Gilligan's Island: Gilligan and the Skipper, a gay couple? The Professor asexual? Ginger a drag queen?

Gilligan's Island (1964-67), the tale of seven nitwits who set out from Honolulu for a “three hour tour” and end up stranded on a desert island,  has become iconic for its ineptness and naiveté. They pull endless supplies from nowhere, build anything they need (except a boat) from bamboo and coconuts, hear endless radio news stories about their situation, and get a steady stream of visitors who promise rescue, but betray them or forget the island's location.  Even Santa Claus dropped by to offer holiday cheer.

But  actually, it was no more inept or naive than other 1960s sitcoms. The Beverly Hillbillies lived as multi-millionaires in Beverly Hills for many years, yet continued to wear hillbilly outfits, eat possum stew, and refer to the swimming pool as a "cement pond." 

In case Gilligan's Island and its endless reruns came  before your time, the seven castaways are, according to the theme song:

Gilligan, a "mighty sailing man" (in red), and the Skipper, "brave and sure" (in blue).  Color tv was brand new, so they used bright primary colors.

They became partners during the War, presumably the Korean War,  and now ran an island tour service out of Honolulu.  

Five passengers sign on for the "fateful trip" that was supposed to last for three hours,  "lunch provided."

3-4. Mr. and Mrs. Howell, "the millionaire and his wife," who for some reason brought suitcases full of money on the tour.

5. Ginger (the redhead), a glamorous Marilyn Monroe-style "movie star," who has a huge number of acting credit in very bad movies.

"And the rest," until the rest complained and got a mention in the theme song.

6. "Mary Anne," a wholesome Kansas farmgirl.

7. "The Professor,"  who has a B.A. from USC, a B.S. from UCLA, an M.A. from SMU, and a Ph. D from TCU, and is an expert on the languages and cultures of the "savage" natives of the area, yet works as a high school science teacher.

Straight Boomer boys had endless debates about which they would prefer to date, Ginger or Mary Anne.  But there was a lot for gay boys to like:

1. Beefcake First mate Gillian (Bob Denver, below) was slim, smooth, and occasionally shirtless.

Lithe, hard bodied Denny Miller, a 1959 Tarzan (top photo, appeared twice, as a "jungle man" and as as a surfer who rode a wild wave all the way in from Honolulu.

 In February 1965, Kurt Russell appeared as a jungle boy, wearing only a loincloth (he counts as beefcake when you're five years old)

Even the Professor took off his shirt a couple of times.

2. Utter lack of heterosexual interest.

There was lots of heterosexism, of course.  When the Professor wonders why headhunters would abduct only the girls, Gilligan quips “Because they’re boys!”  

When Mrs. Howell becomes the recipient of anonymous love letters, she and her husband interrogate Gilligan, the Skipper, and the Professor.  They all claim innocence.  "But that's impossible!" she exclaims.  "We've asked everyone on the island!" Ginger and Mary Anne are omitted.

More after the break

"Tracker," Episode 3.1: Tracker tracks a probably gay teenager. With Pride flags, Greek tavernas, a Canadian wrestler, and Bryant c*ck

 

 Link to the n*de photos

 Tracker (2023-) not to be confused with Duster (2025-6) and Reacher (2022-5), is about a guy who "tracks" missing people, usually in the square red states.  I went through the first season in search of gay characters awhile back, and didn't find much (Tracker's assistants are a lesbian couple, but the missing people seem to be all hetero).  

Tonight I have nothing to do while waiting for  my partner to get back from the gym (and bring food), so I'm going through Season 3.  Episodes about "Randy's close friend vanishes" and "a hidden relationship in a lawless desert town" have been disappointing, but Episode 3.11, "an 18 year old with a secret life" looks promising.   It stars Ben Krieger, a Broadway star who is obviously gay: he goes to Pride events, performed magic in a gay bar, and spent his 21st birthday with a male companion.

Scene 1:  Queens, New York. Stepho's Greek Taverna. Ben is cleaning up his parents' restaurant after closing.  A girl invites him to a party, but he refuses.  Your first sentence is rejecting a girl?  A nice queer code. 

He locks the back door, sets his bag of food aside, and walks over to the dumpster to throw out the trash.  Suddenly a car zooms up with its headlights glaring.

Scene 2:  The parents call for Tracker (Justin Hartley): Ben didn't come home last night, and because he's 18, the police won't do anything.  He also failed to deposit the day's receipts, several thousand dollars. In cash?  Doesn't everyone pay by card nowadays?

