Thoughts From the Gilligan's Island Episode Goodbye Island (1964)

Synopsis: While attempting to turn tree sap into pancake syrup, Gilligan (Bob Denver) accidentally invents a substance that appears to be stronger than glue and the Professor (Russell Johnson) believes he can use it to repair the Minnow. However, Gilligan soon discovers his glue isn't permanent.


My Thoughts:

I've mentioned this before but why doesn't the Skipper's (Alan Hale, Jr.) toolbox have the things he needs to repair his ship? He has a hammer and apparently some boards (or at least the tools to make boards) but no nails? It seems like something that would be a staple in any toolbox.

That being said, couldn't they have just salvaged nails from something else? The Minnow is a fairly large boat and pulling a half dozen nails or so from less important parts of that boat would have solved their problem. I feel like that should have been the first thing they should have tried (other than stopping by a hardware store before setting sail).

I'm still a bit confused about the sense of urgency. I know they wanted to have the Minnow fixed before high tide, but that seemed like an occurrence that would be fairly common. At minimum, it was common enough for the Professor to calculate when it was going to happen. Yet everyone was acting like this was their only shot to get the Minnow back in the water.

Gilligan doesn't get enough credit for his ingenuity. Ok, so the whole syrup thing didn't turn out as planned but his idea was a sound one that, frankly, I'm surprised nobody else thought of. Heck, it even resulted in Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) flirting with him a little bit. He might be clumsy and may not have a lot of book smarts, but I think his survival skills are as good as, if not better, any of the other castaways.

This episode made me wonder if maybe the writers had planned on having more romance. I mentioned Mary Ann flirting with Gilligan, but the episode also hinted at a physical attraction between the Professor and Ginger (Tina Louise), both when he was nervous around her on the beach and the way she reacted when he started sniffing her perfume. I am honestly a bit undecided about how I would feel had it taken that direction, mostly because I think it might have potentially made the series more of a drama since there would be at least one man left out.

The Professor's laziness nearly killed everyone. For someone who is normally portrayed as cautious and calculating, he really didn't spend a whole lot of time testing Gilligan's glue. Dipping a plate in the lagoon for a few seconds hardly counts as proving the glue was waterproof. Someone should take the Skipper's hat and smack the Professor on the head this time around.

Final Opinion: The first, black-and-white season is the best season of this series, at least in my opinion. I feel this episode, which had everything from some funny sight gags to a surprise twist, is proof of that.

My Grade: A

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