Gilligan's Island (season 1)
The first season of the American comedy television series Gilligan's Island was shown in the United States on September 26, 1964 and concluded on June 12, 1965 on CBS. The season introduced the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive and escape from an island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolved around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their failed attempts—invariably Gilligan's fault—to escape their plight. The season originally aired on Saturdays at 8:30-9:00 pm (EST).
| Gilligan's Island | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 36 |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 26, 1964 – June 12, 1965 |
| Season chronology | |
Production
Executive producers for the first season included William Froug and series creator Sherwood Schwartz.[1] Filming took place at the CBS Radford Studios complex in Studio City, Los Angeles California.[2] This complex contained 17 sound stages, as well as special effects and prop departments.[3] On one stage, a lagoon had been constructed by the production company "at great expense".[4] According to Bob Denver, the crew would spend half their days filming scenes in the lagoon. Shots and sequences involving the characters were filmed in a different soundstage.[4] After the series was cancelled, the show's lagoon was not dismantled, and it remained in place until 1995, when it was converted into a parking lot.[2][4]
Cast
The series employed an ensemble cast of seven main actors and actresses.[5] Denver played the role of the titular First Mate Gilligan, a bumbling, naive, and accident-prone crewman who often messes up the castaways chances of rescue. Alan Hale, Jr. portrayed The Skipper, captain of the S.S. Minnow and the older friend of Gilligan. Jim Backus appeared as Thurston Howell III, a millionaire, and Natalie Schafer played his wife, Eunice Lovelle Wentworth Howell. Tina Louise played the role of Ginger Grant, a famous movie star. Russell Johnson portrayed Professor Roy Hinkley, Ph.D., a high school science teacher who often used his scientific background for ways to get the castaways off the island. Dawn Wells played Mary Ann Summers, a wholesome farm girl from Kansas.[6] Charles Maxwell was the uncredited voice of the radio announcer, to whom the castaways would often listen.
Broadcast history
The season aired Saturdays from 8:30-9:00 pm (EST) on CBS. It was the only season filmed in black-and-white.
DVD release
The DVD was released by Warner Home Video, with the pilot episode as a bonus episode.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [7] | Written by [7] | Original air date [8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Two on a Raft" | John Rich | Lawrence J. Cohen & Fred Freeman | September 26, 1964 | |
|
The first episode picks up after the events related in the theme song, with the castaways marooned on a deserted, uncharted island following a violent storm. Skipper Jonas Grumby (Alan Hale Jr.) and First Mate Gilligan (Bob Denver) sail for help on a raft. On the island, the remaining castaways are worried about possible headhunters. Skipper and Gilligan wind up back on the island. Each group now believe the other are the headhunters. Note: Part of this episode was filmed in Moloaa Bay, Kaua'i, Hawaii. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Home Sweet Hut" | Richard Donner | Bill Davenport & Charles Tannen | October 3, 1964 | |
| The seven castaways decide that they're unwilling to all share the same dwelling, so they break up into teams to construct four separate huts. A violent storm is on the horizon, so time is of the essence, and with Gilligan trying to help, there are plenty of setbacks. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Voodoo Something to Me" | John Rich | Austin Kalish & Elroy Schwartz | October 10, 1964 | |
| After a robbery of their supplies, the castaways believe a convict is loose on the island, while Skipper thinks it's voodoo. The Skipper believes that Gilligan has been turned into a chimpanzee. Later, Gilligan thinks the Skipper was turned into the chimp. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Goodnight, Sweet Skipper" | Ida Lupino | Dick Conway & Roland MacLane | October 17, 1964 | |
|
Skipper is able to turn the radio into a transmitter. The catch is that he can only do it when he sleepwalks. Gilligan gets some tranquilizers from Mr. Howell. The only problem is that everyone drops a couple pills in the Skippers drink. Will he be able to make contact with aviatrix Alice McNeil on her around the world flight or will Gilligan mess things up? Note: With June Foray as the voice of aviatrix Alice McNeil. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Wrongway Feldman" | Ida Lupino | Fred Freeman & Lawrence J. Cohen | October 24, 1964 | |
