Gilligan's Island: Ship Ahoax

Gilligan's Island: Ship Ahoax
CBS
February 24, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

While there are definitely some funny moments here, this is also a good character-driven episode.  We see how the castaways are quarreling with each other and how the Professor and Ginger team up to raise morale, even if it does involve fraud, as she pretends to be psychic.  Gilligan is the most gullible, and Ginger jokes that she could convince the sailor that he's President Johnson, or even Lady Bird.  In the end, Ginger asks each of the castaways not to give her away, and they keep her secret.

George O'Hanlon also wrote "Good Neighbor Sam," while Charles Tannen co-wrote that and worked on three other scripts.

Gidget: Ring-a-Ding-Dingbat

Gidget: Ring-a-Ding-Dingbat
ABC
February 24, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

After the satires of Dylan and "sickies" earlier in the season, this episode seems particularly dated, like it should've aired a year or two earlier, when the British invasion was fresher and jokes about wigs made more sense.  Not only that, unlike the more mod-looking Mosquitoes on Gilligan's Island, the Dingbats don't even sing!  So it's mostly Gidget and Larue racing around, trying to find the teen idols, with a pay-off that can't match the classic Davy Jones episode of The Brady Bunch five years later.  Note, I don't think Anne is old enough to have been part of Elvis's first wave of fans, since that would make her about a decade older than Gidget, rather than the more likely five or seven years.

Gilligan's Island: Forward March

Gilligan's Island: Forward March
CBS
February 17, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Except for Ginger singing "It Had to Be You" to Gilligan and vamping the Skipper to prove she'd make a good spy, this episode, the first of two written by Jack Raymond and the first of seven directed by Jerry Hopper, is pretty forgettable and gives a sense of de ja vu.  Janos Prohaska again plays an ape, or gorilla.

Gidget: Operation Shaggy Dog

Gidget: Operation Shaggy Dog
ABC
February 17, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This is Dorothy Cooper Foote's second of two Gidget episodes and it doesn't really work.  While it is nice to see Lew Parker, shortly to be Lew Marie on That Girl, as Socrates the crusty owner of the local teen hang-out, the battle between Russ and Gidget over what will happen to Sock's business feels out of character for Russ.  Usually when he disagrees with Gidget, he'll at least try and listen to her viewpoint.  Here there has to be a heavy-handed scene where Russ meets a young doctor that Sock encouraged.  Still, the episode is interesting for the generation gap aspect.  It's Hal Cooper's first of three Gidget gigs, although he had already directed a Gilligan.

Yet another member of the cast of Village of the Giants appears, this time Tim Rooney (Mickey's son) as Tommy.  Bob Beach is back as Toby.  And Don Edmonds, who plays Buzz, was in Gidget Goes Hawaiian.

Gilligan's Island: Gilligan's Living Doll

Gilligan's Island: Gilligan's Living Doll
CBS
February 10, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C

The only credit for Bob Stevens, this is my least favorite episode of Season Two so far.  My main complaint is that the Skipper spends most of the episode complaining, shooting down not only Gilligan's ideas but the Professor's.  I was especially annoyed when he complained about doing the laundry, "women's work," when all he had to do was supervise Gilligan on the bicycle part of the washing machine.  If it weren't for Ginger vamping the title character (a robot whose abilities are inconsistent), this would be the first C- on this blog.

Gidget: We Got Each Other

Gidget: We Got Each Other
ABC
February 10, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Earlier episodes hinted that Gidget might have an Electra Complex, but this one, written by John McGreevey, addresses the issue relatively directly.  The phrase isn't used ("father image" is), but it's pretty clear that Gidget is worried she has such a complex.  So she decides to first encourage one of his relationships, and then to distance herself from Russ.  Of course it all backfires on her and Russ, till they clear the air at the end.

Bob Beach had earlier appeared as Pete on "Chivalry Isn't Dead," but this is his first of five appearances as Toby.  Penny Kunard, who plays Katie would be on That Girl.  (No, that's not the Michael York as Perry.)

