Pilot:




I absolutely loved the theme song. I think they should have kept it for the first season, since it goes into more detail about what happened, and shows the characters interacting with each other before they get aboard the ship.


I loved the Palm tree scene. Great way to begin the antics between Gilligan and the Skipper. I just knew that coconuts would fall once Gilligan went up that tree. However, I didn't expect that "woooooooooo"...he did as he slid down it which was also normal of him to do on the show.


Fishng scene was also funny, but the best was when Gilligan thought the fish was really talking when he found the fish who swallowed the radio that had accidently gotten caught on his pole and tossed into the ocean. Then they all start saying thinngs into the fish to se if one of them swallowed the transmitter which also went into the ocean thanks to Gilligan.


Okay....Sherwood was right to get rid of those 3 stars. OMG....the professor was lame and not into his work and stuff as was 2nd professor they re-cast. Ginger was very bossy and mean, unlike the new one who was tempting and seductive, and bunny was so stupid, but had that Maryann-ness in her but couldn't come close to Maryanne.


I think more could have been added to Mr. and Mrs. Howell. THey had some good one liners in the pilot, such as the quotes on the hotels they wanted to go to instead of being on the island, and Mr. Howell talking into the fish wanting to call collect.


The ending was great. "Ill take the "P" in help says Gilligan, making it backwards....LOL!!! I knew that was gonna happen!!!!





Two on A Raft




I think this episode was okay, especially the SOS saying, the eating that Gilligan was doing to the concoctions, and of course the anchor with Gilligan going down into the lagoon.


However, it lacked things the pilot had. THe coconut scene and the fishing scene should have stayed. As well as the HELP with the fish.





So the pilot I think was MUCH MUCH better, despite those 3 characters who were let go .

Well, the fish scenes w/ the new cast was included in the 12th episode as a "flashback," so they were shown in the real show. Its not like the pilot only showed it and then it was lost. So, at least we get to see it in one form.

The pilot is great but,it's confusing cause 3 actors from the pilot weren't in the series and the characters changed alot.I like the ep:Two on the raft it's one of my favorite.Yes,we did see the best of the lost scenes in the series in the ep:Birds gotta fly,Fish gotta talk.So,we didn't miss much.I like the theme song from the series better than the originale one!I can't see Gilligan's Island without this song:Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...

Thanks for the review. I've got the set, but loaned my player to my parents. Driving me nuts. I've never seen the pilot, and though I must have seen every other episode several times, I can't remember Birds Gotta Fly. I can't remember Xmas at all. I'm sure it'll come back to me.when I see it.

I guess they made two pilots. One with original cast and one with the somewhat new cast. But they didn't reshoot the scene where Skipper realizes the Minnow's been beached. As that scene contains the three original actors playing Professor, Ginger, and Bunny. They did make a whole second pilot didn't they and later insert portions of the second pilot into the Christmas ep? Right?

Originally posted by ficlopri
I guess they made two pilots. One with original cast and one with the somewhat new cast. But they didn't reshoot the scene where Skipper realizes the Minnow's been beached. As that scene contains the three original actors playing Professor, Ginger, and Bunny. They did make a whole second pilot didn't they and later insert portions of the second pilot into the Christmas ep? Right?

Wow!!! How do we know they made two pilots? Is this information on the DVD?

Jack

Well, they might have filmed two pilots.

OR

They could have just shot those scenes for the Christmas episode.

I don't recall them ever mentioning a "second pilot" in any books or any TV specials. I think "Two On A Raft" was the first episode filmed for the CBS season, and then used the fish scenes from the original pilot to be the flashbacks in the Christmas episode.

Sherwood Shwarthz had those scenes anyway that nobody never saw yet...So,he used them for the flashbacks in the Christmas ep and he reshot some scenes including Ginger(Tina Louise),Mary Ann(Dawn Wells) and the professor(Russell Johnson) to pretend that they were originally in the pilot.

There was no second pilot. Sherwood Schwartz did reshoot some scenes from the original pilot to include the new cast members. But CBS for whatever reason decided that they wanted "Two on a Raft" to be the first episode shown, so the pilot was reworked to be a flashback in the Christmas episode. Sherwood was not happy about this turn of events, as detailed in in the "Inside Gilligan's Island" book.

I think the pilot is as strong an episode as "Two on a Raft". They should have used it (with some reshoots with new characters). It would have been neat to have the extra "real" outdoor scenes. "TOAR" could have been the second episode (with some new bits). I think the girls from the pilot do appear in TOAR, at least the top of their heads behind Gilligan. But you can't tell who they are. By the way, I've been in storms on small vessels and the last thing I would do is go to sleep. Or was every single one of them conked on the head? The pilot Ginger would have been interesting, because she was critical and sarcastic. But she wouldn't have been liked the viewers. Especially if she was nasty to Gilligan. A key ingredient to the final cast of characters was that they were all likable.

As far as the sleeping thing goes, I remember the Skipper saying something about how the boat drifted for several days after the storm was over. So it's not like they just decided to go to sleep directly after the storm... I agree with you that no one would. lol.

As far Mary Ann's belly button goes (which I've heard about before but is mentioned in the pop-ups), Bunny's is shown very clearly when washing clothes in the pilot (yes I did my research). Of course, the pilot was never aired in the 60s.