How the series was developed.

The Beloved Comedy Series' impact and on-air longevity are analyzed by Robert J. Thompson. Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

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Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... So now the seven castaways are stranded on the legendary fictional island. This is one of the many pilot episodes that sold, just didn't get aired (Such as Captain Jack, which was renamed Leave it to Beaver), instead they altered the show drastically, replacing actors, characters, and the theme song.

The shipwrecked castaways awaken to find themselves marooned on an uncharted island, so Gilligan and Skipper set out on a flimsy raft to find civilization.

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.

The Skipper fears that the island is full of 'voodoo' when he thinks that Gilligan has been turned into a monkey.

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. Gilligan overhears the Skipper dreaming about repairing a transmitter as he sleeps. The Skipper is unable to remember how he fixed the transmitter from his Navy days, so he attempts to have the dream again, but is unable to fall asleep. Each castaway attempts to help by sneaking two tranquilizers into Skippers mango juice. When Gilligan hits the transmitter out of frustration, it suddenly works! However, when he hits it again in an effort to show the other castaways how he fixed it, it falls completely apart just as the plane flies overhead.

When Gilligan finds an old airplane hidden in the jungle, the Castaways discover a long-forgotten aviator living on the island.

The castaways decide that they need someone to be the leader on the island, and so they hold elections. As you might imagine, both Mr. Howell and the Skipper imagine themselves to be the natural choice to lead the Castaways in their island society. However, when the votes are counted Gilligan is elected president of the island! Just as we recently learned in Florida, every vote counts!

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. Should they eat the duck, or tie a rescue note to it and let it fly away?

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. Could it be that the Castaways may finally escape from the island?

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. When the professor repairs the life raft from the Minnow, they all climb in hoping to reach civilization. However, the combined weight of the gold that everyone smuggles on-board the raft causes it to sink. Another rescue foiled!

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. Gilligan dresses up as Watubi, and performs a special ritual dance that the Skipper believes will lift the curse. It is an earth-shaking experience!

Mr. Howell decides to put on a play, starring Ginger, after she begins to suffer from home-sickness. But trouble begins when Mrs. Howell decides she wants to play the starring role.

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.

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. When the radio announces that the oil well is a gusher, Mr. Howell sets his sights on winning it back. However, just as he succeeds in winning it back, the radio announces that the gusher was a mistake!

Talk about a painful irony: though surrounded by water, the Castaways suddenly discover that their supply of fresh drinking water is running out. When they pool all available drinking water together and decide to ration it, they discover that they will each receive only a few drops per day. Of course, most of the castaways sneak water from the community supply when Gilligan is standing watch, but return it when the Skipper catches them. Just when all seems lost, Gilligan saves the day!

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.

While working for Mr. Howell, Gilligan unearths a chest. The castaways think it must contain a pirate's treasure. When ownership of the chest is disputed, the case goes to court, with the Professor presiding as judge.

A well known crook tries to evade police after a heist and is dropped off on the island by his henchmen to be picked up later after the heat cools down. After being discovered by Gilligan he poses as a doctor but the truth is soon revealed. Now he must keep the castaways at bay and get off the island with his money. Of course with Gilligan on the island this is much easier said than done.

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. When the rocket lands and does not explode, Gilligan is chosen to crawl inside to defuse it, because he is the only one that can fit inside.

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. He immediately sets to work building a large balloon, with the hopes of carrying one of them back to civilization.

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. Gilligan and the Skipper dress as a monster, in an attempt to frighten the girls and cause them to come running back.

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. The castaways must come up with a plan to make him want to leave for Hawaii.

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.

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.

The castaways are revisited by 'Wrongway' Feldman.

Mrs. Howell decides to engineer a romance between Gilligan and Mary Ann.

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.

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" .... a box of crackers!

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!

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. Two gallons of ice cream later, Gilligan has only one wish left.....and the sun is going down!

The Professor tries to cure the Skipper's amnesia by hypnotizing him and taking him through time.

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.

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.

The Castaways discover a trunk belonging to a magician. They use a magician's props to scare away unfriendly natives from nearby islands.

