Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Favorite Fictional Character --- Gilligan

 

Sharing my favorite fictional characters with everyone used to be one of my favorite aspects of this blog, so there was no way I was going to resurrect Wordsmithonia without bringing back this weekly feature. 

August 16th, 2017 was the last time I posted a Favorite Fictional Character post, and it just so happened to be on Inspector Gadget, the fumbling cartoon(ish) secret agent many of us grew up with. It's fitting that today I'm going to feature another fumbling character, the always clumsily adorable Gilligan from a show I'm sure we are all familiar with, Gilligan's Island

Growing up, I remember laying on my stomach, head in my hands in front of TV watching Gilligan's Island and loving every minute of it. At first in black & white and then in color, as both the show and our TV upgraded, I loved Gilligan's antics as he bumbled across my screen, somehow both annoying and endearing himself to his fellow castaways. 


He always tried to do the right thing and to be as helpful as possible. He put his whole heart into everything he did, but like Inspector Gadget, he fumbled it 98% of the time. His antics are both hilarious and loveable, but it's his heart that I absolutely love about him. He didn't quit or give up when he failed at something. He didn't stop pouring his heart into everything he did, just because his friends got frustrated with him. He kept true to himself, and in my opinion, that is just about the most important thing anyone can do. It's one of those life lessons I think most of us would be good to hold onto with both hands. 

6 comments:

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

Oh my goodness! So glad to see you blogging again. I loved Gilligan and the show too. My sister and I used to watch it religiously.
Love that you kept the graphic I made. It makes me think of you as a little boy. :)

Ryan said...

Thank ya! Of course I was going to keep it. I love it.

Literary Feline said...

I never did watch Gilligan's Island with any regularity, catching just an episode here and there, but I know the characters (and the theme song) well just the same. Gilligan was the heart of the show.

Ryan said...

He really was.

Katherine P said...

I hadn't thought Gilligan being like Inspector Gadget but you are absolutely right! I love this show and always loved Gilligan. On a semi-related note my son was up for a wish from Make a Wish (leukemia but he's great now) and I was researching Wish ideas. Apparently a kid wanted to rescue Gilligan and MaW contacted the actor and he was absolutely 100% for it. Wore the costume did the whole act and everything. He was supposed to be wonderful to work with and really went above and beyond to make this kid's wish come true which makes me love him even more!

Ryan said...

I'm glad your son is doing great! I'm glad to know Bob Denver would do that for that kid. That's awesome.

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