Rescue From Gilligan's Island
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Rescue From Gilligan's Island is a 1978 two-part television movie that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964-1967 TV series Gilligan's Island.
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[edit] Cast
| Bob Denver | – Willy Gilligan (Gilligan) |
| Alan Hale | – Skipper Jonas Grumby (Skipper) |
| Russell Johnson | – Dr. Roy Hinkley (Professor) |
| Jim Backus | – Thurston J. Howell III (Mr. Howell) |
| Natalie Schafer | – Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell (Mrs. Howell) |
| Judith Baldwin | – Ginger Grant (Ginger) |
| Dawn Wells | – Mary Ann Summers (Mary Ann) |
[edit] Synopsis
The movie picks up in 1978, 15 years after the shipwreck of the S. S. Minnow stranded the crew and passengers on Gilligan's Island.
After 15 years, little of their original possessions are left. Even their radio has finally broken down due to age. When a Soviet spy satellite is destroyed, a metal recording disk is lost and lands in the lagoon. Gilligan finds it and shows it to the professor.
Realizing that the unique alloy can be used to make a barometer, the professor quickly realizes that a tidal wave is on the way which will destroy the island. Quickly the castaways make plans to reinforce one of the huts to take shelter.
When the castaways awaken the next morning, they realize that the hut has been swept off of the island and is now a makeshift raft. They use clothes and make a sail, and try to make their way to land. In an attempt to make a meal, Gilligan makes a fire which spreads to the raft. At first angry at Gilligan for doing another one of his stupid stunts, the castaways are then grateful when the US Coast Guard spots the smoke and rescues them.
After being towed to Hawaii, the castaways are at first confused by modern life. They are informed that the President is now Jimmy Carter, and that they had missed the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. They quickly part however, to try and return to life as they knew it before the shipwreck. However, they agree to go on a cruise for the hollidays.
At this time, the Soviets discover that Gilligan is still in possession of the recording disk from their satellite. Determined to recover it, they send to spies to try and get it from Gilligan, by any means necessary.
The Skipper and Gilligan are next seen hard at work, refurbishing the SS Minnow II. However, the Insurance company informs them that they will not be able to get a settlement unless their former passengers sign a statement testifying that the Skipper was not responsible for the shipwreck.
First they find Ginger. She is making a movie, and is upset at the changes in Hollywood in the last 15 years. She is told that sex and swearing is what makes a movie successful, and that nothing else matters. The director overhears Gilligan talking about some of the recent movies that had no sex, and quickly decides that acting is what really matters. Ginger signs the statement, and the Skipper and Gilligan go off to find The Professor.
The Professor is trying to get back into research, and explains that everything that he tries to invent has been discovered in the 15 years he was in the island. The Dean of the college then comes in and tries to get the Professor to stop research and to concentrate on fund-raising. Together the three agree that things were much simpler on the island, and he signs the statement.
Next they go to meet the Howell's. They are having dinner with old friends, and are trying to find their way back into their old financial and social circles. The Howell's are delighted to meet their old friends, and introduce them before going into another room to discuss matters. However, over the intercom they overhear their supposed friends insulting the Skipper and Gilligan, and angrily throw them off of their property. It is apparent that the Howell's have grown substantially during their time on the island.
Finally the Skipper and Gilligan go to meet Mary Ann. After 15 years, she is finally going to marry her fiancee. However, she is sad for some reason, and her best friend tries to console her. She invites the Skipper and Gilligan to her wedding, and tells them she will sign the statement after the ceremony. Her best friend confides that in the last 15 years Mary Ann's fiancee and her have fallen in love, but do not know how to tell Mary Ann. Skipper and Gilligan procede to disrupt the ceremony, and Mary Ann realizes that the wedding was a mistake. She signs the statement and agrees to meet them for the cruise.
During all of this, two bumbling Soviet spies try to concoct ways to retrieve the disk, every time failing to do so.
Finally the insurance company pays for the SS Minnow, and the castaways and crew are ready for a cruise on the SS Minnow II. The spies make a last attempt to get the disk, and are thwarted at the last minute by the FBI. Finally, the cruise gets under way.
However, just like 15 years before, the SS Minnow II is caught in a storm and blown off course. The next morning the crew and passengers find themselves on a beach, thankful that they are alive. Then it sinks in that they are right back on the same island that they spent the last 15 years on.
[edit] Production
- Leslie H. Martinson directed many B movies and television movies, including several episodes of the TV series Batman and its adjoining movie version, and the 1963 film PT 109. That was about the shipwreck of John F. Kennedy and his crew after being run down by a Japanese destroyer, which was the basis for the pilot of McHale's Navy, which was loosely based upon PT 109. Although Gilligan's Island was in no way a direct derivation, the television show premiered the year after PT 109 and two years after McHale's Navy, and was also about the shipwrecked crew and passengers of a small boat in the South Pacific.
- Tina Louise declined to appear in the movie, claiming that she was not going to reprise the role that had ruined her career. So instead, Judith Baldwin was cast in her place. Most reviews of the movie were critical of the choice, since she was much younger then the rest of the castaways.
- The movie was intended to be a springboard for a continuing TV series. For various reasons, though, the new series never materialized; however, the movie was popular enough that two made-for-TV sequels followed.
[edit] External links
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Bob Denver (Gilligan), Alan Hale Jr. (Skipper), Russell Johnson (Professor), Tina Louise (Ginger Grant), Dawn Wells (Mary Ann), Jim Backus (Thurston Howell III), |
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