Gilligan's Island (TV Series) Gilligan's Living Doll (1966) User Reviews

THE ROBOT COMEITH... AND GOITH!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 30 July 2023]

All of us GILLIGAN addicts have favorite episodes, and this is one of them, and very clever at that. This is, perhaps, the ONLY episode that has a realistic way of getting the castaways back to Hawaii. Kind of, sort of.

A cool robot (that looks partly like a silver oven) parachutes onto the island. Right away, the professor makes his calculations. Since it's too heavy to swim back to the mainland, he suggests the mechanical man may be able to WALK the ocean floor to Hawaii and tell everybody about them! This could be possible, at least it is an episode where the outrageous makes sense, in a lopsided sort of way. Ya know?

The raspy robot's voice is played by popular character actor Robert D'Arcy, who appeared in many tv shows, usually in small parts. David P. Hartman wrote this one, who later did many stories for the BRADY BUNCH.

Best scene has Ginger cuddling up to the robot, who the professor claims may have human emotions. Soooo... Ginger promises the robot lots of exposure in Hollywood (and more kisses), if he gets them back to the mainland????

See to believe. SEASON 2 EPISODE 21 restored in beautiful color.

It ain't Robby the Robot

[kevinolzak · 5/10 · 17 June 2016]

"Gilligan's Living Doll" is a robot (an unbilled Bob Darcy) that parachutes on to the island, which the Professor learns can be taught to do anything a man can do. Mary Ann wants it to sweep out the hut, Ginger the dishes, Skipper the laundry, Mr. Howell needing a golf caddy. A radio broadcast reveals that a search for the lost robot will not be conducted but the Professor insists that they can program it to rescue them. Once a message about the plight of the castaways has been stored inside the robot's memory bank, it's a simple task to have him walk all the way to Hawaii. In the end Gilligan's rabbit's foot turns out to be not so lucky after all.

Gilligan's plot short-circuits.

[Ralphkram · 5/10 · 3 April 2018]

By this point in the series, GI has settled into a sophomore (or sophomoric, if you prefer) slump; a sorry stretch of ten episodes that are at best mediocre and at worst difficult and embarrassing to watch. Cue up this one as the latter. Despite the title, this entry is pretty lifeless, and that's not just referring to its monotoned guest. This is a bland, formulaic, tedious, and, yes, robotic outing to sit through.

Gilligan and the Skipper see what they assume is a man parachuting down to the island in the cold open. The build-up to the man's appearance and the reveal of who/what he/it is is slow and dull. The Skipper is disappointed that their rescuer is a clunky-looking robot made out of tin who parrots everything he says. But the Professor is overjoyed at the find and sees it as a way off the island.

The series mid-sixties understanding of robotics is laughable and quaint in its simplicity. The Professor, who has degrees in everything but artificial intelligence, is of course an expert. All it takes is a few simple twists of his screwdriver to reprogram the robot's 'schematics' so it will obey his commands.

First, though, the castaways pad the runtime by having it perform menial chores like sweeping and laundry, which it does with Gilligan-like inefficiency. When they do get around to asking the bot to build a boat, they further waste time by forgetting to specify the size of the craft, and get a model schooner in response. The real McCoy will take years and tons of steel to build. Other suggestions are similarly unworkable.

Writer Bob Stevens sticks stubbornly to the formula of how the castaways interact with their guest, despite the fact it is a robot. Desperate to get a boat built, Mr. Howell tries to bribe it with predictable results. At least that scene is mildly amusing. The nadir comes when Ginger, in an embarrassing and cringe-worthy moment, 'seduces' the guest bot. She wraps her arms around its tin neck, steams it up, and receives a tilt message, which perfectly sums up the episode.

Our lead is the only one to get down to the fundamentals. He stumbles upon the reasonable idea to have the robot swim to the mainland. One of the few scenes that works is watching it cutely mimic Gilligan's swimming motions. But the robot is too awkward and heavy to stay afloat. Gilligan takes the next logical step to have it walk the journey, and, after the Professor records a rescue message on its spools, the robot lumbers into the lagoon on its mission. Gilligan's rabbit's foot, however, proves to be an unlucky addition, and the castaways bungle another rescue.

Tilt.

COCONOTES:

Not surprisingly, writer Stevens doesn't have any other writing credits to his name.

Those appendages on the side of the robot's head look like cheap fly swatters.

Props to the props department for that model schooner.