Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes. So the show just stopped. The last episode was the one where natives mistake Gilligan for an island goddess.

There were three made-for-tv movies made ten years later. In the first one, the castaways build a boat and are caught up in a tidal wave that brings them back to civilization. They try to go back to their old lives but find it difficult. At the end of the movie that decide to reunite for one last three hour cruise and they end up crashing back on the same island. This ending was chosen so more TV movies could be made.

In the next one, they find some WWII planes and are rescued again and decide to turn the island into a resort. The final TV movie is really bad. I've never seen it so I don't quite know what happens but I know it has the globetrotters fighting evil robots.

"The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" was awful. I can't even discuss it, haha.

I read in Bob Denver's book about how Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor getting married and having a whole mess of kids. Not sure what the full plot would've been, but I'd rather that movie to "Globetrotters." A little character development instead of a basketball game with robots, haha.

Although it basically would've been 90 minutes of jokes like this:

Girl: "MOM! Dad fell in the quicksand again!"
Mary Ann: "Sigh. Where's your brother?"
Girl: "He fell in with him!"
Ginger: "OH NO, NOW THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

And then some little redheaded boy builds a spaceship out of leaves, haha.

To answer your question, though, the first movie was decent and provided a certain amount of closure with a rescue, but the second and the third I could do without. They concentrated more on the visitors to the island hotel rather than the Castaways themselves, which takes away from the whole point of the series. People want to see the 7 get into trouble and weird situations, not the hotel guests.

I only remember seeing the first one YEARS ago when it first aired (on NBC on a saturday night I remember) and I hated it. I remember thinking that it must have been written by a 12 year old and it'd be more appropriate for a saturday morning or afternoon airing.

I never saw the other two, though.

I remember reading somewhere when the first one aired; that they made it because the reruns were so popular, and a lot of people were wondering if they ever got off the island.

Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes. So the show just stopped. The last episode was the one where natives mistake Gilligan for an island goddess.

There were three made-for-tv movies made ten years later. In the first one, the castaways build a boat and are caught up in a tidal wave that brings them back to civilization. They try to go back to their old lives but find it difficult. At the end of the movie that decide to reunite for one last three hour cruise and they end up crashing back on the same island. This ending was chosen so more TV movies could be made.

In the next one, they find some WWII planes and are rescued again and decide to turn the island into a resort. The final TV movie is really bad. I've never seen it so I don't quite know what happens but I know it has the globetrotters fighting evil robots.

I watched the Rescue from.. one and it was rather mediocre, especially the expected ending that got them back on the same Island, and for the very same reason that you mentioned, BD. All that I remember basically is that Ginger doesn't want to do nudity in "1970s Hollywood", and that ending..I do like the Mary Ann picture - btw on the WWII planes..there's a handful of references to that war on the old show..speaking of which:
If I were a WWII vet I would have shunned a Ginger pic--I'd go with Mary Ann..

I guess the closest we will ever get is Season 2 ep 16 of Baywatch's Now just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. In where Eddie gets knocked out after hitting his head, and he dreams that he finds Gilligan and Maryann stranded on a near by island, in where Maryann finally confesses her love for Gilligan.

"The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" was awful. I can't even discuss it, haha.

I read in Bob Denver's book about how Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor getting married and having a whole mess of kids. Not sure what the full plot would've been, but I'd rather that movie to "Globetrotters." A little character development instead of a basketball game with robots, haha.

Although it basically would've been 90 minutes of jokes like this:

Girl: "MOM! Dad fell in the quicksand again!"
Mary Ann: "Sigh. Where's your brother?"
Girl: "He fell in with him!"
Ginger: "OH NO, NOW THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

And then some little redheaded boy builds a spaceship out of leaves, haha.

To answer your question, though, the first movie was decent and provided a certain amount of closure with a rescue, but the second and the third I could do without. They concentrated more on the visitors to the island hotel rather than the Castaways themselves, which takes away from the whole point of the series. People want to see the 7 get into trouble and weird situations, not the hotel guests.

