is, I enjoy it."
"And what are your degrees, Professor?" Mr. Howell probed.
"I don't like to boast…" Hinkley began.
"Nonsense… are you degreed or not, man?"
"Very well… I have a B.A. from USC, a B.S. from UCLA, a M.A. from SMU and my Ph.D is from TCU… which I received when I was twenty five."
"Heavens! An egghead!" the millionaire exclaimed.
"How did you end up in Hawaii, Professor?" Mary Ann asked from her corner, cutting in on any more 'observations' from Mr. Howell.
"The same way many do, I suppose, my dear," he answered, "I saved up a little every month from my salary at the school. I wanted to take a small sabbatical to write my book."
"A whole book?" Ginger asked, "About your teaching job? Like The Blackboard Jungle?"
The Professor shook his head slightly.
"No, nothing as dramatic as that… Sherwood High is a fairly tranquil school and environment. "No… I was planning on calling my book, Fun With Ferns."
"You mean, like the plants?" Ginger wrinkled her nose.
"Exactly. They are quite fascinating… Why, did you know I have found a species here on the island that I have never seen before, except in my Botany book? If I can transplant it, or preserve it in some other way, it will be the talk of the school when I get home!"
"Assuming we do," Gilligan put in. "But I am glad you found something interesting here, Professor."
"Thank you, Gilligan." He smiled at the young seaman and then turned to the youngest member of their group. "Miss Summers? I believe it is your turn, now."
The girl blushed under her tan.
"Thanks, Professor." She was quiet for a moment. "It's late, and I don't know that my background is anything like all of yours!"
"It shouldn't be," the Skipper said kindly. "Life would be pretty boring if we were all the same, now wouldn't it?"
"I suppose…" Mary Ann agreed, smiling back at him.
"Go on, dear," Mrs. Howell put in.
"I was born and raised on a farm in Winfield, Kansas," Mary Ann began. "I live with my Uncle George, Aunt Martha and my mom there."
"No brothers or sisters?" Gilligan asked.
"Nope," the girl shook her head. "I had a younger brother and sister; twins, but they both died when I was about five. I don't remember them too well."
"I'm so sorry," Roy Hinkley murmured, "How very sad! What about your father, my dear?
"He passed away when I was about sixteen," the girl answered softly, "After… after… well, things weren't going so well on our farm then. Not my aunt and uncle's place… my parent's and my place. My father… died, and my mother and I went to live with my aunt and uncle."
"What kind of farm do you have?" Gilligan asked, "Did you have cows and horses, and pigs, and ducks and chickens and animals like that? I love animals!"
"Some of all of those you just said," Mary Ann smiled. "But mostly, we grow corn and wheat."
"But you didn't do all the work on the farm, did you?" Ginger asked, uncertainly, "That would be too much for one person, right?"
"My aunt and uncle had a few field hands," the girl explained, "But I took care of the horses, milked the cows, tended to the chickens and did the gardening and stuff. Pretty much managed the place. Learning about a lot of it in 4-H helped, though. My aunt and uncle and mom wanted me to learn a trade I could always count on," she sighed. "I worked as a clerk at the Winfield General Store, too… I wanted to major in Business and Accounting, but I didn't get very far. Uncle George thought college was a waste on a girl."
"Sounds like a rather primitive life, my dear," the Professor commented, "How did you end up in Hawaii?"
"Oh! That was exciting!" Mary Ann's eyes sparkled. "The Elks Club sponsored a cooking contest. You entered the contest, and had to bake an original specialty dessert. I entered, and won first place! The prize was free trip to Hawaii. The airfare, hotel, and two meals a day for a week were paid for, and I got $100 in spending money!"
"But you only got a trip for one?" Ginger asked, "That doesn't sound like too much fun! You should have cashed in your ticket and kept the money, since it wasn't for two."
"How gauche…" Lovey Howell murmured, but the only one who heard her was her husband.
"It was a non-refundable ticket," Mary Ann answered. "Besides, I had never been outside Winfield. I really wanted to go, even if it was by myself. I'm over twenty-one… twenty-three, in fact, and I told my family I was going. The cows and chickens wouldn't die in a week, after all!" she frowned. "I wonder who is taking care of them? And my cat? Pandora is going to miss me. I know she will… she's my cat… my pet cat! Mom' will probably throw her out in the barn and make her fend for herself!" A small tear trailed down her cheek.
"Don't worry, Mary Ann!" Gilligan patted her shoulder comfortingly. "She'll be fine! We'll be home…" he glanced at the Skipper, "…just any time now!"
Nobody said anything for a while, and all of them stared into the flames of the waning fire, and listened to all the unfamiliar island night-sounds.
"Guess we better call it an evening, folks, the captain of the Minnow said finally, "We have a big day tomorrow."
With very little complaint, the seven stranded castaways stretched out on the ground, covered themselves as best they could, and fell into a sound, if not entirely restful, sleep.