Gilligan's Island (season 2)
The second season of the American comedy television series Gilligan's Island commenced airing in the United States on September 16, 1965, and concluded on April 28, 1966, on CBS. The second season continues the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempt to survive and escape from an island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their failed attempts—invariably Gilligan's fault—to escape their plight. The season originally aired on Thursdays at 8:00-8:30 pm (EST). Unlike the first season, this season was shot in color.
| Gilligan's Island | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 16, 1965 – April 28, 1966 |
| Season chronology | |
Production
Executive producers for the second season of Gilligan's Island included William Froug and series creator Sherwood Schwartz.[1] Filming of the season 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 part of the studio lot, a lagoon had been constructed by the production company "at great expense".[4] According to Bob Denver, the crew would spend half of their days filming scenes in the lagoon. Scenes involving the castaways' huts and or the jungle, were shot on a soundstage.[4] After the series' cancellation, 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 Ginger Grant, a famous movie star. Russell Johnson portrayed Professor Roy Hinkley, Ph.D., a high school science teacher who often uses his scientific background to try to find ways to get the castaways off the island. Dawn Wells played Mary Ann Summers, wholesome farm girl from Kansas.[6] Charles Maxwell was the uncredited voice of the radio announcer, to whom the castaways would often listen via their radio.
Broadcast history
The season originally aired Thursdays at 8:00–8:30 pm (EST) on CBS.
DVD release
The DVD was released by Warner Home Video, with an interdiction by the creator and members of the cast.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [7] | Written by [7] | Original air date [8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 1 | "Gilligan's Mother-in-Law" | Jack Arnold | Budd Grossman | September 16, 1965 | |
|
A native family arrives on the island looking for a husband for their ample (overweight) daughter. They choose Gilligan, who must then pass a "marriage test". The castaways want Gilligan to play along in hopes that they might be able to get off the island. But soon a native suitor shows up to challenge Gilligan to a duel. Eddie Little Sky appears as the Native Warrior. Note: Jim Backus' real-life wife Henny Backus has a cameo as the wife of the chief. Jim Backus impersonates entertainer Ted Lewis in this episode. And this is the first episode where Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson aren't in the end credits only, they are in the intro. | ||||||
| 38 | 2 | "Beauty Is as Beauty Does" | Jack Arnold | Joanna Lee | September 23, 1965 | |
| After each of the other men nominate a different woman as the fairest on the island, with the Skipper nominating Ginger, Mr. Howell nominating his wife, and the Professor nominating Mary Ann, Gilligan suggests a beauty contest to decide Miss Castaway. Gilligan has to cast the deciding vote, so everybody else tries to influence his vote. Gilligan winds up picking Gladys the Monkey (Janos Prohaska) as the winner, simply because she's the only true native to the island. | ||||||
| 39 | 3 | "The Little Dictator" | Jack Arnold | Bob Rodgers & Sid Mandel | September 30, 1965 | |
|
When El Presidente Pancho Hernando Gonzales Enrico Rodriguez of Ecuarico (Nehemiah Persoff) is exiled on the island, he foments a revolution and tries to get Gilligan to become his puppet leader. Gilligan dreams that he is the ruler of a small country and the Skipper is Secretary of the Navy. Some of Rodriguez's men come back for him and he tells the castaways he will send a boat back for them. They later hear on their radio that Rodriguez had been exiled once again. Note: This episode is in effect a satire of the military politics of many Latin American countries during the 1960s, and is series creator Sherwood Schwartz's personal favorite. | ||||||
| 40 | 4 | "Smile, You're on Mars Camera" | Jack Arnold | Al Schwartz & Bruce Howard | October 7, 1965 | |
| A Mars Lander accidentally crashes on the island instead of landing on Mars. However, the scientists (Booth Colman and Arthur Peterson Jr.) believe it has landed on Mars. The castaways hope to use it to provide visual evidence to the world that they are still alive. Gilligan and his boiling glue, coupled with a multitude of feathers, has the scientists reaching the conclusion that they've discovered a race of chicken people. Larry Thor appears as a Newscaster. | ||||||
