It's cute that the Professor helps Ginger with her acting practice. My son said that in this episode, when the Professor says "She's got a gun!" Gilligan is smiling for a moment as he watches from the window!?!? The bloody handkerchief thing always grosses me out--it's funny that it grosses Ginger out a bit--isn't she always the medical assistant? What do you think Gilligan is actually surprised at while he listens to and then looks at the scene he thinks is real?

Why would Howell want to be the sheriff? OK--President of the island I could
see--but isn't a police officer kind of beneath him based on his views?

I love the starfish badge as well as the "concealed weapons" bit!

Wow! How did Lovey bake a chocolate cake? She can bake? And they
have chocolate on the island? Maryann's been holding out on them!

I blame the Professor for this nutty scenario. I think he got impractically
carried away with trying to make the island a "society." Had any of
the castaways become murderous they would have been confined
without all of the police department stuff. Was a "jail" really necessary?
I always wondered how Gilligan got the girls in jail since they "put up a good
fight," as he says. And there were two of them to contend with.

What do you think Gilligan is actually surprised at while he listens to and then looks at the scene he thinks is real?

Me and JWood201 were laughing about this one. He's shocked to see something going on between Mary Ann and the Professor! He's thinking "Hands offa mah woman!" :mad:

Why would Howell want to be the sheriff? OK--President of the island I could
see--but isn't a police officer kind of beneath him based on his views?

It's still a chance for him to be in charge I guess.

Wow! How did Lovey bake a chocolate cake? She can bake? And they
have chocolate on the island? Maryann's been holding out on them!

And where did they get a file from??

I blame the Professor for this nutty scenario. I think he got impractically
carried away with trying to make the island a "society." Had any of
the castaways become murderous they would have been confined
without all of the police department stuff. Was a "jail" really necessary?

A lot of people don't like this episode, but I do. Some of them could do with a bit of bringing down to earth, like Mr. Howell. And Gilligan's been put-upon enough times, it's his chance to get even. there's a similar Dusty's Trail episode where Dusty gets made temporary Sheriff and does the same thing.

I always wondered how Gilligan got the girls in jail since they "put up a good
fight," as he says. And there were two of them to contend with.

He had a big stick. I wouldn't fight him for long. I'd go quietly. :happyface

LOL, Teebs. I had to investigate after she brought this up, so I watched the episode the other day. He does react much more dramatically when MA/P grab each other than when Ginger whips out the gun, haha. It's interesting.

I don't dislike this episode. It's not my favorite, but I don't hate it either. It has some funny moments.

That cake that Lovey bakes stumps me, too. It's a good jail gag, though. Shrug.

I've struggled with this episode every since I first saw it as a child. It just seems completely incongruous that Gilligan, who isn't corrupted by power in "My Fair Gilligan," "President Gilligan" or "The Little Dictator", suddenly turns into a bullying tyrant. His boorish behaviour towards the girls is especially cringe-worthy. I'd have decked him if he tried that on me.

I agree with your comment, Im, about the problem arising from the Professor's trying to make them into a conventional society. I find that the episodes where the castaways try to recreate civilized institutions fall flat, because the castaways' society is just too tiny. This episode is the worst example. Why would the Professor decide, after they've lived peacefully and cooperatively together for two and a half years, that they suddenly need a formal police force and a jail, of all things?

"President Gilligan" is the second worst offender, wherein we are expected to believe that the Skipper, the Professor and Mary Ann would goof around and not attempt to help find a new water supply or build a rescue tower.

In "Forward March," at least the Skipper and the Professor acknowledge that their war games are just that - games to keep Mr. Howell and the women preoccupied while the men try to deal with the problem. In "The Chain of Command," we expected to believe the castaways think they can function as an army, complete with silly little clubs, when in all the other episodes where they are threatened by headhunters, they very wisely hide.

The only institution that I felt really worked for the castaways was the court trial in "Plant You Now, Dig You Later." They had just enough people to make it work, and it really did seem like a logical way of solving the problem, with no one acting out of character.

I don't really mind how improbable a plot is, but when the castaways are written out of character, I find the episode is a write-off.

Frankly, GIlligan reminds ME a LOT of Don Knotts as "Barney Fife" in "The Andy Griffith Show"!