Gilligan's Island (TV Series) New Neighbor Sam (1965) User Reviews

Hysterically funny when I was a kid. Barely tolerable now.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 14 April 2021]

Well that's not completely true. The voice of Mel Blanc as Sam the parrot is very funny, but it takes nearly half the episode for the bird to make an appearance, only heard as a voice in the first half. The castaways think that there are a group of gangsters on the island and are desperate to protect themselves and find their boat. But out of nowhere the periodic appears, and thinking that there are jewels hidden somewhere, the Howells tried to seal Sam. It's a great chase between Thurston and Sam, and of course the smarter Sam wins.

There are several words that set Sam off including jewels and boat, and of course the explanation involving boat is never revealed and jewel refers to something unexpected.

It's obviously the presence of the voice of Mel Blanc that provides most of the laughs as it did as the cockatoo in the Lucille Ball movie "The Fuller Brush Girl". But it's a silly idea that has never really developed or fully explained, other than to say that there are a lot of unknown parts of the island where anything can turn up at any time.

Excellent Idea....Not as Well Executed...

[kmcelhaney005 · 6/10 · 30 July 2013]

While gathering firewood, Gilligan and then the Skipper overhear a couple of mobsters who talk of killing anyone who might interfere with their plans.

The castaways, in fear of their lives, form a defense in one of the huts and await the coming dawn. Only to discover that the voices of the mobsters all come from a single parrot.

The parrot keeps mentioning a "boat" and "jewels" which certainly interests Mr. Howell. When the parrot is followed to a cave, they discover what the "jewel" really is.

This is one of those episodes where the initial idea, the castaways mistaking parrot voices for actual mobsters, is really good. However, once the parrot is discovered it all goes downhill from there. The final resolution is not all that satisfying and there is a gaping plot hole about the "boat" that seems to be just a red herring in this episode.

Highlights include Mr. Howell's less than comforting statements about protecting his wife, Gilligan's sudden "whistling" when he's nervous and explanation to the girls that he doesn't want to talk about it, the catapult or "chair with a rock" device Gilligan creates, the men of the island mistaking each other for gangsters and the subsequent fight which is very well executed, Mr. Howell's defense of his clothing albeit very short lived, the "army" that was created, Gillian and the Skipper "singing" to the parrot (nice), the castaways following the parrot, and the final realization by Mr. Howell of what the parrot meant by "jewels".

All in all, a forgettable entry which the second half of the show doesn't live up to the first half.

• It might be argued that referring to their experiences with another gangster, Jackson Farrell from "Little Island, Big Gun" would be appropriate. But considering that the production crew probably had no idea how the network would air the episodes, it goes without mention.

• Do you ever get the feeling that Gilligan's Island is the most well known of all the uninhabited islands in the world? :)

• Another theme that doesn't get carried over from episode to episode is Gilligan's sudden "whistling" of his nose when he gets nervous. It happens here and never again. Plus, we never see the parrot again either.

• The final realization, based on the newspaper article found in the cave, that what the parrot overhead happened almost 60 years ago, does stretch credulity just a bit. However, there are some breeds of parrots that have reached the century mark in terms of age.

• So, no searching the cave for anything else? Seems somewhat incomplete to say the least.

THE PARROT RULES!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 12 May 2024]

The famous parrot episode, still outrageous after all these years.

A very simple story, but classic, written by George O'Hanlon, long time comedy writer and actor, best known as the voice of George Jetson. Somehow, someway a talking parrot lands on the island and drives the castaways nuts. The parrot is called Sam, but the gimmick here is the gang has no idea its a bird. When they hear him talking (and doing various voices) they think its some dangerous criminals on the loose and they're all doomed. Hilariously, Sam only responds when he hears the words, "boat" and "jewel"???

Best gag; the voice of the parrot is noneother than Mel Blanc, famous cartoon voice actor, who obviously is having a blast!

A large of dose of poetic license here. The gang versus a parrot is absolutely insane, but super entertainment for fans.

Well directed by Tom Montgomery, famous for the cult film, KING KONG VS. GODZILLA. By the way, O'Hanlon may have used the title as a take-off on the popular Jack Lemmon movie, GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM.