| 41 | 5 | "The Sweepstakes" | Jack Arnold | Walter Black | October 14, 1965 | |
|
Gilligan wins a million dollars in a sweepstakes and is invited to the Howell's exclusive island country club. After feeling lonely he issues IOUs to the others so they may also become members. He quickly misplaces the winning ticket and they all get evicted. Mr. Howell is mad at himself for letting Gilligan into his club without actually seeing the ticket. He has a dream he's in the Old West and is in a similar situation as Gilligan is. Mr. Howell lets Gilligan and the others back into his club. Note: The saloon used in the dream sequence is the same set used for 20 seasons as the interior of the Long Branch Saloon in the series Gunsmoke. Mrs. Howell does not appear in the dream sequence making this the only dream sequence without all seven castaways. | ||||||
| 42 | 6 | "Quick Before It Sinks" | George Cahan | Stan Burns & Mike Marmer | October 28, 1965 | |
| The Professor mistakenly believes that the island is sinking when Gilligan uses the Professor's high water measuring stick to mark the lobster traps. The Professor comes up with the idea to keep above the water as long as possible by building a hut on the island's highest point. Plus, the men don't want to break the news to the women, who have the men in the middle of a landscaping project. After finally telling the women, they decide to build an ark, but it falls apart. In the end, it turns out the island isn't sinking, but Gilligan was using the Professor's stick to catch lobster, and was moving it. | ||||||
| 43 | 7 | "Castaways Pictures Presents" | Jack Arnold | Herbert Finn & Alan Dinehart | November 4, 1965 | |
| Gilligan discovers a sunken ship in the lagoon. The ship is only half there, but the cargo is intact: two crates of movie production equipment and costumes. The Professor then comes up with the idea to make a film telling their story, send it out on a raft, and hope for rescue. Technical difficulties result in what can only be viewed as a comedy. The film is found and proceeds to win the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival. | ||||||
| 44 | 8 | "Agonized Labor" | Jack Arnold | Roland MacLane | November 11, 1965 | |
| The radio says Howell Industries has collapsed, and the Howells are broke. After the rest of the group stops Mr. Howell's suicide attempts, they try to train them for other lines of work for after they are rescued. In the end, they hear on the radio that it was Powell Industries collapsed, and the Howells' wealth is still intact. | ||||||
| 45 | 9 | "Nyet, Nyet — Not Yet" | Jack Arnold | Adele T. Strassfield & Robert Riordan | November 18, 1965 | |
| Two Soviet cosmonauts land on the island, way off course from their target. Both party's believe the other are there to possibly set up a base. The castaways still hope to leave the island with them when they call their submarine, but the cosmonauts have other ideas. For once, Gilligan does something right when he switches water for vodka, but in the end he still messes things up, as usual. Vincent Beck appears as one of the cosmonauts. | ||||||
| 46 | 10 | "Hi-Fi Gilligan" | Jack Arnold | Mary C. McCall, Jr. | November 25, 1965 | |
| Gilligan's mouth becomes a radio when a filling in a tooth is knocked loose. Everyone wants Gilligan to provide their own station, from exercise programs to the Academy Awards. But at night, Gilligan's open mouth and constant blaring of music prevents anyone from sleeping. A second accident restores Gilligan to normal but he has now also damaged the radio. After several attempts to make Gilligan a radio again, Gilligan himself does it. When the storm hits, something Gilligan does winds up saving everyone. | ||||||
| 47 | 11 | "The Chain of Command" | Leslie Goodwins | Arnold & Lois Peyser | December 2, 1965 | |
| The castaways are afraid of possible native invasion. The Skipper wants to train Gilligan to take charge should anything happen to him. Gilligan's mettle is tested when the Skipper disappears, apparently kidnapped by the natives. Turns out there were no natives and the Skipper just staged the whole thing to test Gilligan. Janos Prohaska appears as the gorilla. | ||||||
| 48 | 12 | "Don't Bug the Mosquitoes" | Steve Binder | Brad Radnitz | December 9, 1965 | |
