If there is an episode that defines the third season's wild, free-spirited, fantasy-driven episodes, it's this one. The premise, plot, and solution are all original and delightfully wacky. There may be a few blips, but overall it's an above average and hysterically funny outing. It really is, as Bob Denver would attest, 'out there'.
One of the blips is the cold open, which starts with the trope of Gilligan reeling in something valuable down at the ole lagoon. This time it's a crate filled with vegetable seed packets. He's so overjoyed at seeing the packets, especially his favorite-spinach!-that he fails to notice the warning label clearly marked on the cover.
In the first act, the excited castaways reminisce about their favorite vegetables, pick them out of the crate, and spend a little bit too much time in setting up a garden. Even though Mary Ann was raised on a farm and should play a large role in the development, Gilligan, not surprisingly, does all of the manual labor, most under duress. These scenes are kind of bland and, once they are out of the way, the fun begins. It takes just three days for the vegetables to fully sprout. The Professor knows that's an impossibly short time for them to grow, and lamely tries to pass it off on their exposure to sea water.
But the hungry castaways aren't about to let a bunch of insanely shaped, grotesquely large vegetables get in the way of their appetite. They chow down to a feast of their favorites; Gilligan takes care of the spinach; Mary Ann the carrots; and Mrs. Howell the sugar beets. Their feast is interrupted by a better-late-than never radio bulletin that the seeds are radioactive. Gilligan unveils that overlooked cover in a clever sight gag.
The episode really hits its stride when the trio discover their superhuman abilities. Mary Ann develops eyesight that's so incredible she spots a ship on the horizon; Gilligan is transformed into Popeye; and Mrs. Howell becomes a whirling dervish hopped up on sugar beets. Of these scenes, the funniest is arguably Mary Ann amazing the others with her long distance vision and getting them to build a signal fire for a boat that's nowhere near the island.
Only the Professor, of course, connects the dots between their superpowers and the seeds. The fun continues as he scrambles to find a cure. After some fun and frantic exercising, an appropriately wacky solution bubbles to the surface. The castaways literally wash out their mouths with soap.
COCONOTES:
Last episode penned by Sherwood's brother Elroy.
The scene where Gilligan pretends to be a horse for the Skip is the most demeaning and unfunny sight gag in the entire series.
"I don't believe your father grew anything." "He did, too." "How could he? I wasn't there to do all the work!"
Gilligan's sarcasm toward the Skip while building the fire makes a welcome reappearance.
Mrs. Howell's high-speed pirouette on the table is chuckle-worthy.
Easy work week for Tina Louise, who only appears in the two table scenes.
One of the blips is the cold open, which starts with the trope of Gilligan reeling in something valuable down at the ole lagoon. This time it's a crate filled with vegetable seed packets. He's so overjoyed at seeing the packets, especially his favorite-spinach!-that he fails to notice the warning label clearly marked on the cover.
In the first act, the excited castaways reminisce about their favorite vegetables, pick them out of the crate, and spend a little bit too much time in setting up a garden. Even though Mary Ann was raised on a farm and should play a large role in the development, Gilligan, not surprisingly, does all of the manual labor, most under duress. These scenes are kind of bland and, once they are out of the way, the fun begins. It takes just three days for the vegetables to fully sprout. The Professor knows that's an impossibly short time for them to grow, and lamely tries to pass it off on their exposure to sea water.
But the hungry castaways aren't about to let a bunch of insanely shaped, grotesquely large vegetables get in the way of their appetite. They chow down to a feast of their favorites; Gilligan takes care of the spinach; Mary Ann the carrots; and Mrs. Howell the sugar beets. Their feast is interrupted by a better-late-than never radio bulletin that the seeds are radioactive. Gilligan unveils that overlooked cover in a clever sight gag.
The episode really hits its stride when the trio discover their superhuman abilities. Mary Ann develops eyesight that's so incredible she spots a ship on the horizon; Gilligan is transformed into Popeye; and Mrs. Howell becomes a whirling dervish hopped up on sugar beets. Of these scenes, the funniest is arguably Mary Ann amazing the others with her long distance vision and getting them to build a signal fire for a boat that's nowhere near the island.
Only the Professor, of course, connects the dots between their superpowers and the seeds. The fun continues as he scrambles to find a cure. After some fun and frantic exercising, an appropriately wacky solution bubbles to the surface. The castaways literally wash out their mouths with soap.
COCONOTES:
Last episode penned by Sherwood's brother Elroy.
The scene where Gilligan pretends to be a horse for the Skip is the most demeaning and unfunny sight gag in the entire series.
"I don't believe your father grew anything." "He did, too." "How could he? I wasn't there to do all the work!"
Gilligan's sarcasm toward the Skip while building the fire makes a welcome reappearance.
Mrs. Howell's high-speed pirouette on the table is chuckle-worthy.
Easy work week for Tina Louise, who only appears in the two table scenes.