Gilligan vs. Gilligan

Gilligan vs. Gilligan is the 70th episode of Gilligan's Island and the second episode of the third season. It first aired September 19, 1966.

Synopsis
One of Mary Ann's coconut cream pies disappears, and the Skipper and the Professor accuse Gilligan after he has found the empty pie plate. Trying to prove his innocence, Gilligan discovers there's a foreign spy on the island. He's a Russian agent, given Gilligan's face to run reconnaissance on the castaways, but no one believes Gilligan when he tries to warn them. The spy eventually takes Gilligan captive, and ends up alienating the others trying to get answers. He accuses Mr. Howell of cheating at chess, upsets Ginger by coming on to her and accuses Skipper of being the cause of the wreck of the S.S. Minnow. The Professor just believes Gilligan is having a nervous breakdown, so when he finally escapes back to the compound, no one believes him when he says he was taken captive. This leaves Gilligan to try and confront the impostor in the Howells' hut, but the spy escapes for his boat hidden in the Lagoon. He stops briefly to threaten Gilligan with a death ray from his gold pocket knife, but Gilligan tells him his boat is floating off and he swims after it. By evening, the Skipper tries to convince Gilligan the spy was just a figment of his imagination, just as the Professor wanders by with the spy's lost gold pocket knife.

Message

 * "Governments, like people, are forever looking for hidden meanings, and very often there are none."

Highlights

 * Bob Denver again shows excellent acting skills with two completely different characters
 * Gilligan and the Spy recreate the Marx Brothers' mirror gag from "Duck Soup," which was also recreated on "I Love Lucy" between Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx.
 * Gilligan becomes the only one to know about the Spy
 * The Russian version of the "Gilligan's Island" theme playing as Gilligan chases his clone through the jungle.

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
 * Bob Denver as Spy Gilligan
 * Henry Corden as The Commandant

Trivia

 * According to Gilligan's impostor, his gold pocket knife had over 200 different uses: radio/transmitter, tape recorder, laser beam and even a death ray, even though it ends up ruined from the lagoon.
 * The Spy finds it easy to imitate Gilligan - just say the first dumb thing that comes to mind. He also claims Gilligan is so inept that he wouldn't even be a Spy Third Class.
 * Ginger wears the white dress she made from Gilligan's duffel bag which hasn't been seen since the First Season.
 * The Spy is holding his gold pocket knife before the Skipper throws him from the hut, after which he pulls it from his pocket, implying the Skipper allowed him time to put it away before hurling him from the hut.
 * Gilligan's hot water pipe from Operation: Steam Heat can be seen in the supply hut atop the thatched closet.
 * A Russian version of the "Gilligan's Island" theme can be heard as Gilligan chases his clone through the jungle.
 * In the tag scene, the Professor reveals the spy's lost gold pocket knife and the Skipper is in shock when he realizes Gilligan was telling the truth of another Gilligan on the Island! This ending is often deleted from syndicated versions of the episode.
 * Like Mine Hero and The Friendly Physician, this episode has the fewest costume changes for the Girls and the Howells.
 * This episode recreates the Marx Brothers gag with Gilligan and his double both raising their right hands simultaneously instead of their mirror reflections, a gag that was also recreated between Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx in the classic "I Love Lucy" episode, "Lucy meets Harpo Marx."
 * This episode shows that the Girl's Hut is diagonally across from the Howell's Hut.
 * The syndicated version on Me-TV edits out the argument between the Skipper and Gilligan and the tag with the Professor.
 * This is the second episode where one of the castaways meets their doppelganger. However, it could be pointed out there are only two such incidents Eva Grubb was conceivably made to look like Ginger.
 * Behind the scenes, Bob Denver had the flu while filming this episode.

Quotes
The Commandant - "That was in France, these are Americans!"
 * Spy Gilligan - "I don't understand... The last time I used romance it worked."


 * Spy Gilligan - "I should have listened to my mother and become a doctor."

Spy Gilligan - "To cheat?" Mr. Howell - "To be accused!"
 * Mr. Howell - "Wait a minute, young man. Are you accusing a Howell of cheating? I'll let you know I am far too wealthy."