Despite critical barbs as sharp as a Maroobi spear, Gilligan's Island has proven unsinkable. Its first season was 1964's top-rated show. The expository theme song is one of television's most quoted, and its characters--the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.), first mate Gilligan (Bob Denver), the millionaire (Jim Backus) and his wife (Natalie Schaefer), a movie star (Tina Louise), "and the rest" (Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells, as the Professor and Mary Ann, wouldn't get their opening credit props until season two)--are pop culture icons. Revisiting the first season's 36 episodes is a not-guilty-at-all pleasure. Some sure and surprising hands piloted these inaugural episodes, including Ida Lupino, Jack Arnold (The Creature from the Black Lagoon), Christian Nyby (The Thing), and Richard Donner (who went on to direct Superman and Lethal Weapon).
The "seven stranded castaways" from the ill-fated S.S.
Minnow (slyly named for former Federal Communications
Commission head Newton "vast wasteland" Minow) received
memorable visits from the likes of Hans Conreid as errant
pilot Wrong Way Feldman, a young Kurt Russell as Jungle Boy,
and Larry Storch as a Cagney-esque bank robber. But these
were mere diversions from the heart of the series; the
no-man-is-an-island social microcosm that creator Sherwood
Schwartz conceived as an anti-war parable (this courtesy of
his optional commentary during the fabled unaired series
pilot). In the Christmas episode "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish
Gotta Talk," Santa Claus himself drops in to lift the
disheartened castaways' spirits. "You could have been
enemies," he tells them, "instead of a family group who all
learned to get along." This is they key to this series'
enduring popularity. That, and the unending debate: Ginger
or Mary Ann? --Donald Liebenson
Product Description
EPISODE SYNOPSES Pilot: Ginger, Maryann and the Professor
are different people. Mary-Ann's name is Bunny and her
character is more like the current Ginger. Ginger is more
like Mary-Ann but still called Ginger. The Professor is very
much a ladies man. Since the episode never aired, the show
was drastically altered, characters were replaced and so was
the now, unforgettable theme song. Episode 1: "Two on a
Raft" - The castaways find themselves marooned on the
island. Gilligan and the Skipper set sail on a home-made
raft in an attempt to find help. After sailing for days and
battling obstacles such as sharks and Gilligan's unending
hunger, they land back on Gilligan's island without
realizing it. Episode 2: "Home Sweet Hut" - A hurricane is
coming, so the Castaways must quickly build one large
community hut in which to weather the storm. However, they
soon get on each-others nerves, so they later decide to
branch out and build individual huts. Episode 3: "Voodoo
Something to Me" - The Skipper fears that the island is full
of 'voodoo' when he thinks that Gilligan has been turned
into a monkey. Episode 4: "Goodnight Sweet Skipper" - The
castaways hear on the radio that a plane is going to be
flying over their island, but they will be unable to contact
them because their transmitter is broken. Episode 5: "Wrongway
Feldman" - When Gilligan finds an old airplane hidden in the
jungle, the Castaways discover a long-forgotten aviator
living on the island. Episode 6: "President Gilligan" - The
castaways decide that they need someone to be the leader on
the island, and so they hold elections. Episode 7: "The
Sound of Quacking" - The Castaways are faced with running
out of food, when a blight threatens to destroy many of
their plants. When Gilligan finds a duck in the lagoon, a
difficult decision must be made. Episode 8: "Goodbye Island"
- Gilligan discovers a special tree sap that can be used to
make a good tasting pancake syrup. Then the professor
discovers that the same tree sap also makes a super glue,
that may allow the castaways to repair the Minnow. Episode
9: "The Big Gold Strike" - Mr. Howell discovers a gold mine
on the island. He then hires Gilligan to work in the mine.
When gold fever strikes the castaways and Mr. Howell is
unwilling to share the gold, they begin to charge outlandish
prices for the supplies and food that Mr. Howell needs.
Episode 10: "Waiting for Watubi" - While digging, the
Skipper uncovers a carved statue of a Tiki God. He then
believes a curse has fallen on him for disturbing the
resting-place of Watubi, and that his days are numbered.
Episode 11: "Angel on the Island" - Mr. Howell decides to
put on a play, staring Ginger, after she begins to suffer
from home sickness. Trouble begins, however, when Mrs.
Howell decides she wants to play the starring role. Mel
Blanc is the voice of the parrot. Episode 12: "Birds Gotta
Fly, Fish Gotta Talk" - During Christmas, the Castaways get
homesick and remember the first day they were shipwrecked.
When Santa Claus "appears" on the island, many suspect he is
the Skipper in costume. However, just as Santa departs while
wishing the Castaways a Merry Christmas, the Skipper appears
from the other direction. Episode 13: "Three Million Dollars
More or Less" - Mr. Howell loses $3 million to Gilligan in a
golfing contest. Mr. Howell then tricks Gilligan into
trading for a worthless oil well that he owns. Episode 14:
"Water Water Everywhere" - Talk about a painful irony:
though surrounded by water, the Castaways suddenly discover
that their supply of fresh drinking water is running out.