| In a parody of The Beatles and Beatlemania, the music sensation "The Mosquitoes" (Les Brown, Jr. and The Wellingtons) land on the island for much needed peace and quiet. The guys insist on staying on the island for several months. The castaways hope to make The Mosquitoes' lives miserable so they'll want to leave--and take the castaways with them. When they fails, the girls form a group of their own, "The Honeybees" to act as an opening for the Mosquitoes.The Mosquitoes end up leaving without them because they see The Honeybees as competition. | ||||||
| 49 | 13 | "Gilligan Gets Bugged" | Gary Nelson | Jack Gross, Jr. & Michael R. Stein | December 16, 1965 | |
| Gilligan has been bitten by the dreaded, and deadly, Mantis Khani and fears he has only 24 hours to live. A 'going away party' ends with everyone drifting away in tears, leaving the guest of honor alone and wondering where they all went. Things grow worse when the Professor learns that the Mantis Khani travels in such swarms that by nightfall all of them will have been bitten and are doomed. One by one the others wind up bitten. Later on, the Professor allows one to bite him, revealing that these bugs are not poisonous after all. | ||||||
| 50 | 14 | "Mine Hero" | Wilbur D'Arcy | David Braverman & Bob Marcus | December 23, 1965 | |
| The Professor tries to round up enough metal to make an anchor for a raft with an S.O.S. message attached to it. Gilligan catches a World War II mine while fishing and accidentally triggers it. Now they must get rid of it before it destroys them all. Gilligan uses the raft to tow the mine out to sea. The mine floats back, explodes and covers the beach with fish. | ||||||
| 51 | 15 | "Erika Tiffany Smith to the Rescue" | Jack Arnold | David P. Harmon | December 30, 1965 | |
| Socialite Erika Tiffany-Smith (Zsa Zsa Gabor) arrives on the island, looking for a place to build a resort. The Skipper falls for her and tries to impress her but instead she falls in love with, and becomes engaged to, the Professor. While at first excited, the Professor comes to realize that they are not meant for each other. Erika leaves, promising to be back soon. While listening to the radio, the Professor, Gilligan and the Skipper hear that Erika Tiffany-Smith logbook not only has no longitute or latitude, its written in Hungarian which the US Navy can't understand!. Michael Witney appears as Johnny, Erika's boat driver. | ||||||
| 52 | 16 | "Not Guilty" | Stanley Z. Cherry | Roland MacLane | January 6, 1966 | |
|
Who killed Randolph Blake? According to a newspaper that washed ashore, one of the castaways did it the night before the fateful tour. Five of the castaways actually knew Mr. Blake, and each had a motive to kill him. So, they recreate the crime in order to find out who among them is the murderer. When none of the five seem to have done it, the Skipper and Gilligan discover that slamming the door is what caused the spear gun to fire, killing the victim, so no one is guilty. Note: Well-known Cincinnati news anchor Al Schottelkotte has an off-screen cameo as himself as the radio announcer. | ||||||
| 53 | 17 | "You've Been Disconnected" | Jack Arnold | Elroy Schwartz | January 13, 1966 | |
| A storm washes an international underwater telephone cable onto the shore of the lagoon. So, naturally, they try to call for help. Meanwhile, Ginger hears on the radio that Hollywood will film "The Ginger Grant Story". The castaways get several calls out, but none of them produce any results. Another storm comes and washes the cable back out to sea. Sandra Gould appears as a Telephone Operator. The castaways assume a repair crew will be dispatched to repair the wires, but courtesty of Gilligan's sealing it, there's no need for one. | ||||||
| 54 | 18 | "The Postman Cometh" | Leslie Goodwins | Herbert Finn & Alan Dinehart | January 20, 1966 | |
| Gilligan and the Skipper hear on the radio that Mary Ann's boyfriend is getting married. Gilligan, Skipper, and the Professor try to boost her confidence by competing for her attention, each taking a different romantic approach. Mary Ann believes they are trying to tell her she is dying from eating poisonous mushrooms. Mary Ann dreams that she is a terminally ill patient on her favorite radio soap opera. When she is finally told, Mary Ann reveals she didn't think all that much of him. She only pretended there was a romance because she didn't want the others to think she had no one. | ||||||
| 55 | 19 | "Seer Gilligan" | Leslie Goodwins | Elroy Schwartz | January 27, 1966 | |