Below, the contrast between mid '60s TV farce and early '80s TV farce.

Gilligan's Island: Love Me, Love My Skipper

Gilligan's Island: Love Me, Love My Skipper
CBS
February 3, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

File this one, written by the team of Herbert Finn and Alan Dinehart, under "Implausible even for Gilligan's Island," as you would think that with only five invitations to deliver, Mr. Howell would notice that he's dropped one.  Nonetheless, I like the way Skipper's friends rally around him when they think the Howells have snubbed him, Ginger's sneaky scheme to reconcile the Howells (including flirting with Mr. H), and of course the costumes at the costume party.  Note that the Professor says he can't dance, but the Skipper and Ginger happily dance together as the Howells do.  So did Gilligan dance with Mary Ann?

Gidget: In and Out with the In-Laws

Gidget: In and Out with the In-Laws
ABC
February 3, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

The first of three Gidget episodes directed by Bruce Bilson, this is another one where the premise is good but it doesn't quite play out.  There is a series of misunderstandings but the final confrontation doesn't have the impact it should.  However, it is interesting to see Russ uncharacteristically be the over-protective, to the point of violence, father for a change.

Jeff's father is played by Hal March, who was an early Harry Morton on Burns & Allen.  Janis Hansen, who plays Della Mae, was a nameless girl on an earlier Gidget.

Gilligan's Island: Seer Gilligan

Gilligan's Island: Seer Gilligan
CBS
January 27, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

While the basic premise is good, with the castaways quarreling because of mind-reading seeds, I have a couple gripes.  One is that Ginger kisses Gilligan when he's asleep, which is a bit creepy.  And the other is that the professor's reaction is inconsistent, one minute doubting the ESP and then believing in it, and then doubting again.  I do like Ginger and Mary Ann thinking insults at each other, and both the Skipper and the Professor thinking of Ginger's measurements.  Note that Ginger tries to psychoanalyze Gilligan here, as she will Don Rickles later on.

Gidget: Ego-a-Go-Go

Gidget: Ego-a-Go-Go
ABC
January 27, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

While it's fun to see 18-year-old Richard Dreyfuss play a nerd, I think the script could've used another rewrite.  A rivalry is built up between Gidget and a transfer student, but there's no pay-off.  And it looks like Gidget is going to try to go to the "Spinster Hop" with another boy, but that fizzles out.  Kudos though to getting a plausible calendar date for the dance this time: Saturday the 14th, which would place this in either February or March of that year.

Gilligan's Island: The Postman Cometh

Gilligan's Island: The Postman Cometh
CBS
January 20, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Co-written by Herbert Finn and Alan Dinehart, this has a dream sequence, lots of celebrity impersonations, a parody of radio soap operas, and tons o' shipping.  It does seem odd that Mary Ann has been bottle-mailing a letter to her non-boyfriend all this time and it hasn't come up, but once you get past that there's a lot of fun to be had, with Gilligan's Boyeresque mustache as probably the funniest thing.

As for the shipping, note that Mrs. Howell is actually sitting on Mr. Howell's bed with him, but that's the only definite relationship here.  When Ginger suggests that the three bachelors romance Mary Ann to make her forget Horace's engagement (to a rich society woman with Mrs. Howell's maiden name), the Professor says he's never shown the slightest romantic interest in Mary Ann, while the Skipper sees himself as acting like the girl's big brother, but Gilligan has no such clear objection.  And he's the one to kiss her hand.  The other three castaways train the bachelors, including Mr. Howell holding the Skipper's hand.  (Would their ship be "Skowell"?)  Gilligan sweet-talks Mrs. Howell, listing off her physical features but not getting past her nose.  Ginger's "charm school" for the Professor is more successful.  She again is the assertive one, pretending to be Cary Grant for him to imitate later.  (Yes, good thing she didn't choose her other crush, Rock Hudson.)  He remarks that "Cary" smells nice.

Then in Mary Ann's nightmare, she imagines that the three men are much more interested in sexy nurse Ginger, even though Mary Ann thinks she's dying.  Everything is cleared up when she wakes, and things presumably go back to normal, till next episode.

