It's Magic

It's Magic is the 33rd episode of the first season of Gilligan's Island. It first aired May 15, 1965.

Synopsis
Fishing in the Lagoon, Gilligan seems to hook a big fish, and the Skipper helps him drag him it in just to discover its a huge crate. Upon analyzing it closer, they notice it's marked "raft" but the Professor points out they're just seeing part of the name of the "Great Rafttini." They drag it into the hut area to open it and discover it's a magician's prop crate. Since Ginger once worked as a magician's assistant, she offers to teach everyone one trick to scare away future natives from invading the island. Mr. Howell learns how to turn a cane into scarves, while Mrs. Howell can rip up a dollar bill and put it back together. Gilligan learns how to get out of handcuffs, but when he demonstrates it on Mr. Howell, they get stuck together for the night. He also shows the Skipper and Professor how to make an egg vanish and reappear in his mouth, smashing an egg into the Skipper when he tries showing him how to do it. However, he really pushes the limits of everyone's patience when he tries pulling the tablecloth off the communal table without disturbing the breakfast dishes on it. Pulling the dishes off to the ground and ruining breakfast, Gilligan is ordered by the Skipper to get rid of the magic tricks and is further harangued by the hungry Castaways. When he walks near the table after putting everything in the Supply Hut, he overhears everyone still grousing over his behavior. The Howells refer to him as impossible, Ginger calls him annoying, and the Professor refers to him as a pest. Gilligan is shocked to overhear Mary Ann agreeing with them. Hurt and depressed, Gilligan is still around when Ginger shows off the vanishing cabinet the Skipper and Professor created. Gilligan volunteers to be her subject, using it as an excuse to vanish before saying good-bye to her. His unexplained disappearance both alarms and confuses everyone until the Professor deduces Gilligan must have overheard them and left on his own. They search the island for him and track him down to a cave on the other side of the island with the sign, "No Body Iz Hom." Everyone finds him separately and tries to apologize, but Gilligan's heart is so broken he can't forgive them. After night falls, the Skipper, the Howells and the Professor with the girls return separately to bring him dinner and blankets. Mr. Howell also surrenders his teddy bear. Ginger then decides that to show Gilligan how much they really love him that they should throw him a party, but in order to get Gilligan to come back to camp, the men use masks from the crate to scare him out of the cave. The plan works, and Gilligan rushes back to camp to get flash powder to scare off the "monsters," accidentally leaving it on a table and taking the flower for his surprise cake as the flash powder is baked into his cake. Gilligan meets up again with the "monsters," who pull off their masks to reveal themselves as the Skipper, Mr. Howell and the Professor. Gilligan is upset that they scared him, but the men implore him to forgive them. Gilligan confesses that he already did, but after three dinners, he's not really that hungry. He returns to camp and all is forgiven, but Gilligan takes so long thanking everyone, that the candles burn down and set off the flash powder in the cake, blowing Gilligan halfway through the roof. The following morning, Gilligan tries to shows Skipper how he can levitate the communal table, which he does, but when the Skipper reminds Gilligan that levitation is impossible, it breaks Gilligan's concentration and the table crashes down right on the Skipper's foot.

Message

 * "To err is human, to forgive divine."

Highlights

 * Gilligan's magic egg trick backfiring on the Skipper
 * Bob Denver's performance evoking pathos and emotion in getting rejected by the others
 * Gilligan's reaction when the Skipper, Professor and Mr. Howell pull up their masks

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

 * When the Skipper and Gilligan pull the crate into the lagoon, there's no end to it and there's light shining through the boards, revealing it was actually empty. This was obviously done to make the box light enough for them to haul on shore.
 * When Gilligan gets the fake rabbit on his head, Ginger tells him he can remove it by counting to 100 by threes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to land on 100 in threes since 100 is not divisible by threes. However, Gilligan's math skills must be off because he can be heard counting "94...97...100" in order to land on 100.
 * When Mrs. Howell rips up the $5 bill, the close-up reveals it's not real money but rather the fake stage money used through the series.
 * With Gilligan leaving camp. Bob Denver shows a propensity for great pathos and emotion in his performance through this episode.
 * He previously left camp in Water, Water, Everywhere after the castaways made him feel unwanted for losing the store of freshwater during a drought.
 * Ginger cries after believing she is responsible for Gilligan's disappearance. She also cries in Angel on the Island, The Return of Wrongway Feldman, Gilligan Gets Bugged and The Producer.
 * Gilligan may have subconsciously wanted to be found to leave the sign for the others to find him.
 * When Gilligan races back to the Supply Hut for the flash powder, there's a box marked Chopped Spinach. It's possibly a relic left over from the Minnow.
 * Despite the efforts to learn the tricks and props, there's no appearance or mention of them during later native encounters
 * Syndicated versions of the episode omit the end scene with Gilligan rising the table.

Quotes
Gilligan "No, it's couldn't be anything, Skipper. It couldn't be Denver, Colorado."
 * Skipper "It's such a big crate, it could be anything."

Skipper "It's easy for you, Gilligan. There's nothing in between."
 * Gilligan (after his failed egg trick) "I'm sorry Skipper. It worked for me. I just shoved it in my ear, and it came out my mouth."


 * (Mrs. Howell reads Gilligan's sign "No body iz Hom.") Mrs. Howell - "Oh dear. Somebody terribly illiterate must be in that cave."


 * Skipper - "Gilligan, I know you're in there, little buddy. Only you can spell like that."

Mr. Howell - "We're trying to make it up to you by making it a bit more couther." pauses "Webster will forgive me...."
 * Professor - "Gilligan, I'm afraid we've been very uncouth."

Mr. Howell "No, if that were true, I'd have had it removed and minted years ago."
 * Skipper "Howell, I got to take my hat off to you. Beneath that rough exterior, there lies a heart of gold."