"Ghost-a-Go-Go" anticipates the vampire episode with a wailing ghost terrifying Gilligan into sleepless nights. By morning we learn that everyone has been haunted the night before, strange sounds and items disappearing. When the spectre starts talking to Gilligan he tells the castaways to leave the island, even providing a well stocked boat that arouses the Professor's suspicions. With seven dummies posing as the real McCoys the boat doesn't go far before exploding, the ghost revealing himself to be a foreign agent (a dubbed Richard Kiel) who wanted the squatters dead, intending to use the island as a base of operations for offshore oil rights. This gives the still living castaways the opportunity to start haunting the ghost, wearing the same kind of sheets that he's been using, convincing him and his superiors that the island is now well and truly haunted. Kiel only reveals himself during the last five minutes, but his conversations with W-9 are priceless: "I hear something...a feet step!"
3 Reviews
I WAS A GHOST FOR A FOREIGN POWER???
tcchelsey20 August 2023
Who doesn't like a ghost story? Roland MacLane wrote this kooky story, who did many episodes for LEAVE IT TO BEAVER. You know it's going to be good.
There's a ghost on the loose on the island, but also there happens to be a large boat? The professor presents the sobering question... What if this ghost wants to scare everybody off the island and into the boat -- which may sink? Does the ghost want them dead? Hmmmm?
There's a goofy scene where everybody starts packing up to leave on the boat. The question arises AGAIN--- where and how did the castaways acquire all their extra stuff? Remember, they were on a three hour cruise before they were marooned on the island. Case in point, Mrs. Howell is wearing "three" different fur coats??? Mr. Howell drags in a trunk(?), which he claims is his wallet??
Best of the best is 7 foot tall Richard Kiel, later to become one of the most famous JAMES BOND bad guys. It turns out that Kiel is an enemy agent (sounding Russian?) AND the ghost! Now that's original. At the time, Kiel made several appearances on the WILD WILD WEST, the perfect, over the top villain. Reportedly, he also was an instructor at a radio broadcasting school in Burbank between acting gigs. Imagine this guy for your teacher?
Recommended stuff. SEASON 2 EPISODE 27 remastered dvd box set.
There's a ghost on the loose on the island, but also there happens to be a large boat? The professor presents the sobering question... What if this ghost wants to scare everybody off the island and into the boat -- which may sink? Does the ghost want them dead? Hmmmm?
There's a goofy scene where everybody starts packing up to leave on the boat. The question arises AGAIN--- where and how did the castaways acquire all their extra stuff? Remember, they were on a three hour cruise before they were marooned on the island. Case in point, Mrs. Howell is wearing "three" different fur coats??? Mr. Howell drags in a trunk(?), which he claims is his wallet??
Best of the best is 7 foot tall Richard Kiel, later to become one of the most famous JAMES BOND bad guys. It turns out that Kiel is an enemy agent (sounding Russian?) AND the ghost! Now that's original. At the time, Kiel made several appearances on the WILD WILD WEST, the perfect, over the top villain. Reportedly, he also was an instructor at a radio broadcasting school in Burbank between acting gigs. Imagine this guy for your teacher?
Recommended stuff. SEASON 2 EPISODE 27 remastered dvd box set.
Gilligan gets into the spirit.
Ralphkram3 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This episode clearly draws inspiration from those Universal films of the '50's where Abbott and Costello met famous monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein. Too bad it's another standard issue episode with an average plot and the usual plot holes. Unlike the best of the Universal Monster series, this episode isn't likely to scare anybody, and, like the worst of A & C, its humor is really spotty.
The cold open takes a page out of Diamonds are an Ape's Best Friend. Gilligan spots the plot catalyst right outside his window. It's a white sheet with two holes poked out of it, and it has an eerie howl. Our frightened lead tells his bunk mate what he saw; the Skipper takes his usual skeptical stance. After a fitful night's sleep, Gilligan remains convinced he's seen a ghost.
A wrinkle in this standard premise is the girls also saw and heard it as well, so Gilligan is not alone for once. He tries to play dumb with them to protect them but is ironically unconvincing. He also can't convince the Howells that he's not responsible for sticking their polo pony up a tree. (This ghoul is nothing if not playful). There are the usual fruitless attempts by the Skip to prove to him it's all in his head, which come to an end when the spirit sails by. Even then, just to stretch the premise out further, the castaways have a session with the Professor, who convinces them it's all in their heads. All they saw was a missing sheet. The island isn't haunted.