| Gilligan has found a bush that provides seeds that enable anyone who eats the seeds to read people's minds. Everyone wants in on the action. But everyone begins to fight and argue when they start reading each others minds. Gilligan burns the bush with the seeds so they can all be friends again. | ||||||
| 56 | 20 | "Love Me, Love My Skipper" | Tony Leader | Herbert Finn & Alan Dinehart | February 3, 1966 | |
| Everybody mistakenly believes that The Skipper wasn't invited to the Howells' cotillion. They plan to hold a masquerade party of their own and not invite the Howells. When everyone R.S.V.P.s that they won't attend the cotillion, the Howell's have a fight and separate. Gilligan later finds The Skipper's dropped invitation. Now everyone must find a way to reunite the Howells. The masquerade party goes on as planned. The Howells attend and get back together. | ||||||
| 57 | 21 | "Gilligan's Living Doll" | Leslie Goodwins | Bob Stevens | February 10, 1966 | |
| A robot parachutes on to the island and the Professor learns it can be taught to do anything a man can do. A radio broadcast reveals that a search for the lost robot will not be conducted. The Professor insists that they can program it to rescue them. He puts a message about the castaways in the robots memory bank and then sends it off to walk under water to Hawaii. In the end Gilligan's rabbit's foot turns out to be not so lucky after all, when he attaches it to the robot for good luck, but it consequently fouls up the robot's message. | ||||||
| 58 | 22 | "Forward March" | Jerry Hopper | Jack Raymond | February 17, 1966 | |
| Someone is shelling the castaways with hand grenades and machine gun fire. Mr. Howell organizes an army and appoints himself General. He instructs the ladies to become nurses and Ginger to entertain the troops. It turns out that a gorilla has found a stash of World War II weapons in a cave. The problem lies in trying to remove the grenades before they can be used again. It's actually Gilligan who comes up with the solution, teaching the gorilla to throw the grenades into the lagoon, where their explosions merely cause splashing. | ||||||
| 59 | 23 | "Ship Ahoax" | Leslie Goodwins | Charles Tannen & George O'Hanlon | February 24, 1966 | |
|
The Professor believes the castaways may be beginning to suffer from "Island Madness". He convinces Ginger to use a crystal ball to give everyone something to hope for. He wants Ginger to convince them that a boat is coming to rescue them. The castaways then hear a broadcast announcing an actual ship on its way. They later hear that the ship found what it was looking for and is no longer going to be close to the island. Eventually Ginger confides that she's a fake, but the islanders are no longer fighting amongst each other. Note: NFL Films narrator John Facenda has an off-screen cameo as himself as a radio announcer. | ||||||
| 60 | 24 | "Feed the Kitty" | Leslie Goodwins | J.E. Selby & Richard Sanville | March 3, 1966 | |
|
A cage carrying a lion washes off a ship and onto the island. But while the other castaways are scared for their lives, the lion immediately makes a bond with Gilligan. Gilligan befriended the lion by pulling a thorn from its paw. Unwilling to have his new friend put in a cage, Gilligan wanders off and uses cans of corned beef to train it to star in a new circus financed by Mr. Howell. Eventually when Gilligan runs out of corned beef, and thinks the lion ate the Skipper, he agrees to have the lion caged, and a high tide takes the cage out to sea. Note: During filming of this episode, the lion tried to attack Bob Denver. The lion's trainer asked the cast to keep this a secret from his employer, fearing he would be fired. | ||||||
| 61 | 25 | "Operation: Steam Heat" | Stanley Z. Cherry | Terence & Joan Maples | March 10, 1966 | |
| Gilligan finds a thermal vent and soon everyone wants piping-hot water for showers, washing dishes and baths. The Professor is not so excited, because this means there is an active volcano on the island. He wants to build a bomb to help stop the eruptions from the volcano. Things get quite chaotic when The Professor and The Skipper try to deploy the bomb. Gilligan and Ginger only add to the chaos. In the end the bomb is successfully dropped, and the eruptions are stopped. | ||||||
| 62 | 26 | "Will the Real Mr. Howell Please Stand Up?" | Jack Arnold | Budd Grossman | March 17, 1966 | |
|
