The BEST episodes of Gilligan's Island

Every episode of Gilligan's Island ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Gilligan's Island!

A group of castaways are stranded on a desert island, left there after a boat trip got caught in a storm. In each episode the eclectic group of castaways attempt an escape from the island, but are frequently foiled by infighting and bitter recriminations breaking out between the crew.

Last Updated: 8/13/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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The Big Gold Strike
star
8.11
231 votes

#1 - The Big Gold Strike

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/28/1964

Mr. Howell discovers a gold mine on the island. He then hires Gilligan to work in the mine. When gold fever strikes the castaways and Mr. Howell is unwilling to share the gold, they begin to charge outlandish prices for the supplies and food that Mr. Howell needs. When the professor repairs the life raft from the Minnow, they all climb in hoping to reach civilization. However, the combined weight of the gold that everyone smuggles on-board the raft causes it to sink. Another rescue foiled!

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Waiting for Watubi
star
8.09
187 votes

#2 - Waiting for Watubi

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/5/1964

While digging, the Skipper uncovers a carved statue of a Tiki God. He then believes a curse has fallen on him for disturbing the resting-place of Watubi, and that his days are numbered. Gilligan dresses up as Watubi, and performs a special ritual dance that the Skipper believes will lift the curse. It is an earth-shaking experience!

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Plant You Now, Dig You Later
star
7.90
149 votes

#3 - Plant You Now, Dig You Later

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/16/1965

While working for Mr. Howell, Gilligan unearths a chest. The castaways think it must contain a pirate's treasure. When ownership of the chest is disputed, the case goes to court, with the Professor presiding as judge.

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So Sorry, My Island Now
star
7.85
203 votes

#4 - So Sorry, My Island Now

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/9/1965

The Castaways are captured by a Japanese sailor who thinks that WWII never ended. When the other castaways are captured, it is up to Gilligan to save them.

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X Marks the Spot
star
7.85
175 votes

#5 - X Marks the Spot

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/30/1965

In a test of a deadly new missile, called "Operation Powder Keg," the Air Force chooses an "uninhabited island" which just happens to be Gilligan's Island. When the rocket lands and does not explode, Gilligan is chosen to crawl inside to defuse it, because he is the only one that can fit inside.

Directors: Jack Arnold
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Water, Water Everywhere
star
7.82
214 votes

#6 - Water, Water Everywhere

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/2/1965

Talk about a painful irony: though surrounded by water, the Castaways suddenly discover that their supply of fresh drinking water is running out. When they pool all available drinking water together and decide to ration it, they discover that they will each receive only a few drops per day. Of course, most of the castaways sneak water from the community supply when Gilligan is standing watch, but return it when the Skipper catches them. Just when all seems lost, Gilligan saves the day!

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Little Island, Big Gun
star
7.81
165 votes

#7 - Little Island, Big Gun

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/23/1965

A well known crook tries to evade police after a heist and is dropped off on the island by his henchmen to be picked up later after the heat cools down. After being discovered by Gilligan he poses as a doctor but the truth is soon revealed. Now he must keep the castaways at bay and get off the island with his money. Of course with Gilligan on the island this is much easier said than done.

Directors: Abner Biberman
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Voodoo Something to Me
star
7.75
343 votes

#8 - Voodoo Something to Me

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/1964

The Skipper fears that the island is full of 'voodoo' when he thinks that Gilligan has been turned into a monkey.

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Two on a Raft
star
7.72
474 votes

#9 - Two on a Raft

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/1964

The shipwrecked castaways awaken to find themselves marooned on an uncharted island, so Gilligan and Skipper set out on a flimsy raft to find civilization.

Directors: John Rich
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The Friendly Physician
star
7.68
47 votes

#10 - The Friendly Physician

Season 2 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/7/1966

A mad scientist lands on the island and takes the Castaways to his castle . . . on a nearby island . . . to perform experiments on them.

Directors: Jack Arnold
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Not Guilty
star
7.68
74 votes

#11 - Not Guilty

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/6/1966

A crate containing coconuts is wrapped in an old Honolulu newspaper that read that one of the Castaways are being sought in a murder investigation. The castaways become suspicious of each other and decide to recreate the events of the night before they sailed, in order to solve the Randolph Blake murder case.

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Goodbye Island
star
7.65
224 votes

#12 - Goodbye Island

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/21/1964

Gilligan discovers a special tree sap that can be used to make a good tasting pancake syrup. Then the professor discovers that the same tree sap also makes a super glue, that may allow the castaways to repair the Minnow. Could it be that the Castaways may finally escape from the island?

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Home Sweet Hut
star
7.62
386 votes

#13 - Home Sweet Hut

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/1964

A hurricane is coming, so the Castaways must quickly build one large community hut in which to weather the storm. However, they soon get on each-others nerves, so they later decide to branch out and build individual huts.

