Pass the Vegetables, Please

"Pass the Vegetables, Please" sees Gilligan reeling in another crate of goodies, this one full of vegetable seeds of almost every kind. The castaways are delighted with this catch, digging, planting, and watering so that their garden comes up in just three days. Only after dining on their favorite dishes do they learn that the crate contained experimental radioactive seeds which have a strange effect on those who eat them. Since Gilligan loves spinach he becomes as strong as Popeye, Mary Ann's carrots giver her exceptional eyesight, Mrs. Howell's sugar beets giver her more energy than she's ever known. Once again the Professor comes up with the answer, but it's a lot of fun getting there.

Hilarious episode thanks to Elroy Schwartz. Elroy, the brother of producer Sherwood Schwartz, actually wrote the pilot episode of the series, which at first was long thought lost. He did many good scripts for both comedies and dramas, and at the time was also writing for MY THREE SONS.

It's another "radioactive" episode, but very original. Gilligan stumbles upon some seeds that turn out to be TOXIC. The castaways begin gobbling up the tasty seeds (naturally not knowing what they are) and gain SUPER HUMAN strength. The scene with Mrs. Howell --in high speed-- running and hopping around in a pink pantsuit is a MUST. I also agree with the last reviewer, definitely shades of Popeye at work here (minus the spinach), especially when it comes to Gilligans super strength.

BEST of the best comes at the end when the professor comes up with a medical concoction. The crew drinks it and bubbles (yes, bubbles) come out as they talk? You can see the bubbles coming out the sides of everybody's mouth, no doubt produced by a tiny bubble machine. Was this all inspired by Lawrence Welk and his champagne bubble music?

As usual, everybody is having a blast. Catch the snappy dialogue between Gilligan and the Skipper in one scene, a definite take-off on ABBOTT AND COSTELLO.

A GOSTA SEE episode for old times. Season 3 Episode 3 remastered CBS color dvd box set. Catch the classic box cover for fans.

If there is an episode that defines the third season's wild, free-spirited, fantasy-driven episodes, it's this one. The premise, plot, and solution are all original and delightfully wacky. There may be a few blips, but overall it's an above average and hysterically funny outing. It really is, as Bob Denver would attest, 'out there'.

One of the blips is the cold open, which starts with the trope of Gilligan reeling in something valuable down at the ole lagoon. This time it's a crate filled with vegetable seed packets. He's so overjoyed at seeing the packets, especially his favorite-spinach!-that he fails to notice the warning label clearly marked on the cover.

In the first act, the excited castaways reminisce about their favorite vegetables, pick them out of the crate, and spend a little bit too much time in setting up a garden. Even though Mary Ann was raised on a farm and should play a large role in the development, Gilligan, not surprisingly, does all of the manual labor, most under duress. These scenes are kind of bland and, once they are out of the way, the fun begins. It takes just three days for the vegetables to fully sprout. The Professor knows that's an impossibly short time for them to grow, and lamely tries to pass it off on their exposure to sea water.

But the hungry castaways aren't about to let a bunch of insanely shaped, grotesquely large vegetables get in the way of their appetite. They chow down to a feast of their favorites; Gilligan takes care of the spinach; Mary Ann the carrots; and Mrs. Howell the sugar beets. Their feast is interrupted by a better-late-than never radio bulletin that the seeds are radioactive. Gilligan unveils that overlooked cover in a clever sight gag.

The episode really hits its stride when the trio discover their superhuman abilities. Mary Ann develops eyesight that's so incredible she spots a ship on the horizon; Gilligan is transformed into Popeye; and Mrs. Howell becomes a whirling dervish hopped up on sugar beets. Of these scenes, the funniest is arguably Mary Ann amazing the others with her long distance vision and getting them to build a signal fire for a boat that's nowhere near the island.

Only the Professor, of course, connects the dots between their superpowers and the seeds. The fun continues as he scrambles to find a cure. After some fun and frantic exercising, an appropriately wacky solution bubbles to the surface. The castaways literally wash out their mouths with soap.

COCONOTES:

Last episode penned by Sherwood's brother Elroy.

The scene where Gilligan pretends to be a horse for the Skip is the most demeaning and unfunny sight gag in the entire series.

"I don't believe your father grew anything." "He did, too." "How could he? I wasn't there to do all the work!"

Gilligan's sarcasm toward the Skip while building the fire makes a welcome reappearance.

Mrs. Howell's high-speed pirouette on the table is chuckle-worthy.

Easy work week for Tina Louise, who only appears in the two table scenes.