An impostor posing as Mr. Howell claims to having been rescued and begins selling off Mr. Howell's stocks. The real Mr. Howell offers his fellow castaways a hefty reward to get him off the island so he can save his fortune. When the imposter goes on a cruise, he falls overboard and guess where he lands? The castaways don't know which is the real Mr. Howell. But, another radio report answers the question. George N. Neise appears as an Interviewer. Note: Jim Backus plays both Mr. Howell and the imposter. | ||||||
| 63 | 27 | "Ghost a Go-Go" | Leslie Goodwins | Roland MacLane | March 24, 1966 | |
| A ghost on the island has the castaways scared for their lives. The ghost tells Gilligan that the castaways must leave the island, giving them a boat so that they can get off the island. The Professor is suspicious and wants to send the boat out with dummies on it first. A short way out, the boat explodes. The castaways then decide to terrorize the ghost. Richard Kiel guest-stars as the "Ghost" (actually a foreign agent whose government wants the island's offshore drilling rights). | ||||||
| 64 | 28 | "Allergy Time" | Jack Arnold | Budd Grossman | March 31, 1966 | |
| First the Skipper, then the rest of the castaways develop an allergy to Gilligan. Gilligan moves to the other side of the island. The Professor comes up with a vaccine for everyone to take and they proceed to do so. After the others have taken their painful shot, Gilligan tells them he has discovered that it was the papaya nut oil he was using as a hair tonic that caused the sneezing, much to everyone else's dismay. | ||||||
| 65 | 29 | "The Friendly Physician" | Jack Arnold | Elroy Schwartz | April 7, 1966 | |
| Mad scientist Dr. Boris Balinkoff (Vito Scotti in his third of four guest appearances) comes to "rescue" the castaways. At first Boris brings the Skipper and Gilligan to his nearby island. There they meet the Doctor's servant Igor (Mike Mazurki) and a dog that meows. Balinkoff explains that he's been doing mind transfer experiments on animals. After Boris brings the other castaways to the island, they learn he will experiment on them. They all have their minds transferred. With the help of Ginger (in Igor's body), they are returned to normal and escape the island to their own. | ||||||
| 66 | 30 | "'V' for Vitamins" | Jack Arnold | Barney Slater | April 14, 1966 | |
|
The Professor tells his fellow castaways that if they don't find a way to grow more oranges and other citrus fruits on the island, they risk dying from vitamin deficiencies. The Skipper, as the heavest one on the island is starting to fall ill from the deficiency, and the others will soon follow. After their last orange shriveled up in the sun, they plant the seeds. That night, Gilligan must guard the seeds and make sure they stay warm. Gilligan falls asleep and has a "Jack and the Beanstalk" type of dream. The Professor finds some Grapefruit and Lemon trees. Note: Bob Denver's real-life son Patrick plays small Gilligan in the dream sequence. | ||||||
| 67 | 31 | "Mr. and Mrs. ???" | Gary Nelson | Jack Gross, Jr. & Michael R. Stein | April 21, 1966 | |
| The radio announces that the minister who married the Howells was a fraud, so the Howell's marriage is invalid. The Skipper, as Captain of a ship, can marry couples, so he prepares to marry them in the lagoon. However, a fight causes the wedding to be called off altogether. The castaways come up with a plan to make the Howell's jealous by having them 'date' other people. When that plan fails, the Skipper dresses up like a headhunter to scare them together. In the end, they hear on the radio that it was another minister with a similar name who was the real fraud. | ||||||
| 68 | 32 | "Meet the Meteor" | Jack Arnold | Elroy Schwartz | May 5, 1966 | |
|
A meteor crashes onto the island. Observing that some seedling trees near the meteor have rapidly grown into full grown trees, the Professor concludes that the meteor's cosmic rays are speeding up the aging process on the island, and once the rays reach the castaways, they too will age rapidly, and will die of old age in one week. The news that an electrical storm will be passing over the island inspires them to build a lightning rod hoping that a bolt of lightning will destroy the meteor. Gilligan dreams that the castaways are 50 years older. Just as the storm hits, Gilligan gets the rod in place and it works. Note: This episode uses the ending theme of Season 1 by The Wellingtons. | ||||||
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. 291–299.
- Gilligan's Island: The Complete Second Season (booklet). Arnold, Jack, 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.