I only remember seeing the first one YEARS ago when it first aired (on NBC on a saturday night I remember) and I hated it. I remember thinking that it must have been written by a 12 year old and it'd be more appropriate for a saturday morning or afternoon airing.

I never saw the other two, though.

I remember reading somewhere when the first one aired; that they made it because the reruns were so popular, and a lot of people were wondering if they ever got off the island.

If you saw the E! True Hollywood Story Sherwood Schwartz actually said that some people back in the 60s called the police/coast guard to tell them that there were 7 stranded castaways in the Pacific on a deserted island!!

They actually thought the castways were really on a deserted island!!

I think the movies tied things up well but they were supposed to have a 4th season if it wasn't for stupid Gunsmoke and they REALLY should have!!

"The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" was awful. I can't even discuss it, haha.

I read in Bob Denver's book about how Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor getting married and having a whole mess of kids. Not sure what the full plot would've been, but I'd rather that movie to "Globetrotters." A little character development instead of a basketball game with robots, haha.

Although it basically would've been 90 minutes of jokes like this:

Girl: "MOM! Dad fell in the quicksand again!"
Mary Ann: "Sigh. Where's your brother?"
Girl: "He fell in with him!"
Ginger: "OH NO, NOW THERE'S TWO OF THEM!"

And then some little redheaded boy builds a spaceship out of leaves, haha.

To answer your question, though, the first movie was decent and provided a certain amount of closure with a rescue, but the second and the third I could do without. They concentrated more on the visitors to the island hotel rather than the Castaways themselves, which takes away from the whole point of the series. People want to see the 7 get into trouble and weird situations, not the hotel guests.

That would've been AWESOME! Why didn't anyone pick it up or produce it?? You could've had so many funny storylines!! :lol:

The author of one of the several Gilligan guide books published around 20 years ago rated the Harlem Globetrotters movie highest of the three. That didn't make any sense to me, but the rationale was that it was the movie which came closest to capturing the spirit of the series. Whatever.

I liked the first movie at the time, but saw it again recently and thought the dialog reflected lazy writing at best and was just plain bizarre at worst. The Skipper can't wait to get home so he can bone some chicks? And this thinly veiled bit of TMI is elicited by the otherwise uptight Professor...? The same Professor who, later in the film, is seen rebuffing the advances of an amorous lady as if he has no idea why anybody would ever act that way. Seems to be suffering multiple personality disorder.

Far more bothersome in recent viewing is Judith Baldwin's cartoon Ginger. Even for a show that the creator himself admits is populated not so much with characters as caricatures, her shallow, sing-song interpretation of Ginger is painfully lame. After all, we got to know Ginger pretty well watching those 98 episodes over and over. She had a complicated personality. She was sexy when she wanted to be, shrewd, resourceful and possessed of a fiery temper--and a way with a line. Judith Baldwin played her as a one-note vapid bimbo.

Call me naive but I did not see the ending coming. I also thought the "Minnow I" signage that Gilligan found was ridiculously unnecessary, as if the castaways or the audience couldn't tell tell the difference between a freshly painted bit of wood and one that had been weathering for fifteen years. Just...dumb.

The second movie's premise was a bit of a shock, but I warmed to it and really hoped that it would go to series. Jim Backus wanted very much to do it. He said he and Natalie Schaeffer could be their island's Roarke and Tattoo. What I recall reading is that the hesitant one was Sherwood Schwartz. Why? I don't recall a specific reason, but I'd like to know considering the second movie looks for all the world like a pilot, complete with a slightly reworded theme song which kept the line "join us here each week".

The third movie was delayed by the actors strike of 1980. When it finally surfaced on TV, it was a relief to see that they hadn't forgotten the island was now a tourist resort (you think a continuity error of that magnitude is impossible in the Gilligan universe?), but somehow the spell had broken in the two years since the transformation. Hope for a new series had faded into a grim realization that you really can't go home again. Thurston Howell IV? Please...just...please. Connie Forslund replaces Judith Baldwin without anyone noticing at all, much less noticeable improvement. Notable for being the last onscreen pairing of then husband-and-wife (and frequent costars) Martin Landau and Barbara Bain and for very little else.

