Customer Reviews

Gilligan's Island (Waiting for Watubi/Angel on the Island) [VHS]

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This video is one of my first "Gilligan's Island" videos, and it is absolutely fabulous. I believe you can see what Mr. Denver's personality is like in this show, and particularly in "Waiting for Watubi". I don't think that he is as clumsy as Gilligan, but I believe he has as big a heart as him. Watch this episode and you'll see what I mean. The second episode on this video, "Angel on the Island", is a wonderful one also. All the castaways try so hard to make Ginger not feel so bad about missing her stage debut. They do the play with Mr. Howell directing it. Mrs. Howell gets a big head, and talks him into allowing her to play in the starring role of Cleopatra, the part that Ginger was to have, instead of playing the maid. This breaks Ginger's heart. Gilligan goes to the Howells' hut and pleads with Mrs. Howell to get back the role of Cleopatra for Ginger. Mrs. Howell pretends to have laryngitis so that Mr. Howell will have to let Ginger do it. The play was done with Gilligan doing all of the roles, except the role of the sailor which was played by the Skipper. It was funny seeing poor little Gilligan run backstage and back on stage after he had changed into different clothes fot the multiple roles he had to play. If you're a fan of "Gilligan's Island", you will love this tape. It is shown in color which, I think, is better than black-and-white. You get a better idea of things that way.

This videotape has two of the better first season episodes of "Gilligan's Island," mainly because the focus is on characters other than Gilligan (Bob Denver) and it is actually the First Mate of the S.S. "Minnow" who saves the day. In Episode 10, "Waiting for Watubi," the Skipper (Alan Hale, Jr.) digs up the sacred Tiki god of the Watubi tribe, which he believes has him under a curse. No matter what he does to try and get rid of the statue, it keeps reappearing. The only thing that will save him is if a Watubi witch dotor removes the curse and in the absence of any other living sole on the island, it is up to his little buddy to do the job himself. Given all the shtick that the two would go through in their three years on the island, episodes where the friendship between the Skipper and Gilligan seems real come across as a breath of fresh air.

Then in Episode 11, "Angel on the Island," Ginger (Tina Louise) is depressed because she has lost a leading role in a Broadway play because she is, well, shipwrecked on the island. Mr. Howell (Jim Backus) promises he will back the play when they are rescued and the Castaways start rehearsing the play. The only problem is that Lovey (Natalie Schaeffer) insists on taking the starring role of Cleopatra, which is not exactly making Ginger happier, which was supposedly the point of the rehearsal. Once again, it is Gilligan who comes to the rescue by having a chat with Mrs. Howell. Like the previous episode, there is a sense of community if not family behind the story, and not just a descent into sitcom shtick. Ironically, this makes "Waiting for Watubi" and "Angel on the Island" atypical episodes of the classic "idiot" situation comedy, but above average episodes as well.

i ThINK tina lousie did a great job on angel on the island because she really brought out her personiaty as ginger grant,and alan hale as the skipper did a great job on wating for watubi.he thought that he had a curse that ahe need a doctor to crue him.so the proffsser dressed gilligan as watubi to brack the curse.all in al I LOVE THIS TAPE!!!...