NOW FEATURING...MAN WITH A NET

[lm]

Don't you just love that title?

I know people always have a problem with things like the giant spider and Gilligan's being invisible, but isn't this even more farfetched....laundry bleach that somehow turns only your hair white and then leads to it falling out? What's your opinion?

I can't believe the Professor says white hair is simply hair of another color.
What planet has hebeen on?

Why does Maryann come up to Gilligan 2 X in the episode and pull his hat off while he's working? What's with that?

I can't believe how Thurston is so anxious to get Gilligan's "money" as part of an inheritance. How much could Gilligan have any way. I would think, in reality, that they'd rather get something sentimental from him. What a turn off!

We're used to seeing Ginger as resident "vamp" when the situation calls for it and also seeing Maryann as always concerned for poor Gilligan. Yet, in the girls' hut scene, it is Ginger who is so concerned about Gilligan and it is Maryann who goes on (in the meantime focused again on jewelry here) to try the "seduction," at least, as the first one to try it. What is this? Why? Ginger does vamping in many of the 3rd season episodes so it is still being done as a running, viewer-expected joke. Can somebody explain this to me?
And also, why doesn't Gilligan hit his head against something?

I can't believe Gilligan liked that thing Maryann made him. Ok--Ginger's was girlish but it was better looking than that coconut thing! And did the Professor really think that George Washington hair was a solution here?

I also couldn't believe the Professor's comment that white hair is simply hair
of "another color." Doesn't he understand the connotation here?

What are those chunks of something in the soup? Is that fish?

I love the Thurston trouser thing! I love Thurston's taking it pretty well too--he's mad but not a jerk--and he even makes a joke!

[callensensei]

I actually thought the bleach was a rather simple and ingenious solution to the mystery - after all, people do bleach their hair blond. It was odd, though, that Gilligan didn't have any burns on his skin if the bleach was actually strong enough to burn his hair off. Also, his hair wouldn't have suddenly vanished in one fell swoop. But it certainly is funnier that way!

The Professor is awfully blase about what could potentially be a serious illness. Maybe he learned a lesson after the Mantis Cani incident about diagnosing someone as dying when they appeared relatively healthy.

I think Mary Ann could see something odd and was curious about Gilligan's hair when she kept pulling his hat off. Certainly, Gilligan's cap doesn't cover his whole head and his dark hair is normally quite visible.

Ah, for shame, Thurston! At least we know the castaways didn't believe Gilligan was dying and were merely humouring him. I think the money reference was just a Pavlovian moment on Mr. Howell's behalf. By the way, Mr. Howell only appears in two scenes in this entire episode: Gilligan's "last will" scene and the dinner scene at the end. It's rather like "Pass the Vegetables, Please," in which Ginger only appears in two scenes, both of them group scenes.

It is odd to see Mary Ann playing the vamp. MAG shippers should enjoy it, only Mary Ann doesn't seem to be entirely genuine here: she's playing the vamp, rather than a girl in love. She even wears her hair completely down, more like Ginger sometimes does. Gilligan, meanwhile, is so caught up in his fear and self-pity that he's too preoccupied to hit his head.

I thought Gilligan was rather rude to Ginger about the wig she made. It was a very noble sacrifice, especially for someone like Ginger, who's very careful about her appearance. If Mary Ann had been nobler about cutting off her own dark hair, it might have made a more acceptable wig for Gilligan. But, again, it wouldn't have been as funny.

The Professor has got a pretty silly solution with those elaborate 18th century wigs, but he makes a very important point: that the Skipper and Gilligan are vital to the castaways' survival because they do so much of the physical work on the island. It's nice to see the crew appreciated in this way.

My favourite aspect of this episode, though, is the Skipper. He's so supportive of Gilligan, and though he's certainly worried about his little buddy, he doesn't look away or make funny faces or insensitive remarks about Gilligan's altered appearance. I love the momentary sternness when Gilligan suggests suicide: "Gilligan, I don't ever want to hear those words come out of your mouth again, and that's an order!" It's a wonderful father-son moment between the two.

Even later, when the Skipper goes bald and loses his temper with Gilligan, it's still hard to fault the Skipper because at least he's dealing with the embarassment now too, and sees how difficult it is. It's fun to see the shoe shift to the other foot (or is it wig on the other head) when Gilligan suddenly acts the more mature of the pair.

And the beards at the end! Priceless! Gilligan looks great!

[lm]

Re: the diagnosis. I just meant that it was weird for the bleach to have that
effect since Gilligan was only "handling" it and probably indirectly at that.
I think the Professor might not have been so alarmed this time because
he perhaps didn't see hair turning white as being ascribed to a particularly
serious medical condition--naivete or stemming from medical knowledge?


Re: Maryann and Gilligan. In the pulling off the hat scenes. Yes, it's possible
that Maryann is doing this out of curiosity (but even with the bald one?)
but isn't that a little forward; she could just ask about it? Also, if he is so
nervous about his hair change and she approaches him to do that, why is
he smiling--especially in the first instance? Why doesn't he back away?
Ginger often can't do the slightest thing to him without that (I know there
are a few exceptions to this, yes). As for the vamp scene--good point. How
do MAGs explain the seeming "acting" here. Why would any playing a part be necessary if Maryann's feelings for Gilligan are genuine or if there
were something going on between them? Do MAGs have an answer to that? Could it also be that he didn't hit his head because he didn't mind?
Or is it part of the weak old man belief--extreme passivity?

Re: the Skipper. I also love the way he handles it! That Yul Brenner joke
is great. We don't expect him not to be able to name "another."

[Steve Carras]

Please answer me THE obvious: what's this topic gotta do with the episode.