Two on a Raft

"Two on a Raft"
Season 1, Episode 1
The castaways are marooned on a deserted island, compelling the Skipper and Gilligan to set out on a makeshift raft to find help for the stranded group.
Basic Info
Air Date:	September 26, 1964
Written By:	Lawrence J. Cohen and Fred Freeman
Directed By:	John Rich
Guest Cast:	None
Episode guide
Previous	Next
Marooned (Unaired Pilot)	Home Sweet Hut

Two on a Raft is the first episode and series premiere of Season One of "Gilligan's Island." It originally aired September 26, 1964 on CBS.

Synopsis

Following a violent storm, the crew and passengers of the S.S. Minnow wake up to find that they have washed ashore on an uncharted island. The captain, Jonas Grumby, more commonly known as the Skipper, and his first mate Gilligan decide to set sail on a raft to try and return to the mainland, even as the Professor tells them it would be foolhardy, while the passengers stay on the island. Out at sea, the Skipper and Gilligan run aground of sharks, and a storm blows the crew back to the island, but Skipper and Gilligan do not know that this island is the same island with the castaways. Meanwhile, the passengers do not know that they have returned and believe they are actually returning Marubi warriors. The Professor tries to hide everyone in a cave to protect them, and it is this same cave that the Skipper and Gilligan try to hide in when they think the castaways are Marubi warriors. When both groups become aware in the cave that the other group is on the island, each group assume that the other are headhunters. It is only until Gilligan and the Professor get tossed out of the cave in the scuffle that they realize the truth, but Gilligan accidentally sets off a landslide and buries the cave. Everyone gets trapped in the cave, and the Skipper and Professor get everyone out of it. Gilligan hides in the back of the cave ashamed for the collapse for a minute with the Skipper calling him, but he eventually emerges dressed as a native scaring the passengers and the Skipper away from the cave.

Message

• "Imagined dangers are worse than real dangers"

Highlights

• Radio announcer gives the first background details of the characters.
• First appearance of "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" sung by The Wellingtons.

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

• Charles Maxwell as the Radio Announcer (voice only)
• Kit Smythe as Ginger (cameo)
• Nancy McCarthy as Bunny (cameo)
• John Gabriel as The Professor (cameo)

Trivia

• In the opening credits, the S.S. Minnow shown before the cruise is different from the version beaching on the island after the storm. There is no upper deck above the windows where the helm is, and the front of the cabin is straight rather than pointed.
• According to rumor, when the Skipper wakes up on the SS Minnow, a car can be seen in the far right background. Although there is a photo of this car from the set, no such car actually appears in the episode .
• When the Skipper wakes up, the original actors from the pilot can be seen still sleeping on the Minnow.
• In the scenes where the castaways are listening to the radio, the Professor is sitting with the others in the far shots but standing in the close-ups.
• The girls sew extra clothes into a sail for the raft, part of which includes Gilligan's socks.
• The Professor makes putty from crushed mango and berry seeds and shellac from coconut sap and sugar.
• When Ginger translates her Hawaiian, the badly edited shot has Ginger off-center and her right shoulder cut off.
• Before the sharks, the Skipper says they've been at sea for twenty minutes, but then it jumps forward a few days as the Professor tells Mary Ann the two have been at sea for three days.
• Gilligan eats the putty and shellac on the island, and after being at sea a while, he eats the leis and shark repellant.
• When the Skipper and Gilligan finish fighting off the sharks, the Skipper's hat falls off his head and into the water right in the path of one of the sharks, and yet, in the next shot, the hat is back on the Skipper's head.
• It doesn't exactly make sense for Gilligan to cut the raft up in the middle of a shark attack.
• When Ginger comes out of the collapsed cave, she is wearing her iconic gold and silver evening dress, claiming its her only dress. However, during the series, she would have numerous dresses and outfits.
• By time this episode aired, it was the most expensive pilot ever filmed due to the fake sharks and break-away raft.

Quotes

• Skipper - "Hey, Gilligan. Gilligan!!"
  Gilligan - "Oh my gosh, man overboard! I'll save you, Skipper!!"
  (first lines in the episode)

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• Mr. Howell - (The Professor turns the radio off at the start of the financial news.) "Don't shut that off, that's the best part."

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• Mrs. Howell - ""H" is for Howell, dear. It's your note paper."

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• The Professor - "Skipper, you and Gilligan have got to give up on this crazy scheme of yours"

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• Mary Ann - "It's the bravest thing I ever heard, Ginger! Gilligan and the Skipper risking everything, braving stormy seas and fighting off the attacks of savages..."
  Ginger - "Reminds me of a trip I once took to Catalina on a producer's yacht."

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• Skipper - "Gilligan, do you know what these are?"
  Gilligan - "No, but if they taste as good as the putty, I'll have them for dessert!"

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• Skipper - "Mr. Howell, You don't know what it's like out there in the ocean; you may be bitten by a shark!"
  Mr. Howell - "A shark bite a Howell? He wouldn't dare."
  Skipper - "Besides, we don't have room enough for your luggage."
  Mr. Howell - "Well that's different. If I can't go first class, I won't go at all."

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• Ginger - "I learned a little Hawaiian when I was singing in a little club in Waikiki... Wahini wiki hooki looki nu... and every word of it comes from the bottom of my heart."
  Gilligan - "That's beautiful, Ginger. What does it mean?"
  Ginger - "This bar is off limits to all military personnel."

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• Gilligan - "Skipper, let's have breakfast."
  Skipper - "We had breakfast."
  Gilligan - "Let's have lunch."
  Skipper - "We had lunch."
  Gilligan - "Let's have dinner."
  Skipper & Gilligan - "We had dinner too."

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• Skipper - "We've got company!"
  Gilligan - "I sure hope they've had three meals today."

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• Gilligan - "Skipper, do you think we should abandon ship?"
  Skipper - "It's too late - it's already abandoned us!"

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• The Professor - "Ginger, we may be in serious trouble. There's a chance the Marubi may have returned to the island."
  Mary Ann - "Those head-hunters? Golly, Professor what do we going to do?"
  Ginger - "The first thing we should do is hide our heads."

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• Skipper - "What are you stopping for?"
  Gilligan - "Skipper..."
  Skipper - "Never mind, I'll go ahead..." (hits head) "Ooop!"
  Gilligan - "There's an low rock there."
  Skipper - "Thanks a lot, Gilligan. Cut that out."
  Gilligan - "Yes sir!"
  Skipper - "Quit it!"
  Gilligan- "Aye-aye."
  Skipper - (hits head again ) "Ooop!"
  Gilligan - "Another one..."

Gallery

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