Allergy Time

Allergy Time is the 28th episode of the second season of the CBS-TV series Gilligan's Island. It first aired March 31, 1966.

Synopsis
The Skipper comes down with a sneezing and itching fit that the Professor tries to diagnose as a tropical disease, but he soon notices it only seems to occur near Gilligan. He tells the Skipper that he is suffering from "communitus allergitatus," a common allergy, and tries to find out if something on Gilligan is causing the allergy. Not finding anything, he then tries to test if it could by psychosomatic or unconscious by testing the Skipper and his proximity to the other Castaways but this fails. Gilligan has no choice but to move out of the Boy's Hut and stay in the Supply Hut with the Professor, who soon has sneezing and itching fits himself. Eventually, everyone turns out to be allergic to Gilligan who leaves camp for a cave on the other side of the island. Initial attempts to bring him back are unsuccessful due to allergic reactions kicking in. The Professor eventually manages to create a vaccine to treat the allergies, but no one is willing to take it thanks to the huge needle that was built to inject the serum. Unable to live without his little buddy, the Skipper finally decides to take the anti-allergy shot the Professor created. At first everything seems to be going all right as the castaways watch Gilligan and the Skipper play checkers together, but later everyone ends up miserable due to the needle causing their arms to ache. Gilligan runs to the gang excited, as he has finally discovered that they were never allergic to him, but to the papaya nut oil he was using as hair tonic. The others get so angry that they went through all of that for nothing, that they end up chasing Gilligan into the jungle.

In the closing shot, the Professor feels that Gilligan needs an anti-allergy shot in case the papaya oil has entered his body, but it's really a pretense to scare Gilligan with a monstrous bamboo needle as punishment. Gilligan is willing since the others endured so much discomfort, but he balks at the size of the needle, backing up into the real needle by accident.

Message

 * "A friend in need is a friend indeed."

Highlights

 * Bob Denver emotes perfect pathos as his allergy makes him a pariah
 * The Skipper decides a shot is worth keeping Gilligan.
 * The Skipper's strong, powerful sneezing blowing things away
 * Ginger trying to get Gilligan to come back home but ending up repeatedly sneezing herself

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

 * Twice in this episode, the exterior of the Howell's Hut is used for the Boy's Hut.
 * The Skipper proves to have a powerful sneeze. It knocks over a table, blows open the door to the hut, knocks over a tree, and in one funny moment, Gilligan uses a plank to keep the Skipper from sneezing out the candle, but it still goes out on the other side of the board.
 * When the Skipper sneezes through the plank, a face enters the shot for just a moment to the right of the screen actually blowing out the candle
 * It's never revealed how the Professor makes an anti-allergy shot without knowing what the real cause of the allergy was.
 * When the Skipper faints from getting a shot, he uses his arms to break his fall.
 * The Professor is seen trying to sleep in pajamas he's never used before in previous episodes.
 * When Gilligan moves in with the Howells, he sleeps on the floor between them instead of getting his room back from when they adopted him in My Fair Gilligan.
 * The Girl's Hut is seen to the left of the Boy's Hut.
 * The Castaways seem to have a weird response when Gilligan returns to camp with the solution against their allergy shots. It seems out of character for them to respond angrily when he puts an end to their painful shots.
 * Gilligan must have a high tolerance to papaya seed oil to wear it on his hair for several days before becoming allergic to it.
 * The Professor has a medical bag on the table at the end of the episode.
 * The tag scene with the giant needle is missing from most syndicated versions of the episode.

Quotes
Skipper - "Out of sugarcane?" Professor - "Absolutely." Skipper - "Now, that's a great idea. In case we get tired of playing ping pong, we can always eat the net."
 * Professor - "By the way, the girls are making a net for your ping pong table out of sugarcane."

Skipper - "I feel fine, Gilligan. Thank you. Now, get with the bamboo." Gilligan - "I don't get it. Last night, you were as sick as a dog. In fact, you were scratching like a dog. Professor, maybe he has fleas."
 * Gilligan - "Skipper, you sure you feeling fine."


 * Mrs. Howell - "You know, Thurston, the whole thing is kind of silly. The Skipper has a common allergy, and we don't have anything in common... except, of course, our common stocks."

Mary Ann - "And to think I wasted all that time in Kansas using honey behind each ear." Ginger - "Honey? Did you attract many boys that way?" Mary Ann - "Not very many boys but lots of flies."
 * Ginger - "I've got samples of all my cosmetics, including one perfume guaranteed to drive any man wild."


 * Gilligan - "How about that, Professor? He thinks I'm a duck egg!"

Professor - "But you do admit that he annoys you from time to time." Skipper - "But I don't dislike him, I mean, it's just that I'd like to kill him every now and them."
 * Skipper - "I like him. Gilligan is a friend of mine."

Mr. Howell - "Yes, it is. However, I doubt if sniffing the Captain will replace polo as the national pastime."
 * Mrs. Howell - "Oh, Thurston, isn't this exciting!"

Mary Ann - "You better take off those earrings. Gilligan seldom wears bells that tinkle."
 * Ginger - "Can you imagine anyone testing me to see if I could be confused as a boy?"

Gilligan - "Au revoir? What does that mean?" Mrs. Howell - (sneezing) "Au revoir is French for, "Go sleep in a hotel."
 * Mr. Howell - (sneezing) "Nothing personal, Gilligan, but au revoir!"

Skipper - "Oh, we'll find a way. This time we'll use our heads." Mr. Howell - "I've got a better idea. This time we'll use our noses!"
 * Mrs. Howell - "Oh, but how are we going to find him in all this wilderness."

Mr. Howell - "Oh, yes, there's so many things we take for granted. The fragrance of a wet Rolls-Royce after an April shower." Mrs. Howell - "The marvelous aroma of a brand-new sable coat." Mr. Howell - "Or the heady intoxication of the stock market when it first opens in the morning." Mrs. Howell - "I do miss the smells of simple everyday living."
 * Mrs. Howell - "Thurston, I never knew there were so many kinds of smells in the world."

Ginger - "Well, naturally! If I can't find Gilligan, I wanna make sure that Gilligan finds me."
 * Mary Ann - "Oh Ginger, you have so much perfume on, all I can smell is you."


 * Ginger - "Well, the way I play the gentle art of persuasion, three's a crowd. Heck, sometime's two is too many!"

Gilligan - "You're not gonna stab me with that thing?" Skipper - "Oh, come on, Gilligan, that needle just looks big." Gilligan - "That's because it is big. That's not a needle, it's a harpoon!"
 * Professor - "Hello, Gilligan. Are we all ready for our vaccine?"

Gilligan - "Squeak-squeak-squeak..."
 * Mr. Howell - "Come now, Gilligan. What are you, a man or a mouse?"


 * Professor - "Gilligan, it doesn't matter where you get the shot."