|
Famed aviator Wrongway Feldman (Hans Conried in his first of two guest appearances) is discovered living on the island with a damaged plane, so the castaways offer to help fix it. But each time Wrongway is about to take off, something goes wrong with the plane as if it had been sabotaged. Turns out it was Wrongway that did it, as he doesn't feel he can fly anymore after all that time. He does eventually take off and makes it back to New York. However, he can't give accurate directions back to the island. Note: This is the first appearance of Wrongway Feldman. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "President Gilligan" | Richard Donner | Roland Wolpert | October 31, 1964 | |
| When Mr. Howell and the Skipper square off over who is in charge, the castaways decide they need to elect a leader. Howell and Skipper both try to influence the others votes. When the castaways cast their votes, the result is surprising. Gilligan, the new president, takes his job seriously, but no one else on the island pays any attention to his ideas. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Sound of Quacking" | Thomas Montgomery | Lawrence J. Cohen & Fred Freeman | November 7, 1964 | |
|
There is a blight on the island and food is scarce. A duck lands on the island. The Professor wants to attach a message to the duck and hope for a rescue, while most of the others want to eat it. Gilligan is determined to protect the duck. In the end, the duck helps them with their food shortage. Note: Mel Blanc voices the duck. Ironically, the dream sequence was filmed on the set of Gunsmoke, which replaced Gilligan's Island in its time slot for season 4, cancelling the show. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Goodbye Island" | John Rich | Albert E. Lewin & Burt Styler | November 21, 1964 | |
| Gilligan discovers the perfect, permanent glue from tree sap when trying to make pancake syrup. The castaways decide to use this "glue" to patch the wreckage of the Minnow. Shortly before they are to sail off, Gilligan discovers that the glue is not so permanent after all, causing the Minnow to completely fall apart before it can set sail. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Big Gold Strike" | Stanley Z. Cherry | Roland Wolpert | November 28, 1964 | |
| Mr. Howell and Gilligan discover a gold mine on the island and soon greed and 'gold fever' overcome the castaways. Meanwhile, Mary Ann, Ginger and the Skipper find the S.S. Minnow's inflatable life raft in the lagoon. Despite warnings not to take weighty things aboard the raft, everyone tries to smuggle some gold onto the raft, causing it to sink. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Waiting for Watubi" | Jack Arnold | Fred Freeman & Lawrence J. Cohen | December 5, 1964 | |
| Skipper finds a tiki idol, a small statue of Kona, the god of evil. Skipper believes he is cursed as he disturbed its resting place. The Skipper also believes only a visit from the Great Watubi can lift the spell. The Professor has Gilligan, disguised in fanciful headdress and makeup, pretend to be Watubi. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Angel on the Island" | Jack Arnold | Herbert Finn & Alan Dinehart | December 12, 1964 | |
|
Ginger is sad because she isn't able to appear in a play that would have made her a star. Mr. Howell agrees to back Ginger's off-Broadway, on-island show. However, his wife soon believes that she should be the star of her husband's show, and he is forced to oblige. When Mrs. Howell realizes how badly Ginger wanted to play the part, she fakes laryngitis. Note: According to the show's theme song, Ginger was already a movie star. However, this episode infers that the shipwreck had prevented her debut on Broadway, so now she won't be "discovered" in Hollywood. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk" | Rod Amateau | Sherwood Schwartz and Austin Kalish and Elroy Schwartz | December 19, 1964 | |
|
Gilligan's Christmas wish appears to be coming true when a radio broadcast tells them their rescue is imminent. While they wait, they recall the first days on the island when Gilligan lost and recovered the radio and transmitter. In the end, it turns out it was another set of castaways that get rescued. It's Christmas Eve and Santa, who bears a striking resemblance to the Skipper, tries to cheer everyone up. He tells them that they could have wound up on an island without food or fresh water. This certainly makes their situation easier to bear. Note: This show contains footage from the original pilot. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Three Million Dollars More or Less" | Thomas Montgomery | Story by : Sam Locke & Joel Rapp Teleplay by : Bill Davenport & Charles Tannen | December 26, 1964 | |
