It is learned that the island was a base of operations for the Army Air Corps during World War II, and the abandoned hangar was obscured by jungle brush, which the tsunami removed.
The rest of the castaways also work as staff members of the resort, where the Skipper and Gilligan man a motor whale boat, aptly named Minnow IV, that shuttles people to and from cruise ships that stop at the island.
One couple has Henry Elliot (Tom Bosley), a workaholic real estate business man from Cleveland, whose wife, Myra (Marcia Wallace), is trying to get to relax and forget about work, as well as an unaccompanied minor named Robbie (Ronnie Scribner).
Myra introduces them to another couple from Arizona, of whom the husband says back home he is a dentist and remarks to Henry that he is not talking about teeth while on the resort.
Henry even finds the only pay phone on the island (hidden in a fake tree in the lobby used only for emergencies) and tries to call his office back in Cleveland, then panics because no one answers there, only for Myra to remind him of the time zone difference.
Henry finally decides to placate his wife by changing out of his suit (which he had been wearing since getting off the Minnow IV) into a pair of shorts and a polo shirt and allows himself to look scruffy.
Gilligan goes out and eventually finds him, and learns he ran away from his parents due to undue pressure put on him to work hard to go to the Olympics, and how he would love to be more like a regular kid and not be practicing for eight hours a day on the weekends.
The desk clerk, Naheeti (played by Hawaiian actress Mokihana), warns of evil spirits coming from the masks, which the Professor naturally blows off.
Schwartz objected to reviving the show in its original format due to the aging cast and because he didn't want to repeat his old ideas.
Each episode would feature different guest stars with their own storylines, a premise he compared to The Love Boat.
It was moved up eight days from what had been previously advertised to a Thursday, a school night for kids, and put up against Mork and Mindy, a top-rated show at that time.