Meet the Meteor

Meet The Meteor is the Thirty-Second episode of the Second Season of Gilligan's Island. It aired April 28, 1966.

Synopsis
Gilligan watches a meteor land on the island; he and the Skipper head out to investigate the next day. The Professor warns them to get away from it, explaining that it can catch cosmic rays from space. He proposes using lead to direct the radiation into a rescue signal, but the radiation degrades their handmade shield and inexplicably and rapidly ages a tree. The Professor believes the radiation could accelerate their ages as well, but then he figures a lightning rod from an electrical storm could shatter the meteor. As the Professor and Skipper prepare the rods, the exhausted Gilligan has a dream they have all aged into elderly versions of themselves. When he awakens during the storm, he rushes to place the rod, getting electrocuted in the process, before blindly losing the rod. Luckily, it hits the spot, and the lightning blows up the meteor. In the morning, the Professor checks the area with his makeshift detector and reports he finds no trace of the radiation.

Trivia

 * The tag scene with the Professor checking for radiation is missing from syndicated versions of the episode.
 * If the Castaways had aged 50 years, Gilligan would have been 72, and Mr. Howell would have been 100.
 * In Gilligan's dream where everyone has grown old, even the radio announcer sounds like an old man.
 * The Professor claims meteorites glow from collecting strange rays. In reality they glow from intense heat, and despite his contradictory claim, cosmic rays are a form of radiation.
 * The Professor's plan to use a reflective screen to direct the rays to be spotted by a weather plane or detection center is extremely far-fetched.
 * Disintegrating a radioactive meteorite dos not really eliminate any radiation.