# Did I just hear the "Tetris theme" in Gilligan's Island? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049 "2014-02-23T23:55:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/1 "2014-02-23T23:55:00Z")
I was just watching the episode where Gilligan’s look-alike comes to spy on them. At the point where Gilligan frees himself from ropes and catches his double in the closet, a chase scene begins. I could swear I heard pieces of Tetris music (“Korobeiniki”) interspersed with bits of the show’s theme song during the chase. Did my ears deceive me, or is that what I heard? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/2 "2014-02-24T00:14:12Z")
Probably. Considering you know its name and it’s a traditional [Russian](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8) song, then of course it will be used everywhere. Its familiarity is partly why it would’ve been used for Tetris. You’ve probably hear a lot of the tunes from [Lemmings](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiWbcws-s4o) in various places too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/3 "2014-02-24T00:46:46Z")
Its familiarity and its public-domainness. Which of course also appealed to the Gilligan’s Island producers. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/4 "2014-02-24T02:06:00Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > I was just watching the episode where Gilligan’s look-alike comes to spy on them. At the point where Gilligan frees himself from ropes and catches his double in the closet, a chase scene begins. I could swear I heard pieces of Tetris music (“Korobeiniki”) interspersed with bits of the show’s theme song during the chase. > > Did my ears deceive me, or is that what I heard? Can you find a clip? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/5 "2014-02-24T14:56:06Z")
The episode is called _Gilligan vs Gilligan_ and was the second episode of season 3. I couldn’t find a clip though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/6 "2014-02-24T22:57:23Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Did my ears deceive me, or is that what I heard? I have the compete set of DVDs, and yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/7 "2014-02-24T23:03:35Z")
I haven’t seen that episode in about 30 years, but I thought it was Khachaturian’s [Sabre Dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqg3l3r_DRI) playing during the chase scenes. The only reason I recall it at all is that we used to play the Sabre Dance in my high school orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-hear-the-tetris-theme-in-gilligans-island/682049/8 "2014-02-25T17:51:53Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > I haven’t seen that episode in about 30 years, but I thought it was Khachaturian’s [Sabre Dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqg3l3r_DRI) playing during the chase scenes. Nope. There’s another Russian-sounding piece throughout the first two-thirds of the episode, but I don’t recognize it and suspect it was written specifically for the show.