Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978)

Director: Leslie H. Martinson

Writers: Sherwood Schwartz, Elroy Schwartz, Al Schwartz, David P. Harmon

Composer: Gerald Fried

Starring: Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Judith Baldwin, russell Johnson, Dawn Wells, Vincent Schiavelli, Art LaFleur, Norman Bartold

More info: IMDb

Plot: When a decaying Russian satellite crashes on the island, the Professor uses a key component for a barometer. With that device, he learns that a massive wave is going to swamp the island. In desperation, the castaways lash their huts together into one structure in order to have any chance to ride the disaster out. The wave strikes the island and the hut is swept out to sea. Once there, Gilligan accidents starts a fire trying to cook a meal and nearly burns the floating hut down. Occupied with stopping the fire, the gang fails to notice that the smoke caught the attention of a naval helicopter who summoned a ship to rescue the castaways. In triumph, they return to Hawaii, only to learn that things have changed over the years and they will have trouble fitting in. To further complicate matters, two Russian spies are after that the key component that Gilligan now wears as necklace.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

As a kid in the 70s I loved this show.  A few years ago I watched the pilot, the first time I'd seen an episode as an adult, and it wasn't that bad.  It fared better than I'd hoped.  It's still a dumb show but there's something about it that tickles me.  That's kind of how I felt about seeing this for the first time in nearly 40 years.  Yeah, it's bad but it's also got some incredibly funny, laugh out loud moments and that really surprised me.  The business with the two spies (Schiavelli and the other guy) are cringe-inducing with the over the top broad comedy.  But what was funny were the individual moments we got with each of the main characters.  The Professor turning down sex with his hot students was priceless.  He's clearly a man of science. The same goes with The Howells, Ginger and so on.  The film knows exactly what it is and it gladly pokes fun of itself and the show that spawned it.  I can't recommend this to anyone who wasn't a fan of the 60s TV show but I can (with reservation) for those who have.  Oh, and the one thing that was REALLY strange was not having a laugh track.  That was bizarre.  Since this is in the public domain you'll be able to see it in any number of places for free online.