Rescue from Gilligan's Island

"Rescue From Gilligan's Island" is a two-part television movie that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964-1967 TV series "Gilligan's Island." The film first aired on NBC October 14 and October 21, 1978. It was directed by Leslie Martinson.

Cast

*Gilligan - Bob Denver
*Skipper - Alan Hale Jr.
*Mr. Howell - Jim Backus
*Mrs. Howell - Natalie Schafer
*Ginger Grant - Judith Baldwin
*Professor - Russell Johnson
*Mary Ann - Dawn Wells

Synopsis

The movie begins when a satellite belonging to the U.S.S.R. experiences technical problems and is almost about to break apart. The scientists on the satellite dispose of a disc containing important information. Seconds later, the satellite blows up. The movie then picks up 15 years after the shipwreck of the S. S. Minnow stranded the crew and passengers on Gilligan's Island.

After 15 years, little of their original possessions are left. Even their radio has finally broken down due to age. The metal recording disk from the Soviet satellite is lost and lands in the lagoon. Gilligan finds it and shows it to the professor.

Realizing that the unique alloy can be used to make a barometer, the professor quickly realizes that a tidal wave is on the way which will destroy the island. Quickly the castaways make plans to reinforce one of the huts to take shelter.

When the castaways awaken the next morning, they realize that the hut has been swept off the island and is now a makeshift raft. They use clothes and make a sail, and try to make their way to land. In an attempt to make a meal, Gilligan makes a fire which spreads to the raft. At first angry at Gilligan for doing another one of his stupid stunts, the castaways are then grateful when the United States Coast Guard spots the smoke and rescues them.

After being towed to Hawaii, the castaways are at first confused by modern life. They are informed that the President is now Jimmy Carter, and that they had missed the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. They quickly part however, to try and return to life as they knew it before the shipwreck. However, they agree to go on a cruise for the holidays.

At this time, the Soviets discover that Gilligan is still in possession of the recording disk from their satellite. Determined to recover it, they send two spies to try and get it from Gilligan, by any means necessary.

The Skipper and Gilligan are next seen hard at work, refurbishing the SS Minnow II. However, the Insurance company informs them that they will not be able to get a settlement unless their former passengers sign a statement testifying that the Skipper was not responsible for the shipwreck.

First they find Ginger. She is making a movie, and is upset at the changes in Hollywood in the last 15 years. She is told that sex and swearing are what makes a movie successful, and that nothing else matters. The director overhears Gilligan talking about some of the recent movies that had no sex, and quickly decides that acting is what really matters. Ginger signs the statement, and the Skipper and Gilligan go off to find The Professor.

The Professor is trying to get back into research, and explains that everything that he tries to invent has been discovered in the 15 years he was on the island. The Dean of the college then comes in and tries to get the Professor to stop research and to concentrate on fund-raising. Together the three agree that things were much simpler on the island, and he signs the statement.

Next they go to meet the Howells. They are having dinner with old friends, and are trying to find their way back into their old financial and social circles. The Howells are delighted to meet their old castaway friends, and introduce them to their upper class social friends before going into another room to discuss matters. However, over the intercom they overhear their rich supposed friends insulting the Skipper and Gilligan, and angrily throw the the rich folk off their property. It is apparent that the Howells have grown substantially during their time on the island.

Finally the Skipper and Gilligan go to meet Mary Ann. After 15 years, she is finally going to marry her fiancé. However, she is sad for some reason, and her best friend tries to console her. She invites the Skipper and Gilligan to her wedding, and tells them she will sign the statement after the ceremony. Her best friend confides that in the last 15 years Mary Ann's fiancé and she have fallen in love, but do not know how to tell Mary Ann. Skipper and Gilligan proceed to disrupt the ceremony, and Mary Ann realizes that the wedding was a mistake. She signs the statement and agrees to meet them for the cruise.

During all of this, two bumbling Soviet spies try to concoct ways to retrieve the disk, every time failing to do so.

Finally the insurance company pays for the SS Minnow, and the castaways and crew are ready for a cruise on the "SS Minnow II". The spies make a last attempt to get the disk, and are thwarted at the last minute by the FBI. Finally, the cruise gets under way.

However, just like 15 years before, the "SS Minnow II" is caught in a storm and blown off course. To make matters worse, Gilligan incompetently renders the compass useless. The next morning the crew and passengers find themselves on a beach, thankful that they are alive. Then Gilligan arrives with a piece of the original "SS Minnow I" (complete with "I", despite that there was no "II" yet), and it sinks in that they are right back on the same island that they spent the last 15 years on!

Production

* Leslie H. Martinson directed many B movies and television movies, including several episodes of the TV series "Batman" and its adjoining movie version, and the 1963 film "PT 109". That was about the shipwreck of John F. Kennedy and his crew after being run down by a Japanese destroyer, which was the basis for the pilot of "McHale's Navy", which was loosely based upon "PT 109". Although "Gilligan's Island" was in no way a direct derivation, the television show premiered the year after "PT 109" and two years after "McHale's Navy", and was also about the shipwrecked crew and passengers of a small boat in the South Pacific.
* Tina Louise at first declined to appear in the movie, claiming that she was not going to reprise the role that had devastated her career but she changed her mind several times, deciding at the last minute not to appear in the movie. Reportedly she asked for a prohibitively large sum of money. Judith Baldwin, a younger actress who resembled Louise, was cast in her place. The following year, Baldwin would go on to play Ginger again in "The Castaways On Gilligan's Island."
* The movie was popular enough that two made-for-TV sequels followed.
* Unlike the TV series, the movie lacks a laugh track.
* Some VHS releases of this lack the theme song due to licensing disputes, and the first DVD release of this movie was such a disaster it was rejected by fans. Fact|date=June 2008

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078155/ "Rescue From Gilligan's Island at the Internet Movie Database]