Oh, and note that Gilligan has a sister as well as a brother.

Gidget: Gidget's Career

Gidget and the Goreys

Gidget: Gidget's Career
ABC
January 20, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is both a sweet look at Gidget's friendship with Larue and a gentle satire of then-current rock trends.  (The Rolling Stones and Sonny & Cher among others get shout-outs.)  The thing of Gidget being the untalented girl playing the tambourine is funny in light of how often this would be a motif in rock & roll cartoons later in the decade and on into the '70s, e.g. The Archies.

Jimmy Hawkins, who plays Paul, was Tommy Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, and he was making Elvis movies around this time.  Sandy Kenyon, who plays Rick Farmer, would be on a few That Girl episodes.  And, yes, Joanna Lee proves she can write as well for Gidget as for Gilligan.

Gilligan's Island: You've Been Disconnected

Gilligan's Island: You've Been Disconnected
CBS
January 13, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

My favorite aspect of this episode is not Ginger taking notes for The Ginger Grant Story movie that she hopes to star in once they're rescued, but rather the sights and sounds of people off the island, including a smooching couple with the phone taken off the hook and a quarreling British couple.  (I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that R. Johnson and T. Louise provided the voices.)  Sandra Gould, who plays the Telephone Operator, is probably best known as one of the Gladys Kravitzes on Bewitched, but she'd also appear on The Brady Bunch.  Note that the Professor thinks the Skipper's birthday is in April rather than May.

Gidget: Like Voodoo

Gidget: Like Voodoo
ABC
January 13, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
C

This was the night that Gidget switched to Thursdays, opposite Gilligan's Island.  I'm not sure which show I'd have chosen at the time, but I think a few minutes of this episode would've made me defect to CBS for the evening.  It's bad enough watching the castaways be superstitious, but it's too much for Gidget.  That there's no clear distinction between witches, Gypsies, and voodoo-practioners doesn't help.  This is easily my least favorite episode so far, and even the orange cat can't save it.

Gilligan's Island: Not Guilty

Gilligan's Island: Not Guilty
CBS
January 6, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This episode, Roland MacLane's fourth, would've made more sense early on the series, since it seems odd that if so many of the castaways are suspects in a murder case that none of the visitors to the island ever mentioned it.  (Or that it had never come up on the radio news.)  Nonetheless, the reconstruction of the night of the murder works well, and we find out a bit more about the castaways' lives before the shipwreck, including that Mary Ann's father went bankrupt.  (I assume she and her mother then moved in with Uncle George and Aunt Martha.)  Shipping note: Ginger kisses Gilligan when he's pretending to be the victim, although she does not slap his face like she claimed to with Randolph Blake.

Gidget: I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Think

Gidget: I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Think
ABC
January 5, 1966
Sitcom
DVD
B

This episode addresses a question you may be wondering by now: if Gidget is so crazy about Moondoggie, how is that she's dating and/or crushing on all these other guys?  Her father points out that she's "been in love" five times in the past three months.  So she recalls falling for a "surf bum" who turned out to be her Algebra teacher.  In a non-judgmental way, Russ and the episode itself make the point that it's perfectly normal to be attracted to other people, even when you're in a loving, committed relationship.  The script is also funny, as Gidget makes a mess of things before it's all straightened out.  (Fields's physical comedy is not something that people often mention.)  Irony note, when Gidget soon after Moondoggie's departure decides she needs to be alone, she says she'll become a nun.


Not only Mike Nader but Sue Hamilton and some other unidentified Beach Party series cast appear for the first time in awhile.  (Given the writer and director, as well as the mostly flashback action, I suspect this was made earlier in the season.)  Lennie Bremen, who plays the Janitor, would be on a couple episodes of That Girl.  Maida Severn, who plays Miss Stoddard (the principal I think) would also guest on That G.

