Fantasy Island Information

Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.

Original series

Before it became a long-running original television series, Fantasy Island was introduced to viewers in 1977 through two highly-rated made-for-television films. Airing from 1978 to 1984, the original series starred Ricardo Montalbán 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, albeit for a price.

Roarke was known for his white suit and cultured demeanor, and was initially accompanied by an energetic sidekick, Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize. Tattoo would run 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 because of Villechaize's spirited delivery and French accent (he actually pronounced it, "De plane! De plane!"). In later seasons, he would arrive in his personal go-kart, sized for him, and recklessly drive to join Roarke for the visitor reception while the staff scrambled to get out of his way. From 1980 to 1982, Wendy Schaal joined the cast as an assistant named Julie. In a highly unpopular move with both fans and the cast, the producers fired Villechaize from the series before the 1983"1984 season, which ended up being its last, and Tattoo was replaced by a more sedate butler type named Lawrence, played by Christopher Hewett. Lawrence's personality was exactly the opposite of Tattoo's in many ways. For instance, Lawrence was also responsible for the bell ringing, but instead of climbing to the tower he simply pushed a button outside to have the bell ring automatically.

A Grumman Widgeon aircraft was used for the series. As each visitor exited the plane Roarke would describe to Tattoo (or another assistant) the nature of their fantasy, usually with a cryptic comment suggesting the person's fantasy will not turn out as they expected. Roarke would then welcome his guests by lifting his glass and saying: "My dear guests, I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island." This toast was usually followed with a warm smile but sometimes (depending on the nature of a guest or their fantasy) his eyes would show concern or worry for a guest's safety.

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.

Very little is known about the man known as Mr. Roarke and it isn't clear if that's his first, last, or only name. Although most guests know him as "Mr." Roarke, many people close to him, including past lovers, have referred to him only as "Roarke", which suggests he may not have any other names. He is the sole owner and proprietor of Fantasy Island.

Roarke's actual age is a complete mystery. In the pilot film, he comments how the guests who come to his island are "so mortal" and there are hints throughout the series that suggest Roarke may be immortal. In "Elizabeth", a woman from Roarke's past appears, but it's revealed that she died over 300 years ago. Another episode even suggests that he was once intimate with Cleopatra. However old he is, Roarke has come to know many seemingly-immortal beings over his time on Earth, including ghosts ("The Ghost's Story"), a genie ("A Genie Named Joe"), the mermaid Nyah ("The Mermaid", "The Mermaid Returns", "The Mermaid and the Matchmaker"), the goddess Aphrodite ("Aphrodite"), and even Uriel, the Angel of Death ("The Angel's Triangle"). In two episodes ("The Devil and Mandy Breem", "The Devil and Mr. Roarke"), Roarke even faces The Devil (played by Roddy McDowall), who has come to the island to challenge him for either a guest's immortal soul or his. It is mentioned this is not the first time they have confronted each other and Mr. Roarke has always been the winner. In the second story, the Devil himself was one of the island's guests, claiming he was only there to relax and had no interest in Roarke's soul at the time. However, this turned out to be yet another ruse.

Roarke had a strong moral code, but he was always merciful. He usually tried to teach his guests important life lessons through the medium of their fantasies, frequently in a manner that exposes the errors of their ways, and on occasions when the island hosted terminally ill guests he would allow them to live out one last wish. Roarke's fantasies were not without peril, but the greatest danger usually came from the guests themselves; in some cases people actually got themselves killed due to their own negligence, aggression or arrogance. When necessary, Roarke would directly intervene when the fantasy became dangerous to the guest. For instance, when Tattoo was given his own fantasy as a birthday gift, which ended up with him being chased by hostile natives in canoes, Mr. Roarke suddenly appeared in a motorboat, snared Tattoo's canoe with a grappling hook and towed it away at high speed to help his employee escape. With only a few exceptions, Roarke always made it quite clear that he was powerless to stop a fantasy once it had begun and that guests must play them out to their conclusion.

In later seasons, there were often supernatural overtones. Roarke also seemed to have his own supernatural powers of some sort (called the "Gift of the McNabs" in "Delphine"), although it was never explained how this came to be. In one episode, when a guest says "Thank God things worked out well", Roarke and Tattoo share a very odd look and Roarke says in a cryptic way "Thank God, indeed". In the same episode, Roarke uses some mysterious powers to help Tattoo with his magic act. Actor Ricardo Montalban would claim in interviews that he had a definite opinion in mind regarding the mystery of Mr. Roarke, and how he accomplished his fantasies, but he would never publicly state what it was.

