User reviews

I've had a strange fascination with this movie since it came out in '81. It's not great cinema, not a great TV movie, not very good by the TV-series' standards. But...

*It is the "last roundup" for the original cast. Jim Backus, Alan Hale and Natalie Schaefer have passed on in the years since, and there seems no clamoring to reunite the surviving members with a new Skipper and Mr/Mrs. Howell. As an admirer of the spirited, surreal comedy of the original series, I found this movie to be a not-too-bad farewell.

*I'm a big hoops fan, and this is one of the rare opportunities to see the Globetrotters on film. (The Globetrotters' cartoons and old film clips are shown occasionally, and ABC televises a Globetrotter game once a year, but that's about it.) They are master ballhandlers and showmen, and they demonstrate that here. (Also, we get to hear "coach" Scatman Crothers sing "Sweet Georgia Brown," which ain't bad.)

*This may be the final joint film appearance of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain before they divorced. In any case, it's fascinating to watch Mr. Landau mug and overact, in the days before he became a "serious," bankable character actor in films.

*Because Jim Backus was ill during the filming, the "Mr. Howell" role is filled mostly by the Howell's son, "Thurston Howell IV" -- played by David Ruprecht, who now hosts "Supermarket Sweep." I don't believe the Howells ever mentioned having a son in all the prior episodes/movies, but there he is, all of a sudden. (Backus does make a cameo at the end, thank goodness.)

*Longtime Laker announcer Chick Hearn's in the film, as the announcer for the "big game" between the Globetrotters and the Robots. He talks and talks and talks...and after a while, his yakking gets somewhat distracting. (The very final scene, the producers cut off Chick's mike while he was still talking!)

The humor's cornball and slight, and the site of the aging Bob Denver as the supposedly child-like Gilligan is laughable. But Ruprecht acquits himself pretty well, as do Russell Johnson and Alan Hale. (Dawn Wells doesn't have much to do, Natalie and Jim are too old -- and minus Tina Louise, the character of Ginger is lifeless.)

It's not as good as "Rescue From Gilligan's Island," but better than "Castaways On Gilligan's Island." For fans of the show (and the Globetrotters), it's worth a watch.

The Harlem Globtrotters crash land on Gilligan's Island. Compared to this, the original series seems almost intelligent.

That said this is truly one of the worst things you could imagine seeing.

This thing should be shown in prison to violent offenders serving life sentences. When they get finished watching this they will ask for the death penalty instead.

If you have anything else to do, and I mean anything, do it besides watching this.

Wow. If you were to teach a class on bad movies, this is the one to show.

I really believe this is the worst movie of all time. I think the reason it does not make the lists of the worst films of all time is not many people have seen it. It may not be the worst movie of all time, but it is the worst one I have ever watched essentially through.

I am a fan of the original show. The goofy satire of life and people in the vein of Get Smart or Green Acres is something I have always enjoyed. Without going into detail as to why, this movie had none of that and was just stupid. The thing with goofy comedy is that it either works or it does not. This was bad.

Finally, the Howell's can't find a son they never mentioned and Tina Louise is Ginger

I enjoyed this movie. Most true Gilligan's Island fans (which I am) Would say that this is the worst movie. I think that that is just what made this movie interesting. It was different. In this movie there was a different Ginger than in Rescue from and Castaways on. I had trouble telling who Ginger was. You probably won't like this movie if you like B-Ball but don't like Gilligan's Island. There is a B-Ball match at the end. But it is not a real match. The Harlem Globetrotters play against the "New Invinvcibles" who are robots. I give this movie 5 out of 10. The worst movie in the series.... But give it a try