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. They must come up with a scheme to make him change his mind, and attempt to make him jealous by pretending Gilligan is an artistic genius.

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."

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!

A native family from another island comes seeking a husband for their lovely, large, robust daughter.

Gilligan suggests a beauty contest to decide which of the three women will become "Ms. Castaway." Mr. Howell attempts to sabotage the other contestants by spreading glue on the stage before Mary Ann's big dance scene, and by shooting spit-wads at Ginger while she performs. The Professor blows pepper at the stage when it is Mrs. Howell's turn. Then, when all the competitions are complete, the final decision rests with the judge.....Gilligan!

The exiled president of a revolution-torn country visits the island.

A NASA satellite with a TV camera, accidentally lands on the island instead of the intended target: Mars. The castaways try to communicate their S.O.S. when the camera is operational. However, with the help of a Gilligan goof-up, the castaways are covered with glue and feathers, and the NASA scientists mistakenly believe they are seeing the first proof of life on Mars.

Gilligan has the winning ticket for a South American sweepstakes.

The Professor thinks that the island is sinking, which causes the Castaways to panic. As it turns out, Gilligan has mistakenly moved the Professor's measuring stick, so the panic was a false alarm.

The Castaways make a silent movie in the hopes that it will be discovered by someone who will rescue them.

Gilligan and the Skipper hear a radio broadcast telling of the collapse of the Howell financial empire. The castaways attempt to help them develop skills in order to compete in the working world.

Two Russian Cosmonauts land on the island in their space capsule. Since the cosmonauts keep a tight guard on the space capsule, the castaways must come up with a way to smuggle one of them into the capsule in order to send back help after the cosmonauts are rescued.

Gilligan's mouth becomes a radio after he is accidentally hit on the head. When their regular radio is broken, Gilligan becomes their sole source of information on the approaching typhoon.

The Skipper worries that something is going to happen to him, so he begins to train Gilligan to be a leader. The Skipper then disappears leaving Gilligan in charge, with predictable results!

A popular American singing group, the Mosquitoes (Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irving), land on the island hoping for some quiet and relaxation on a deserted island.

Gilligan's thinks he is doomed after being bitten by a yellow and green bug. Soon, the other castaways are also bitten by the same bug.

While fishing, Gilligan pulls a WWII mine out of the lagoon. When the Professor is unable to deactivate the mine, Gilligan tows it back into the lagoon, where it harmlessly explodes.

Erika Tiffany Smith lands on the island looking for a place to start a new resort, and a new husband.

A crate containing coconuts is wrapped in an old Honolulu newspaper that read that one of the Castaways are being sought in a murder investigation. The castaways become suspicious of each other and decide to recreate the events of the night before they sailed, in order to solve the Randolph Blake murder case.

A storm washes up a Trans-continental telephone cable up into the lagoon. Once again the Castaways are given hope for a rescue, as the Professor manages to break into the cable and rig up a telephone so they can dial out for help.

The Castaways hear on the radio that Mary Ann's boyfriend in Kansas is getting married. Mary Ann overhears the others talking about her, and mistakenly believes that she has been poisoned by the mushrooms she recently ate, and has only a short while left to live. A hilarious dream sequence follows, featuring the Professor sounding a lot like Cary Grant.

Gilligan discovers an island bush that produces seeds which, when eaten, give a person the ability to read the minds of others. This leads to disaster when everyone insults each other through their honesty and thoughts.

The Howells plan a party, and Mr. Howell accidentally loses the Skipper's invitation. The others refuse to attend, believing that the Howells have intentionally snubbed the Skipper.

An experimental robot launched by the Air Force parachutes onto the island. The professor reprograms the robot to walk to Hawaii ("one hundred eleven hours"), but the "lucky" rabbit's foot that Gilligan secretly stuffed into the robot causes it to malfunction upon arrival in Hawaii.

The Castaways are frightened as the sounds of battle, including hand grenades and machine guns, rock the island. The culprit turns out to be a gorilla who has found an old WWII weapons cache.

The Castaways begin to suffer from 'island madness' due to the isolation. The Professor attempts to come up with a plan to lift everyone's spirits.

