Even if you watched all three seasons of Gilligan's Island, you were never granted that elusive fortune of watching the rescue of the castaways. Of course, watching their attempts throughout the series was pretty entertaining, but the satisfaction of rescue was only achieved years after the series had been canceled.

After the end of Gilligan's Island, fans were treated to made-for-television specials like Rescue from Gilligan's Island and The Castaways of Gilligan's Island. In these specials, the castaways managed to make it back to civilization. While these rescues typically involved those in the outside world coming to the aid of the castaways, there was a brief moment in The Castaways of Gilligan's Island where the Professor attempted to create a plane that would be able to fly their way off the island.

According to Alan Hale Jr., who played The Skipper in both the series and the television specials that followed, that plane was surprisingly able to fly.

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Alan Hale Jr. was instructed NOT to lose weight for his role as The Skipper in Gilligan's Island

"The plane that 'rescued' us was actually built and flown over the Pacific Ocean," said Hale. "From what I heard, we almost disrupted air traffic because they sighted this strange plane made of bamboo. Then, in the script, we had to jettison all the excess luggage, even my teddy bear."

Of course, after the crew was done filming, many items, including boats, were specifically marked as props, so as not to confuse those who happened upon it.

"Somebody might have thought a boat had actually sunk there," said Hale. "Suppose you were out in a boat and suddenly saw all this luggage floating."

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