As an aside...why do I think the photograph in the OP is actually from the Harlem Globetrotters movie? I could be wrong, but I think it is.

The first movie was good IMHO (though I watched it as a 13 year old, so I probably wasn't that discriminating). In those days the Gilligan reruns were very popular and those that watched them were always wondering "did they ever get off the island?" so that movie at least satisfied that need in the fans for closure.

At first I was disappointed that they ended up back on the island, but it was kind of neat to think that these people have lived together so long they became like a family and really couldn't bear to be apart anymore. Honestly, it's been so long since I've seen it I've forgotten some of the nuances of the characterizations, so if I watched it today I might have a different reaction.

"Castaways" was OK, obviously as was written above, a pilot for a new series, which I really think was unworkable. I have always liked GI, but the corny, slapstick type humor was too out of place in late 70's America to really have much of a lifespan anyway. It was great to see the cast again, though, obviously.

The Globetrotters movie was ridiculous and really came down hard on the slapstick angle. Honestly I doubt I could watch this whole movie today; being 16 or 17 I was more forgiving and even then it just seemed liked of tired to me.

But to answer your question, YES, it was great to see the characters finally rescued and though they did end up back on the island, it was THEIR choice to do so, and that made a difference. :)

The second movie's premise was a bit of a shock, but I warmed to it and really hoped that it would go to series. Jim Backus wanted very much to do it. He said he and Natalie Schaeffer could be their island's Roarke and Tattoo. What I recall reading is that the hesitant one was Sherwood Schwartz. Why? I don't recall a specific reason, but I'd like to know considering the second movie looks for all the world like a pilot, complete with a slightly reworded theme song which kept the line "join us here each week"

What's this about a new Gilligan's Island series?? What was the premise supposed to have been??

Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes.


Actually, that's not really true. When the third season ended they thought there would be a fourth season, so making a last episode would never have occurred to anyone.

You are right in that it wasn't usually the practice though.

I guess you could say that that's another thing Gilligan's Island had in common with Brady Bunch.

What's this about a new Gilligan's Island series?? What was the premise supposed to have been??


Rescue From Gilligan's Island was actually my first taste of Gilligan's Island . I thought it was a good idea to have a final chapter to the original series . The way I remember it, Rescue From Gilligan's Island was shown in two parts . My mom claimed that Gilligan and his friends might get fed up with 1970s society and decide to go back to the island forever . She thought they were better off on their little island than in our society . As it turned out, she was HALFWAY right . They wound up back on the island, but they didn't plan it or want it that way .

The Castaways on Gilligan's Island showed them getting rescued again . This time, Mr . Howell established a hotel and resort on the island, and the other characters had a hand in running it . Gilligan was basically a bellhop, helping the guests with their luggage, Ginger performed in the lounge, and the Professor gave science lectures . Mr . and Mrs . Howell were the hosts . I can't find The Unofficial Gilligan's Island Handbook by Joey Green right now, so I don't know exactly what Mary Ann and the Skipper did .

I thought the idea of a hotel and resort on Gilligan's Island was definitely the way to go . I though Gilligan and his friends should have been rescued, but they spent the best years of my life on that island, and I hated the idea of them saying "Well, guys, it's been fun, but we all have our own lives to get back to !" . They lived together so long they became like a family, and once they turned the island into a resort, they could all stay together .

When I saw The Castaways on Gilligan's Island, I could definitely imagine a new Gilligan's Island series along the lines of The Love Boat and Fantasy Island . I really wish that had been in the cards . The Love Boat and Fantasy Island focused on the guests, but every so often, there was a story that featured one of the regular characters . A new Gilligan's Island series would have run along the same formula .

I can't find Inside Gilligan's Island by Sherwood Schwartz right now either, but I think Sherwood Schwartz explained that he wanted the fourth season of
Gilligan's Island to depict Gilligan and his friends getting rescued, and Mr . Howell building a hotel on the island . Finally, I never did see The Harlem Globetretters on Gilligan's Island, but part of me wishes I had .

The biggest problem with GI is it didn't last long enough and never really had a series finale.

It's the same problem with the Jeffersons but GI only lasted 3 seasons compared to 11 for the Jeffersons!

They got worse with each passing one...



The first one was very well put together in 1978. Had they just gotten together and not gotten shipwrecked again, that would have been the one and only movie.


The second one takes place in 1979, and it's practically weeks or so later after they find out they are marooned again on the same Island. The opening was good, the Island scenes were good, the plane scenes were good, it's just once Mr. Howell decided to build that hotel on the Island, it was over. That should have been it. The first act of the film was brilliant, then it just goes downhill. We see the hotel up and running months or so later. We see all the cast working at it in some way, and we meet that boy Robbie, I believe, who runs away from his parents and that older couple who comes to the island...her to relax, him, he can't stop thinking about business. This format would have been "okay" for a new series, had they titled it "Gilligan's Island Hotel" and immediately did Harlem Globetrotters the following week. However, the 3rd movie, with that basketball team, took place in 1981, 2 years later, and felt like it was just "Who's gonna show up on the Island next? What about the week later? et." Yet they never did do a series out of it. They simply made it a 3rd movie which was awful, and yes, I can't even remember what most of it was about.


The best thing Scherwood should have done...made the original first movie into 3 parts in 1978. I forget if it aired as 2 parts...I wasn't born in 1978, but I remember hearing part 1 ended when everyone saw the plane above them as they were in the ocean, an part 2 was what happened when they were back in civilization. Part 3 should have been the conclusion. They find the plane shortly after and travel away from the island, then open the hotel and all celebrate together. That would have been a better way to tie it all up. They really didn't need that 2nd movie, especially after Howell said he was making the hotel, nor the Globetrotter one. Jim Backus was getting older in the first movie, and they should have just made one. The 3rd movie didn't seem like Gilligan's Island at all without him.

I did not see the ending [ of Rescue From Gilligan's Island ] coming .

At first I was disappointed that they ended up back on the island ...

Like I said, the way I remember it, Rescue From Gilligan's Island was shown in two parts, with a week between part 1 and part 2 . My mom and I watched the first part, and she got the idea that Gilligan and his friends might get fed up with 1970s society and decide to go back to their island forever .

She thought they were better off on their little island than in our society . As it turned out, they wound up back on the island by accident . They didn't plan it or want it that way . I would have been disappointed if they had said "To heck with this world ! We're going back to our island !" . Gilligan and his friends agreed that it was difficult to get used to modern society again, but they also thought it was worth it .

I was real young at the time and loved the show..

But accepted the first movie as I was a kid but it didn't bring me closure because they wound up back on the island.. So it was like one long two part episode..

Castaways made me think there would be a series but nothing happened..

As for Globetrotters.. somehow that got passed me as a youngster but I saw it as an adult as it was on cable one night.. I flipped back and forth that is how bad it was..

I read here that it the first one got phenomenal ratings so it seems to me that since they were all not that old maybe they could have just done a new series with them shipwrecked.. But whatever is whatever...

If the series gone a fourth season it might have become less of a classic.. They had really started to recycle scripts in the third season and I picture myself as a viewer back then getting extremely frustrated..

I liked the first movie at the time, but saw it again recently and thought the dialog reflected lazy writing at best and was just plain bizarre at worst. The Skipper can't wait to get home so he can bone some chicks? And this thinly veiled bit of TMI is elicited by the otherwise uptight Professor...;)

I agree TV on the Porch. Quite odd to portray the Skipper like this. I wasn't that shocked with the professor since he was pretty asexual. Poor Skipper...he was a little too old for the 70's chicks. What about the line where he was lamenting the length of skirts how, when they left they were at the knee, while on the island there were mini skirts and then he said they were back at the knee. I know the early 80's had mini skirts. Not too sure about skirt lengths of the 70's as I was only 2 when Rescue aired.

The dialogue was so bad because the dialogue coach was Hope Sherwood. You might remember her from a few episodes of the Brady Bunch? She was Jenny Wilton in the Slumber Party episode. She played Greg's date in the episode where Bobby shoves an Umbrella through the convertible top of Mike's car at the drive in. I think Hope is Sherwood Shwartz niece.

Hope is Sherwood's daughter, but the she didn't write the dialogue. The true fault lies with the writer(s), but this film totally did not need a dialogue coach and that may have messed things up, too. These actors knew what they were doing - they didn't need someone who was a child when they first created these characters helping them with their dialogue.

Dialogue coach? For the Reunion movie? I thought such coaches were for actors dealing with a heavy accent for a role, not a movie like THIS? I'm trying to remember who Hope Schwartz was. I know in the Brady ep. about the slumber party one girl(I think Ruthie) was Florence Henderson's daughter. The other was Robert Reed's daughter. I know they both girls appear together in the last episode when Greg's hair turns orange and they're at the beauty salon. He tells them Carol was in there for a wig.;)

If interested, please see my episode discussions for each of these movies where I go into this at length, I believe. To put it simply, though: I think that for viewers who were interested in the castaways on the most basic level--whether former/rerun fans of GI or those merely aware of the GI plot--the first movie would, in fact, provide some closure in seeing the castaways finally get rescued. Even for me, I felt the phenomenal rescue scenes were somewhat thrilling! I understand Schwartz's feeling that it had to be done, in a way. Also, viewers of the type I mentioned might feel some satisfaction in things like finally seeing the castaways in their lives back home and related to the outside world in which they actually were living, themselves (Gilligan mentioning current movies, etc.). Finally, as a piece of entertainment, the first movie was good in its design, I feel. On a deeper level, though, the movie is not totally GI the series.

When we get to the 2nd and 3rd movies--yes, I would watch them as a GI fan--we get to "The Love Boat." I used to watch "The Love Boat" and really liked it but I didn't like the idea of turning GI into that other show. More crazy island visitors like the series had---ok!!! Bring them on!!!--but the castaways taking a backseat to the visitors and helping them solve their problems--that is not GI! In some ways, this was almost like cancelling GI twice rather than bringing it back! I wonder how it would've worked if the Castaway Hotel turned out to be a comic failure on the island, with the theme being the castaways TRYING to produce a great resort but continually messing up--with nondescript rather than famous actor guests--and the focus back on the castaways? I don't know how we'd work the Howells into that since they might be adept at this kind of business.

So, in a basic way, the first movie could be said to provide some kind of closure--but then ending by opening up a second round of the original problem. As far as the 2nd and 3rd movies possibly providing closure--they just essentially get farther away from the original GI and transform it into something else. As I've said, I still find it a little farfetched that they would all want to actually work on the island for the rest of their lives--maybe if the romances had been included (a la Schwartz's "married with kids" proposal) that would've been more believable. It's still very hard to see Ginger doing more than a seasonal stint there, though, given her career aspirations. In reality, even though I don't relish the concept behind these 2 movies, the castaways all come from different places and walks of life; how would one get them together after rescue to continue the series and make it still about ALL of them at the same time? Yes, ending with the first movie would have avoided the awkward necessities of the movies that followed but would've had to end, again, with the same dissatisfaction connected with their STILL not being rescued. Yet, one can't deny that was a clever way to end the first movie!

I thought Rescue From Gilligan's Island was great. That was closure. I wish they ended it there, instead of the 7 reuniting, and going on another cruise.

By the time of Castaways on Gilligan's Island, they weren't stranded anymore, however. They were connected with civilization.

this film totally did not need a dialogue coach and that may have messed things up, too. These actors knew what they were doing - they didn't need someone who was a child when they first created these characters helping them with their dialogue.


That's not what a dialogue coach does. If an actor is not going to appear within the frame of a closeup shot, their lines within that scene will often be fed to the actor(s) who's being filmed by somebody else--that person is the dialogue coach.

I liked the movies the 3rd was sad for me because you could see how Mr. Howel had declined in health. It was the weakest of the three movies, too bad it didn't make it to series after the 2nd movie they had something.

I really liked the second movie: The Castaways of Gilligan's Island. I don't know, I really liked the idea of them returning to the island and the Howells turning it into a resort.