A cage containing a lion washes ashore in the lagoon. After Gilligan removes a thorn from his paw, the two become pals. When the Castaways run out of food, however, Gilligan thinks the lion has consumed the Skipper.

Hot water spurting from beneath the island pleases the castaways as they can now have hot water piped to their huts. However, the hot water also concerns the professor since it means that increased volcanic activity may be imminent. The Professor saves the day by making a bomb from ingredients found on the island (of course!) to spike the volcano.

The radio reports that Mr. Howell has been rescued and is spending all of his money. Obviously, there is an imposter! The real Mr. Howell is frantic, and offers a reward to the person who can come up with a plan to get him back to civilization. Meanwhile, the imposter falls off a luxury liner and ends up stranded on (you guessed it!) Gilligan's Island. There the imposter conks Mr. Howell on the head with a coconut, changes clothes with him, and attempts to continue his masquerade as the millionaire.

A ghost appears on the island and tries to scare the Castaways off. The castaways turn the tables by dressing in sheets and roaming around the island to scare the visitors off the island.

The Skipper begins to itch and sneeze whenever he is around Gilligan. Soon all of the Castaways appear to be allergic to him. The Professor develops a vaccine, but it doesn't seem to work. It turns out that everyone is allergic to the papaya oil used in Gilligan's hair tonic.

A mad scientist lands on the island and takes the Castaways to his castle . . . on a nearby island . . . to perform experiments on them.

The Professor determines that the lack of vitamin C on the island threatens the health of the castaways. While watching the last of their orange seeds to protect them from the cold night air, Gilligan falls asleep and dreams that he is Jack from ""Jack in the Beanstalk.""

A radio bulletin states that the minister who married Thurston and Lovey Howell (the Reverend Buckley Norris of Boston) was a fraud, and that the Howell's marriage is actually null and void. The stress causes disagreements and separations between the Howells. In the end, it turns out that the radio announcer was at fault: While he mistakenly reported that "Buckley Norris" was the fraudulent minister, he was supposed to say "Borris Nuckley."

A huge meteor lands on the island, causing everything nearby to age very rapidly. The Professor determines the rapid aging is being caused by strong cosmic rays (he makes this determination by using his bamboo Geiger counter!).

Gilligan is bitten by a bat, and then dreams that he has turned into a vampire. Fortunately the Professor knows about bats (what DOESN'T he know about?!), and is able to identify the bat that bit Gilligan as a common red fruit bat, rather than a vampire bat.

Gilligan meets his double, a foreign spy who has undergone plastic surgery in order to look like Gilligan (why, we're not sure!). Gilligan gets in lots of trouble as his double steals Mary Ann's pies, etc . . ..

Gilligan finds a crate of radioactive vegetable seeds. The plants grow quickly and grossly misshapen, but the Castaways are so hungry for new items in their diet that they consume them quickly. The plants, when eaten, give the castaways super-human powers. Of course, after he realizes that the vegetables are radioactive, the Professor saves the day by making a homemade soup to absorb the radioactivity.

Famous Hollywood director Herald Hecuba lands on the island during his world-wide talent search. The castaways put on a musical version of Hamlet in order to impress the director, with hopes that he will take them back to Hollywood when he leaves.

A witch doctor makes voodoo dolls from the Castaways' personal objects, which he has stolen from their huts. Gilligan stumbles upon the hidden voodoo dolls and brings them back to the Castaways. He then fashions a voodoo doll in the likeness of the witch doctor, to fight fire with fire! Even though the Professor was turned into a motionless zombie for a short time, he refuses to acknowledge a scientific acceptance of voodoo.

Mr. Howell revises his will, and leaves a large chunk of his estate to each castaway. They decide to throw him a party to show their appreciation, but when he overhears them talking about which one of them is going to have to ""cut the pigs throat"" he thinks they are planning to kill him in order to collect their inheritance. Later, he discovers that they have actually trapped a wild boar in an effort to serve him bar-b-que spareribs as a surprise.

Lord Beasley Waterford, a famous butterfly collector, lands on the island searching for the world's rarest butterfly, the pussycat swallowtail. While he vows that he will not leave the island until he has found his prey, the castaways eagerly try everything to persuade him to fire his flare gun early. He (like all of the other visitors to the island) leaves without sending help.

