Gilligan's Island: Encyclopedia II - Gilligan's Island - Typical plots

Gilligan's Island - Typical plots

The show's plots often revolved around the characters' failed attempts to get off the deserted island where they have been shipwrecked. Often, the failure of that week's attempt was due to some bumbling error committed by Gilligan.

Another popular element were the numerous dream sequences the castaways experience in the later episodes which provided variety to the series' limited premise. For instance, Gilligan dreams on separate occasions that he is Lord Admiral Gilligan fighting off pirates, Secret Agent 014, a goofy vampire who is hunted by Inspector Sherlock (played by the Professor) or Dr. Jekyll who turns into Mr. Hyde when people talk about food around him.

Gilligan's Island - Visitors to the uncharted island

One challenge to a viewer's suspension of disbelief is the frequency with which the presumably uncharted island is visited by people who do nothing to help the castaways get rescued. In various episodes they are encountered by

• Polynesian natives with access to two-way radio (French Polynesia is about 2500 miles from Hawaii),
• a Hollywood producer (portrayed by Phil Silvers),
• a rock and roll band, The Mosquitoes (portrayed by The Wellingtons, the group which performed the theme song),
• an exiled Latin American dictator,
• a mad scientist,
• a big-game hunter played by Rory Calhoun,
• daffy aviator "Wrong-Way Feldman" (played by Hans Conried and obviously based on the real-life story of "Wrong Way" Corrigan),
• a famous surfer,
• a Japanese submariner (complete with mini-sub) convinced that World War II was still in progress,
• Russian cosmonauts,
• A foreign presumably Russian spy disguised as Gilligan who believed the castaways were a secret American base and
• a suicidal librarian who resembled Ginger

among others. All proved either unwilling or unable to disclose to the outside world the existence of the castaways and their location. Some had ulterior motives, such as the producer (portrayed by guest star Phil Silvers), who stole the castaways' idea for a musical version of Hamlet and did not want them to appear to claim credit or royalties; others, such as Feldman, proved too incredible to be believed or were totally unable to give directions to where they had been so that the castaways could be located and rescued.

Gilligan's Island - Dream sequences

Another common story format had the castaways confront a problem and one of the castaways, usually Gilligan, has a silly dream that relates to the problem in question.

• Gilligan as a Wild West sheriff who protects a duck everyone wants to eat.
• Thurston Howell as a prospector who strikes it rich, but gets into debt and trouble
• Gilligan is a spoiled prince of the Royal Howells.
• Gilligan plays his own version of Jack and the Beanstalk where the Giant is hoarding oranges.
• Lovey Howell stars in her own version of Cinderella with Gilligan as her Fairy Godfather.
• Mary Anne as a patient in a hospital everyone wants to pronounce terminal.
• Gilligan is a vampire who battles Inspector Sherlock (The Professor) and Watson (Skipper).
• Gilligan is Lord Admiral Gilligan battling pirates on his ship.
• Gilligan is Henry Jekyll on trial with Mary Poppins as his consul and it is revealed that he turns into Mr. Hyde when people talk about food within earshot.
• Gilligan is a puppet (literally) ruler of a country.
• Gilligan is Secret Agent 014 charged with delivering an attache case with most of the other castaways being assassins.
• The castaways are cave people following a map.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Typical plots", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki