Growing up (in the days with NO cable) you had a choice; either I LOVE LUCY or GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.
After all these years, it's still fun. Goofy situations, over the top acting, but you keep on coming back for more. I've often said that the pairing of the Skipper (Alan Hale) and Gilligan (Bob Denver) is a take off on Laurel and Hardy. There's one scene
here where the Skipper gets hit with a sloppy pie in the face! Where the heck did they get a pie in the first place?
Here, the gang is in trouble again... The powers that be in Washington decide to launch a nuclear warhead, as a test, and of course Gilligan's Island is the target, hence the title X MARKS THE SPOT. To note, many of the props on the show were ingenius. Case in point, near the end of this episode, check out the missile that Gilligan happens to be sitting on! Probably a combo of cardboard and plastic, but it sure was a cool prop. The artistic award, however, goes to the designer of the island huts, which are really fun, replete with curtains and bamboo furniture.
The Radford Studios (as they are called, named after the street) are still there in Studio City, CA, but years ago they filled in the Gilligan Island mini lake to make way for CBS television studios. And if you live in the area, every time you pass the place you can't help but think of the show, also the WILD WILD WEST, which used the lake to its advantage.
Happy 60th birthday, 1964-2024
SEASON 1 EPISODE 19 remastered color dvd box set.