Gilligan wakes up with white hair, and thinks he overhears the Professor say that he has a rare disease that has made him age quickly (the disease? ""follicular albinism""). When Mrs. Howell attempts to fix the problem by dyeing Gilligan's hair brown, the dye causes his hair to fall out. A classic line occurred as the other Castaways tried to act as though they don't notice Gilligan's baldness … Mrs. Howell's famous breakfast order: ""I think I'll have a hard-bald egg."" Later, the Skipper exhibits the same symptoms. The Professor determines the problems are caused by the crude bleach that Gilligan and the Skipper have been using while washing the castaways clothing.

A mad scientist lands on the island, and makes the castaways work for him through the use of rings that, when placed on their fingers, cause them to fall under a hypnotic trance. What are his evil plans? To use the hypnotized castaways to rob Fort Knox!

Gilligan bumps his head and suddenly sees everything upside down. The Professor tries to help by brewing an antidote made of keptibora berry extract, but the antidote causes Gilligan to see double. After consuming more juice, he sees four of everything. Meanwhile, the island is invaded by three headhunters who slowly capture all of the other castaways. Gilligan saves the day by serving the headhunters lots and lots of keptibora berry extract, which causes them to see ""hundreds"" of castaways running toward them!

While fishing, Gilligan and the Skipper reel in a briefcase, stamped with the words ""Property of the U.S. Government."" Everyone believes that the case contains top secret government material. Gilligan accidentally handcuffs the briefcase to his wrist, and has a wild dream about secret agents, evil enemy spies, and deadly spy games!

Someone kidnaps Mrs. Howell, Mary Ann, and Ginger, and then demands ransom money. The kidnaper turns out to be a compulsive gambler who fled civilization to avoid temptation. While the Castaways attempt to rehabilitate him, he ends up leaving the island, accompanied by Mrs. Howell's pearl necklace, Mr. Howell's wallet, and Ginger's earrings!

One by one, all of the Castaways mysteriously disappear. Gilligan then dreams that he is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the end, Gilligan rescues them from the hidden World War II munitions pit that they have all fallen into.

A drab, plain-jane woman lands on the island seeking privacy. The girls give her a beauty make-over to lift her spirits, and she ends up looking like Ginger's twin. While the castaways were hoping to lift her spirits enough so that she would want to return to civilization (she has a boat, but has hidden the key), she ends up leaving them on the island and going back to Hollywood to attempt to assume Ginger Grant's movie career.

Gilligan is made a deputy sheriff, and begins to take his job too seriously. He ends up locking everyone up in a make-shift jail, including himself! Of course, while the castaways are locked up tight, another potential rescue plane flies over the island.

George Barkley enters the ""Take a Dare Contest"". He will receive $10,000 if he can spend a week alone on an island, fending for himself. However, he is not alone on the island on which they drop him. Once again, however, rescue eludes the castaways as Mr. Barkley deduces that he can not tell anyone about the castaways without having to forfeit the $10,000 for not spending the week alone.

The Castaways hear on the radio that the Maritime Board of Inquiry has blamed the Skipper for the Minnow crash. In an attempt to disprove the board's verdict, they reenact the shipwreck themselves, only to find out that the cause appears to be Gilligan's ineptness. Later, a radio update reports that the Board of Inquiry has cleared the Skipper of the charges, as the Weather Service mistakenly read the wrong forecast that morning causing the crew to be unaware of the impending storms.

Famous big-game hunter Jonathan Kincaid and his assistant, Ramoo land on the island in search of new game to hunt. Since they have hunted just about every kind of animal on earth, they then decide that the ultimate challenge would be to hunt a human. After much debate, they choose Gilligan as their target, and state that if Gilligan can stay alive for 24 hours, they will rescue the castaways. After Gilligan manages to outwit and outrun the armed hunters for 24 hours, Kincaid does not uphold his promise of rescue for fear they will report him to the authorities.

Mrs. Howell starts receiving mysterious love notes, and the source remains a mystery until Mr. Howell is caught in the act. Mrs. Howell dreams that she is Cinderella, and Gilligan is her fairy godfather. The Professor rigs up a lie detector using the ship's horn and batteries from the radio.

