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This week's episode of Gilligan's Island involved quite a few quirks. First, Ginger was cutting the Skipper's hair. He had on one of those capes to keep hair off his clothes. More interesting, though, was that Ginger was wearing a barber's jacket that fit her perfectly. The shit they carried on that boat never ceases to amaze me.

This week was all about oranges. The Skipper was surprised to discover he was so weak he couldn't lift a log that Gilligan could lift with one hand. The professor ran some tests using an island-crafted version of a stethoscope and blood pressure monitor. He eventually diagnoses vitamin C deficiency due to insufficient citrus fruit. Apparently, because the Skipper was the biggest person on the island, he was most affected. Turns out, the bigger you are, the more quickly you're affected. I'll let Amy deal with that one. In what was impeccable timing, Gilligan shows up with the last orange on the island. It's also the first orange seen in the show. As they stand around arguing about who should get it, the sun dries it out until all that remains is the skin and the seeds.

Their solution is to plant the seeds and grow orange trees. They set up two-foot-high torches to keep the seeds warm in the ground. I never knew torches could warm the ground from two feet up. Perhaps they should have relied on the fact that it's 90+ degrees on the island. They made a big show how cold it was at night.

Gilligan stands watch to keep the torches lit. You would think they'd learned after 2+ years that Gilligan should never be on watch. Naturally, he falls asleep and they act out Jack & the Beanstalk in his dream. The beanstalk is actually an orange tree. The Skipper is the giant, and he had crates full of oranges in his castle, along with a goose that lays oranges. In a cute scene, the Skipper chases a "tiny" Gilligan around the stacks of oranges. They used a really young boy dressed as Gilligan, so the Skipper would look much bigger. If I remember correctly, the boy was Bob Denver's (Gilligan's) four or five-year-old son.

Eventually, Gilligan wakes up, the torches had gone out, and the orange seeds were ruined. Shocking! Fortunately, the Professor shows up with a large supply of grapefruits and lemons that he found on the island. Like the oranges, none of these fruits ever appeared on the island outside of that episode. Turns out Gilligan knew about the grapefruits and lemons all along. He just didn't know they were citrus fruits.

A fun episode, actually.

I reread it in context. You're absolutely right.

Thanks
Dirk

Waiter: Your choice of entrees this evening are lobster, salmon, hamburger, steak and fried chicken.
You: I'll have the steak and fried chicken.
Waiter: No, you have to choose one.
You: I did. You said steak and fried chicken. That's what I want.
Waiter to Manager: Harry, put a damn comma after steak in the menu!

Hmm. Three of my common transition phrases are way at the top of the cliche list of another online article: all of a sudden, just then, and suddenly. Fortunately, I've known for quite some time that many of the writers I review don't use them, so they should be easy to spot.

Deck, there's a big difference between a loud pop breaking the air and an explosion rocking the prison. The former sounds like someone passing gas. :-)  Seriously, I switch to telling for action sequences. Check out the sub-article embedded in the one Alan linked to above. It goes on forever with examples of transitional phrases, although primarily for non-fiction.

Alan, I'm between books at the moment, so there's not much to review. Seabrass and Kdot are helping me wrap up minor changes in acts III and IV of my Galaxy Tales story before I shelve it. I decided it needs a complete rewrite some time in the distant future. I'm currently planning a supernatural thriller series based on the Bible's Apocalypse that I want to work on next. It could be up to 3 months away before I'm ready with the first chapter.

Thank you, both.
Dirk

Welcome, Alypius. I had a quick look at your book. Although you're likely to get a few initial reviews, I agree with Temple that you should publish your story in a group that requires/pays points. That way readers will have an incentive to read it and keep coming back for more. You accumulate points by reviewing material from other writers, which you then use to publish your own work (usually in Premium, but you can also cross-post to other groups). It's fairly easy to accumulate points (leave 5 comments using an inline review or 50 words in a regular review). Generally, though, if you want to establish long-term reciprocal relationships with other writers, you'll have to put in more than the minimum effort. Giving detailed reviews has the added advantage that you learn how others write.

Hope that helps.

It used to work just fine, without extra tags.

Last chapter of Act III, Ashes to Ashes, is now up. Minor edits only.

Things I left for v4 are:
1. Eliminating the POV shift between Joseph on Earth and Apollo on trial on New Bethlehem. As a couple of readers noted, Joseph can watch the whole proceedings from his wisewatch while in prison.
2. Leonardo's limo ride to deliver Joseph and Paul to the spaceport needs fleshing out. Maybe have the Praetorian Guard chase him, bring down another building, etc.
3. Seabrass/Kdot, there are a few references to eyes expressing emotions or thoughts in this chapter (gleam in his eyes, eyes danced with excited energy, crazed look in his eyes). If you both agree that you dislike them, you may beat me into submission. Personally, I really like them, so your eyes may have to burn with fury before I yield.

Only five chapters to go. Up next, one of my favorites: Caligula!

Thanks for reading!
Dirk

Nova sounds masculine. Naya is feminine.

Oddly enough, I just sent away paperwork to combine my IRA accounts. I've also been trying for six months to get the Social Security Administration to stop deducting money from my benefits for Medicare Part B. Only a government bureaucracy could be so inept. Once they get that done (I may just give up), I'm going to have them wire the money into my Canadian bank account, allowing me to close my Chase checking account. Right now, I'm forced to leave $15K in the account to avoid a $25 monthly fee. The wire transfer only costs $15 per month, so a big FU to Chase.

Sorting data. I'd tear my hair out, but as you saw, I don't have any.