Gilligan's Island: Three to Get Ready

Relaxing Gilligan

Gilligan's Island: Three to Get Ready
CBS
April 17, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This was written by David P. Harmon, who wrote the "Japanese sailor" episode, but it's much, much better.  It's funny and has a premise that works, with a fitting conclusion.  Also, there are a cute couple scenes where Ginger tells the Professor to imagine he's a mole and then a bat when exploring a cave.  ("Ginger, you're hardly dressed for spelunking."  "Professor, what you said!")  On the MAP shipping side though, when the castaways think they're going to leave the island by magic and the Professor is skeptical, Mary Ann hates to think of the Professor being all alone, so she decides to stay, and he has his arm around her for quite awhile after she joins him.  (Mrs. Howell insists that Thurston stay and chaperone.)

Method-acting lessons

I feel like this is the first episode where everything clicks, where we know the various aspects of the characters-- the Skipper's superstition, Mr. Howell's greed, etc.-- and they're all playing off of each other.  Even when Alan Hale does takes to the camera at Gilligan's idiocy, it works because the audience is in on it now.  I think it's not just the black & white that gives the first season a sense of alienation that the series didn't have later.  It took this long to really settle in.  Which is not to say that it'll be all smooth sailing from here on out, but as time goes on, the familiarity will be part of the show's charm.