AllMovie

As Christmas approaches, the castaways pick up a radio broadcast suggesting that their rescue may be imminent. With their spirits raised, our seven protagonists recall the events leading up to their being shipwrecked on the island--as good an excuse as any for series producer Sherwood Schwartz to utilize heretofore untelecast footage from the original Gilligan's Island pilot episode (see if you can spot John Gabriel, Nancy McCarthy and Kit Smythe, who played the "Professor", "Mary Ann" and "Ginger" characters in the pilot.) Capping this episode is a guest-star turn by Santa Claus, in one of his rare TV appearances.