Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978)

Simply Perfect

Memorable, crazy movie

Good movie but grossly overrated

Best movie ever!

"Gilligan's Island" is a classic. I love 60's comedy, because it didn't take itself seriously at all - it was just plain silly. "Gilligan's Island" was at the top of the list. I was among those 70's kids who ran home from school day after day to put on the TV and watch the repeats over and over again. It was just good and silly fun. This reunion movie was silly - although not as good as the TV series. It was a fitting thought. One of the problems with the series (as with many of the 60's series) is that there was no closure. It just came to an end. The castaways were just left on the island (just as World War II never ended for Hogan and his heroes!)The movie tried valiantly to overcome that. The professor (of course) figures out a way to build a barometer, and determines that a massive storm is going to cause a tsunami to hit the island. He then figures out a way to lash the huts together and use the tsunami to float the castaways out to the shipping lanes. It works, they get rescued and then we watch them try to readjust to civilization.The plot is paperthin. It was great to see the cast together and they all seemed to fall easily back into their old roles. (Tina Louise as Ginger was missed, though. Judith Baldwin tried with the role, but she just didn't have it down.) The whole subplot around the Russian agents trying to recover the disk Gilligan had found that allowed the professor to make the barometer was silly and totally unnecessary, but the castaways' trials as they readjusted to civilization was well portrayed and even believable - in a "Gilligan's Island" sort of way. Still, this wasn't anywhere near as funny as the TV series was. It had good and bad moments, and for some reason (as annoying as they can be on all the various 60's series) I really missed the laugh track. In general, it's a movie for those who liked the series and who want to see the cast reunited. Otherwise, something very important seemed to be missing. 5/10

TITLE: RESCUE FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND was shown on TV on October 14 1978 and it will take you 95 minutes to watch this movie. Rescue From Gilligan's Island is a two-part television movie that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964-1967 TV series Gilligan's Island starring Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., and Jim Backus. The film first aired on NBC October 14 and October 21, 1978. It was directed by Leslie Martinson. It has fallen in the public domain.SUMMARY: The movie begins when a satellite belonging to the U.S.S.R. experiences technical problems and is almost about to break apart. The scientists on the satellite dispose of a disc containing important information. Seconds later, the satellite blows up. The movie then picks up 15 years after the shipwreck of the S. S. Minnow stranded the crew and passengers on Gilligan's Island. After 15 years, little of their original possessions are left. Even their radio has finally broken down due to age. The metal recording disk from the Soviet satellite is lost and lands in the lagoon. Gilligan finds it and shows it to the professor. Realizing that the unique alloy can be used to make a barometer, the professor quickly realizes that a tidal wave is on the way, which will destroy the island. Quickly the castaways make plans to reinforce one of the huts to take shelter. When the castaways awaken the next morning, they realize that the hut has been swept off the island and is now a makeshift raft. They use clothes and make a sail, and try to make their way to land. In an attempt to make a meal, Gilligan makes a fire, which spreads to the raft. At first, angry with Gilligan for doing another one of his stupid stunts, the castaways are then grateful when the United States Coast Guard spots the smoke and rescues them. After being towed to Hawaii, the castaways are at first confused by modern life. They are informed that the President is now Jimmy Carter, and that they had missed the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. They quickly part however, to try to return to life, as they knew it before the shipwreck. However, they agree to go on a cruise for the holidays. At this time, the Soviets discover that Gilligan is still in possession of the recording disk from their satellite. Determined to recover it, they send two spies to try to get it from Gilligan, by any means necessary. The Skipper and Gilligan are next seen hard at work, refurbishing the S. S. Minnow II. However, the insurance company informs them that they will not be able to get a settlement unless their former passengers sign a statement testifying that the Skipper was not responsible for the shipwreck.QUESTIONS: Who did the skipper find first? Who did the Skipper go to see next? Who was the next person that the Skipper had to find? Who was the final person that the Skipper had to find? Why did the Skipper have to find these people? MY THOUGHTS: I didn't think that this was as good as the regular show. The movie definitely misses the talent of Tina Louise. She played the role of Ginger far better and she was a lot better to look at also. The comedy part of this movie wasn't that funny either. Therefore, with that in mind I give this picture only 6 star because it wasn't as funny as the original show.