Gilligan's Island: Erika Tiffany Smith to the Rescue

Gilligan's Island: Erika Tiffany Smith to the Rescue
CBS
December 30, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is the last of the five GI scripts David P. Harmon wrote and easily his best.  Zsa Zsa Gabor stars as Mrs. Smith (I'm guessing she's a widow or divorcee, although I guess she could be a single heiress through her parents) and she impacts all of the castaways.  She and Lovey have a catty rivalry, while Thurston hopes to profit from her plans to make the island a resort.  (He'd himself turn it into a resort in the middle TV-movie.)  She ignores Mary Ann and condescends to Gilligan, but she flatters and flirts with first the Skipper and then the Professor.  The Skipper is like a little boy with a crush, but she's drawn to the Professor's looks, although she soon tires of his interest in science, breaking off the engagement that he accidentally got into.  She doesn't encounter Ginger, but the movie star gives both men romantic advice, telling the Skipper to recite poetry to Erika, although we never actually see this happen.

With the Professor, Ginger happily gives him kissing lessons, again, as in their movie love scene, having him lie on a table as she kisses from above.  He's initially uninterested in romance, but he proves to be an eager pupil.  And it is after this, not after Erika seems bored by his lecture, that he decides to break off the engagement.  Erika meanwhile sends Mr. Howell to tell the Professor she wants to end it. And despite the title, she does not actually rescue anyone.

Thus ends 1965 in my TV collection, a year full of change.  (This is also the 100th episode I've reviewed, over half of them Gilligan's Island.)

Gidget: Too Many Cooks

Gidget: Too Many Cooks
ABC
December 29, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

While there's some cute farce with Gidget juggling three dates for the same dance, including Moondoggie, the situation is so obviously set up for disaster that it's a wonder that Russ doesn't step in and prevent it.  This time Bonnie Franklin plays Jean, the host of a party where the parents appear to be entirely absent.  (Or maybe discreetly upstairs.)  Note that the 14th is on a Saturday, which doesn't really work for the '65-66 school year, as it would have to be August '65 or May '66.  And Jeff has been gone "a couple months."

Gilligan's Island: Mine Hero

Gilligan's Island: Mine Hero
CBS
December 23, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

As the title suggests, Gilligan again does something heroic, this time risking his life a couple times with an activated mine.  My favorite aspects of the episode are the tag, where the exploded mine rains down fish, and the scene where Gilligan actually outsmarts Ginger when she vamps him.  This is the first of two episodes Wilbur D'Arcy directed.

Gidget: Now There's a Face

Gidget: Now There's a Face
ABC
December 22, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

Gidget, still 15 1/2, falls for a 24-year-old photographer played by Daniel J. Travanti.  Obviously, Anne and John (making their first appearances in awhile) are concerned, as is Russ.  As with the episode where Larue and Russ became friends, the subject is handled tastefully and sweetly, here in a script by Dorothy Cooper Foote.  Note, Gidget's middle name is Elizabeth.  Lillian Adams, who plays Mrs. Daley, would be a Pushcart Woman on That Girl.

Gilligan's Island: Gilligan Gets Bugged

Gilligan's Island: Gilligan Gets Bugged
CBS
December 16, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Everyone gets bitten by a supposedly deadly bug and there's not much humor or drama to the situation, despite the girls crying when they hear Gilligan is going to die in 24 hours.  Jack Gross, Jr. and Michael R. Stein would co-write another episode, while this is Gary Nelson's second time directing.  And, yes, there's another mention of Skinny Mulligan.

Gidget: Gidget's Foreign Policy

Gidget: Gidget's Foreign Policy
ABC
December 15, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C+

I don't like how the character of Inge is punished in this episode (including spanking by her boyfriend!), and for once I don't at all sympathize with Gidget's schemes.  That said, even with the line "I just set women's rights back 100 years, where they belong," I don't think the episode, the first directed by Jerrold Bernstein, is entirely anti-feminist.  Like other recent episodes, it's more ambiguous and conflicted.  This time Jan Crawford plays Ben rather than Roger.

