Hey--this show had its charm. It was sort of like the Canterbury Tales and the Decameron-with an assortment of characters on different adventures--but it was also something of a horror story. Here's my theory--the castaways actually died on that three hour tour--and went to Hell, the Skipper was God, trying to shepherd them to salvation, while Gilligan was the Devil-tormenting them each week(hey-- he did wear a really RED shirt)!
Seriously though--it was fun how they milked every possible concept. I remember the ghost one with particular fondness(that spook floating past the huts was darn spooky!!!), and then the one where the Professor and the Skipper are Holmes and Watson, investigating the castle of Gilligan as Dracula and Ginger as his bride.
Or the one where the castaways end up switching personalities.or the one where Ginger's geeky double shows up on the island--they doll her up--then she goes back and takes over the movie star's fame! Or the one where they plan to use a glowing serum to make a signal--but Gilligan drinks it all--and ends up shining like a light bulb-..or the totem one previously mentioned. So many!
Note: one of the most perverse spoofs of Gilligan's Island was on the series ALF, when the alien has a nightmare where in he visits Mary Ann, the Professor(has some hilarious lines), Gilligan and the Skipper at the island's classic bamboo dinner table.
They are all sitting around bored and miserable, and after the Skipper calls his first mate by his usual nickname, the moping Gilligan responds: "Would you stop calling me your 'little buddy?' I am in my forties for christ's sake!"
