History Main / IslandHelpMessage

* DickVanDyke creates one out of coconuts when he gets to the island in ''Film/LtRobinCrusoeUSN''. Problem is, by the end (when he really needs it), the coconuts have been covered in sand, and he is being chased by the irate islanders... Fortunately the pilot in the plane overhead rightly assumes him to be a non-native specifically because he is clearing coconuts spelling "HELP" in the sand with a palm branch.

* In ''{{Madagascar}}'', the lion first builds a Statue of Liberty, but it burns down ("You fools!"), and later, "HELP," but the branches from P fall, forming "HELL."

* DickVanDyke does this at the end of "Lt. Robin Crusoe" as he is being chased by the irate islanders... Fortunately the pilot in the plane overhead rightly assumes him to be a non-native specifically because he is able to write HELP in the sand with a palm branch.

* This has been a challenge in several seasons of ''{{Survivor}}''.

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* Played for laughs in a FarSide cartoon, where the message says "HELF" and the passing pilot consequently decides it's a false alarm.

* One ''{{Foxtrot}}'' arc has Roger take Peter and Jason on a HorribleCampingTrip / MachoDisasterExpedition. When he tells them to build a fire pit, he tells them they're doing it wrong, as the stones are in an S shape. The next bird's eye view panel shows they've written "SEND PIZZA".

* The film, ''{{Castaway}}''.

* ''{{Lost}}'' - the episode "SOS," appropriately enough.

* Played with on ''{{Friends}}''. The gang is trapped at a rest stop somewhere in upstate New York and Joey writes "help" in sticks on the snow. Only he spells it "pleh" so the guys in the planes can read it.

* Played straight in Joe Haldeman's early ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_Judgment Planet of Judgment]]". When Captain Kirk's survey party is trapped on a planet without means of communication, they lay out a series of symbols once used by stranded airmen to communicate with the Enterprise.

* ''TheCritic'''s parents were stranded on a South Pacific Island once; [[CloudCuckoolander His father]] spelled out a message on the beach, which was acted upon by a CrazyPrepared rescue crew: "Need Gin."

* In ''[[TwentyEightDaysLater 28 Days Later]]'', the survivors form the word "HELLO" from sheets and curtains on the field next to their hideout. [[RuleOfSymbolism We see it first before they finish the O.]] They get rescued by Finns.
* Done again in ''TwentyEightWeeksLater'' where we see American forces pressure-washing off a message on a roof which read "Alive in here!". They probably weren't.

* One Foxtrot arc has Roger take Peter and Jason on a HorribleCampingTrip / MachoDisasterExpedition. When he tells them to build a fire pit, he tells them they're doing it wrong, as the stones are in an S shape. The next bird's eye view panel shows they've written "SEND PIZZA".

* In one novel of ''Anime/ReadOrDie'', Yomiko gets trapped on a desert island. There is a picture of on the beach with her rescue message. "Send Books!"

* Played straight in Joe Haldeman's early ''StarTrek'' novel "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_Judgment Planet of Judgment]]". When Captain Kirk's survey party is trapped on a planet without means of communication, they lay out a series of symbols once used by stranded airmen to communicate with the Enterprise.

* ''HogansHeroes'' - In one episode Hogan tricks Klink into calling a nighttime fallout rollcall. After all are accounted for and the men are allowed to be at ease, Klink lets the [=POWs=] have a smoke. What Klink doesnt know is that the men are arranged in the form of an arrow, the glowing cigerrettes showing an American bomber overhead the correct way to go for their target.

* The final ''[[{{MASH}} M*A*S*H]]'' episode has a variant of this, when B.J. uses a bunch of rocks to tell Hawkeye "GOODBYE".

* In ''{{Futurama}}'', Bender is one rock short of forming the word "Help". Zoom out to see his message is much longer than that.

