Friday, June 13, 2008

Help! Hamlet is stranded on Gilligan's Island

“The Producer.” By Dee Caruso and Gerald Gardner. Perf. Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., and Phil Silvers. Dir. George Cahan and Ida Lupino. Gilligan’s Island. Season 3, episode 4. CBS. 3 October 1966. DVD. Turner Home Entertainment, 2005.

You all know that the current expression to use when describing the specific episode of a television series that indicates that it will never get any better—never rise to its past glory—is "to play the Dane" (q.v.).

Gilligan's Island played the Dane on 3 October 1966. Despite some attempts at original musical (or, at least, lyrical) prestidigitation, and despite the claims of many that this is the best episode ever, the laugh track sounds hollow.

Besides, the phrase "best Gilligan's Island episode ever" seems a little . . . faintly praised, perhaps?

In any case, you can find a seven-minute distillation of the episode below! Enjoy (if you can)!

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Links: The episode at IMDB. The episode at Wikipedia.

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Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Gen. ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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