Gilligan's Island (TV Series) They're Off and Running (1965) User Reviews

Faster than a Turtle, but Still Just as Dangerous

[kmcelhaney005 · 7/10 · 30 July 2013]

There's nothing like passing the time on the island like gambling and turtle races are the order of the day. However, we begin this episode with the Skipper losing for the 39th time to Mr. Howell.

Having nothing left to lose, the Skipper decides (after initially rejecting) the offer Mr. Howell makes to use Gilligan's services as a houseboy because he believes his turtle can win. Naturally, it doesn't and Gilligan is now the "property" of Mr. Howell.

Of course, Gilligan is a disaster as the Howell's houseboy and the Skipper makes one more bet to win Gilligan back. Does the Skipper win? Well, no...but yes.

You know, there is a certain logic to this episode that just makes perfect sense, which is part of its appeal. Mr. Howell (Jim Backus) is again in top form and any episode that centers around his greed is going to be good.

Highlights include the Skipper telling Mr. Howell that "no one is going to underpay Gilligan, but me!", Mr. Howell' conversation with Ginger about getting info from Gilligan, the Skipper and Gilligan trying out seaweed, grass and moss to entice the turtle, Gilligan's first morning on the job destroying Mr. Howell's paper and Mrs. Howell's yarn, Ginger and the Skipper sharing a rare scene together, Mr. Howell switching the turtles and seeming to talk to us while he's doing it, and the epilogue scene where everything is rather neatly resolved.

Overall, a really good, but not quite great episode if only because it drags a little in the middle. Plus, there seems to be a missing scene (mentioned below) that would help explain something rather important. Still, this is one of the better episodes of the season.

• The button on Mr. Howell's lapel at the beginning of the episode reads "Turf Club".

• Still showing that they are "minor" characters, the Professor and Mary Ann, having cheered on the turtles in the opening shot are nowhere to be seen as Mr. Howell picks up his winning turtle.

• When Ginger is scratching Gilligan's back, he actually reaches up to embrace her at one point.

• It can just barely be seen, but the telescope from "The Return of Wrongway Feldman" can just be seen in the hut when the Professor visits the now lonely Skipper.

• We find out that the Skipper was born on Cinco de Mayo.

• Ginger reading the Skipper's horoscope to convince him to race seems like a set up, especially the way Ginger acts just as the Skipper leaves. But who asked her to set up the race? Not Mr. Howell or apparently anyone else. It seems that there is a scene missing here that explains Ginger's actions.

• When Mrs. Howell switches the turtles, she stops for no discernible reason, then keeps going. Perhaps she caught her outfit or stepped in something. Whatever it is, she keeps on going which is the sign of a real pro.

• You know, turtle racing on the island seems to be a one-episode fad, never to be heard from again.

• The epilogue scene is a little unusual because it actually resolves the issue about Gilligan. Normally, the epilogue is usually a commenting scene on what had happened before.

It's not how you win or lose...or is it?

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 8 June 2016]

"They're Off and Running" sees the Skipper dropping 39 races in a row to the redoubtable Mr. Howell, as turtles have become the latest challenge to the castaways. With his wife longing for a houseboy, Howell suggests that Gilligan next be put up as the prize, and with Skipper's turtle as sluggish as ever number 40 is a foregone certainty. A lonely Skipper no longer has anyone to yell at, but his little buddy has a solution, that with all his wealth and possessions Mr. Howell can afford to be magnanimous and lose just once. Unbeknownst to each other, both Howells end up switching the turtles, the result being that Howell's champion comes out on top yet again. The 'Wizard of Wall Street' remains true to his reputation however, reuniting the Skipper with his ex houseboy in an agreeable coda. This episode might be more fondly remembered if we'd seen any further turtle racing on the island, but it was not to be.

Grumpy Grumpy.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 14 April 2021]

"Nobody's going to underpay my little buddy except me!" The skipper and Mr. Howell race turtles over Gilligan as the wager since Mr. Howell wants Mrs. Howell to have a houseboy. But after a few days, Lovey has guilt feelings over depriving the skipper over losing his little buddy and thus begins a series of turtle switching over the prize of Gilligan's knife collection over the return of Gilligan.

We get to see different sides of the castaways as they fall prey to bribery from Howell over the sale of information, vegetables and even the wifely loyalty as Lovey's character stands above the rest. Even Mary Ann falls prey by selling carrots and turnips to Mr. Howell (where did they get the seeds?), And Ginger obviously is thinking about advancement in her career when they return to civilization.

This episode is one that really shows how integrity can be tested by money, and how money hasn't impacted the integrity of the outwardly snobby Mrs. Howell who really is a gracious lady. But for Thurston Howell, this shows him at his worst, and Jim Backus delightfully overplays. Good episode for a little moral lesson, with a twist that shows exactly at the end why Thurston is so willing to get rid of Gilligan as a servant.

Gilligan is off to the races.

[Ralphkram · 6/10 · 15 August 2017]

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."