Tracker suggests that maybe he took the money and vanished, but the parents dismiss that idea.  He would never just leave.  But he didn't want to work in the restaurant forever.  He was interested in social justice issues.  Like LGBTQ rights, for instance?

 They open his locker, and find a taser cartridge.  Dude needed to protect himself for some reason.

Scene 3:  Next they check the back.  Notice the Pride Flag on the building next door.  It is visible in several scenes, certainly a deliberate background choice to hint that Ben is gay.

A homeless lady is eating the food that Ben dropped off.  She saw him arguing with a guy, and then being loaded into the car.

Next they find Ben's cell phone: he must have dropped it during the scuffle.  Tracker gets his associate, the Hacker, to hack into it.

Left: Google says that the Hacker is played by Eric Graise, a gay actor best known for the new Queer as Folk.  He may be disabled: some sources say that he's a bilateral amputee, and others, that it's his character.

The IMDB says that Eric left at the end of Season 2, replaced by "Cousin Randy" (Chris Lee), who is straight in real life.  

The new, straight Hacker tells Tracker that yesterday Ben called Ellis Brawner (Alex Barima from Daniel Spellbound, straight in real life) a dozen times.

The parents know him: he used to work at the restaurant, but was fired for stealing.  Could he have gotten revenge by kidnapping Ben?

Scene 4: The B-Plot, back at headquarters. A lady is buttering up another lady, who praises her work on previous cases.

Alex Barima (right), seen here in a non-romantic scene in The Exorcist, has no n*de or beefcake photos online.

The Hacker looks up Brawner's address, and Tracker breaks in.  A lot of fake passports and drivers' licenses.  No posters of bikini babes?  A good sign. When Brawner arrives and sees Tracker, he runs, but Tracker chases him down. 

He explains that he and Ben-Ben are partners in the fake id business. Ben-Ben?  Sounds like they're boyfriends.  

Last night Ben called and told him to get to the restaurant fast.  They were yelling because Brawner was angry over being awakened in the middle of the night.  It was just after a restaurant closed, and one of the staff was heading to a party.  Do you go to bed at 7:00 pm?

He needed some ids and a car right away, and paid for it with the money he took from the restaurant.

"Was it about the fake id business?"

"No, I think it was about a girl.  I heard him talking."  Ulp, heterosexual identity established at Minute 15.  

Ben left his laptop at Brower's place.  Tracker confiscates it.

More after the break.

Gemstones Season 4 Finale: Saying goodbye. With eight gay/bi characters and countless d*cks

  

Link to the n*de dudes

In March 2023, my partner and I subscribed to the streaming service HBO/MAX to watch science fiction programs like The Last of Us and Doctor Who.  He  also wanted to watch The Righteous Gemstones, a comedy/drama about "a famous and dysfunctional family of televangelists," but "No, thanks." After a childhood of preachers screaming "God hates you!" every Wednesday night and twice on Sunday, I thought that even a critique of evangelical homophobia would be too traumatic.

Then one day I was walking through the living room on the way to a snack, and I saw the Gemstones walking in slow motion toward Jason's Steakhouse: A nuclear family husband, wife, and kids; another male-female couple and their pregnant daughter; and, taking up the rear, a gay couple!  They were holding hands!  They joined the others at the dinner table with no recriminations, no stupid questions about "which of you is the man?", no yelling about the Book of Leviticus.  I was astonished.

Watching from the beginning, I found a show that was crass, vulgar, and often grotesque, with annoying plot holes and a complete disregard for internal consistency.  Plus it took forever for the showrunners to admit that Kelvin and Keefe were canon, resulting in endless annoying "they're really straight buddies" arguments. But once they were acknowledged, Season 4 became a masterpiece of gay inclusion, with their wedding the pivotal moment of the entire series.  

A gay wedding was the pivotal moment in a series about Evangelicals!

Plus:

 A more obvious romance between Gideon and Scotty.

Both Eli and Baby Billy have gay relationships in their past.

Queer coded characters everywhere.  Just when you think there couldn't be any more, they start dropping hints about Pontius. 

Two gay bands of brothers taken directly from Tom of Finland prints.

A near total absence of heterosexual activity, and almost no lady parts.

Nonstop beefcake.

P* enises in nearly every episode.  

