5 Best Episodes Of Gilligan's Island, According To IMDb

There's a reason why, more than 60 years later, we're still talking about "Gilligan's Island." The beloved sitcom, which followed a group of castaways who have to survive life on an island — and each other — after being shipwrecked, only aired for three seasons on CBS. But despite the show's short life, "Gilligan's Island" grew in popularity, and eventually became a cultural mainstay through its post-cancellation run in syndication.

The iconic show — which starred Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Dawn Wells, Russell Johnson, and Tina Louise — had some really great episodes across its nearly 100-episode tenure, so we decided to take a look at which ones rank the highest on IMDb. There, viewers can rate episodes of shows, and those cumulative averages become the episode's overall rating on the site. Read on to find out which five episodes are the best that "Gilligan's Island" has to offer, according to IMDb.

The "Gilligan's Island" Season 3 opener "Up at Bat" kicks off this list at No. 5. The episode follows the show's namesake and first mate Gilligan and his decision to separate from the group after being bitten by a bat, fearing an oncoming transformation into a vampire. The episode's premise allowed it to play into one of the show's most enduring conventions: Gilligan being responsible for the misfortunes of the group.

Just in time for fall and the start of Halloween season, the episode aired in September 1966, and was directed by Jerry Hopper and written by Ron Friedman. With 300 user ratings, this episode scored an 8.0 on IMDb. Fans enjoyed the episode for its well-done vampire story, top-notch comedy, and killer set design, particularly the castle setting.

Outside of IMDb, "Up at Bat" did receive a solid viewership when it first aired on television. It garnered about 8 million viewers during its initial broadcast — and interestingly enough, that was on the lower end of viewership for the series as a whole, which regularly hit 11 or 12 million viewers for an episode and sometimes more. But in modern-day terms, that's a pretty massive audience, and the episode definitely has enough charm to make it an obvious shoo-in for a fan favorite.

Just three episodes after "Up at Bat" comes our next best episode, which slides in at No. 4. "The Producer" centered on a Hollywood producer who ends up on the island — and the production of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" the islanders put on to show off their acting skills for him. Needless to say, the premise of this episode sets lofty expectations, and it definitely meets and, at times, exceeds them.

The episode aired in October 1966 and was directed by George Cahan and Ida Lupino from a script by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, who wrote for "Get Smart" and "The Monkees." The episode snagged an 8.2 IMDb score with 351 reviews — and it actually shares that score with the next two episodes on this list. Raters on IMDb praised Caruso and Gardner's writing, Phil Silvers' guest-starring performance (one of the major stars to appear on the series), and the episode's enduring relevancy.

"The Producer" received just under 10 million viewers when the episode originally aired, a great number in the modern day but technically a lesser-viewed episode for "Gilligan's Island," though by no means the show's lowest. But no matter the official numbers, the show's commitment to the intricacies of staging a theatrical production on a deserted island, and how that affected the interpersonal relations of a beloved group of very different individuals with an established dynamic, really paid off here when it comes to its legacy with fans.

"The Friendly Physician," the late Season 2 episode of "Gilligan's Island," is the third-best episode according to IMDb — and honestly, we get why from the premise alone. The telecast focused on a "mad scientist" who brings the group of castaways to his own island with the intention of doing mysterious experiments on them, which certainly sounds like an interesting story with a lot of possibility for the ensemble cast audiences know and love. The episode aired in April 1966, and was directed by Jack Arnold, one of sci-fi's most prevalent filmmakers during the 1950s. 

It was also written by Elroy Schwartz, brother of creator Sherwood Schwartz. He was one of the show's most frequent writers, penning several episodes including the ill-fated 1963 pilot that didn't get aired for nearly 30 more years. The episode was awarded an 8.2 rating by 310 fans on IMDb, a score it shares with the No. 4 and No. 2 picks, for its inventive imagination, creativity, and Vito Scotti's guest-starring performance as Dr. Boris Balinkoff.

During its first broadcast, "The Friendly Physician" had 9.3 million viewers. That was on the lower end for the series, which saw two to three million more viewers, sometimes beyond, on its most popular episodes. That said, the telecast has been remembered into the modern day for thinking outside the box, which is exactly what makes it worth revisiting in the first place.

In the second slot on this list is "Don't Bug the Mosquitoes," a mid-Season 2 episode that plays on a world-famous band that was dominating the globe during all of the "Gilligan's Island" tenure on CBS. The episode centered on a rock group called "The Mosquitoes" — you classic rock heads might already see where this is going — and their time on the island, made hellish by the castaways who are hoping for a rescue when the band decides to get out of dodge.

The episode, which aired in December 1965, was a clear nod to legendary band The Beatles and a successful parody of their massive fame. Plus, naming the in-episode band The Mosquitoes, who were played by the real-life band The Wellingtons, is a perfect touch. The episode — directed by Steve Binder and written by Brad Radnitz — seems to be a fan favorite, with a nice 8.2 rating on IMDb from 423 viewers.

The episode does share this score with the No. 3 and No. 4 entries, but that doesn't change how high the praise is for the episode in the overall site rankings. Fans on IMDb cited the episode's strengths comedically and as an overall parody, and even claim this as one of the best episodes to watch if you've never seen the show. As for its original viewership, it is one of the episodes with the biggest audience at 14.1 million at the time of its initial airing.

The top spot on this list goes to the third episode of Season 3, which is titled "Pass the Vegetables, Please" — and it's another episode that you can tell is going to be good just by the premise. This one sees Gilligan discover vegetable seeds on the island, but as the show's typical gimmick of making Gilligan the reason for the group's woes would have it, those seeds actually end up being radioactive. It's a really fun and unique idea that lets the show's group dynamic shine.

The episode, which aired in September 1966, was directed by Leslie Goodwins and written by Elroy Schwartz, creator Sherwood Schwartz's brother and a frequent writer for the series. Having Elroy Schwartz at the helm creatively, someone who very intimately knows the show's character dynamics and how best to optimize them within a wacky premise, is a major asset for this episode.

"Pass the Vegetables, Please" garnered an 8.3 IMDb rating from 302 fans, the highest rating out of the series' 98 episodes. "Gilligan's Island" devotees cited the episode as "wild, free-spirited, fantasy-driven," and simply hilarious. Despite its high rating on IMDb, the broadcast didn't snag as many first-time viewers as other episodes of "Gilligan's Island" upon first airing. In fact, "Pass the Vegetables, Please" only snagged 9.72 million viewers — but its silly story and smart comedic writing has clearly helped it endure in the eyes of the show's modern-day fans.