Gilligan's Island: Don't Bug the Mosquitoes

Gilligan's Island: Don't Bug the Mosquitoes
CBS
December 9, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Although pretty illogical (even by GI standards), this remains one of the best episodes in the series.  The Wellingtons do well as Gilligan's favorite rock band, and of course it's fun to see the castaways dress up and perform as two bands.  (Jackie DeShannon sings for Dawn Wells.)  The scenes in between the music (I still laugh out loud at the lyrics, "He's a loser, pay no mind to what he says, he's a loser, he's got rocks in both his heads") are also good, especially Ginger teaching Gilligan to Watusi while he drums in tight pants.  Note that Mr. Howell, when he appoints himself manager, is again wearing his "Cecil B." director's costume,, and he imitates Ed Sullivan when introducing the Honeybees.  The first GI episode by Brad Radnitz, this is also the first directed by Steve Binder.

Gidget: The War Between Men, Women and Gidget

Gidget: The War Between Men, Women and Gidget
ABC
December 8, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

Gidget again unites the girls against the guys to make a point, here a rather Lysistrata one, about how they won't go out with the guys if they keep quarreling with a rival group.  Gidget befriends the girls in the rival group, and interestingly one couple is Japanese-American.  (Caroline Kido would have a part on That Girl.)  The girls stick together more here than in "Chivalry," even when they're replaced by girls from Pacific High.  Gidget tricks her replacement, and then gets tricked by her boyfriend.  A couple years later and the hypodermic needle would've had more connotations of illicit drug use.

This is Stephen Kandel's second Gidget episode, while Leo Townsend (here co-writing with wife Pauline) co-wrote three Beach Party movies, so, yes, the second reference to Beach Party Vampire is a definite in-joke.

Gilligan's Island: The Chain of Command

Gilligan's Island: The Chain of Command
CBS
December 2, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

The Skipper still assumes he's the leader of the island, and he's starting to worry about a successor.  So, after rejecting everyone else on the island, he trains Gilligan.  Shipping notes: Mary Ann believes in and motivates Gilligan, while Ginger vamps him to convince she'd be a good spy.  My favorite detail is actually how rocking some of the incidental music gets.  Skinny Mulligan gets another shout-out.  Arnold & Lois Peyser also co-wrote "St. Gilligan and the Dragon."  This is the first episode directed by Leslie Goodwins.

Gidget: Chivalry Isn't Dead

Gidget: Chivalry Isn't Dead
ABC
December 1, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This is notable both for its plot and its cast.  Gidget takes a stand, wanting the boys to show the girls more consideration, especially in regards to not asking them out at the last minute.  Her friends go along but then give in, while Gidget mostly holds her ground, winning the respect of her boyfriend, Mark.  I like Bob Random's performance here.  The actor has an edge to him (he was one of the bad teens in Village of the Giants around that time), but Mark also comes across as the brightest and most considerate of the guys.  I remember as a teen being more intrigued by him than Moondoggie, although both characters only got two episodes each.

On the distaff side, it's impossible to watch this and not exclaim over young Bonnie Franklin (Jean) and Barbara Hershey (Ellen).  If you're wondering how Franklin could play a mother of two teens a decade later on One Day at a Time, she was actually 21 here and not much older than her TV-daughters in the '70s.  She and Hershey definitely have star power and so their later success isn't at all surprising.  Both actresses would return to this show, but as different characters.

Rick Cooper (Ted), Pamela McMyler (Betty), Beverly Washburn (Marcia), and the aptly named Bob Beach (Pete) would also all return.  Martin Ragaway, who came up with the story, would write a few Brady Bunch episodes, among other things, while the author of the teleplay, John McGreevey, had done "A Hearse" and would write three more.

Gilligan's Island: Hi-Fi Gilligan

Gilligan's Island: Hi-Fi Gilligan
CBS
November 25, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

While there's some slapstick with Gilligan as a radio (and frankly I would've liked to have heard some parody here), this episode is mainly notable for his bravery and nobility, and the steadfast friendship of all the castaways.  On a shipping note, both girls kiss Gilligan's cheek.  And there's another mention of Skinny Mulligan.

