Quick Before It Sinks

Quick Before It Sinks is the sixth episode of the second season of Gilligan's Island. It first aired October 28, 1965.

Synopsis
As Gilligan collects the lobster traps from the Lagoon, the Professor appears at the water's edge and points out a measuring stick to the Skipper he has been using to mark the tide. Seeing as it is almost entirely under water, he concludes the Island may be sinking into the ocean. They choose not to worry the women with the news, but when Gilligan thinks wearing stilts is the answer, the Professor believes building new huts on higher ground may be the answer. However, building them in secret at night proves to be a challenge as Mrs. Howell and the girls want to landscape the hut area. At night, the men are trying to build a new hut, stumbling back to camp exhausted at dawn only for Mary Ann to "wake" them to start working again. Meanwhile, the Professor checks his measuring stick in the Lagoon and discovers it's now completely submerged. He reveals the island may be sinking faster than he believed. They now realize they have but no choice to tell the women the truth, and Gilligan is forcibly drafted to tell them. However, Ginger misunderstands his awkward confession and thinks they're being rescued. The Skipper and Professor are astounded as to how Gilligan screwed up telling her, but Gilligan joyfully watches from afar as Ginger rushes up to them and has them confirm the news without telling the truth. The Professor fakes a transmitter with Gilligan disguising his voice as their contact, but after Ginger steps on Gilligan's foot, the deception is exposed. Hearing the truth, Ginger thinks they should build a large ark for them ride out the rising water. Mary Ann suggests building a hut on a previously made raft. The Professor also goes on to build a huge rope and pulley assembly to test the rocking of the craft on the ocean. On board, Gilligan and the Skipper live through the turmoil and disaster of extremely high tides rocking them back and forth and sliding the furniture around before finally collapsing on top of them. As the Skipper and Professor are trying to decide what to do next, Gilligan checks the lobster traps and comes back carrying the Professor's measuring stick. It turns out he's been moving the stick into deeper water to catch bigger lobsters, rendering all their hard work a waste of time. Since the island isn't really sinking, Gilligan gets stuck cleaning the mess by himself as punishment for starting the panic.

Message

 * "Leaping to conclusions can be dangerous to your health."

Highlights

 * Gilligan imitating a French radio announcer
 * The Girls coming up with a better solution than the Professor's solution
 * The women's attempts to "beautify" the island
 * The Skipper and Gilligan in the giant rocking hut

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

Quotes
Gilligan - "I wanted to get an early start, catch something nice for dinner, something you like." Skipper - "Ah, the early bird catches the worm." Gilligan - "You like worms? I got a nice batch of lobsters, but if you like worms...."
 * Skipper - "How come you got up so early?"

Trivia

 * AS one of the sillier episodes, Mr. Howell actually has to do physical labor, Gilligan and the Skipper test out the hut/raft which collapses and Gilligan reveals it was he who had changed the stick in the water for his lobster traps.
 * This is the third time Gilligan has fainted. He previously fainted in How to be a Hero and A Nose by any Other Name.
 * As Ginger asks the Professor to help landscape the hut area, he hurts his back lifting a rock. He also receives injuries in Three to Get Ready, A Nose by Any Other Name and Gilligan Goes Gung-Ho.
 * The landscaping the ladies call for in this episode doesn't appear in later episodes.
 * The Professor seems to be stronger than he looks in order to use the rope and pulley in order to rock the rescue hut back and forth
 * The Professor shows extremely poor geological knowledge by not noticing the stick he was using was actually being moved.
 * Although they are somewhere in the Pacific, Gilligan harvests Atlantic Lobster.
 * In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the castaways do make a hut/raft to survive a storm and end up inadvertently escaping the Island.