Topsy-Turvy

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"Topsy-Turvy"
Season 3, Episode 10
Gi68.jpg
A knock to the head hampers Gilligan's vision at the same time angry natives land on the island.
Basic Info
Air Date: November 14, 1966
Written By: Elroy Schwartz
Directed By: Gary Nelson
Guest Cast: Eddie Little Sky, Allen Jaffe and Roman Gabriel as Natives
Episode guide
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Ring Around Gilligan The Invasion


Topsy-Turvy is the 78th episode of Gilligan's Island and the tenth episode of the third season. It aired November 14, 1966.

Synopsis[edit]

Head-hunters land on the Island pounding their war drums, and the Professor seeks out a cave to hide everyone until they leave. Unfortunately, Gilligan runs straight into a tree, and the whack to his heads flips his vision upside-down. The Professor thinks he can fix his vision with the curative powers of the keptiburra berry growing on the island, but Mary Ann is too afraid to look for them with the pounding drums from the jungle. However, Gilligan notices the sounds have stopped, unaware the head-hunters are still on the island despite their broken drum. Ginger and Mary Ann search the island for the berries unaware the head-hunters are still prowling around and trying to capture them. One of them tries to attack Gilligan, but he is scared away by the approaching Howells. After the Professor creates extract from the berries, the berries succeed in flipping Gilligan's vision back, but it also doubles it so Gilligan sees two of everything. The Professor meanwhile warns Gilligan his skewed vision might result in hallucinations, and when he starts seeing the head-hunters, he thinks they're hallucinations. However, the head-hunters start getting frustrated with their failed attempts to capture Gilligan. They capture both the Howells and the girls, and after the Professor fixes Gilligan's vision with water to dilute the strength of the berries, both he and the Skipper get captured. Gilligan flees into the jungle chased by one of the head-hunters, but realizing he's out-numbered, he returns with the keptiburra extract to trick them into thinking they're out-numbered. He comes to rescue everyone pretending to drink the extract which the head-hunters take away from him to drink themselves. As the extract takes control, Gilligan frees everyone who appears as an army to the head-hunters, terrifying them off the island. Afterward, everyone is so appreciative of his clever heroism that they give him gifts. Mary Ann gives him a coconut cream pie, but Gilligan is so excited that he drinks the extract again so it looks like five pies. However, this makes it hard to eat the one; he pounds the table and causes the pie to smack the Skipper into the face.

Message[edit]

  • "The darkest of clouds sometimes has a silver lining."

Highlights[edit]

  • Coming up

Credits[edit]

Main Cast

Guest Cast

Trivia[edit]

  • This is Eddie Little Sky's last appearance in the series; he also appears as the Witch Doctor in Voodoo and as Haruki in Gilligan's Mother-in-Law.
  • Like several episodes in the series, the episode starts out with just the Skipper, Gilligan and the Professor.
  • There is no way a blow to the head could flip a persons vision upside down.
  • There is no such thing as keptiburra berries.
  • Even with his vision flipped or doubled, Gilligan should have been able to adapt to his skewed vision within a few minutes.
  • The Professor's captibora extract reacts remarkably fast; it barely enters Gilligan's bloodstream before he starts feeling its effects. Realistically, Gilligan would have to wait a few hours or at least over night.
  • The natives are possibly Kupaki natives who also appear in High Man on the Totem Pole.
  • Mr. Howell shows off his fencing uniform; he last wore it in Gilligan's Mother-in-Law.
  • When the head-hunter played by Eddie little Sky chops into a tree with his machete, the break can be seen in it before it falls over to the ground. This tree prop also appears in Bang! Bang! Bang!
  • The exterior shot with the Castaways escaping the Head-hunters cage reveals that it's missing two walls.
  • As a reward, the Howells give Gilligan $100, Ginger gives him a kiss, the Professor gives him a magnifying glass and Mary Ann makes him a banana cream pie that ends up in the Skipper's face.
  • This episode has the fewest costume changes for Mr. Howell and the girls, but Mrs. Howell's clothes changing only two times.
  • The TV Land syndicated version omits the ending where Gilligan drinks the potion and sees five pies instead of one, but which only results in the Skipper getting a pie in the face!

Quotes[edit]

  • Skipper - "Gilligan, you don't need to knock your own head off... those natives will do it for you."

  • Gilligan - "One Skipper, two Skipper, three Professor four...."
    Skipper - "Five Professor, six Professor, seven Professor more..."

  • Mr. Howell - "Lovee, you reason with men at the club, not with ones who carry clubs!"



  • Professor - "There's one thing you can do to make this experiment a big success."
    Skipper - "What's that?"
    Professor - "Take Gilligan out of here."

  • Skipper - "Mr. Howell, a little hard work never hurt anyone."
    Mr. Howell - "But it never helped anyone either!"

  • Native #1 - "Skinny one must be cat - Has nine lives!"

  • Ginger - "You're not Mary Ann, you're Mary Poppins!"

  • Skipper - "It is an excellent plan; I just wish someone else had thought of it."
    Professor - "What does it matter who thought of it?"
    Skipper - "Because Gilligan is the only one I know who can snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory!"