Gilligan's Island Star Russell Johnson's Two Twilight Zone Episodes Used The Same Sci-Fi Gimmick
More than three years before tinkering with inventions as The Professor on CBS' "Gilligan's Island," Russell Johnson tinkered with time travel. Twice. In two episodes of Rod Serling's rewatchable anthology series "The Twilight Zone," his characters get embroiled in different plots featuring time travel.
His first appearance on the show was in "Execution," the 26th episode of the first season. His second appearance was in "Back There," the 13th episode of the second season. They aired a little over nine months apart. Both episodes were well-written explorations of time travel, but each one explored it differently. "Execution" has Johnson's character facilitating someone's travel through time, while "Back There" has him traveling through time himself.
"I was very proud to be in those," Johnson told the Archive of American Television when asked about his time acting on the iconic science-fiction series, which also aired on CBS. "They were wonderful, and they still are. They hold up, those stories."
Both episodes used time travel, but the executions were different
In "Execution," Johnson plays the supporting role of Professor Manion, a scientist who transports mass murderer Joe Caswell (Albert Salmi) from the 1800s to the 1960s with a time machine. The transportation occurs just as Caswell is being hanged for his crimes. Manion, unaware of Caswell's misdeeds, discovers the rope marks on his neck, and Caswell reveals to him that he murdered more than 20 men.
In "Back There," one of the best "Twilight Zone" episodes about time travel, Johnson plays the lead, Peter Corrigan, a member of an exclusive Washington, D.C., club. While playing cards and discussing time-travel theories with friends, Corrigan argues that major historical events can't be altered. As he leaves the club, he's hit by a sudden wave of lightheadedness, then steps out onto the street. He soon realizes he's been transported to April 14, 1865, the day President Abraham Lincoln was shot. He frantically runs to Ford's Theatre in an attempt to warn the authorities and prevent the assassination.