This is a neat episode, but also quite famous for its guest stars, one human and one animal. It's all about a lion who washes up on the island in a crate. Mr. Howell, the business master mind, thinks it might be in a good idea to finance a circus --with Gilligan as the ringmaster -- AND a real deal lion! The gag here is that Gilligan looks like a GIANT can of corned beef to the lion????
The story gets an A for effort. However, the real story centers around famous Zamba, the lion. Zamba was owned by animal rights activist Ralph Helfin, a friend of Carol Burnett. Helfin strongly believed movie animals needed to be protected against cruel owners, and brought up Zamba the right way, and good for him. For years, animals were trained with whips and chairs, and thrown in cages and treated like dirt. Zamba was in scores of tv shows and movies, and quite talented and respected. He lived to age 18, passing away a few years after this episode in 1970.
The second guest star to note is Janos Prohaska, a master stunt man, who also played bears and gorillas, in this case also a lion. Janos appeared in such shows as the OUTER LIMITS, BEWITCHED and LOST IN SPACE. He tragically was killed in a plane crash in 1974 while working on a tv movie, but never forgotten in Hollywood.
One laugh out loud comedy to see again. From SEASON 2, restored dvd box set in beautiful color.