Gilligan's Island (TV Series) Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk (1964) User Reviews

Memories of a Pilot Gone By...

[kmcelhaney005 · 7/10 · 28 July 2013]

As the castaways celebrate the coming Christmas season by decorating their "Bam-Boo" tree, a radio news report indicates that a Navy weather plane has found the castaways and that a rescue party is on the way.

Meanwhile, the castaways recall their first days on the island and the trouble they had in losing the transmitter and Gilligan subsequently finding it inside a fish. Will the castaways get rescued? Well, no. But it is still a fun journey though.

As mentioned elsewhere, parts of this episode were lifted from the Lost Pilot episode, which was not aired for nearly 30 years. For the cast of Gilligan's Island, it probably meant saving a day's worth of shooting, which given how much work they normally had to do, it must have been nice.

Highlights include Gilligan's battle with the Blue Marlin that turns into a shark, Gilligan's blowing on the match, and the final fate of the transmitter...in a sense. The epilogue scene is a favorite and it's a tradition in my "Xmas" collection to watch each year.

Overall, this episode is kinda fun with some good laughs along the way.

• Well, we get to see the "Man Overboard" scene yet again. For those who own the DVD with the Lost Pilot episode, that makes it three times total.

• It's possible that the new beach footage for this episode was shot at the same time that "Goodbye Island" was recorded, allowing for two episodes to be completed at the same time.

• When Gilligan's fishing line is dragging the radio into the ocean, it's clear that the man next to the Skipper is not the Professor, but the actor from the Lost Pilot episode. It does explain why the Professor, in the immediate preceding scene is wearing dark pants as opposed to his traditional light colored ones.

• During the scene when the Skipper tells Gilligan about the depth charge incident that "prolonged" his life, you can clearly see the Minnow behind Gilligan, yet it doesn't appear in its usual spot along the beach. Instead, it appears to be nestled in some trees and brushes.

• The shark that Gilligan hauls from the beach has clearly been gutted as you can see the line down it's belly.

• Once you see the size of the transmitter, it sure must have been one big fish that swallowed it. :) - We actually have seen the transmitter before in the episode "Goodnight Sweet Skipper". However, the casing of the transmitter in that episode was pristine and not smashed in like it was at the climax of this episode.

• While it's understandable that the castaways are convinced (at first) that it's the Skipper underneath all that Santa gear...it never dawns on them just how the Skipper could have made such as convincing Santa suit. Plus, when Gilligan answers Santa with the line, "That's right!" Santa replies with "That's right!". This would indicate that some of the dialog from this scene was cut out.

Just when we thought we'd seen the last of the SS Minnow

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 5 June 2016]

"Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk" served as the Christmas episode, and the perfect opportunity to reflect and show unused footage from the original pilot, particularly Gilligan's fishing exploits and the loss/recovery of the radio and transmitter. The scenes with all seven castaways were reshot, adding new sequences with Gilligan blowing out the match before the fire gets started, and unwittingly destroying the transmitter. It ends on Christmas Eve with a visit from none other than Santa Claus, bearing a striking resemblance to the Skipper. The realization that they could have wound up on an island without food or fresh water certainly makes their situation easier to bear. With the recycled footage this ended up as only the second script credited to series creator Sherwood Schwartz himself (first since the pilot), in collaboration with Austin Kalish and son Elroy Schwartz; his only future scripted episode would be "X Marks the Spot," again with Elroy.

Gilligan gets clipped.

[Ralphkram · 6/10 · 7 April 2017]

This episode is a rarity for two reasons. First, it's the only one in the series that has a holiday theme. Unlike the usual sitcom, Gilligan didn't have yearly episodes centered on celebrating holidays. So there aren't any scenes of the castaways hunting for colored eggs or Gilligan carving a turkey made of bamboo and stuffed with coconut. Second, it's basically a clip show, offering footage from the official pilot and the unaired pilot. It is a choppy affair that's only interesting at the end.

In the epilogue the castaways are decorating a bamboo tree for Christmas and each of them makes a wish. Naturally, it only occurs to our lead to wish the group gets rescued. Gilligan must have had some powers left over from his stint as a witch doctor, for, in a startling coincidence, their transistor shortly reports they've been spotted by a Navy weather plane, and a destroyer is on its way to pick them up.

So the castaways gather their belongings, park themselves down at the beach, and literally wait for their ship to come in, spending the rest of the first act reminiscing fondly about how far they've come since their early days on the island, which isn't all that far since, you know, they're still stranded. But whatever. Cue the Rod Amateau- directed footage.

The episode flashes back to the day of the shipwreck and revisits the opening scene of Two on A Raft. We're given nearly every Gilligan and Skipper scene in Marooned, intercut with new scenes of them and the replacement castaways doing bits from that unaired version, once again showing how Gilligan cast the transmitter and radio out to sea and how the radio was recovered.

In the present, nothing much happens, outside of an awkward 'hot' kiss planted on Gilligan by the girls. Eventually the castaways learn over the radio that their ship once again isn't coming in.

Easily the best part of this clip show is the epilogue. The glum castaways sit around on Christmas Eve feeling sorry for themselves when they're visited by cheery old Saint Nick. He reiterates the show's message that this unlikely group has had to bond together to survive in difficult circumstances, and how fortunate they all are to have become a family. The castaways humor the jolly old man, assuming he's just the Skipper in disguise, but then the Skip shows up carrying a load of firewood, and we hear the distinctive sound of clanging bells. It's a definite glimpse into the kind of fantasy we're going to get over the next two seasons.

COCONOTES

Would have definitely been a more interesting and heart-warming episode if it had been about the castaways preparing for Christmas rather than cramming in recycled footage, but at least the actors had a light work week.

Sherwood Schwartz's fave line: "Skipper, you don't have to pay me for this week's work."

None of the castaways question where the Skipper would get a Santa outfit.

One thing you can say about Gilligan...he was consistent!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 1 September 2020]

In the 1960's, with the success of Laurel & Hardy films on TV during children's matinees, it was obvious that there would be a modern version of them, and that occurred with Alan Hale and Bob Denver on "Gilligan's Island". The very first episode of the series showed that in varying ways with Gilligan giving Stan Laurel looks and Alan Hale showing Oliver Hardy like frustration. This Christmas episode of the show is a flashback to what happened when they first got on the island, but it is mainly New Leaf film footage with only a few general clips from the first episode. Gilligan destroys the transmitter, and later the radio, while fishing, finds a giant fish (and not Mr. Limpet which came out the same year) that has the transmitter inside. Of course, even with the second chance to utilize a transmitter, Gilligan is obviously going to mess things up again, and it is surprising that's three months later when Christmas occurs, that he still allowed on their side of the island.

One of the very funny visual moments has everybody talking into a fish to try to find the transmitter, utilizing their own characterizations as they try to change their fate. A shot of Lovey Howell with a nasty, smelly fish is worth the 20 minutes of repeated silliness that had already been done over and over on the show.

The premise of the show for Christmas has them reminiscing after they learn from the radio that a group of Castaways believed to be survivors from The Minnow has been located and that rescuers are on their way. Whether or not people in 1964 thought the show was going to end after only 3 months is unknown, but it certainly was a great way to celebrate the holiday in the tropics.

But of course, the ending proves that wrong, and the fact that other castaways were found after 11 years gives fans of the new show hope that it will last as long. And of course, then there's Santa Claus, also played by Alan Hale, to step in and provide a neat little moral, wondering why there wasn't room on his sleigh to take them back to civilization.

I WANT CARY GRANT FOR CHRISTMAS!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 26 November 2023]

Famous Christmas episode (1964) from the first season, also recounting the tale of how it all began. And what a mess...

10 STARS.

There's good word the US Coast Guard may be able to rescue the castaways! So everyone is getting ready to be rescued? Waiting... waiting.... In the meantime, Gilligan and the Skipper act very much like Laurel and Hardy. Actually, it's not that far from the truth Alan Hale did some good Oliver Hardy double takes while Gilligan acted like Stan Laurel. Clever stuff.

This episode also sheds light on the famous long, white radio which would be the castaways sole means of communication. Also the bringer of both good and bad news...

The skipper dressed as Santa is a hoot... OR.... is it the REAL Santa??? Well directed by one of the best, Rod Amateau, who directed Bob Denver in his other series, DOBIE GILLIS. He also did many episodes for GEORGE BURNS tv show.

To note, it's interesting to see the wrecked SS Minnow on the beach, or what's left of it. The bottom is apparently ripped out, and its a miracle the castaways didn't have to swim to shore in the first place. As seasons go on, eventually the boat disappears, possibly because the crew took the thing apart, using wood and everything else to create useful stuff. Good trivia question.

Classic Gilligan. SEASON 1 EPISODE 12 remastered color CBS dvd box set.