Episode 5: Wrongway Feldman

The castaways discover the first of many surprises on the island. This time it's an airplane, and a pilot. Much to their chagrin, it's a pilot who can't seem to fly straight, hence the "Wrongway".

But it's a plane, and they're marooned, so they decide to fly it. Wrongway is spooked about flying and has been secretly sabatoging the repair efforts. So he trains Gilligan (yes, Gilligan) to fly using an ingenious flight simulator made from fruits.
Wrongway finally wises up, knowing Gilligan will mess it up, crash, die, so he knocks him out and flies himself.

True to his nickname, although he manages to get to civilization, he messes up how he got there and directions to the castaways.

My question: Why, after he landed, didn't someone, anyone recognize the name Minnow, and at least do a cursory search attempt?

A weak episode, IMHO.

Note: When asked how he survived on the island, Feldman replied "With matches, magazines, and 64 bottles of Scotch."

Episode 4: Goodnight sweet Skipper

So the Skipper was at Guadalcanal! WOW! Impressive, fer sure! That alone gives the Skipper muchos respect of all the castaways. One of the bloodiest campaigns in WW2, and not only was he there, he survived it.

Anyhoo, in this episode he knows how to fix a radio and make it into a transmitter. But only when he's dreaming, or sleepwalking. (as an aside, do sleepwalkers really sleepwalk with their arms outstretched in front of them?)

And while this one-time event happens, some lady is flying around the world, and directly over the island at some time. So naturally they want to be able to radio her. Which means making the Skipper fall asleep again to dream, perchance, to dream and build the transmitter.
The castaways decide to secretly slip him a mickey, er, tranquilizer. But they each do, so he winds up downing 10 which should be enough to kill him. But nope, he falls asleep and dream-builds the transmitter. Professor writes it down and they fix the electronics.
Doesn't work. And again they leave Gilligan in charge. He hits the radio, it works, he demonstrates how he fixed it by pounding it again, thereby destroying it.

Some notes:

• The transmitter-thing seems to materialize out of nowhere. 
• When Gilligan asks the Howell's for the pills, it's light out. When he takes them to Mary-Ann, it's dark, and she's cooking dinner. And then Professor shows up, followed by Ginger and then the Skipper. Where the hell were they? It's an ISLAND!! The huts are right there! And then after Skipper passes out, the Howell's show up! Seriously, there's only 7 of them and they seem to find time alone.
• Looks like they have separate huts now.

Episode 3: Voodoo something to me

One of the more banal episodes. I know, banal in the sea of banility. But this one....
It opens with Gilligan on night sentry duty. Every night the castaways gather 'round and fire off a flare, using the flare gun from the boat. Roy claims they have about "150 flares".  But first...why do they have Gilligan on sentry with a loaded gun? A loaded pistol? After all, they know how stupid he is, how clumsy, moronic, and yet they give him a loaded gun and trust their lives with him standing guard!
And in the first 5 minutes, he manages to empty the gun, 4 shots 4 bullets gone.

It also appears that the castaways are still sharing the communal hut.

So what they're protecting, in addition to themselves, is the supply hut, home of the aforementioned flares. One night Gilligan hears a sound. And then they find supplies missing.

An animal is never mentioned as a suspect. No, what the Professor theorizes is someone else is on the island. Not just anyone, he guesses it's a killer. Yes, a killer. Skipper, meanwhile, is determined it's voodoo. How, he never says. I mean, voodoo is a Caribbean thing not a South Pacific thingy. But no one seems to question that. Nor do they question how the voodoo came to the island. Wouldn't someone have to bring it?

They decide to search the island to look for the missing flares. Of course they let Gilligan go on by himself. Of course. He falls in mud, dices in the lagoon to clean off and a chimp steals his clothes and puts them on. Said chimp makes it back to the others where Skipper thinks voodoo changed Gilligan into the chimp.
First of all, chimps are African, not South Pacific. Second, the Professor should have known it was a chimp (they all call it a monkey) and known where it should be from.

Chaos ensues, of course, Gilligan gets the flare gun and shoots the supply hut, where someone has mysteriously put the flares back, and sets off the flares.

Check out this photo of Gilligan wrestling the chimp. Notice the obvious stuffed sock monkey!

After a few weeks on the island, they're still holding out for a rescue. Still living in one hut. And Mary-Ann still looking fine in the short-shorts.

