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Fridge Logic in Gilligan's Island.

Fridge Brilliance

  • Gilligan's Island is based on the 7 Deadly sins... Pride = Professor, Gluttony = Gilligan, Lust = Ginger, Greed = Mr. Howell, Sloth = Mrs. Howell, Wrath = Skipper, and Envy = Mary Anne.
    • Cracked gives a slightly different interpretation, switching Gilligan and Mrs. Howell.
  • The Season 2 episode Nyet Nyet—Not Yet! brings in some rare Fridge Brilliance to the series. The cosmonauts were more than willing to rescue the castaways, who would have remained prisoners of the Soviet Union (tropical island or Siberian gulag—where would you rather be stranded?) In any case, if the Soviets had rescued the castaways, they would have also had to admit that their space capsule landed far off course. Even if the cosmonauts (or the people they reported to) had the purest of motives, a rescue would not have happened for political reasons.
  • In the episode "Not Guilty", it seems like a terrific coincidence that five people with a grudge against Randolph Blake happened to be on the same boat...but given what we learn about Randolph, he was probably the type to make enemies anywhere he went.
  • Why is the show and location called Gilligan's Island? In an early episode, the castaways hold an election and elect Gilligan President of the island.
  • If the Professor can do so much with Bamboo Technology, why not just build or repair the boat? Because they're on an uncharted desert island. Since they don't know where they are, they could get themselves killed by sailing off with no direction. A commonly taught rule is if you're lost, then you stay where you are until help arrives.
  • Doubles with Fridge Horror and Irony in the fact the storm may have blown them off course but it's not necessarily that off course so that it's very likely they're not that far from Hawaii. It would go a long way to explaining why they get so many visitors despite the fact they're supposedly an uncharted desert isle and why they're in range of a radio station. Hell, they might not even be uncharted (since it's not exactly a desert) and it's a Hawaiian bird sanctuary or national park.
  • The theme song originally ended with referring to the Professor and Mary Ann as "the rest" (until Bob Denver insisted they be referred to by name). This actually makes sense as the other three passengers are a movie star, a millionaire businessman, and his wife. The Professor and Mary Ann would probably be referred to as "the rest" because they're not as famous as Ginger and the Howells.
  • Merged with Fridge Sadness: The castaways finding they can no longer cope with living off the island, and returning to the island to turn it into a resort is an example of institutionalization.

Fridge Horror

  • What would have happened if any of Ginger's attempts at seduction had worked? Or worse, if either Ginger or Mary-Anne had sex with anyone and got pregnant? Somehow, the idea of trying to raise a child on the island (let alone trying to give birth when they had essentially no medical tools and probably combined limited medical knowledge)...
    • Not that much of a problem. The professor could've made a maternity ward out of bamboo and sand.
    • And let's be honest, lots of women give birth every day outside of a modern medical facility without any fancy medical tools or training — the species would not have survived otherwise.
    • I think the real horror here is that a baby is being raised on an island that has been visited by gangsters, cannibals, Japanese soldiers, and far worse.
    • Guys, this is the "Gilligan's Island" universe. The universe of 1960s slapstick comedy. Any children born on the island would just grow up to be plucky kid sidekicks, suffering no more from the wacky adventures than any of the adults.
  • Ginger's career ended when the Minnow wrecked even though she survived. Before that, she was the actress who starred in This Movie, That Movie, and That Other Movie. After the wreck, she became the actress who was in a shipwreck and would probably carry that label for the rest of her life.
  • Meta example: The Lagoon used for most Beach scenes was, in reality, very very gross - and sometimes it was also very quite cold. Since Bob Denver was the one who did most of the water scenes, he had to wade through that. According to the cast, it wasn't until the actors told the producers to swim in the lagoon that they even changed the water. Yuck. Imagine if Bob Denver got any infections.

Fridge Logic

  • Why would all of them bring bags full of their personal belongings and all of their outfits for a third-rate three hour tour on a tugboat?
    • One possible answer: the three-hour tour doubled as a one-way ferry run between islands, and you brought your luggage because you'd need it at your destination. For a round-trip (which you wouldn't take your luggage on), you took the six-hour tour!
    • Another possibility: In some places in Hawaii, if your room is not ready when you arrive, they will give you free tickets to a boat tour or other activity as a sort of compensation/ keep you busy till it is. While the chances of all of them being on the boat for that are improbable. It's a possibility.
  • If the Howells were one of the richest couples in the world, and Ginger was a glamorous Movie Star, why did they charter a ship as tiny as the Minnow, alongside two other middle class passengers, and not a private luxury yacht? In the Howells' case, they probably owned many of their own.
    • For the Howells this could have been a compensation tour as speculated above.
    • And for Ginger, the Minnow could have been the 'SS Right Now'. (it's for the same reason that you shouldn't go grocery shopping while you're hungry)
  • Eva Grubb (Fake Ginger) failed to craft a career once back in civilization. We don't know the details, whether she just couldn't hack it or was exposed as an impostor (assuming she tried to pose as Ginger). But we do know for certain she failed: Because when Ginger returned after the rescue, she made an attempt to resume her career, and no mention of Eva was made. For all her scheming, Ms. Grubb was a blip in Hollywood.

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