| Gilligan wins $3 million from Mr. Howell in a putting contest, but Mr. Howell schemes to get it back. Everybody else wants a piece of Gilligan and his newfound riches. | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Water, Water Everywhere" | Stanley Z. Cherry | Tom Waldman & Frank Waldman | January 2, 1965 | |
|
When the water supply runs short, the castaeways are forced to ration. Skipper believes a divining rod is the answer, but Gilligan breaks it. The castaways resort to stealing some of the last remaining water, but the Skipper catches them. Gilligan finds a frog that leads him to a cave full of fresh water. Note: this is the first of three times Gilligan runs away. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "So Sorry, My Island Now" | Alan Crosland, Jr. | David P. Harmon | January 9, 1965 | |
| A Japanese sailor (Vito Scotti in his first of four guest appearances), who thinks it's still WWII, captures everyone except Gilligan and the Skipper. Skipper and Gilligan manage to free the others while the sailor is asleep. The sailor gets back into his sub and leaves. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Plant You Now, Dig You Later" | Lawrence Dobkin | Elroy Schwartz & Oliver Crawford | January 16, 1965 | |
| Gilligan uncovers a treasure chest while digging a pit for Mr. Howell. Both Gilligan and Mr. Howell lay claim to the chest. A court is held, with the Professor as the judge, to decide rightful ownership. The Professor rules that the chest should belong to everyone. But after Mr. Howell offers the others $500,000 for their shares, it is revealed that the chest contained cannonballs. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Little Island, Big Gun" | Abner Biberman | Dick Conway & Roland MacLane | January 23, 1965 | |
| Trying to evade the police after a heist, gangster Jackson Farrell (Larry Storch) is dropped off on the island, planning to hide out for a while. Gilligan hears who Jackson is on their radio. Jackson holds the castaways prisoner until his partner can come back. Thanks to Gilligan, as Jackson is leaving the island, his money gets destroyed. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "'X' Marks the Spot" | Jack Arnold | Sherwood Schwartz & Elroy Schwartz | January 30, 1965 | |
| The castaways hear on their radio that the Pentagon is set to launch a new deadly missile that will destroy everything within 100 miles of its path. From the coordinates given, Skipper figures the island is ground zero. There is a glitch in the warhead, but the Pentagon will fire the missile anyway to test its guidance system and not announce that the warhead is not functional. The missile crashes onto the island, and believing it still may explode, the Professor has Gilligan try to disarm it. Harry Lauter appears as Maj. Adams (uncredited). Russell Thorson appears as Gen. Bryan (uncredited). | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy" | Lawrence Dobkin | Al Schwartz, Howard Merrill & Howard Harris | February 6, 1965 | |
| Gilligan finds a jungle boy (Kurt Russell) who takes him to a natural source of helium on the island. The Professor plans to use it to get rescued with a makeshift hot-air balloon. However, only the jungle boy goes up and away, which is no help for rescue as he can't speak any real English. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "St. Gilligan and the Dragon" | Richard Donner | Arnold & Lois Peyser | February 13, 1965 | |
| The women tired of being held subservient to the men and, inspired by the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, decide to separate and build their own camp. The men soon realize how much they need the women, and so they try to scare the women back by dressing as a dragon. However, Ginger was wise to their plan. Each man has a dream sequence showing how much they miss the girls. Both the men and women are reunited when they are frightened by something strange on the island. It turns out to be a lost weather balloon, but Gilligan destroys it before they can put it to use. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Big Man on a Little Stick" | Tony Leader | Charles Tannen & Lou Huston | February 20, 1965 | |
| Super surfer Duke Williams (Denny Miller) rides a tsunami onto the island, but when the chance arrives for him to leave on another tsunami, his attraction to Ginger and Mary Ann keeps him wanting to stay there. The girls come up with a plan to make Duke want to leave, by pretending to be in relationships with Gilligan and the Professor. Unfortunately, when Duke returns to Hawaii, he hits his head on a rock and develops amnesia. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend" | Jack Arnold | Elroy Schwartz | February 27, 1965 | |