Episode 2: Home, Sweet Hut

It seems that this episode has mostly slapstick. Yeah, yeah, I know the entire series relies on slapstick, but this one has too many prolonged slap-stickish moments.  Like building the hut, Gilligan manages to piss off the other three men. And the hammock scene is way over played. Even for Gilligan's.

So the episode is almost a continuation of the previous one. The castaways find themselves in need of shelter, and the conflict becomes do we build one communal hut, or individual huts?












They begin with one, and real-time dynamics take hold. 7 strangers, thrown together in one hut. The Howells have a marital spat which quickly involves the rest.

And that sly professor....we see him come from behind a curtain, buttoning his shirt, followed by the girls in blankets! Nice!! So three huts now get built. Gilligan manages to expose the shortcomings of each, they build a communal hut which withstands the storm, and all is well.
Or is it? At the beginning, the skies were clear, then opened up into a deluge which precipitated (no pun intended) the whole "hut" idea. Meteorologist Roy Hinckly even proclaimed that the oncoming rainy season not only started early, but will be fierce. Yet at the end we again see clear skies, but this time, the "end of rain" is proclaimed! Only in the Gilligan Universe!

Some firsts:

• First time we see Mr. Howell's teddy bear
• First time Ginger tries to use her willowy charms to seduce one of the hapless men (Gilligan this time) for benefit. Tools, this time.

Other notes:

• Professor is a lefty
• The Marubi tribe, last discussed less than a week ago, is apparently forgotten
• They have not only tools on the island, but a tool box. Tools include a saw, which will dissapear later in the series as they build needed saws out of bamboo, shells, etc.

Fun quotes:

• Mr Howell, on his father, not worrying during the great market crash of 1929: He "Laughed and joked all the way down to the pavement"
• Skipper, quoting his dad: "A job done well is a job well done" and "Hurried work is worried work"

And we also learn a bit more about the Mary-Ann vs. Ginger debate....while Mary-Ann was a Girl Scout, Ginger dated a Boy Scout! And yes, in this episode, Mary-Ann still rocks the short-shorts!

Episode 1: Two on a Raft

The very first episode of the series. If you look closely, the establishing shot shows the original professor, Mary Ann and Ginger.

The episode begins with the Skipper waking up after the shipwreck. He yells for Gilligan who joins him on the beach. One by one the castaways awaken and realize that they're on a deserted island, far far away from Hawaii.

The ever-present radio begins its series-long magical reception and uncanny timing by broadcasting the Minnow's plight. And by doing this introduces the characters including Jonus Grumby, and Roy Hinkley, 2 names we never hear again. Well, we hear Hinckley one more time. But that's it.
We also get introduced to the first of many "tribes" that may or may not be on the island: the dreaded Marubi tribe. How do we know this? By a mask the professor finds. Seems he's an expert on South Pacific indigenous peoples. I would think the Skipper would know this, but I guess not.

And now that they know they're stranded, and that the boat has two huge holes, what do they do? Leave it to Skipper and Gilligan to be the first to try and find a way off the island. They build a crude raft made from bamboo sticks and logs, lashed together with some sort of lashing-type leafy thing. I don't know how they do this with no tools but I have a feeling we'll be seeing more tools later.

The girls make a sail from the castaway's clothing, and Mr Howell makes a golf club out of a bamboo stick and sea shell.
So G&S set sail, get set upon by sharks, swamped by rain, and swim to shore. They think they're on another island, but it turns out they're on their own island.
They see footprints, and Skipper thinks it's the roving Marubi tribe. Even though the footprints are obviously shoe prints, not barefoot. The remaining castaways think G&S are Marubi, and all 7 make way to a cave that collapses on them.

Which pretty much sets the theme for the rest of the series. Mr. Howell's first concern is his money, followed by golf. The castaways try to leave the island. Gilligan does stupid things.

My notes:

• In the beginning, Mr. Howell sounds very "Mr. Magoo-ish". Way too much. He tones it down as the series goes on.
• I'm always amazed at how many different types of native tribes are mentioned, how the Professor seems to know them all, and also knows details on each tribe. 
• Mary-Ann wins the initial Mary-Ann v Ginger debate, looking good in her short-shorts and shirt tied at the waist. Still can't see her belly-button, though. 
• Ginger ripped her one dress, the one she came on the cruise in. Hmm...what will she do now?