Directors: Richard Donner
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Angel on the Island
star
7.61
215 votes

#14 - Angel on the Island

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/12/1964

Mr. Howell decides to put on a play, starring Ginger, after she begins to suffer from home-sickness. But trouble begins when Mrs. Howell decides she wants to play the starring role.

Directors: Jack Arnold
Writer: Herbert Finn
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Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy
star
7.59
145 votes

#15 - Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/6/1965

Gilligan discovers a jungle boy living on the island. He shows them a hole in the ground that causes objects to float, and the professor theorizes that it is expelling either helium or hydrogen. He immediately sets to work building a large balloon, with the hopes of carrying one of them back to civilization.

Directors: Lawrence Dobkin
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How to Be a Hero
star
7.58
133 votes

#16 - How to Be a Hero

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/6/1965

After Gilligan is unable to save Mary Ann from drowning in the lagoon, the Skipper must jump in and rescue both of them. The Castaways then devise schemes to boost Gilligan's ego, and help him feel like a hero.

Writer: Herbert Finn
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Goodnight Sweet Skipper
star
7.58
265 votes

#17 - Goodnight Sweet Skipper

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/17/1964

The castaways hear on the radio that a plane is going to be flying over their island, but they will be unable to contact them because their transmitter is broken. Gilligan overhears the Skipper dreaming about repairing a transmitter as he sleeps. The Skipper is unable to remember how he fixed the transmitter from his Navy days, so he attempts to have the dream again, but is unable to fall asleep. Each castaway attempts to help by sneaking two tranquilizers into Skippers mango juice. When Gilligan hits the transmitter out of frustration, it suddenly works! However, when he hits it again in an effort to show the other castaways how he fixed it, it falls completely apart just as the plane flies overhead.

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The Hunter
star
7.56
39 votes

#18 - The Hunter

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/16/1967

Famous big-game hunter Jonathan Kincaid and his assistant, Ramoo land on the island in search of new game to hunt. Since they have hunted just about every kind of animal on earth, they then decide that the ultimate challenge would be to hunt a human. After much debate, they choose Gilligan as their target, and state that if Gilligan can stay alive for 24 hours, they will rescue the castaways. After Gilligan manages to outwit and outrun the armed hunters for 24 hours, Kincaid does not uphold his promise of rescue for fear they will report him to the authorities.

Directors: Leslie Goodwins
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Operation: Steam Heat
star
7.53
45 votes

#19 - Operation: Steam Heat

Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/10/1966

Hot water spurting from beneath the island pleases the castaways as they can now have hot water piped to their huts. However, the hot water also concerns the professor since it means that increased volcanic activity may be imminent. The Professor saves the day by making a bomb from ingredients found on the island (of course!) to spike the volcano.

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You've Been Disconnected
star
7.51
70 votes

#20 - You've Been Disconnected

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/13/1966

A storm washes up a Trans-continental telephone cable up into the lagoon. Once again the Castaways are given hope for a rescue, as the Professor manages to break into the cable and rig up a telephone so they can dial out for help.

Directors: Jack Arnold
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Ghost a Go-Go
star
7.51
74 votes

#21 - Ghost a Go-Go

Season 2 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/24/1966

A ghost appears on the island and tries to scare the Castaways off. The castaways turn the tables by dressing in sheets and roaming around the island to scare the visitors off the island.

Directors: Leslie Goodwins
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Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk
star
7.50
213 votes

#22 - Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/19/1964

During Christmas, the Castaways get homesick and remember the first day they were shipwrecked. When Santa Claus ""appears"" on the island, many suspect he is the Skipper in costume. However, just as Santa departs while wishing the Castaways a Merry Christmas, the Skipper appears from the other direction.

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Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend
star
7.49
105 votes

#23 - Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/27/1965

A gorilla is enchanted by Mrs. Howell's perfume and kidnaps her. After Gilligan accidentally spills the perfume all over his shirt, the gorilla decides to release Mrs. Howell and exchange prisoners.

Directors: Jack Arnold
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Erika Tiffany Smith to the Rescue
star
7.46
67 votes

#24 - Erika Tiffany Smith to the Rescue

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/30/1965

Erika Tiffany Smith lands on the island looking for a place to start a new resort, and a new husband.

Directors: Jack Arnold
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Where There's a Will
star
7.45
42 votes

#25 - Where There's a Will

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/17/1966

Mr. Howell revises his will, and leaves a large chunk of his estate to each castaway. They decide to throw him a party to show their appreciation, but when he overhears them talking about which one of them is going to have to ""cut the pigs throat"" he thinks they are planning to kill him in order to collect their inheritance. Later, he discovers that they have actually trapped a wild boar in an effort to serve him bar-b-que spareribs as a surprise.

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