Techno Time Travel

But even before the moving started, the team had to make a replica moai. And here, the Nova show turned into something like The Real World as directed by Oliver Stone. “At least,” sighs a disheartened Clark, “on Everest you could blame people’s behavior on hypoxia.” Clark‘s benevolent conclusion is that any group of people with strong opinions stuck on an island that’s only 7 miles across (heck, ever wonder why the Professor didn‘t just blow up Gilligan and the Skipper and keep Ginger and Mary Ann for himself?) will get into fights.

Clark has kept some of the disagreements in the final film as a “morality play” on how difficult it must have been for the islanders themselves to agree on the best methods to transport and erect the statues.

Van Tilburg offers her own profound perspective on what went wrong: Even a replica moai is not merely a hunk of stone to be hauled about, a spiritual distinction Van Tilburg feels the TV producers failed to grasp. The moai’s creation represented years of her work and personal relationships on the island. “This was an obligation of honor, not a prop,” Van Tilburg says.

Clark, trying to sum up the difference between her Everest and Easter Island experiences, mused, “Maybe it‘s because we didn’t have the physical hardships that bring people together on Everest. On Easter Island, it‘s a mild climate, and a tight space with too many people -- maybe that’s what it‘s like in L.A.?”

Bull’s-eye. And I think I‘ll take the islanders’ cure. When life crowds in, take to the open ocean in a canoe. Thomas Guide in hand, I‘m going back to Long Beach next Sunday.

The Easter Island episode of the Nova series airs February 15 on PBS. Check local listings for time.