Gidget: My Ever Faithful Friend

Gidget: My Ever Faithful Friend
ABC
November 24, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This episode manages to work both as a touching look at the friendship between Russ and Larue and as flat-out farce, with Gidget and then others, including Larue, being convinced that Russ is in love with Larue.  It never becomes tasteless, but remains alternately funny and sweet.  I could've done without all the put-downs of Larue's looks, but I like that she is mostly comfortable with herself and her interests, including horses.

Gilligan's Island: Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet

Gilligan's Island: Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet
CBS
November 18, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

When two cosmonauts land in the lagoon, Ginger (at the urging of Mr. Howell) "seduces" and maybe even actually seduces one of them.  (He does return from their midnight swim very quickly, but who knows what else happens that night?)  Much of the episode is from the Russians' perspective, which is a change from other visitors to the island.  It seems highly doubtable that even if the castaways were rescued this time that they'd be sent home from Moscow, but I think they're getting pretty desperate at this point.  Note, Gilligan makes a random Smothers Brothers reference, the same season that their sitcom was on CBS.

Gidget: All the Best Diseases Are Taken

Gidget: All the Best Diseases Are Taken
ABC
November 17, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

A very '60s episode, with Gidget trying to recruit a protest-singer (sort of Dylanesque) to perform at the protest she's organizing at the local movie theater.  (Yes, that's Mr. Whipple, Dick Wilson, as Mr. Lefferts.)  Much of the episode is from Russ's perspective, as he wants to support her idealism but is concerned, especially when it may lead to trouble at his college (UCLA, we know from earlier episodes).  I like that there's no clear right or wrong here, and in fact that lack of clarity is addressed in the episode itself.  Amusingly, John (who appears without Anne for a change) organized a mild protest at his college.  (I think he's supposed to be a grad student now.)  Larue is loyal to Gidget like always, and doesn't walk out on the initial protest, unlike their male friend.  We find out that Larue has a brother at Berkeley.  And, yes, this is more than a dozen years before Fields did Norma Rae.  The title I believe refers to the fact that Gidget, because of her tender age, has to address smaller issues.  And the title of one of the movies, Beach Party Vampire, may be a gentle dig at William Asher.

Gilligan's Island: Agonized Labor

Suicide prevention

Gilligan's Island: Agonized Labor
CBS
November 11, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C+

The third episode by Roland MacLane, I found it to be somewhat pointless.  The radio reports that Howell Industries has gone broke, but doesn't Mr. Howell own stock in and/or sit on the board of directors of several corporations?  And that's incredibly sloppy reporting, since it turns out to be Powell Industries.  Also, while it would of course be an adjustment for the Howells to be poor, I find it unlikely that either, especially she, would contemplate suicide.  That said, the episode has some mildly funny moments.  Note, this is the second episode in a row where Gilligan mentions his friend Skinny Mulligan.

Gidget: Is It Love or Symbiosis?

Gidget pretending to be "gay," i.e. happy.

Gidget: Is It Love or Symbiosis?
ABC
November 10, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Anne and John think that Gidget is too unlady-like and destined to be an old maid living with Russ in twenty years, and so they want her to attend boarding school, in France!  The premise doesn't fit in with anyone's character as established.  In particular, you would think that if Anne is that over-protective and controlling of Gidget, she'd want to keep her local and under her thumb.  Nonetheless, there are some nice performances by Don Porter and Sally Field, separately and together, and I like that Lynette Winter gets to show the sympathetic side of Larue.  A pre-Laugh-In Judy Carne appears as one of the girlfriends of Russ's bachelor friend (Roy Stuart, who'd be in the movie The Love God? four years later).

Gilligan's Island: Castaways Pictures Presents

Gilligan's Island: Castaways Pictures Presents
CBS
November 4, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Another collaboration between Alan Dinehart and Herbert Finn, this is one of the best episodes of the series, although like all the others so far, it spends too much time on set-up.  Both the scenes of the shooting of the silent movie and the screening of the movie are great though, from what sounds like Jim Backus ad-libbing up a storm to of course Ginger and the Professor kissing, despite his concerns that it's unhygienic.  (The reactions of the other five castaways are just perfect.)  The tag scene is also great, with the film winning at Cannes.