* Hilariously [[{{Parody}} parodied]] in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' where Cow and Boneless got stuck on the roof of Cow and Chicken's house. Cow spots a helicopter flying by and starts writing something with ripped out roof tiles... Which turns out to be "My cousin and I were playing catch but I tossed him too high, we got stuck on the roof and now we need [runs out of space]" The pilot reads all this, goes "Need what?" and distractedly crashes onto a tree.

* One episode of ''TheSimpsons'' features a similar joke to the ''{{Futurama}}'' example mentioned above except with sharks.

** [[spoiler: The SOS sign was never completed. However, the discarded materials make a rather large sad smiley like this :( ]]

* The JamesPatterson novel ''Sail'' - a kid whose family is stuck on an island sticks a message in a bottle, which a big fish swallows. The fish is later caught and a search effort restarts.

* Played for laughs in a FarSide cartoon, where the message says "HELF" and the passing pilot consequently decides it's a false alarm. Also, see above.

* This Troper once read a comic where two guys do this; when they run out of stones, they use their bodies as letters - one being an L. It works.

** Done again in ''TwentyEightWeeksLater'' where we see American forces pressure-washing off a message on a roof which read "Alive in here!". They probably weren't.

[[TheFarSide http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/help_quack.jpg]]

* In one novel of ''ReadOrDie'', Yomiko gets trapped on a desert island. There is a picture of on the beach with her rescue message. "Send Books!"

* Played straight in Joe Haldeman's early ''StarTrek'' novel "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_Judgment Planet of Judgment]]". When Captain Kirk's survey party is trapped on a planet without means of communication, they lay out a series of symbols once used by stranded airmen to communicate with the Enterprise.

* Hilariously [[{{Parody}} parodied]] in an episode of ''CowAndChicken'' where Cow and Boneless got stuck on the roof of Cow and Chicken's house. Cow spots a helicopter flying by and starts writing something with ripped out roof tiles... Which turns out to be "My cousin and I were playing catch but I tossed him too high, we got stuck on the roof and now we need [runs out of space]" The pilot reads all this, goes "Need what?" and distractedly crashes onto a tree.

* Dick Van Dyke does this at the end of "Lt. Robin Crusoe" as he is being chased by the irate islanders... Fortunately the pilot in the plane overhead rightly assumes him to be a non-native specifically because he is able to write HELP in the sand with a palm branch.

* In the original ''SurvivalKids'' game (the series that went on to become ''Game/LostInBlue''), the way to get the quickest ending was to build one of these on the beach. You'd then get rescued. (It is, of course, a long ways from the Best Ending, which you need to unlock New Game Plus mode--in which your character rescues the other child on the island, befriends them, the two of you escape on a Lost Technology ship, and grow up to get married.)

* In ''[[TwentyEightDaysLater 28 Days Later]]'', the survivors form the word "HELLO" from sheets and curtains on the field next to their hideout. We see it first before they finish the O. They get rescued by Finns.

* In the original ''SurvivalKids'' game (the series that went on to become ''LostInBlue''), the way to get the quickest ending was to build one of these on the beach. You'd then get rescued. (It is, of course, a long ways from the Best Ending, which you need to unlock New Game Plus mode--in which your character rescues the other child on the island, befriends them, the two of you escape on a Lost Technology ship, and grow up to get married.)

* ''HogansHeroes'' - In one episode Hogan tricks Klink into calling a nighttime fallout rollcall. After all are accounted for and the men are allowed to be at ease, Klink lets the POWs have a smoke. What Klink doesnt know is that the men are arranged in the form of an arrow, the glowing cigerrettes showing an American bomber overhead the correct way to go for their target.

* In the original ''Survival Kids'' game (the series that went on to become ''Lost In Blue''), the way to get the quickest ending was to build one of these on the beach. You'd then get rescued. (It is, of course, a long ways from the Best Ending, which you need to unlock New Game Plus mode--in which your character rescues the other child on the island, befriends them, the two of you escape on a Lost Technology ship, and grow up to get married.)