Pass the Vegetables, Please

Pass The Vegetables, Please is the 71st episode of Gilligan's Island and the third episode of the third season. It aired September 26, 1966.



Synopsis
Wgile fishing in the lagoon, Gilligan catches and reels in a box of vegetable seeds, barely paying attention to the lid that identifies them as radioactive. The Castaways are delighted to have vegetables on the island and proceeding to plant and grow them under Mary Ann's guidance, using sand from the beach to help with irrigation, although Gilligan gets stuck doing most of the work. Three days later, the vegetables have already grown in unexpected ways with corns twisted into a circle, string beans into pretzel shapes and carrots growing into a prong. The Professor blames the bizarre developments on the vegetables being in saltwater, and they go ahead to cook them into a meal. However, it is only after they have eaten that the Castaways find out the seeds are radioactive. As the Professor searches his books for a solution, Mary Ann sees a boat off shore no one else can see, and Gilligan lifts a log with one arm. The Professor deduces that the radiation amplified the vitamins in the vegetables and boosted their nutritional supplements, even resulting in a burst of energy in Mrs. Howell. The Professor realizes the only way to neutralize the radioactive in the consumed vegetables is to eat their handmade soap for the hydrocarbons, a distasteful experience for everyone as the soap and water together produces bubbles that cover the Island. However, that night, Gilligan has acquired a taste for the soap, his hiccups blowing a bubble that has the Skipper covering his ears as it explodes.

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

 * It's unclear, despite the vegetable seeds being experimental, how the Professor ever expected the seeds to grow in an entirely sand based medium. Most vegetables will not grow in such soil conditions.
 * Everyone seems to have forgotten in this episode that Mary Ann once grew wild vegetables on the island, particularly wild carrots, turnips and lettuce, in They're Off and Running.
 * In the syndicated version, the ending showing Gilligan eating soap and then blowing and popping a big air bubble is cut out.
 * This episode is ranked as the #4 most liked episode, according to E!

Quotes

 * Gilligan - "I bet your father never grew anything on his farm." Mary Ann - "He did too!" Gilligan - "How could he? I wasn't there to do all of the work!"


 * Gilligan - "An officer? I'm too busy being the whole crew!!"


 * Mary Ann - "I can even see the people on the deck. There's a man in a red and white striped t-shirt, a man in a blue shirt and blue pants and two very beautiful women in bikinis." Skipper - "I wish I could see that!"


 * Mr. Howell - (watching Mrs. Howell speed over the island) "I may enter that woman in the Olympics!"
 * Skipper: "We're trying to signal that boat out there?" Gilligan: "What boat?" Skipper: "The boat out there." Gilligan: "I don't see any boat." Skipper: "Of course, you don't." Gilligan: "Do you?" Skipper: "No." Gilligan: "Professor, do you see the boat?" Professor: "Oh, I can't see it either." Gilligan: "But it's out there, right?" Skipper: "Look, Mary Ann saw the boat out there." Gilligan: "Can you see Mary Ann?" Skipper: "No. How can I see Mary Ann when she isn't even here?" Gilligan: "The same way you can see the boat."