10 Insane TV Theories You Won't Believe

3. Gilligan's Island Is Hell

It was never as big a deal in the UK, but over in America Gilligan's Island is something of an institution, one of the earliest high-concept sitcoms which, despite only filming three seasons, has lived on for multiple generations in repeats and syndication. The title character is regarded as a cultural icon and the diverse make up of the poor sods who wind up stranded on a desert island has been used as a framework for countless other TV ensembles in the decades since it went off the air.

It's also party to some of the weirdest theories concerning a television show we've yet seen, which is pretty impressive given that it's a fairly harmless, family-friendly show about a bunch of folks just trying to muddle along in difficult circumstances. It was the Lost of its time, except with less hatches and more jokes your nan would like. Some have suggested that the ship (and its crew) were actually drug running when they fell victim to a tropical storm - why else would they be on a "three-hour tour" from Honolulu"? - but even more nefarious than that is the suggestion that they didn't actually survive said storm.

In fact, the island represents Hell itself, with each of its inhabitants representing one of the seven deadly sins: there's the lusty Ginger, target of Mary Ann's envy, the greedy Mr Howell and his slothful wife Lovey, the prideful Professor and the gluttonous, wrathful Skipper. Wait, but how does Gilligan figure into all of this? Well, he's the one who seems to be keeping them from leaving the island, and he's almost always dressed in red. We'll let you figure that one out for yourselves.