Me and my family LOVED the second movie Castaways (1979). As kids it remained a favourite. What are the chances of it coming to dvd? Warner Archive?

Me and my family LOVED the second movie Castaways (1979). As kids it remained a favourite. What are the chances of it coming to dvd? Warner Archive?

I don't know why it isn't, but you can search for it on youTube and play the entire show.

about the first one, I remember reading a review of it in our local newspaper when it first aired that said it seems like it was written by an 8-year-old and would be more at home airing on a Saturday morning. I agree with that!

Back in those days shows didn't make a big deal about their last episode. In fact, they tried to hide that the show was ending so people would keep watching the reruns hoping for new episodes. So the show just stopped. The last episode was the one where natives mistake Gilligan for an island goddess.

There were three made-for-tv movies made ten years later. In the first one, the castaways build a boat and are caught up in a tidal wave that brings them back to civilization. They try to go back to their old lives but find it difficult. At the end of the movie that decide to reunite for one last three hour cruise and they end up crashing back on the same island. This ending was chosen so more TV movies could be made.

In the next one, they find some WWII planes and are rescued again and decide to turn the island into a resort. The final TV movie is really bad. I've never seen it so I don't quite know what happens but I know it has the globetrotters fighting evil robots.

Fake Ginger with that awful wavy red wig trying to connect with the cast.

The last reunion movie had yet another "Ginger" who was young enough to be the original Ginger's daughter :crazy:

Fake Ginger with that awful wavy red wig trying to connect with the cast.

The last reunion movie had yet another "Ginger" who was young enough to be the original Ginger's daughter :crazy:

I always thought they did a good job replacing Tina Louise with Judith Baldwin. If they couldn't get the original, I think she made a good fake Ginger. The second replacement was awful, though.

I always thought they did a good job replacing Tina Louise with Judith Baldwin. If they couldn't get the original, I think she made a good fake Ginger. The second replacement was awful, though.

Tina played the part of Ginger perfectly. This Judith made Ginger into some airheaded bimbo.

That Constance whatsherface *scratches head* who previously I think played Marilyn Monroe in some tv movie or something.....

I don't know why it isn't, but you can search for it on youTube and play the entire show.

It should still be at YouTube. I downloaded the first and second TV movies to my computer.:D

It should still be at YouTube. I downloaded the first and second TV movies to my computer.:D

Love to see the 2nd and 3rd movie on DVD. Guess youtube is the way to go for now.

The first reunion I found at the dollar bin minus opening and closing credits.

I just watched the three movies for the first time this month. I remember seeing "Rescue" sometimes playing in syndication in the '80s but don't think I ever sat down and watched it then. The first two are still on YouTube but I had to dig around to find "Harlem" on the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/TheHarlemGlobetrottersOnGilligansIsland

The author of one of the several Gilligan guide books published around 20 years ago rated the Harlem Globetrotters movie highest of the three. That didn't make any sense to me, but the rationale was that it was the movie which came closest to capturing the spirit of the series. Whatever.

I completely agree with him. I almost didn't watch the third one because I was disappointed with how the "hotel" premise played out in the second one, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the "Harlem" movie.

The first movie has a lot of "wish fulfillment." We finally get to see the castaways rescued and living out their normal lives back in civilization. But the plot, humor and pacing wasn't the best. The incompetent Russians completely failing to get the necklace from Gilligan over and over again strained credibility. And it's kind of a downer to see the castaways disappointed with everything in their new lives and then disappointed AGAIN to be stranded back on the island. I really thought at the end they'd all be happy to be back on the island and agree that this is the best place for them to be.

In the second one, I actually liked the way they were rescued a lot better. The airplane rescue was more dynamic and put them in a more active role than just waiting for a storm to sweep them away. But after the rescue, everything turned into a bad Love Boat episode. I had no desire to see Tom Bosley or Marcia Wallace taking up valuable screen time, especially with the very boring, run-of-the-mill plot they gave them. And the sappy storyline with the runaway Olympic kid belonged in the Brady Bunch, not Gilligan's Island.

