They're Off and Running has the same premise as Three Million Dollars, More or Less in that Mr. Howell and the Skipper wager on Gilligan's services. However, this episode isn't on the same level as that earlier one. The humor here is less consistent and ventures into silliness, and the pacing is slow at times and bogs down in the middle. A couple of good scenes and a bit of character development push the episode to slightly above average.
Gilligan's penchant for picking up pets continues, as, just one episode after befriending Sam the macaw, he has moved on to Rex the turtle. Rex is a racer, and, like his owner, is inept; he has dropped 39 consecutive races to Mr. Howell's turtle. The Skipper has lost everything he owns betting on Rex-with the exception of his little buddy. But Gilligan convinces him that the turtle has a new incentive, a carrot, and allows the Skip to use him for the pot. The Skip's sudden overconfidence in Rex arouses Mr. Howell's suspicions.
Mr. Howell and Ginger often teamed up as greedy comic foils in the first year, and here he dispatches her to find out just what Gilligan has up his rugby sleeve. Our lead and the movie star have a fun encounter by a tree, where, for once, Gilligan doesn't knock himself out and winds up spilling his secret. His loose lips cause Rex to come up a loser for the 40th time, and, to honor the agreement, Gilligan has to move out of his hut to become the Howells' house boy. (Or is it hut boy?)
The Skipper soon goes stir crazy without him and plots to win him back. Unfortunately, the cagey Mr. Howell has bought out Mary Ann's vegetable garden and her supply of carrots, so a silly scene enfolds where the sailors improvise with moss and seaweed.
Gilligan is predictably a washout as a house boy and Mrs. Howell tires of his ineptitude. She's reasonable to returning him to the Skip, but her 'granite-hearted' husband just won't budge.
It takes a tender speech from our lead to soften him up, in a nice character moment that echoes the one in Angel on the Island. Mr. Howell's change of heart leads to one of the better scenes in the episode, as he and Mrs. Howell scheme to secretly switch the racing numbers on the turtles without telling one another. It gets really funny when Gilligan and the Skip get the same idea, and Gilligan keeps muffing up the switch.
All the switching proves to be fruitless as Rex comes up short once again. Old Granite-Heart, though, restores the balance in a tidy epilogue.
COCONOTES:
Rex and turtle races aren't seen or heard from again. Are turtles common on the island?
After Gilligan's ineptitude at being the Howell's caddy, why would they think he would be any better as a houseboy?
"Nobody underpays my little buddy, but me." "You're all heart, Skipper."
Gilligan's penchant for picking up pets continues, as, just one episode after befriending Sam the macaw, he has moved on to Rex the turtle. Rex is a racer, and, like his owner, is inept; he has dropped 39 consecutive races to Mr. Howell's turtle. The Skipper has lost everything he owns betting on Rex-with the exception of his little buddy. But Gilligan convinces him that the turtle has a new incentive, a carrot, and allows the Skip to use him for the pot. The Skip's sudden overconfidence in Rex arouses Mr. Howell's suspicions.
Mr. Howell and Ginger often teamed up as greedy comic foils in the first year, and here he dispatches her to find out just what Gilligan has up his rugby sleeve. Our lead and the movie star have a fun encounter by a tree, where, for once, Gilligan doesn't knock himself out and winds up spilling his secret. His loose lips cause Rex to come up a loser for the 40th time, and, to honor the agreement, Gilligan has to move out of his hut to become the Howells' house boy. (Or is it hut boy?)
The Skipper soon goes stir crazy without him and plots to win him back. Unfortunately, the cagey Mr. Howell has bought out Mary Ann's vegetable garden and her supply of carrots, so a silly scene enfolds where the sailors improvise with moss and seaweed.
Gilligan is predictably a washout as a house boy and Mrs. Howell tires of his ineptitude. She's reasonable to returning him to the Skip, but her 'granite-hearted' husband just won't budge.
It takes a tender speech from our lead to soften him up, in a nice character moment that echoes the one in Angel on the Island. Mr. Howell's change of heart leads to one of the better scenes in the episode, as he and Mrs. Howell scheme to secretly switch the racing numbers on the turtles without telling one another. It gets really funny when Gilligan and the Skip get the same idea, and Gilligan keeps muffing up the switch.
All the switching proves to be fruitless as Rex comes up short once again. Old Granite-Heart, though, restores the balance in a tidy epilogue.
COCONOTES:
Rex and turtle races aren't seen or heard from again. Are turtles common on the island?
After Gilligan's ineptitude at being the Howell's caddy, why would they think he would be any better as a houseboy?
"Nobody underpays my little buddy, but me." "You're all heart, Skipper."