Encyclopedia
Fantasy Island refers to two separate but related
American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.
The Original Series
Prior to the long-running original series,
Fantasy Island was introduced to viewers in 1977 through two highly-rated made-for-television films in which Mr. Roarke and Tattoo played relatively minor roles. Airing from 1978 to 1984, the original series starred
Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere in the
Pacific Ocean where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fantasies — for a price.
Roarke was known for his white suit and cultured demeanor, and he was initially accompanied by an energetic
sidekick, Tattoo, played by the diminutive
Hervé Villechaize, who ran up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "The plane! The plane!" to announce the arrival of a new set of guests at the beginning of each episode. This line, shown at the beginning of the show's credits, became an unlikely catchphrase thanks to Villechaize's spirited delivery and French accent . In later seasons, he would come down to drive in his personal go cart, sized for him, and recklessly drive to join Roarke for the visitor reception. From 1980 to 1982, Wendy Schaal joined the cast as another assistant named Julie. Flint quit the series prior to the 1983-1984 season and Tattoo was replaced by a more sedate butler type named Lawrence, played by Christopher Hewett.
Roarke's personal vehicle was an orange
Dodge Aspen station wagon with a Safari top - with the stance of a modern-day
sport utility vehicle.
In the early seasons, it was noted that each guest had paid
$50,000 in advance for the fulfillment of their fantasies and that Fantasy Island was, at its heart, a business. Later, it became clear that the price a guest paid was substantial to him or her, and for one little girl whose father was one of Roarke's guests, she'd emptied her piggy bank - less than ten dollars - to have her fantasy about her father fulfilled.
In the two pilot movies Roarke was actually a rather sinister figure, but once the series went into production he soon became much more benevolent. In later seasons there were often
supernatural overtones suggesting that Mr. Roarke was an
angel, or perhaps a space alien or something else other-worldly, and that his powers to fulfill fantasies were the result of a supernatural being or beings needing to correct things that had happened in the past. Usually, he employed some sort of object - a magic potion, for instance - in order to make the fantasy come true. He also seemed to have his own magical powers of some sort, although it was never explained how this came to be. In one notable episode late in the series, Roarke battled a character who appeared to be
The Devil . Roarke had a strong moral code throughout, but he was always merciful as he tried to teach his guests the error of their ways. Several guests died on the island, either due to their own negligence, aggression or arrogance, or because they'd been due to die anyway and Roarke was allowing them to live out one last wish.
The usual format of each episode consisted of an introduction in which Roarke would describe to Tattoo the nature of each person's fantasy, usually with a cryptic comment suggesting the person's fantasy will not turn out as they expected. The episode would then alternate between two or three independent storylines as the guests experienced their fantasies and interacted with Roarke. Often, the fantasies would turn out to be morality lessons for the guests, sometimes to the point of putting their lives at risk, only to have Roarke step in at the last minute and reveal the deception. It is mentioned a few times that a condition of visiting Fantasy Island is that guests never reveal what goes on there. A small number of guests decided to make the irrevocable choice to stay permanently, living out their fantasy until death; one such person was an actor who'd been in a Tarzan-type TV series in the 1960s.
Like several other series of the era, such as
The Love Boat was a TV series [i] set on a cruise ship [i], which aired on the ABC Television Network [i] ...
and
Murder, She Wrote is a long-running television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury [i] as myster ...
,
Fantasy Island employed many celebrities as guest stars, often bringing them back repeatedly for different roles. The guests included TV stars such as
Bill Bixby and
Bob Denver, classic film stars such as
Peter Lawford and
Ray Bolger, young starlets like
Victoria Principal and
Barbi Benton, character actors such as
Howard Duff and David Doyle, and soap opera actors like
Dack Rambo.
The program was popular in its day, and its campy style has won it a cult following in reruns.
The 1998 Series
In 1998, ABC attempted a revival of the series in an hour-long format. The role of Mr. Roarke was filled by
Malcolm McDowell and, unlike the first series, the supernatural aspect of his character and of Fantasy Island itself was emphasized from the start, along with a dose of dark humor. Director Barry Sonnenfeld, known for his work on
The Addams Family movies, was a chief creative force on the new series. Another departure from the original involved filming location, with the new series filmed in
Hawaii, rather than in
California.
The supporting cast was also expanded for the new series. There was no attempt to replace Covert, with Roarke instead having a team of assistants — one of whom was a beautiful female
shape shifter — who were assigned to help create and maintain the various fantasy worlds created on the island. Apparently these assistants were imprisoned on the island in order to pay off some debt, sometimes hinting that they were in some kind of
Limbo. The series was cancelled midway through the season, with this subplot never resolved.
In an attempt to contrast this series with the original, the new Mr. Roarke usually wore black; in the first episode, he picked the single black suit out of a closet of white ones and ordered that the rest be burned. Also during the first episode, an assistant came into Mr. Roarke's office, shouting "The planes! The planes!" Mr. Roarke ordered the assistant to never do that again.
Episodes of the revived series were regularly introduced at a travel agency that actually books the fantasies, operated by two elderly travel agents played by Fyvush Finkel and
1930s silver screen leading lady
Sylvia Sidney .
Parodies
Canada's comedy duo of
Wayne and Shuster parodied Fantasy Island as
Fantasy Motel. A bus dropped off the passengers, who stood looking around at the inside of the motel, wondering at the sights, while Roarke told "Juan-too" the fantasies of the guests. Juan-too, however, was very tall, and when one guest blurted that he thought Juan-too was supposed to be short, Roarke said it was Juan-too's fantasy to be tall. This guest had everything, and his fantasy was to have something he didn't have. Roarke discovered the guest didn't think he was particularly handsome, so Roarke arranged for plastic surgery.
External links