Gidget: Image Scrimmage

Still wholesome and unsophisticated
but she's trying.

Gidget: Image Scrimmage
ABC
November 3, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This, the first episode written by Barbara Avedon, is the also the first since the pilot that I feel lives up to its potential.  When Larue's sophisticated New Yorker cousin buys Gidget a "junior ticket" on their blind date to the movies (is that equivalent to a child's ticket or what?), Gidget decides she needs to have a more sophisticated image, which includes a dress with feathers.  The five main cast members all have their moments here, with the height being the reactions to Russ's student with the crush on him explaining that she has a tendency to take things off, like her earrings.

Jan Crawford, who plays cousin Roger, would return in a different role.  Note that I'm tagging Mike Nader even when he's uncredited and/or has no lines.

Gilligan's Island: Quick Before It Sinks

Gilligan's Island: Quick Before It Sinks
CBS
October 28, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C+

This episode, the only one written by Stan Burns or Mike Marmer although director George Cahan would return, is filled with baffling decisions and conclusions, including by the supposedly logical and scientific Professor.  First he concludes that the island is sinking, purely on the basis of a measuring stick in the lagoon.  Then he and the other men decide not to tell the women, like the women wouldn't notice!  They even start building a hut on the highest point on the island.  When the women finally find out, they're not upset about being over-protected but instead suggest turning an abandoned raft project into an ark.  And no one thinks that maybe they could use the ark to leave the island.

The fact that Ginger flirts with all three bachelors keeps this from being a C.  First she plays with the Professor's hair, and later she kisses both Gilligan and the Skipper on the cheek.  (The Skipper, unsurprisingly, is the one who most welcomes her attentions.)

Gidget: Gidget Is a Proper Noun

Gidget: Gidget Is a Proper Noun
ABC
October 27, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Another episode with a lot of school stuff.  (Westside High.)  This time Gidget is struggling in her English class because her teacher is a former student of Russ's.  So she submits one of her father's old papers to prove that the teacher is biased.  And of course both Gidget and the teacher learn a lesson.  Note, when sister Anne says everyone considers cheating, Gidget says, "Well, with a husband like John."  This is the first Gidget episode written by Austin and Irma Kalish, although he wrote some Gilligan without his wife, while director Oscar Rudolph had some Brady Bunch episodes in his future.

Gidget: A Hearse, a Hearse, My Kingdom for a Hearse

Gidget: A Hearse, a Hearse, My Kingdom for a Hearse
ABC
October 20, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

This episode, the first of four written by John McGreevey, is I believe the first to not have John and Anne, and to have much of the action take place at school, specifically Auto Shop.  It definitely plays out differently than it would've five decades later, or even five years later.  Gidget, who still hasn't turned 16, buys a very small share in a car (the hearse of the title) and tries to prove her independence, only to decide that being feminine and manipulating boys with her "helplessness" is a better strategy.  All the men (we don't get the reactions of any women or girls, even Larue) think her interest in cars is ridiculous, and her usually supportive father tells her condescending boyfriend that women only think they want equality.  That said, I don't think the message is a straightforward sexist one, but more ambiguous.

Herb Ellis, who plays Mr. Walters the Shop teacher, would be a Detective on That Girl.  This is Joy Harmon's 2nd Gidget and Ricky Sorensen's third, although neither is memorable here.  (At least we see Mike Nader's distinctive smile on a few occasions.)