Episode 15: "So Sorry, My Island Now" - The Castaways are
captured by a Japanese sailor who thinks that WWII never
ended. When the other castaways are captured, it is up to
Gilligan to save them. Episode 16: "Plant You Now, Dig You
Later" - While working for Mr. Howell, Gilligan unearths a
chest. The castaways think it must contain a pirate's
treasure. Episode 17: "Little Island, Big Gun" - A mob
leader and his henchmen, fleeing from the police, land on
the island. Episode 18: "X Marks the Spot" - In a test of a
deadly new missile, called "Operation Powder Keg," the Air
Force chooses an "uninhabited island" which just happens to
be Gilligan's Island. Episode 19: "Gilligan Meets Jungle
Boy" - Gilligan discovers a jungle boy living on the island.
He shows them a hole in the ground that causes objects to
float, and the professor theorizes that it is expelling
either helium or hydrogen. Kurt Russell is the guest star.
Episode 20: "St. Gilligan and the Dragon" - Angry because
the men haven't kept their promise to build them private
houses, the women decide to move to the other side of the
island in protest. Episode 21: "Big Man on Little Stick" -
Handsome surfer Duke Williams rides a giant tsunami to the
island. At first, the castaways are excited as Duke thinks
he will turn around and surf back to Hawaii (and send help).
However, after seeing Mary Ann and Ginger, he decides he may
want to stay for a while. Episode 22: "Diamonds Are an Ape's
Best Friend"- A gorilla is enchanted by Mrs. Howell's
perfume and kidnaps her. After Gilligan accidentally spills
the perfume all over his shirt, the gorilla decides to
release Mrs. Howell and exchange prisoners. Episode 23: "How
to be a Hero"- After Gilligan is unable to save Mary Ann
from drowning in the lagoon, the Skipper must jump in and
rescue both of them. The Castaways then devise schemes to
boost Gilligan's ego, and help him feel like a hero. Episode
24: "The Return of Wrongway Feldman" - The castaways are
revisited by 'Wrongway' Feldman. Episode 25: "The
Matchmaker" - Mrs. Howell decides to engineer a romance
between Gilligan and Mary Ann. Episode 26: "Music Hath
Charm" - Mrs. Howell decides to form a symphony orchestra,
to make up for the lack of culture on the island. Gilligan's
drum beats, as they drift across the water, hold special
meaning to angry natives on a nearby island. Episode 27:
"New Neighbor Sam" - The Castaways overhear the voices of
gangsters discussing buried treasure and threatening their
lives. The voices turn out to belong to a parrot, who then
leads the castaways to the "treasure." Episode 28: "They're
Off and Running" - Mr. Howell wins all of the Skipper's
possessions betting on turtle races. Even when he feels bad
and switches the turtles so that Skipper will finally win,
he still wins! Episode 29: "Three to Get Ready" - The
Skipper insists a stone found by Gilligan will grant the
finder three wishes before sundown. The professor, of
course, insists it is just superstition. Episode 30: "Forget
Me Not" -The Professor tries to cure the Skipper's amnesia
by hypnotizing him and taking him through time. Episode 31:
"Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home" - The Castaways
discover that Gilligan has been keeping a secret diary. When
they read it, they all seem to disagree with how certain
events unfolded and tell their side of the story. Episode
32: "Physical Fatness" - Gilligan and the Skipper plan to
join the Navy when they are rescued. However, when weighing
themselves, they discover that Gilligan must gain weight,
while the Skipper must diet. Episode 33: "It's Magic" -
Gilligan finds a raft, oh wait, no, the Great Raftini's
magic trunk. Ginger knows how to use the magical tricks and
the castaways plan to use the magic to scare away angry
natives if they ever got to their island again. Episode 34:
"Goodbye Old Paint" - A famous painter who has renounced
civilization, Dubov, visits the island (with a short-wave
radio, of course). The castaways are hopeful that Dubov will
give them his transmitter, but soon discover he does not
wish to go back to civilization. Episode 35: "My Fair
Gilligan" - After Gilligan saves Mrs. Howell's life, Mr.
Howell decides to make him his son. He immediately puts
Gilligan through basic training to be a millionaire's
socialite son (dream sequence), changing the way he walks,
talks and dresses. However, Gilligan and the rest of the
castaways miss the "old Gilligan." Episode 36: "A Nose By
Any Other Name" - A fall from a coconut tree gives Gilligan
an inflated nose and a deflated ego. When Gilligan decides
he wants the Professor to perform plastic surgery on his
nose, the Professor pretends to perform the surgery, and
instead, relies on the recuperation time behind the bandages
to allow the swelling to go down. When the bandages are
finally removed, Gilligan decides he is happy with his old
nose!
