I have submitted my application to the WriteorFlight reality show in Peru. One of the requirements of the application process was to record a one-minute video in which you answered the question, “What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?”

It’s a revealing question. What show did you love and why? Most likely it made you feel something… what was it? Did a specific character resonate with you? Was it special treat to watch on a Friday night? Or maybe it was bonding with your dad over Saturday night hockey.

I got the most grief for watching Gilligan’s Island. My mother thought it was junk and she strongly disapproved. I watched it anyway. The distinct characters fit my family perfectly; Mr. and Mrs. Howell were my aunt and uncle, my father was the professor, two older sisters fit the tropes of Ginger and Maryanne.

Which left my mother and I to be Gilligan and Skipper. I was twelve, the youngest and often the most annoying to the rest of the family. I once opened the door to let our dog in, (those were the days when you just let your dog roam about as they saw fit), and she deposited the gift of a dead mouse at my mother’s feet. True to Skipper’s character, my mother yelled at me to get rid of the mouse. It was my fault because I had let the dog in. I put the mouse in the paper garbage bag in our back room. A day later, my mother reached into the bag of potatoes and her fingers found the dead mouse. It was an honest Gilliganesque mistake on my part.

Anyway. The point is I could relate to Gilligan. Always in trouble, always getting yelled at, but… he was the most loved.

Take a pleasant break from political discussions and endless newsreels. What was your favourite show when you were a kid, and why?

Keep your joy.

Anne Milne is an every Sunday blogger, unless it’s a holiday weekend. Or summertime. 

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