Even though Tina Louise is missing from the movie, and the cast looks older, they still pulled off a very convincing movie. Unlike the Andy Griffith reunion where Barney is still deputy, which doesn't make any sense because he had been a Raleigh detective by the end of the original series, or the Dick Van Dyke Reunion where mush of the script doesn't make a bit of sense, especially the part of Rob playing on his computer. Unlike these and other reunions of 60s sitcoms, Rescue from Gilligan's Island makes sense. The castaways had been on the island for 15 years, and any hope of being rescued has long since past, which accounts for the fact that the castaways look much older. The radio has been dead for years, and the barometer doesn't work either, until Gilligan finds a disc on the Lagoon from a Soviet satellite.The Professor is able to fix the barometer to only find out that a storm is coming, which will wash away the island. Thus, the castaways build a boat by joining all three huts together (why they didn't think of that before, we'll never know), and then are rescued later on. Each person returns to pick up his/her life, but things aren't going very well. Gilligan and the Skipper have to prove that it wasn't the Skipper's fault for the shipwreck, Ginger will not do a nude scene, Mary Anne doesn't love her fiance of 15 years, and the Howells' are being taken for their money. Also, the Professor has become a celebrity, instead of the scientist he wanted. It's a great story-line, much better of any TV reunion movie.Although Tina Louise is absent, Judith Baldwin's performance is a fair one, convincing enough, although she does look younger than everyone else. The movie lacks in a few places, but it's overall a great movie, and is very much like the series, silly but classic. At the end of it, they're shipwrecked again on the same island, which in one way doesn't make sense because didn't the island get washed away in the storm? But hey, it's like the series, silly to the end.

By the late '70s, I'd spent many an afternoon watching Gilligan's Island in syndication after school. Each episode was the TV equivalent of a Hostess Twinkie - light, fluffy, undeniably artificial, sweet and sappy enough to make you sick. But come the next day, you wanted another one anyway. Rescue from Gilligan's Island looks like nothing so much as an extended episode from the original series. Depending on how much you liked or hated the series, that can be good or bad. All the old staples were back, from the fast-motion slapstick to the groaners masquerading as punchlines. As soon as I saw the network promo where the Skipper said, "After 15 years, we're finally rescued," I was looking forward to watching this on TV. I missed the original lagoon set, though. The new lagoon looked a lot smaller and darker, not at all inviting. Perhaps the worst part of the movie was seeing everyone back in "civilization" after years of seeing them only on the "island." The message of the movie is true: there's no place like home, which in this case was the island.Most of the cast was back, looking none the worse for wear. Alan Hale, Jr. could have stepped fresh from the series, as could Dawn Wells, Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer. Russell Johnson looked his age, and Bob Denver added the most years. Judith Baldwin was nowhere near as alluring as Tina Louise. Choosing between Mary Ann and this Ginger would be no contest. At least her leaden delivery and wooden expressions made me appreciate how underrated Tina really was.The DVD transfer is easily the worst I've ever seen. Where did they get the source material, off a videocassette recorded from a local broadcast? There were numerous flaws in the tape, including a fuzzy, washed out picture, bad dropouts, tracking problems and many jumpy edits where a second or two seemed to be missing. In fact, roughly three minutes of running time are missing here, clocking in at only 92 minutes. Lots of hiss on the audio track. Even the printing on the DVD was bad. It was ragged and looked like somebody used an old inkjet printer to sloppily print the label. The company involved in the DVD mastering got prominent on-screen credit. If it were me, I wouldn't brag about it. I'd call it amateurish, but I've seen amateur-produced DVDs that were much better. But what can you expect for a $5 DVD? At least secondhand copies can be had for less.