Sub Culture and the New Order
On the occasion of Bob Denver's death, Sherwood Schwartz' views on the significance of Gilligan's Island have again been published:
TV critics hooted at "Gilligan's Island" as gag-ridden corn. Audiences adored its far-out comedy. Writer-creator Sherwood Schwartz insisted that the show had social meaning along with the laughs: "I knew that by assembling seven different people and forcing them to live together, the show would have great philosophical implications."
Robert Reed basically thought that Schwartz' pretentions were ludicrous, as Barry Williams documents in his autobiography Growing Up Brady. You see, there was a war going on:
Brady Bunch: The Final Days (May 6 on Fox) focused on the last, tumultuous days of the white-washed depiction of this happy, blended family and Mr. Brady's ugly confrontations with Sherwood Schwartz (the show's creator and writer). In this movie, Mr. Brady is portrayed as a loving father figure to the cast, but a tormented soul, unchallenged and uninspired by Sherwood's two-dimensional scripts.
Sherwood and Son, on the other hand, are portrayed as bad, manipulative TV hacks who can't understand what the heck Brady has got his briefs in a jam about. In the final episodes, The Mike Brady/Sherwood Schwartz conflict comes to a head when Brady refuses to work until changes to the script are made. Short of having him thrown off the set, the last episode, the hair tonic episode, is filmed without a Dad. Brady cancellation is almost done as a retaliation against the disgruntled Brady Pop and the Brady Pups who were hankering for better contracts anyway....
Growing Up Brady (May 21 on NBC) was not as engaging as the cheap Fox production earlier in the month despite cameos by Greg and Bobby and the blood-line casting of Scott Michael Lookinland as Bobby. Sherwood, played here by L.A. Law's Michael Tucker, was portrayed as a gentle father-figure in this version. He was hands-on and patient with the ever-scowling Mr. Brady. This movie covers the infamous Greg and Carol date, one story that has been beaten into the ground ever since it was first told by Barry Williams in his book, Growing Up Brady. Nothing happened. It's a 'so-what' story. The sexy bedroom scene between Marsha and Greg is covered again (with an overabundance of sweet sensitivity), the Brady music tours are covered, as are the kiddy contract disputes. The pilot episode is badly recreated. And Tiger is completely miscast. Brady cancellation in this version is a bittersweet affair for Schwartz. He's tired of the Brady grind and he wants to end on top.
Disturbingly, the two Brady movies seemed to be in a war over the interpretation of Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz, a case of dueling father figures. Who ya gonna believe? Could Papa Brady be a bad guy? I don't think so.
Anyway, back to Sherwood's other production, and its deceased star:
Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show "Gilligan's Island," made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70.
Denver died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, his agent, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Associated Press. Denver's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."
Denver had also undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year....
Denver's signature role was Gilligan. But he was already known to TV audiences for another iconic character, that of Maynard G. Krebs, the bearded beatnik friend of Dwayne Hickman's Dobie in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," which aired from 1959 to 1963.
However, Denver's latest role indicated that he was confusing himself with John Denver...or Bob Marley:
Gilligan's No Dope: Cops Plea
by Joal Ryan
Aug 27, 1998, 2:30 PM PT
...Denver, 63, pleaded no contest to a downgraded count of simple pot possession in a West Virginia court August 18, it was learned today. For this Un-Crime of the Century, the former sitcom star got slapped with six months' unsupervised probation....
In another development, a narcotics detective on the case today confirmed Wells--once Mary Ann to Denver's Gilligan--was under investigation for being a key link to the pot package that got her TV colleague busted.
Denver was arrested last June 4 after police said they confiscated 35 grams of marijuana in a parcel delivered to his Princeton, West Virginia, home. (Another 10 grams of the drug were said to be found inside the house.)
Denver told police he telephoned Wells in California to set up the marijuana shipment, Detective Keith Compton of the Princeton Police said. Compton said it's believed an unknown third party in Colorado did the actual packaging and mailing.
Wells, 59, has not been arrested nor charged with any wrongdoing. The local district attorney's office in Princeton declined to bring charges against Wells....
Based on interviews with Denver and old check stubs, Compton said the actor allegedly placed pot orders totaling some $6,000 through Wells, dating back to 1995.
Comments