Then came the Harlem Globetrotters movie. THIS is what Gilligan's Island is all about, wacky, zany, cartoonish comedy with over-the-top, larger-than-life characters. There was nothing sappy about the story. It didn't bog down the characters with realistic, slice-of-life problems. It had some genuine laughs and the plot was pretty tightly written and effective. Some sight gags didn't work and the Globetrotters weren't too interesting when they weren't playing basketball, but the pacing kept things moving forward better than in the other movies. It still had the resort but it didn't feel like a transplanted episode of the Love Boat. The plot was all about what the castaways were doing and not about the hotel guests. I would've enjoyed seeing a spin-off series done in the style of the Harlem movie.

i recently saw Rescue from Gilligan's Island and thought it was pretty bad. the acting and the writing. it looked really cheap. Tina's replacement was bad. the storyline had promise. showing the characters adjusting to being home and having problems with it. But seeing a middle aged Gilligan was pitiful. he had not changed or progressed in anyway.

Does he need to progress? Don Knotts got old and I don't think he stopped playing the kind of character he always did. Then there's the Coach on Cheers or Jerry Van Dyke on Coach. Just because you get old doesn't mean you can't still be dumb.

I'm curious if they got the same musicians who did the season 2/3 opening theme to sing the new theme in the Globetrotters movie. It sounds really close.

IMO they should have just done one movie where they get rescued and ended it there.

The first one was the best. But they could have fooled the audience by having them end up on the island again before the 2nd last or last commercial break.

“Yes, Gilligan’ we’re home again” should not have been the last line of the movie.

Skipper chases Gilligan and they cut to a commercial. We feel there’s gonna be a tie up scene or scenes following. Then for the last few scenes there is a shot of the Island and the words “The same Island a month later.”

It quickly goes into Gilligan sad because he caused the shipwreck again. He finds the plane. Skipper is upset at him still but then changes his tone. Pretty much what happened in that first act of Castaways but condensed to one or two segments with one or two commercial breaks before the end of the movie.


When Mr. Howell says he will make the hotel, that’s how it should have ended. Either he would get the last line or they flash forward to that voice over and show the resort and the boat with skipper and Gilligan. Maybe a final scene with the two going to the big boat at sea to pick up the tourists and some funny humor caused by Gilligan and the Skipper to end the movie.


They didn’t need Globetrotters. They really didn’t need Castaways either. Just the first act of Castaways condensed down significantly to one segment or two between commercials to end the movie. Of course, for timing, the original movie idea would have had a few scenes cut out to make room for elements that would include that first act of Castaways. Some scenes on the Island at the beginning could have been edited out or reduced significantly.

They could have done Castaways after that. But sold it to series. That way they would have had a good number of episodes and most likely wouldn’t have had Globetrotters or crap characters from that 3rd film. Judith Baldwin was amazing as Ginger. I like her so much more than Tina Louise. Tina is beautiful but Judith...WOW!

Maybe not even a plane...maybe they run into someone on the island who can help them. Maybe Gilligan’s brother or something? Maybe he’s a captain of a boat and landed there and since he’s family he wouldn’t abandon them. Something like that. It would be good to end it in that segment after “we’re home again.” One last trio of scenes and then it ends.

Yeah after the first one they were bad but I have to tell you the one redeeming thing in the second one was that to this day I was VERY impressed to see what the Howell's money did for the island. The (stock footage) flyover of all the guest cottages and facilities was a wow...our little island is now a tourist mecca. That was something!

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Learn the strange stories behind Gilligan's Island and the botched attempts to reboot the show with TV movies in the late '70s and early '80s. What happened to Gilligan, Ginger, Mary Ann and more? And what do the Harlem Globetrotters have to do with it??

Sherwood had tried to sell a TV movie about Mary Ann and Gilligan getting married and Ginger and the Professor

I really like the scene where Ginger is Teaching the Professor to Kiss (for Erica Tiffany Smith) - CAN you imagine the Professor & Ginger learning how to Make Love !

'Gilligan's Island' Didn't End With the Original Show (https://collider.com/gilligans-island-movies/)

The beloved sitcom lived on through a series of films and cartoons.