Pass the Vegetables, Please

Pass the Vegetables, Please is the 71st episode of Gilligan's Island and the third episode of the third season. It first aired September 26, 1966.



Synopsis
Gilligan and the Skipper go fishing in the lagoon, but they just get into each other's way and tangle up their lines. After the Skipper heads off disgusted, Gilligan catches and reels in a box of vegetable seeds, barely paying attention to the lid that identifies them as radioactive. The Castaways are delighted to have vegetables on the Island and proceed to plant and grow them under Mary Ann's guidance, using sand from the beach to help with irrigation, although Gilligan gets stuck doing most of the work. Two days later, the vegetables have already grown in unexpected ways with ears of corn twisted into a ring, string beans into pretzel shapes, and carrots growing in a forked shape. The Professor blames the bizarre developments on the vegetables being in saltwater, and they go ahead to cook them into their next meal. However, it is only after they have eaten that the castaways find out the seeds are radioactive. As the Professor searches his books for a solution, Mary Ann sees a boat off shore no one else can see, and Gilligan lifts a log with one arm. The Professor deduces that the radiation amplified the vitamins in the vegetables and boosted their nutritional supplements, even resulting in a burst of energy in Mrs. Howell. The Professor realizes the only way to neutralize the radioactivity in the consumed vegetables is to eat their handmade soap for the hydrocarbons, a distasteful experience for everyone as the soap and water together produces bubbles that cover the Island. However, that night, Gilligan has acquired a taste for the soap, his hiccups blowing a bubble that has the Skipper covering his ears as it explodes.

Message

 * "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Highlights

 * Gilligan being stronger than Skipper.
 * The Castaways fainting after learning about the radioactive food being fatal.
 * "Something" finally happens to Mary Ann.
 * Mrs. Howell's super speed.

Credits
Main Cast
 * Bob Denver as Gilligan
 * Alan Hale, Jr. as The Skipper
 * Jim Backus as Mr. Howell
 * Natalie Schafer as Mrs. Howell
 * Tina Louise as Ginger
 * Dawn Wells as Mary Ann
 * Russell Johnson as The Professor

Guest Cast
 * None

Trivia

 * The episode opens with Gilligan and the Skipper fishing, but when their lines gets mixed up and poles confused, the Skipper asks for his white pole back, but Gilligan hands him his blue pole instead.
 * When Mary Ann notes the tropical soil is too heavy to grow vegetables, the Professor suggests using sand to help the irrigation. However, it's unclear, despite the vegetable seeds being experimental, how the Professor ever expected the seeds to grow in an almost entirely sand-based medium. Most vegetables will not grow in such soil conditions.
 * Everyone seems to have forgotten in this episode that Mary Ann once grew wild vegetables on the island, particularly wild carrots, turnips and lettuce in They're Off and Running.
 * The Professor shows dubious agricultural experience by suggesting that being submerged in saltwater was responsible for the vegetables' odd development.
 * Gilligan's favorite vegetable is spinach, but after the events of this episode, he may have changed his mind. In Lovey's Secret Admirer, the Professor's Lie Detector confirms he hates it.
 * Mary Ann's favorite vegetable is carrots and Mrs. Howell's is beets. Mr. Howell seems to be excited by the growing mushrooms, but during the dinner conversation, he also asks for the artichokes.
 * When the Radio announces the alert for the missing vegetables, the close-up of Mary Ann's arm doesn't match the action in the scene.
 * The book the Professor gets his radiation research from is actually an Army tank manual.
 * After the Castaways faint, the sections of the studio floor can be seen under the sand.
 * Since Mary Ann can read the text in the Professor's book from half a mile away, it suggests the island is possibly only a few square miles in size.
 * When Mary Ann says she sees the girls in the bikinis, Gilligan makes a very rare comment about being interested in seeing them. Usually, he sticks to his Peter Pan Syndrome and flees from the opposite sex, usually Ginger and Mary Ann.
 * According to this episode, Mary Ann can see the beach from the lagoon and the hut area, but in other episodes, particularly The Hunter and Gilligan the Goddess, both areas are completely surrounded by jungle without clear views of the beach.
 * It seems incredibly convenient that a random tree log should suddenly be in the communal area for Gilligan to show off his feat of strength.
 * After Mr. Howell notices Mrs. Howell has incredible energy from eating the beets, she stops straightening the hut to eat some more of the beets despite learning they're radioactive (although it's conceivable she's actually eating something else).
 * The footage of Mrs. Howell racing through the hut area and dancing on the table was filmed by a stunt man.
 * When Gilligan tosses the coconut to the Skipper, one can see the string and straight flight it's being projected on through the wall of the hut.
 * At the end of the episode, Gilligan is still eating the soap and starts hiccuping, blowing up a huge bubble that explodes. This gag was repeated in Bang! Bang! Bang!
 * In the syndicated version, the ending showing Gilligan eating soap and then blowing and popping a big air bubble is cut out.
 * This episode is ranked as the #4 most liked episode, according to E!
 * Skipper tells Gilligan: "Eat!" When he refuses to eat the soap. This references what Mrs. Claus says in the 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
 * The scene in which Mary Ann is exhausted after running with The Skipper. Is a reference to The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy is exhausted after running through the poppy fields spell The Wicked Witch of The West.

Quotes
Mary Ann - "He did too!" Gilligan - "How could he? I wasn't there to do all the work!"
 * Gilligan - "I bet your father never grew anything on his farm."


 * Gilligan - "Everyone knows carrots are good for you. After all, have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses?"


 * Gilligan - "An officer? I'm too busy being the whole crew!!"

Mrs. Howell - "Yes, but the beets are beating them!"
 * Mr. Howell - "Look, look,... The mushrooms are mushing."


 * Mary Ann - (pulls up multiple carrots attached to one stalk) "I never saw anything like this on the farm... Except under a cow!"


 * Professor - "Now, what could I have said to make them faint?"

Skipper - "I wish I could see that!"
 * Mary Ann - "I can even see the people on the deck. There's a man in a red and white striped t-shirt, a man in a blue shirt and blue pants and two beautiful women in bikinis."


 * Mr. Howell - (watching Mrs. Howell speed over the island) "I may enter that woman in the Olympics!"

Gilligan: "What boat?" Skipper: "The boat out there." Gilligan: "I don't see any boat." Skipper: "Of course, you don't." Gilligan: "Do you?" Skipper: "No." Gilligan: "Professor, do you see the boat?" Professor: "Oh, I can't see it either." Gilligan: "But it's out there, right?" Skipper: "Look, Mary Ann saw the boat out there." Gilligan: "Can you see Mary Ann?" Skipper: "Now, How can I see Mary Ann when she isn't even here?" Gilligan: "The same way you can see the boat."
 * Skipper: "We're trying to signal that boat out there?"