Gilligan's Island Fans (almost) Unanimously Agree This Is The Sitcom's Best Character

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Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" is, one could argue, a seminal text of American utopia. As we have covered in the pages of /Film before, the political dimension of "Gilligan's Island" was mentioned explicitly in Paul A. Cantor's 2001 book "Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization," which pointed out that the seven stranded castaways on the titular Isle could stand in for various classes of postwar American life. There was a member of the intelligentsia, two members of the bourgeoisie, a farmer, an artist, and two middle-class laborers. When thrust together, these characters got along. They weren't necessarily friends — they bickered constantly — but there was no threat of death or war. When removed from society, every class will indeed learn to get along and survive together. There is an optimistic bent to the show's premise. 

Gilligan (Bob Denver) was the title character, and clearly the most important character on the show./ He was possessed of a clumsy, childlike wonder, and a level of guilelessness that constantly got him into trouble. Despite his canny ability to foul up everyone's plans, people liked Gilligan, treating him like a toddler they needed to raise. When ranking the characters for /Film, Gilligan ranked #1. Meanwhile, Ginger (Tina Louise) was ranked #2 for her talents as a psychiatrist and her actorly ability to adapt to a desperate situation.

Fans on Reddit, however, disagree with this ranking. When asked which of their characters was their favorite in an informal poll, Reddit came out in defense of the fresh-faced farmer Mary Ann (Dawn Wells). Some pollsters offered opinions on the matter, but mostly just noted that Mary Ann was their favorite and left it at that.

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To remind readers, the seven candidates in the poll were Gilligan, the Skipper (Alan Hale), Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus), Lovey Howell (Natalie Schafer), Ginger, the Professor (Russell Johnson), and Mary Ann. They each had a distinct comedic persona, which I have likened to modern versions of the comedic archetypes found in Commedia dell'arte. Gilligan was the 20th century's preeminent Arlecchino, a.k.a. Harlequin. 

In /Film's own ranking, we actually ranked Mary Ann as the fifth-best character, stating that she was a barometer of the island's general morale. If Mary Ann was smiling, and she often was, then life on the island was fine and dandy. If she were unhappy, something had gone terribly wrong. For a whimsical, dumb comedy like "Gilligan's Island," Mary Ann's positivity was invaluable. We also argued that, as a Kansan farmer, Mary Ann brought a valuable set of skills to the island that no other character had. She would be the one to raise crops and make sure the other castaways were fed. 

As a character, however, Mary Ann wasn't terribly deep. None of the castaways ever got deep into their own backstories ("Gilligan's Island" wasn't exactly a penetrating show), leaving all the characterization up to the actors. Dawn Wells was perfectly capable of depicting a cheerful, unflappable character, but she didn't seem to have much depth beyond that.

But one might safely assume that the Reddit users liked Mary Ann specifically because she never revealed any depth beyond her cheeriness. Wells' portrayal of the character implied that Mary Ann was decent to the core, eager to help, and rarely in a foul mood. She was a comforting presence. It certainly didn't hurt that Wells was gorgeous. 

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The Reddit poll revealed, however, that all seven of the characters have defenders. Several generations of viewers have looked to Mary Ann, Ginger, or the Professor as their first TV star crushes, and some have even revealed a weakness for the overwhelming sexual power of Bob Denver. Many like the character of Mr. Howell and appreciate Jim Backus' sublime performance. I, personally, think we can all relate to the Skipper's unquenched rage and frustration, although he was rarely number one on anyone's polls. 

Even Lovey Howell got a shoutout, with one Redditor believing that she came from modest means and married into the Howell family fortune. This, however, is incorrect, as Lovey Howell was said to have attended Vassar in the show's actual dialogue, and to have come from a loaded family. Either way, Mrs. Howell got a lot of great laugh lines, expertly delivered by Natalie Schafer. "People who say money can't buy happiness," one Redditor quoted, "don't know where to shop." There's a weird Voltairian logic to that. 

Of course, ranking "Gilligan's Island" characters is like ranking ice cream flavors. You may have a favorite. You may even have a few flavors that you get every time you visit the ice cream parlor. But at the end of the day, the flavors don't really matter because you still get to eat ice cream, and that's no bad thing. Mary Ann may be the public's favorite, but there is enough love to go around. As of this writing, Tina Louise, at 92, is the only remaining cast member of "Gilligan's Island" alive. Luckily, the show, despite being over 60 years old, remains a part of America's collective unconscious.