| A gorilla is loose on the island and he steals Mrs. Howell's diamond brooch. Mr. Howell offers a reward to the other castaways for finding it. Meanwhile the gorilla kidnaps Mrs. Howell. It's the Professor who hits on the solution, that the attraction is not for Mrs. Howell but for her perfume. When Gilligan spills the perfume on himself, the gorilla makes off with him. | ||||||
| 23 | 23 | "How to Be a Hero" | Tony Leader | Herbert Finn & Alan Dinehart | March 6, 1965 | |
| While Gilligan is trying to rescue Mary Ann from drowning, he starts to drown as well. Gilligan becomes jealous of the Skipper when he saves both of them. The other castaways devise ways to try to make him feel like a hero, but Gilligan bungles them all. But Gilligan may really get his chance to be a hero yet when a headhunter takes the other castaways prisoner. | ||||||
| 24 | 24 | "The Return of Wrongway Feldman" | Gene Nelson | Lawrence J. Cohen & Fred Freeman | March 13, 1965 | |
| Wrongway Feldman (Hans Conried in his second of two guest appearances) is back, this time trying to escape the hustle and bustle of the modern world. The castaways attempt to convince him that back home is better than life on the island. They devise a plan to bring as much noisy civilization to the island as they can to make Wrongway want to go back. He leaves the island but instead of going to Hawaii and rescuing the castaways, he lands on another uncharted island and stays there. | ||||||
| 25 | 25 | "The Matchmaker" | Tony Leader | Joanna Lee | March 20, 1965 | |
| Mrs. Howell plays matchmaker to Gilligan and Mary Ann after seeing Gilligan carrying her to camp after she was injured, which ironically leads to a separation between the Howells. This leads to everyone else fighting. The Skipper wants to stop things from going even further, so he devises a plan to get the Howells back together. | ||||||
| 26 | 26 | "Music Hath Charms" | Jack Arnold | Al Schwartz & Howard Harris | March 27, 1965 | |
| Mrs. Howell wants to civilize the island with an orchestra. But Gilligan's drumbeats are mistaken by a tribe on another island as a declaration of war. The natives surround and land on the island. All seems lost after each of the male castaways gets captured due to Gilligan's ineptitude. Can music help the situation? | ||||||
| 27 | 27 | "New Neighbor Sam" | Thomas Montgomery | Charles Tannen & George O'Hanlon | April 3, 1965 | |
|
The castaways are scared that a group of gangsters are on the island. It turns out just to be a parrot who also squawks wildly when he hears the words "boat" and "jewelry". After the castaways capture the parrot, they believe he was owned by the gangsters. They hope to get information from the bird about the gangsters boat. Note: Mel Blanc and Herb Vigran do the gangster voices of the parrot. | ||||||
| 28 | 28 | "They're Off and Running" | Jack Arnold | Walter Black | April 10, 1965 | |
| Gilligan is forced to become the Howells' man-servant when the Skipper loses a bet to Mr. Howell in a turtle race. A lonely Skipper no longer has anyone to yell at. Gilligan has an idea. He asks Mr. Howell that, considering all he has, he could maybe lose a race and let the Skipper win Gilligan back. Without knowing what the other did, both Howell's and then Gilligan end up switching the turtles. The result being that Howell's champion comes out on top yet again. Mr. Howell finds a reason to let the Skipper have Gilligan back. | ||||||
| 29 | 29 | "Three to Get Ready" | Jack Arnold | David P. Harmon | April 17, 1965 | |
| The Skipper believes that Gilligan found a lucky stone, "The Eye of the Idol", that entitles him to three wishes before the end of the day. However, the Professor believes it is just a silly superstition. Gilligan wishes for a gallon of ice cream, which miraculously washes up in the lagoon. A spontaneous wish for another gallon of ice cream also comes true, leaving only one left. Gilligan loses the lucky stone before wish number three. After finding it, Gilligan wishes they were off the island. The land the castaways are standing on floats into the lagoon, making them "off the island". | ||||||
| 30 | 30 | "Forget Me Not" | Jack Arnold | Herbert Margolis | April 24, 1965 | |
| The Skipper has amnesia and the Professor resorts to hypnosis to cure him. The first attempt regresses him all the way to childhood. A second try puts the Skipper back fighting in WW2 and he winds up believing that the other castaways are Japanese soldiers. A third attempt at hypnosis and the Professor winds up with three Skippers, none of whom is the real one. As Gilligan was the cause of the Skippers amnesia, he is also the cure. | ||||||
| 31 | 31 | "Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home?" | Christian Nyby | David P. Harmon | May 1, 1965 | |