Our lead, though, has another encounter with the sheet. The sheet speaks in a thick Russian accent and orders Gilligan off the isle. It helpfully provides a boat with provisions for the castaways to use, along with a note for the Skip to read to the audience to clue us in.
No new ground is broken in the early part of the second act as the castaways prepare to depart. There are the familiar jokes by the Howells and the girls over how many belongings to take on the boat, and Gilligan can't get his head wrapped around what 'bare essentials' means. This padding ends when the wary Professor smells a trap and warns the others to stay put.
His plan also covers familiar ground; it isn't that much different from the Beau Geste idea in New Neighbor Sam. They build dummies of themselves to place on the boat to fool the ghoul. Gilligan's overstuffing of the Skip's pants is easily the best part of this segment. The dummies are sent out onto the boat and prove the Professor's suspicions correct when they are blown to bits.
The guest ghost turns out to be a Soviet spy who wants to take over the island and use it as a site for offshore drilling. In a predictable, mildly amusing bit, the castaways don their own sheets to out spook the spook, and he is spooked enough to leap into the lagoon and do the backstroke, presumably all the way back to Moscow.
COCONOTES:
Gilligan is clearly Lou Costello in this entry, especially in his scenes in the jungle. One shot where he narrowly evades the ghost's clutches is lifted out of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Like how Gilligan sticks a pin in the Professor's suggestion that the ghost is a missing bedsheet. He actually out logics the Professor.
The guest ghoul is Richard Kiel, the future Jaws of the James Bond series.
Where did the castaways come up with the clothing for the dummies?
It's too bad writer Budd Grossman missed an opportunity to tie in this episode with the earlier Nyet Nyet, Not Yet entry with the two Russian cosmonauts to lay a little ground work for how the spy knows about the island. Also, not likely the isle is near any kind of oil.
The cold open takes a page out of Diamonds are an Ape's Best Friend. Gilligan spots the plot catalyst right outside his window. It's a white sheet with two holes poked out of it, and it has an eerie howl. Our frightened lead tells his bunk mate what he saw; the Skipper takes his usual skeptical stance. After a fitful night's sleep, Gilligan remains convinced he's seen a ghost.
A wrinkle in this standard premise is the girls also saw and heard it as well, so Gilligan is not alone for once. He tries to play dumb with them to protect them but is ironically unconvincing. He also can't convince the Howells that he's not responsible for sticking their polo pony up a tree. (This ghoul is nothing if not playful). There are the usual fruitless attempts by the Skip to prove to him it's all in his head, which come to an end when the spirit sails by. Even then, just to stretch the premise out further, the castaways have a session with the Professor, who convinces them it's all in their heads. All they saw was a missing sheet. The island isn't haunted.
Our lead, though, has another encounter with the sheet. The sheet speaks in a thick Russian accent and orders Gilligan off the isle. It helpfully provides a boat with provisions for the castaways to use, along with a note for the Skip to read to the audience to clue us in.
No new ground is broken in the early part of the second act as the castaways prepare to depart. There are the familiar jokes by the Howells and the girls over how many belongings to take on the boat, and Gilligan can't get his head wrapped around what 'bare essentials' means. This padding ends when the wary Professor smells a trap and warns the others to stay put.
His plan also covers familiar ground; it isn't that much different from the Beau Geste idea in New Neighbor Sam. They build dummies of themselves to place on the boat to fool the ghoul. Gilligan's overstuffing of the Skip's pants is easily the best part of this segment. The dummies are sent out onto the boat and prove the Professor's suspicions correct when they are blown to bits.
The guest ghost turns out to be a Soviet spy who wants to take over the island and use it as a site for offshore drilling. In a predictable, mildly amusing bit, the castaways don their own sheets to out spook the spook, and he is spooked enough to leap into the lagoon and do the backstroke, presumably all the way back to Moscow.
COCONOTES:
Gilligan is clearly Lou Costello in this entry, especially in his scenes in the jungle. One shot where he narrowly evades the ghost's clutches is lifted out of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Like how Gilligan sticks a pin in the Professor's suggestion that the ghost is a missing bedsheet. He actually out logics the Professor.
The guest ghoul is Richard Kiel, the future Jaws of the James Bond series.
Where did the castaways come up with the clothing for the dummies?
It's too bad writer Budd Grossman missed an opportunity to tie in this episode with the earlier Nyet Nyet, Not Yet entry with the two Russian cosmonauts to lay a little ground work for how the spy knows about the island. Also, not likely the isle is near any kind of oil.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
