Dusty's Trail

Two career roles kept Bob Denver typecast for the rest of his life, that of the title role from Gilligan's Island and Maynard G. Krebs from Dobie Gillis. He could never get away from that for as long as he lived.

In Dusty's Trail which was Gilligan's Island out west Denver was once again in the title role and he's a scout for a wagon train where Forrest Tucker was the wagon master. He got two of the wagons lost and worse than that Tucker was with them. The first was your basic settler family William Cort and wife Lori Saunders and saloon girl Jeannine Riley who was a hitchhiker. The second wasn't even a wagon it was millionaire Ivor Francis and his high living wife Lynn Wood in a coach equipped like a Rolls Royce. When you got it, flaunt it and Francis and Wood apparently never travel anything less than first class.

These characters were totally ripped off from Gilligan's Island, you would have to have been in solitary confinement not to recognize them. The situations were Gilligan Island like. I will say that the locale of this show did allow for slightly more realistic guest star situations than the castaways had on Gilligan's Island.

But some of it was so dumb. That storm that blew the castaways off their course was something that could realistically happen. But it sure doesn't say much for Tucker as a wagon master to have Denver as a scout. And he got lost with him.

The coach was just plain ridiculous. These two Francis and Wood I don't care how many millions they had would have had that luxury vehicle breakdown real quick. Can't see it handling mountain passes. Just an incredibly dumb premise.

The show had its amusing moments, but the whole thing was ridiculous.