| Gilligan is keeping a diary and everyone wants to know what he wrote about them. Not wishing to have anyone reading about his innermost thoughts, Gilligan tosses his diary into the lagoon. This inspires the others to write diaries of their own. Everyone has different memories of the day the Japanese sailor (Vito Scotti in his second of four guest appearances) came to the island, in a style reminiscent of the Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon. Mary Ann finds the missing diary and it reveals that Gilligan wrote only nice things about his fellow castaways. | ||||||
| 32 | 32 | "Physical Fatness" | Gary Nelson | Herbert Finn & Alan Dinehart | May 8, 1965 | |
| The Professor makes a phosphorescent dye marker to help get rescued. When they think rescue is imminent, Gilligan helps the Skipper lose enough weight to get back into the Navy once they are rescued. Gilligan must also gain weight so he too can return to Navy life. While being force fed, Gilligan accidentally eats the dye marker. | ||||||
| 33 | 33 | "It's Magic" | Jack Arnold | Al Schwartz & Bruce Howard | May 15, 1965 | |
|
While fishing, Gilligan reels in a magician's chest from the lagoon. It might help the castaways convince any head hunters that they have magic powers. Everyone practices doing some tricks. But eventually Gilligan overhears that everybody is fed up with his unsuccessful attempts at magic, he is called Annoying, Scapegoat, Nothing But Trouble Pest, and Impossible. Hurt by what everyone including Mary Ann said, he decides to run away. They find him in a one room cave and separately tries to make things right with him, but he refuses to rejoin the others. They have to come up with a plan to bring Gilligan back. Note: this is the second time Gilligan runs away. | ||||||
| 34 | 34 | "Goodbye, Old Paint" | Jack Arnold | David P. Harmon | May 22, 1965 | |
| Alexandre Gregor Dubov (Harold J. Stone), a reclusive, snobbish painter, is found on the island. He brought with him a transmitter, but won't let anyone use it. To convince him to return to civilization, they set up Gilligan as a rival avant-garde artist. Dubov agrees to give up his transmitter if Gilligan gives him painting lessons. The transmitter is rusted and falling apart. Inside is a note that says Dubov tied his paintings together and floated to another island. | ||||||
| 35 | 35 | "My Fair Gilligan" | Tony Leader | Joanna Lee | June 5, 1965 | |
| Gilligan saves Mrs. Howell's life and the Howells decide to adopt him, and change him into "G. Thurston Howell IV" — an endeavor which results in problems for all concerned. Gilligan does not enjoy studying finances and misses his simpler lifestyle with the others. After a nightmare, with Gilligan as a king, with tragic consequences, Gilligan decides he wants to just be himself, but he doesn't want to hurt the Howell's feelings. The other castaways come up with a plan to help Gilligan. | ||||||
| 36 | 36 | "A Nose by Any Other Name" | Hal Cooper | Elroy Schwartz | June 12, 1965 | |
|
Gilligan's nose swells and his ego fades after he falls out of a coconut tree. The Professor gives everyone first aid lessons, but things don't go well. The women try to cheer Gilligan up by telling him he looks much better this way. But he finds out, and feels even worse. Gilligan insists that the Professor perform surgery on his deformed nose. Note:This is the last episode with the words "And The Rest" and the last episode where Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells are only in the end credits. Starting in the next season and the rest of the series, they are in the intro. Also the last black and white episode. | ||||||
Footnotes
- Berard and Englund (2009), p. 126.
- "CBS Studio Center". Seeing-Stars.com. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- "CBS Buys Republic Lot". Broadcasting. Vol. 72, no. 9. February 27, 1967. ProQuest 1014503405. (subscription required)
- Walstad, David (August 7, 1995). "Civilization Takes Over 'Gilligan's' Lagoon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- Tucker (2010), p. 89.
- Schwartz (2009), pp. 49–64.
- Schwartz (1988), pp. 278–291.
- Gilligan's Island: The Complete Second Season (booklet). Rich, John, et al. Warner Home Video.
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References
- Berard, Jeanette; Englund, Klaudia (2009). Television Series and Specials Scripts, 1946-1992. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786454372.
- Morowitz, Laura (2003). "From Ganguin to Gilligan's Island". In Morreale, Joanne (ed.). Critiquing the Sitcom: A Reader. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0815629832.
- Schwartz, Sherwood (1988). Inside Gilligan's Island. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312104825.
- Stoddard, Sylvia (1996). TV Treasures – A Companion Guide to Gilligan's Island. St Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312957971.
- Tucker, David (2010). Lost Laughs of '50S and '60S Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786455829.