User Reviews

Physical Fatness shows just how far the first season has progressed from its early underdeveloped episodes. This entry works smoothly on all cylinders and doesn't suffer from pacing issues or rough spots. Fatness is good and entertaining enough to feel like a second or third-year episode.

The latest rescue plan has the Professor working on a phosphorescent dye marker made from chemicals that are conveniently found around the island. (It's the most well stocked deserted island ever). His formula is extremely complicated and impossible to duplicate. Gilligan gets the lowdown and rushes off to tell the others. He runs into Mary Ann, who is letting out the Skipper's pants, and the main plot unfolds; his big buddy is a couple sizes too big.

Much of the humor in this episode, as evidenced by that title, revolves around the Skip's waistline. There are a lot of easy, dated jokes and gags about weight that are not for everyone. For example, the Skip weighs himself on the Professor's scale and pops off its arrow.

His inexplicable weigh gain concerns the Professor, who believes they will be rescued in a week once he finishes the dye marker. The Skip measures himself on Gilligan's scale and is shocked to discover he is 22 pounds over the official Navy limit of 199. He needs to go on an immediate crash diet, or he has no chance to reenlist.

Gilligan is put in charge of making sure he sticks to his diet. Whenever the Skip tries to stray from it, our lead sternly waggles a finger at him. In the best bit, he ties a line from the Skip's leg to his arm to keep him in his hammock during the night. The Skip cuts the line and wanders off to the food locker, only to discover Gilligan waiting for him inside, wagging his finger.

To add to the humor, an exhausted Gilligan later sits in the scale and finds out he is 15 pounds under the Navy limit. So now he has to go on his own crash diet to gain weight.

In the second act, the two diets produce the majority of laughs. The Skipper grows more and more desperate to eat, while his little buddy inhales everything in sight. The others get screen time by taking turns feeding him.

The Professor, meanwhile, spends the act adding an ingredient to the dye marker to make it glow in the dark so it will be more easily spotted. Once he completes the formula, he puts the marker in an unmarked bowl and takes it down to the two sailors. He carelessly leaves the bowl near Gilligan as he and the Skipper transport the raft to the beach. The result is predictable, but lights out funny.

COCONOTES:

The Professor never explains why the complex formula he works on can't be duplicated. The idea that he wouldn't be able to remember it is pretty lame.

The Skipper has somehow gained weight on an island diet of coconuts, fish, and bananas, and after a plight and a drought earlier in the year.

The idea that they'll be rescued in exactly a week is completely random and is only used to create artificial tension.

The Skipper has to lose 22 pounds in exactly a week to join the Navy, even though there is no reason to believe they'll be found in a week or that he would be able to reacquaint himself with civilization that quickly. Again, completely random.

Wondering why the castaways even need scales.

The Professor has managed to scrap together a series of compounds to make a yellow dye marker with glow-in-the-dark capabilities (or "shiny junk") so that it can be spotted by planes at night. Gilligan runs off to tell the others that they are going to be rescued Meanwhile, the Skipper is getting really fat (must be all those bananas and coconuts) and decides that he must lose some weight in order to get back into the Navy. Despite his best efforts he's still a little overweight. However, the Skipper discovers that Gilligan is underweight and can't get into the Navy either.

Another "middling" episode as we have the standard "we gonna get rescued" plot combined with poking fun at the Skipper's weight. It has some laughs, but not really enough to pull it out of the mediocre pile.

Highlights include the teaser scene with Gilligan and the Professor, Gilligan trying to explain to the Howell's the Professors rather "technical" formula, Gilligan preventing the Skipper from eating twice in a single night, Ginger's rather interesting exercise program, Mrs. Howell and then the girls feeding Gilligan and the Howell's letting loose, if only for a brief second or two.

One of the basic flaws in the plot is the Skipper's urgency to lose the weight in a single week because that's when the dye marker will be ready. It makes little sense since even if they are rescued immediately, he couldn't join the Navy for a while anyway (parades, getting new IDs, etc.).

Even the odd ending cannot save this one, although it does have some laughs.

• We actually get to see the Professor mixing chemicals at the beginning of the episode. The use of the gourds are rather imaginative, but where did he get all that plastic tubing from? - Apparently, the Skipper only has a single pair of pants....ewww.

• Given that the Skipper fought at Guadalcanal in 1942, he must be in his mid-40s at this point (Alan Hale himself was 44) so joining the Navy again seems a little drastic. After all, didn't he have insurance for his boat? Well, no...probably not. :)

• We see Gilligan answering to "white cap" from Mrs. Howell to pick up their luggage.

• There are two weight scales on the island (go figure) and while the one in the Professor's hut works on the counterweight system (which is to be expected given what they have), the one they use to weigh fish has no counterweight...so how does it work, exactly? Well, it doesn't matter since both weight scales disappear after this episode.

• Ginger had it easy this week, she doesn't show up until dinnertime almost 9 minutes into the episode.

• Mr. Howell states that he has never perspired...really? He was anxious to show Gilligan his perspiration in the previous episode "Voodoo Something to Me". Plus, it seems he's learned to cook since his last disaster in "St. Gilligan and the Dragon"

• It seems strange that the Professor states he didn't know if he could duplicate the formula again...does he have something else to do to stop him from trying? It probably would have made more sense to state that the dye and phosphorus compounds were all used up on the island.

• You know, that sure is one small raft. It looks like it would take maybe a few hours of good work at most to build it. Plus, it looks awfully flimsy to last in the ocean for very long.

• The "glowing" effect of Gilligan was achieved by showing the "negative" of the film. You can see that the jungle has the same "glowing" qualities to it.

• The watchtower is definitely different than what we saw in "Forget Me Knot"...it's also in a different location as well.

When the professor sets down a bowl on a table and tells Gilligan to keep eating because he needs to gain 5 lb to join the Navy once they are rescued, of course he's going to eat what is in the bowl. But then everybody blames him because it contains phosphorate and other chemicals which are supposed to create a sheen to attract planes and ships. Gilligan by this time is so filled with bananas and crab and pineapple that he is completely full and probably doesn't have tastebuds left.

Wrapping down to the end of a very long season one, we are dealing with the Skipper needing to lose weight and Gilligan gaining weight while the experiments of the professor continue. Nobody takes into consideration the health of either man as they either starve or engorge, and it's a ridiculous premise. The scientific ideas are intelligent and well thought out, but the actual execution of individual issues in the show is not making this one of my least favorites even though it does have a funny visual at the end.