I am probably one of the few Gilligan fans who can say that they like this picture, but there are several things wrong with it. Ginger has regressed backward in age so that she looks like her own daughter. Lovely Constance Forslund, an actress who once played Marilyn Monroe, is obviously too young to play the role when she would be better off doing it in a remake. The Howells who once said they never had a son suddenly have one, so either they had lied way back then, or they adopted the oldest kid in the orphanage to avoid parental duties." Oh no, we meant we didn't have a son ON THE ISLAND." This was supposed to set off a new series with the castaways running a resort on their old island, such a series would have allowed them to close all the old plot points of the series and bring back their old guest stars, but instead there is a culture shock as the castaways meet the Harlem Globetrotters. An illogical bet is made just for the team to play and show off their magic on a ridiculous looking court that has to be seen to be believed. Husband and wife team Martin Landau and Barbera Bain play financial rivals of the Howells in order to bilk them out of a valuable new element on the island. The plot as well as the jokes are straight out of the series, as are the Skipper's and Gilligan's wardrobe. Couldn't they have got more new clothes by now ? Still, this movie to end all movies does follow the spirit as well as the craziness of the series. I can only assume the next movie will be called: "Return to Gilligan's Island: Balingkoff's Revenge."

The final and most obscure of the Gilligan's Island TV movies gets more right than the other two. While the previous two specials incorporated a lot of melodrama based on realistic situations that often made them feel more like the Brady Bunch than Gilligan's Island, this film goes for broad comedy, cartoonish antics, bold characterizations and sight gags that better capture the tone of the original series.

Sci-fi aficionados may notice that this television film curiously foreshadows elements from more prominent sci-fi movies and shows that came out later:

*The rare element supremium sounds a lot like Avatar's unobtanium and both are used as the MacGuffin in the plot.

*A villain's henchman sneaks venomous spiders into the windows of the heroes' huts to attack them while they're sleeping just as a hired bounty hunter sneaks killer bugs into the window of Padme's bedroom in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

*The villain manipulates Thurston Howell the 4th into doing things he shouldn't do by taunting him that he's chicken. Marty McFly is manipulated the exact same way in the Back to the Future sequels.

*The supremium becomes unstable and destructive over a certain temperature just like the acid does in Superman III.

*George the robot opens the front panel on his torso to retrieve items just like Bender does in Futurama.

This movie is incredible! Amazing! It had everything! It is truly shocking that it was a made for TV production, it has epic blockbuster written all over it.

Name it and this movie has it. The Harlem Globetrotters, greedy developers, Gilligan, Mary-Ann, The Professor, The Skipper, the millionaire and his wife, the rest, tourists, basketball in an exotic Caribbean location....... this movie has everything! EVERYTHING! ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!

You should be grateful, very grateful, that we get entertainment such as this. The world is good.

How often can you find the most entertaining sports team and the stars of the all time funniest situation comedy in one place? I only know of one and that's "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island." I have only seen this TV movie once and I thought it was the funniest thing I'd seen (besides the one where the castaways get rescued). I'd recommend it to anyone that just wants to sit back and relax while enjoying a good move.

This isn't a great movie. It isn't even a good movie, despite the presence of an Oscar-winning actor. But it did tell us all that robots can't think and human creativity and passion will always win out over the oligarchs' attempts to replace us.

Don't invest in AI. Invest in humanity. That's the moral.

One does miss the original Ginger, of course, and it is sad that the writers had to invent a never-mentioned son for Mr. & Mrs. Howell, but there was a reason. Jim Backus was dying.

The brief scene of Backus as Thurston is all the more valuable when you know how sick he was. He rallied for one day of shooting. According to Dawn Wells, after he finished his part, the frail Backus turned to Wells and asked "Was I funny?"

This movie was one of the few that are better than the book. I have been a big fan of Gilligan ever since he blew their chances of getting off of the island. Nice to see Thruston Howell the 4th as well as the Globetrotters.

I think this is a really cool Movie and I think it should come back on tv again so people can see it. I think it will be nice if TV Land Channel should have it on like for a weekend. Thanks for listening and please get it on tv again...

Yes this television movie did not give a rating because the good reason why I did not enjoy is because ever since I started Gilligan's Island the first season and mostly two and three seasons of it and cancel it immediately is because opportunities like this tv movie about a popular basketball team and a island that cannot never go home is just a disappointment because as an adult especially the new generation it's very much made for kids (TV-G) all audiences which to me is boring and puts me to sleep but this television movie puts me to sleep and yes it happens constantly 100% of the minute. What a waste.