Line #30 Pinball/Gilligansisland


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gilligans-island-backglass_8445.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} Gilligan's Back!]]'']]
3	->'''Gilligan:''' ''I'm'' not afraid of Kona.\
4	''[volcano rumbles; Kona's deep, throaty voice makes a threatening growl]''\
5	'''Gilligan:''' ''I'm afraid!'' '''HELP, SKIPPER!'''
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7	''Gilligan's Island'' is a LicensedPinballTable designed by Ward Pemberton and Dan Langlois, with artwork by Creator/JohnYoussi. It was released in 1991 by Creator/WilliamsElectronics under the Bally label.
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9	Based on the [[Series/GilligansIsland popular television sitcom]], the game begins with the Castaways' tranquil island home disrupted by the impending eruption of Kona, the local volcano god. To avoid the calamity, Gilligan (and the player) must scour the island for seven ingredients to make the Professor's Secret Formula Lava Seltzer and relieve Kona's pressure. After gathering up the ingredients, Gilligan must then traverse the Jungle Run and deliver the Seltzer before it evaporates -- but will the rotating jungle turntable send Gilligan in circles and sink the Castaways instead?
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11	''Gilligan's Island'' is noteworthy for being the first Williams pinball released with a dot-matrix display[[note]]''Pinball/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' was the first to be made with one, but was released later.[[/note]], a few months after Creator/DataEast's ''Pinball/{{Checkpoint}}'' first offered a DMD. That doesn't redeem it among pinheads, however, who find ''Gilligan's Island'' unchallenging and unbalanced -- collecting the ingredients is too easy, and mastering the Jungle Run ramp shot allows players to repeatedly relieve Kona and rack up several hundred million points in one round. Supporters counter that the classic sitcom humor and undemanding gameplay make this a perfect game for kids, families, and casual players.
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13	!!The ''Gilligan's Island'' pinball demonstrates the following tropes:
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15	* AppeaseTheVolcanoGod: A rare variation that does ''not'' involve a human sacrifice.
16	* BambooTechnology: Seen around the game, such as Mary Ann's electricity-generating stationary bike.
17	** Averted with Gilligan's JetPack, which is implied to have been recovered from a wayward Japanese submarine.
18	* [[BigDamnMovie Big Damn Pinball Machine]]
19	* ChekhovsVolcano: Kona the Volcano.
20	* ConvectionSchmonvection: Implied, as Gilligan can apparently fly over Kona (who is about to erupt) with no ill effects.
21	* CreepySouvenir: One of the Seltzer ingredients is a ShrunkenHead.
22	* EEqualsMCHammer: To track what ingredients are needed for the seltzer, the Professor's formula is shown iconically on the playfield, with nonsense like "...[seashell] +[=/=]- (mix well and add) [rope] - ( [shrunken head] < [turtle eggs] ) / [banana]..."
23	* FakeShemp:
24	** Continuing her post-''Gilligan'' boycott of the series, Tina Louise refused to lend her likeness to the game. As a result, Ginger only appears twice -- once on the playfield and once on the backglass -- with her face heavily obscured. She's also the only Castaway who doesn't appear in the MatchSequence.
25	** [[http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1004&picno=4035 Promotional flyers]] for the game feature Bob Denver as Gilligan with an unnamed not-Tina-Louise blond actress.
26	* GodIsInept: One of the random rewards a player can get is "Gift of Gods", which gives the '''other''' players 1 million points each.
27	* GoldenSnitch: Successfully delivering the Lava Seltzer to Kona rewards a lopsided 50 million points... with ''another'' 50 million rewarded for each subsequent shot to Kona until time runs out.
28	-->'''Gilligan:''' "Here we go again!"
29	** For comparison, this game does NOT use PinballScoring numbers for anything not jungle- or Kona-related. If you're good, you will still need at least a few minutes to reach even ''one'' million points not derived from the jungle or Kona.
30	* HollywoodNatives:
31	** Played with using a shirtless native on the playfield. Though he is brandishing a spear and holding up a ShrunkenHead, he's also unmistakably pale and wearing face paint that looks like a pair of oversized NerdGlasses.
32	** Played straight in one instance when the Professor explains his Lava Seltzer formula -- when Watubi is mentioned, a picture of a more traditionally-dressed native appears on the dot-matrix display with the word "WATUBI" next to him.
33	* JetPack: Gilligan is shown wearing a jet pack on the backglass; he uses it to fly above Kona on the playfield.
34	* LuckBasedMission: Multiball is available only as a random Lagoon Treasure.
35	* MatchSequence: A castaway thinks of a match number, which appears inside a ThoughtBubble. Depending on how many games have been played, the castaway is either: the Skipper, Gilligan, Mr. Howell, the Professor, Mrs. Howell, or Mary Ann, with Ginger left out for reasons detailed in FakeShemp above.
36	* MobileMaze: The Jungle, a turntable with multiple chutes. Shooting the pinball up the Jungle Run ramp will send it out one of several different directions depending on how it's positioned.
37	* MythologyGag: "Kona" is directly taken from the series' first season episode "Waiting for Watubi", complete with bits of dialogue from said episode (see PosthumousCollaboration below), though Kona in that sense refers to the ''statue'' of an ancient god and not the volcanic god himself.
38	* NoodleImplements[=/=]PlotCoupons: The ingredients for the Professor's Secret Formula Lava Seltzer, made from turtle eggs, seashells, pineapples, a rope, a ShrunkenHead, bananas, and (of course) coconuts.
39	* NotQuiteStarring:
40	** The impersonators for Mr. Howell and the Professor. Notably, Mr. Howell's voice is done by Tim Kitzrow, who would later impersonate Rod Serling for Bally's ''Pinball/TwilightZone'' two years later.
41	** Averted with Gilligan himself, however -- none but Bob Denver could have done his voice.
42	* PosthumousCollaboration
43	** Ward Pemberton finished the game after co-designer Dan Langlois' death during the design phase.
44	** Unlike Gilligan (who was voiced by his actor, Bob Denver) and Mr. Howell and the Professor (whose voices were impersonated), the game uses dialogue of Alan Hale, Jr. taken straight from the series for the Skipper. In one instance, the dialogue was taken from the season one episode "Waiting for Watubi", repurposed as a conversation with Gilligan, with new custom dialogue. Hale had died over a year prior.
45	* RealSongThemeTune: Naturally, the game plays the "Gilligan's Island" theme.
46	* SkillShot: Soft plunge the pinball into the top Eject Hole for a random reward.
47	* SpellingBonus: L-A-G-O-O-N enables the Lagoon for a random Lagoon Treasure.
48	* TimedMission: After collecting all seven ingredients, the player has 50 seconds to run through the Jungle (shoot the Jungle Run ramp six times) and deliver the Lava Seltzer to Kona.
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Context Pinball / Gilligansisland