Not to be missed. SEASON 1 EPISODE 27 remastered color. Check out the dvd box with the cool cover.

George O'Hanlon scripts his first of two

[kevinolzak · 5/10 · 8 June 2016]

"New Neighbor Sam" was the first of two scripts contributed by actor George O'Hanlon, in collaboration with actor Charles Tannen, who had already written three earlier episodes, "Hut Sweet Hut," "Three Million Dollars More or Less," and "Big Man on a Little Stick." Tannen's career as a writer totaled 18 credits for 8 TV series, while O'Hanlon was a longtime veteran laugh getter as Joe McDoakes, before finding additional fame providing the voice of George Jetson on THE JETSONS (his writing credits for television were just as few, both continuing to act for another decade). It's rather a shame that this turns out to be so disappointing, as both Gilligan and the Skipper overhear voices promising to shoot first and ask questions later. Midway through the plot about dangerous gangsters on the island collapses when we learn that all of the voices belong to one fellow, the talking parrot Sam, voiced by the greatest talent of them all, Mel Blanc. Sam responds very strongly to the mention of 'boat' or 'jewels,' and Mr. Howell tries hard to maintain his usual greedy streak. There's a payoff in regard to the jewels but not the boat, and the final revelation of where the gangsters came from is also tough to swallow. The best line comes from the fearful Skipper: "don't any panic body just because the comesters are ganging!"

Gilligan needs a plot, Gilligan needs a plot.

[Ralphkram · 4/10 · 8 August 2017]

New Neighbor Sam rivals Goodnight Sweet Skipper and St. Gilligan and the Dragon as the weakest, blandest, most forgettable entry of the entire series. It's just a string of random, disjointed sketches with no cohesive storyline. None of the sketches are remotely funny, though the annoying laugh track works hard to convince us otherwise. Sam proves to be no neighbor to comedy.

The episode starts off well enough. Gilligan hears the voices of a gang of bank robbers in the jungle. In his fright, he bowls over the Skipper in a slapsticky scene to save him from imaginary gunfire. The Skipper hears the gang's voices, too, so at least we're spared the predictable 'no one believes Gilligan' scenes and get more quickly into the action. The Professor and Mr. Howell join them (basically to mug for the camera to give the laugh track a reason to exist), and the quartet overhears the robbers making plans to rub them out.

Terrified, they return to camp to warn the others, and it's at this point that the episode starts to unravel. All of the urgency of the last scene is put on hold as the men brainstorm their next move and the women play sentry duty. The best they come up with is a plan out of the film Beau Geste where they will convince the gangsters they have an army by dressing dummies up in Mr. Howell's clothes and lining them up around the windows of the hut.

All their Gesting (or jesting) is for naught as the gangsters don't even show up. (Or even Gary Cooper). Instead a parrot named Sam comes out of the bush who can mimic the voices of the old gang, which makes the entire first act one long set up to a disappointing reveal.

The second act is a collection of slow, rambling, cringe-worthy scenes that are a bear to sit through. The men conspire to get Sam to squawk, but, as the Professor admits, macaws don't hold conversations. To get some semblance of a plot going, Sam does get excited at the word 'boat', leading them to believe a boat is hidden somewhere nearby, and at 'jewels', to get Mr. Howell additional screen time. These so called clues only lead to dumb scenes where Gilligan and the Skipper sing Sam to sleep; Mr. Howell steals the bird; our lead and Ginger get him back, and so on. All of the bits have the frenzy of the Music Hath Charm scenes with none of the fun or humor.

Sam mercifully brings this debacle to an end by leading the men to yet another 'unexplored' cave. They don't find a boat in there obviously, and what they do find is as dumb and underwhelming as anything else in the episode. Mr. Howell cries; so does the rest of the audience.

COCONOTES:

George O'Hanlon, the voice of George Jetson, co-wrote the episode.

So little humor in this one that the laugh track roars at the four men simply walking through the jungle one at a time.

Mary Ann does little in this one other than model her impressive short shorts.

Sam is voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc, the saving grace of the episode.

It's never explained why Sam squawks at the word 'boat.'

The Skipper and Gilligan keep Sam caged in their hut at the end of the episode; he must fly off, since he is never seen or referenced again.