Gilligan's Island: The Sweepstakes

Gilligan's Island: The Sweepstakes
CBS
October 14, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B

This has another "Western" dream sequence, as in "The Sound of Quacking," this time with Mr. Howell dreaming of himself as an old prospector, similar to one of the parts he'd play on The Brady Bunch, although even hammier.  Lovey is the one castaway not in the dream, but I like how she's the one to reveal that Gilligan's sweepstakes ticket would have to be out of date after all that time on the island.  (This is one of those episodes where Mr. Howell turns out to have a heart, although he wishes the Professor could turn it back to stone.)  Thurston and Ginger mildly flirt in the dream by the way, but this is clearly because of his gold mine, since he hasn't had a bath in 40 years.  Gilligan is a marshall, as he was in his own dream.  The most surprising "awake" moment is when the Professor actually calls Mrs. Howell "Lovey," to the shock of both Howells.  Note that Ginger slaps Gilligan twice after he offers her $50,000 (for the membership fee to the Howells' island country club), first thinking he wants a kiss and then thinking he wouldn't want a kiss.  And then when she understands and tries to kiss him, he, that's right, knocks himself out.

Walter Black wrote this episode, as he did "They're Off and Running."

Gidget: Gidget Gadget

Gidget: Gidget Gadget
ABC
October 13, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Anne leaves John (going home four blocks) after six months of marriage, feeling neglected.  Gidget of course interferes, including setting them up with dance lessons.  The male dance instructor is a pre-Get-Smart Dick Gautier.  The "instructress" is played by Janis Hansen, who'd return in a different role.  Larue has some cute moments, including dressed a spy.  I would've given this a B, but the ending with both Anne and John spanking Gidget is just wrong by modern standards, on so many levels.  Both writer Stephen Kandel and director E. W. Swackhamer would return.

Gilligan's Island: Smile, You're on Mars Camera

Gilligan's Island: Smile, You're on Mars Camera
CBS
October 7, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Going back and forth between Cape Kennedy and the island, this episode by Al Schwartz and Bruce Howard, who did "It's Magic," takes awhile to get going but it does have what I've always remembered as one of the silliest images I've ever seen on television: the castaways as feather-covered, Martian chicken-people.  And this is the episode where we find out that Gilligan has been wearing his brother's shirt all this time.  Arthur Peterson, who plays the more absent-minded scientist (he has to check his badge to remember his name) would be the Major on Soap.

Gidget: Daddy Come Home

Gidget: Daddy Come Home
ABC
October 6, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C+

Russ stays out on a date later than planned, so Gidget worries, leading to cop Harvey Korman scolding the "mama's boy."  The mix of drama and comedy doesn't really work here.  Larue is mentioned but not seen.

Gilligan's Island: The Little Dictator

If you guess that Mr. Howell convinces Ginger to vamp
the visitor, you are now a Gilligan's Island regular viewer.

Gilligan's Island: The Little Dictator
CBS
September 30, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
C

This (one of two episodes written by Bob Rodgers, and one of three by Sidney A. Mandel) was Sherwood Schwartz's favorite episode, but it's never done anything for me.  I will say that it's relatively un-racist, and I like the "Gilligan" song and costumes in the dream sequence.  But it's just not funny or interesting.  Schwartz claimed that it made the brilliant point that democracy is good and dictatorship is bad, but that's not exactly earth-shattering.  Plus, we already saw Gilligan elected president of the island last season and he hated it, so why would he go along even in his dreams with a plan to make him a figurehead leader?  The title character is played by Nehemiah Persoff, six years after he was Little Bonaparte in Some Like It Hot, so Schwartz's belief that the actor had never done comedy before is also nonsense.

Gidget: The Great Kahuna

He's no Cliff Robertson but kind of cute.

Gidget: The Great Kahuna
ABC
September 29, 1965
Sitcom
DVD
B-

Martin Milner plays the title character in this episode, with a different backstory than in the first movie.  Amusingly, considering the images of flight that appear (wings vs. roots), Albert Mannheimer would write a Flying Nun episode (no, not a series I own), as well as a couple more for this show.  Interestingly, Gidget's idea of being a free spirit is traveling with the Kahuna and cooking for him and taking care of him.  Also, note that she clearly thinks cigarettes are icky.  Her father as always remains protective but reasonable, a contrast to other TV fathers, e.g. Mr. Marie on That Girl a year later.