An loin-cloth clad ape-man (Tongo) comes to the island, and makes off with their food and supplies. Actually, he is an out of work actor, who tries to convince the Castaways that he is a real uncivilized ape-man while studying for an upcoming role. After he cowers when confronted by a ""real"" gorilla, he leaves the island and the Castaways behind.

Lightning strikes Gilligan during Skipper and Gilligan's bowling tournament, and his stone bowling ball becomes molecularly attached to him. The Professor tries to help Gilligan, but ends up causing him to become invisible.

The Professor determines that a manned space craft will pass over the island, and attempts to fashion a telegraph machine. When that fails, the Castaways try to spell out SOS using burning logs as a rescue signal, but Gilligan catches fire and runs into the logs, causing them to spell out SOL, the name of one of the astronauts! Blooper watch: as Gilligan is lighting the logs, you can see his pants smoking before he backs up into the flaming logs!

Gilligan and the Skipper find an ancient Kupaki totem pole which is topped with a head that looks just like Gilligan. When fierce Kupaki headhunters come to the island, Gilligan must convince them that he is their ""mashuka"" or sacred ancestor.

Mary Ann falls backwards while watching Ginger perform on stage, and, when she awakens, she thinks that she is Ginger. Meanwhile, Gilligan accidentally watches as the Professor attempts to hypnotize Mary Ann, and thus he begins to think that he is Mary Ann.

Gilligan discovers some ancient stone tablets that the Professor thinks may contain the secret of getting them off the island. That night, Gilligan dreams that he is a caveman chiseling a story on a stone tablet three million years ago.

After Gilligan saves a beautiful native girl from drowning, she vows to be his slave forever. Later, her ex-boyfriend comes to the island and challenges Gilligan to a duel to the death. The Professor concocts a drug to cause Gilligan to fall into a catatonic state, so that the natives will think he is dead, but they then insist on a native funeral . . . by burning the body!

A U.S. Air Force jetpack washes ashore in the lagoon. After close inspection of the jetpack, the Professor determines that the tanks contain just enough fuel to carry Gilligan to Hawaii. However, that determination was made before Gilligan wasted most of the fuel while proceeding to goof-up several attempts to be discovered and rescued. While flying the jetpack near where Navy search vessels are reported to be lurking, Gilligan is so scared by a radio report of an ""Unidentified Flying Object in the area"" that he blasts higher and hides in a cloud, not realizing that the UFO the Navy ships see is actually him with the jetpack!

The Professor sees the arrival of a homing pigeon on the island as an opportunity to be rescued, and immediately begins to feed it a special diet designed to strengthen it so that it can fly again. In an attempt to speed the recovery time, the other Castaways also feed the pigeon, causing it to become too fat to fly. The pigeon is also trapped for a short while in a cave by a ""deadly six-foot black morning spider.""

A crate that washes ashore contains a top secret plastic explosive developed by the US Government. The Castaways make use of the plastic in a variety of objects, including nails for the Skipper, dishes for Mary Ann, jewelry for Ginger, golf balls for Mr. Howell, and even fillings for Gilligan's teeth, unaware that once hardened it becomes a dangerous explosive which will detonate on impact!

King Killiwani and two other natives come to the island looking for a 'White Goddess.' Ginger and Mary Ann are likely candidates, until the Castaways discover that the natives plan to take the ""White Goddess"" back to their island to marry a volcano and then be sacrificed into it. After seeing Gilligan in a wig and heels, the natives choose him as the ""White Goddess.""

A tsunami swamps the island, sweeping the castaways into the ocean in a floating hut. They finally get rescued, but find that civilization isn't as civilized as they thought.

The Castaways finally get permanently rescued and they turn their island home into an exclusive resort.

The famous Harlem Globetrotters crash land on Gilligans Island, immediately dispatching a terrifying 'shark' by throwing basketballs at it. A mad doctor and his accomplice plan to take over the island for its rich energy supply by scaring off Gilligan and his buddies, but it soon settles to a basketball match between the doctors robots and the aforementioned Globetrotters