So Sorry, My Island Now

So Sorry, My Island Now is the fifteenth episode of the First season. It aired January 9, 1965.

Synopsis
While hunting for lobsters in the lagoon, Gilligan is surprised by the periscope of a small submarine and thinks he seen a sea monster. He rushes to tell everyone, but the Professor and Skipper don't believe him. In his absence, the sub rises, and aJapanese Sailor in thick glasses emerges from it. Meanwhile, Gilligan heads back to the lagoon to look for it, running into Mr. Howell en route and tells him about it, but Mr. Howell humors him and doesn't believe him either. When Gilligan leaves, the sailor captures Thurston thinking he's an officer and takes him hostage. Convinced a sea monster has eaten Mr. Howell, Gilligan finds Ginger who screams before being taken hostage herself. Her scream rouses the Skipper, Professor and Mary Ann to the lagoon, where they find Gilligan sloshing about in the water trying to save her. When Mary Ann vanishes, they finally realize something is going on that bears examination. The Professor and Mrs. Howell end up captured by the Japanese Sailor, keeping the women and men are in different bamboo cages booby-tapped with hand grenades. The Professor tries to explain to the sailor that World War II is over, but the sailor doesn't believe them since his radio and transmitter have been broken since the war. Meanwhile, the Skipper and Gilligan have found the submarine, but the Skipper can't fit into it and nearly gets stuck in it, and Gilligan can't read Japanese to operate himself. They go looking for the sailor on the island, who has been on-duty so long that gets tired and props himself up in a tree to get some sleep. As the Skipper tries digging the Castaways out of the cages, Gilligan carefully takes the key and rifle off the sailor to free everyone; they're standing over the Skipper as he continues digging. Eventually, they notice the sailor has woken and fled the island; everyone rushes to the lagoon to see his periscope erratically trying to escape in circles through the lagoon. At that moment, Gilligan reveals he also stole his glasses.

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
 * Vito Scotti as the Japanese Sailor

Trivia

 * Vito Scotti later played the Japanese Sailor in Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home? when the Castaways gave their various versions of how they dealt with the crazy sailor. Scotti later guest-starred again twice as mad scientist Dr. Boris Balinkoff, making a total of four guest star appearances, more than any other guest star!
 * This episode is considered one of the more controversial Gilligan's Island episodes, sometimes being left out of syndication for its racial stereotyping of Japanese people, a predicament in many Sixties and Seventies Movies and TV Shows.
 * It's never explained how the Japanese Sailor builds two large cages big enough and fast enough to hold the castaways.
 * The Japanese Sailor is likely based on Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who remained on duty in the Philippines for more than twenty years after the end of World War Two.