 A friggin' gl*ry hole!

Gay men were not only welcome at the table, the table was designed for them. In the midst of some profound theological insights into faith and forgiveness.  There has never been anything on tv like it.

Two years have passed, with two conference presentations, a scholarly book, two blogs with over 500 posts, over 20 fan stories, and endless fan discussions. And now it's time to say goodbye.  

Fortunately, the Series Finale features a special message for those viewers who found the show, and the characters, especially meaningful:

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy: During the Kelvin-Keefe wedding reception, while Eli watches everyone dancing, we hear the letter that his deceased wife Aimee-Leigh wrote to her friend Lori years ago:

Saying goodbye is never easy -- it's not something I've ever been good at.  Sometimes it's easier to never say goodbye and just leave things where they lay.  Don't wrap it up all nice and neat.  

Hear that, fans?  We're not going to tie up every loose end.

The Grave:  Eli hugging Lori as she cries at her son Corey's grave.  

Takeaways: 

1. Corey was born in 1976, so he's six years older than Jesse, making it unusual for them to be friends.  Imagine a 10 year old and a 16 year old hanging out.

2. Season 4 begins in September 2024.  Corey dies in July 2025.  The wedding takes place several months later, I estimate in October.

3. Continuity error: the Gator Farm Massacre occurred in late June or early July 2025.  Earlier we read that Big Dick Mitch went missing in March 2024.  No way he was a prisoner for over a year.  

Don't look for closure in a goodbye.  We rarely get the closure we want. Most times we don't even get the closure we need.  Sometimes things happen and the life we knew is taken from us, just like that. It can happen fast.

I'll need a minute.

Hugging: Back at the reception. Eli grins at the people dancing and hugging.  Jesse and Amber hug.  Kelvin dances with Aunt Tiffany and his Sister Judy. Keefe hugs Uncle Baby Billy.  

Cut to Baby Billy, Tiffany, and the Nanny having a picnic. 

It's in those times you realize how precious friends are, family.  

The Gold Bible: The Siblings install the Gold Bible, the Maguffin of the season, on a pedestal at the Salvation Center, in front of a video presentation about Aimee-Leigh and Eli's ministry.

How important it is to let Jesus' love find you through them so we can lift each other up. 

Gideon Finds His Place: Performing at the opening of the new Gemstone Christian Skatepark, Gideon is able to combine his interest in stuntwork and the ministry. Banners say: Christian Skate Summit.

A shot of Jesse talking to his arch-nemesis Vance Simkins was cut. Apparently they're on friendly terms.

Jesse's sons, Pontius and Abraham, with Ash on one side and Edge on the other, gawk at the stunts.  Now there are girl skaters; previously Pontius' group has been entirely male.  I'm calling it: he's bi. 

And Abraham's pink shirt? Plus check out his room: Pictures of Holly Hobbie dolls and a ballerina nightlight.  He's gay.  Prove me wrong. 

Aimee-Leigh continues: So we can fly even higher. 

Shot of Gideon flying high.

More after the break

My 16 teen idol fave raves, from Rock Island to West Hollywood, with David's d*ck and Adam's super-d*ck

  

Link to the n*de photos

This is a list of my favorite teen stars from 1975-2000, when I was growing up in Rock Island and a young adult in West Hollywood (with three years in New York at the end). The profiles are posted for nostalgia, for fun, and for aesthetic appeal -- when I investigated these guys as adults, a surprising number turned out to be gay, or have n*de photos posted online, or both.

1.Michael Cade.  The only reason to watch California Dreams (1992-97),  Saved by the Bell-light.

2. David Naughton.  The cutest guy of the Disco Era taught us how to "be a Pepper," and showed his stuff as an American werewolf (in London).

3. Glen Scarpelli.  The femme boy who valiantly pretended to be straight on One Day at a Time grew up, came out, and moved to Taos.  

4. Jeff East. The Disney teen graduated to play a n*ked fratboy.

5. Zach Galligan.  The Gremlins guy ruined my childhood, sort of, but showed his d*ck as an adult.

6. Mat Botuchis.  The chest that launched a thousand fantasies.

7. Andrew Keegan The original Teenage Caveman played a gay guy in The Broken Hearts Club, and kissed Superman himself, Dean Cain.

8.Chad Allen.  The heartthrob who made Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman a must-see.  He came out and started playing gay detectives with n*de scenes.

More after the break.  Caution: Explicit.