The usual format of each episode consisted of an introduction in which Roarke would describe to Tattoo (or another assistant) 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 story lines as the guests experienced their fantasies and interacted with Roarke. (A syndication of the original episodes on daytime TV in the 1980s reduced each hour-long original show to two separate half-hour shows in which only one guest's story was told in each half-hour episode. This made it obvious that the original episodes had been planned in such a way that each guest or family got off the plane separately, did not interact with the other guest or family, and was given almost exactly half the time of the original episode.) Often, the fantasies would turn out to be morality lessons for the guests (for example, one featured a man who clamored for the "good old days" to be taken back to the Salem witch trials), sometimes to the point of (apparently) 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 had been in a Tarzan-type television series in the 1960s. Aside from a "clip show" ("Remember...When?") the only episode with a single storyline was "The Wedding", in which terminally ill Helena Marsh returned to Fantasy Island to spend her last days as Roarke's wife.

The Fantasy

Cost

In the first film, it was noted that each guest had paid $50,000 (about $185,000 in 2010 dollars) in advance for the fulfillment of their fantasies and that Fantasy Island was a business. In Return to Fantasy Island, Roarke told Tattoo that he sometimes dropped the price when a guest couldn't afford the usual fee because he believed everyone should be given a chance to have their fantasies fulfilled. Afterwards, 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 had emptied her piggy bank"?less than ten dollars"?to have her fantasy with her father fulfilled. On numerous occasions, a guest had not paid for the trip at all but instead won it as a result of a contest. Those who came by winning contests were usually the unknowing beneficiaries of rigged contests in order to disguise to themselves and others the real reason for their coming as part of someone else's fantasy.

Nature

The nature of a fantasy varied from story to story and were typically very personal to each guest on some level. They could be as harmless as wanting to be reunited with a lost love to something more dangerous like tracking down a cold-blooded killer who murdered someone close to the guest. Usually, the fantasy would take an unexpected turn and proceed down a quite different path than the guest expected. He or she would then leave with some new revelation or renewed interest about themselves or someone close to them. Many times, Roarke would reveal in the end that someone they met during the course of their fantasy was another guest living a fantasy of their own. Both guests often left the island together. However, one guest (Don Knotts) had no particular fantasy and was simply there to relax and enjoy himself.

Although some fantasies were rooted in the real world, many others involved supernatural (such as ghosts, demons, or witchcraft) or mythological (mermaids, genies, Greek goddesses) elements. Time-travel was often a required element - if not a specific request - to fulfill one's fantasy.

Risk

Often a fantasy might involve supernatural elements or even time-travel. Roarke often preceded particularly risky fantasies with a stern warning, word of caution, or even suggestion that the guest select another fantasy instead. He would then inform his guests that he was powerless to stop a fantasy once it had begun and must allow the fantasy to play out until its ultimate conclusion. However, in life-or-death cases, he would inevitably intervene and ensure his guests' safety.

Guest stars

Production notes

The show was broadcast every Saturday night on ABC at 10 p.m., after The Love Boat, which was also produced by Aaron Spelling. Like several other series of the era, such as the previously mentioned The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote, Fantasy Island employed many celebrity guest stars, often bringing them back repeatedly for different roles.

Filming locations

The series was filmed primarily in Burbank, California, with the opening scenes of the enchanting island coastline being that of Moorea, French Polynesia. The house with the bell tower, where Tattoo rings the bell, is the Queen Anne Cottage, located in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia. The plane, "arriving" with the guests, was filmed in the lagoon behind the Queen Anne Cottage. Sometimes, outdoor scenes were filmed at the Arboretum.

1998 series

In 1998, ABC revived the series in a Saturday time slot. The role of Mr. Roarke was filled by Malcolm McDowell and, unlike in 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 remake followed the fantasies of at least two of Roarke's guests with an additional subplot involving members of his staff - usually Cal and Harry. Whereas the original series featured a separate writer and title for each subplot, the new series was written as several stories but featuring a unified theme and title.

The supporting cast was also expanded for the new series. There was no attempt to reinstate Tattoo, with Roarke instead having a team of assistants "? one of whom was a beautiful female shape shifter named Ariel "? 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 (or earn a second chance at life), sometimes hinting that they were in some kind of Limbo, with many parallels between the regulars and William Shakespeare's The Tempest. In this aspect, the show was similar to another short-lived series - Nightmare Cafe. It was strongly hinted that the island itself was the source of Roarke's mysterious powers as his assistants have been shown wielding its magic with varying degrees of success. Miranda, Roarke's adopted daughter was human but grew up on the island with the ability as well. The series was canceled midway through the season with the remaining episodes airing on the Sci Fi Channel. This version also aired on UPN.

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 regularly opened and ended with a sequence set in 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 (in her final acting role). Roarke gave them their assignments by stuffing contracts into a pneumatic tube that somehow connected the island with the travel agency and the outside world.

Characters

• Mr. Roarke - the enigmatic host and self-proclaimed "Master of Ceremonies" of Fantasy Island. Capable of working miracles and performing the impossible, he would bring people to the island under the pretense of fulfilling their deepest fantasy. However, ultimately his actions would lead to them receiving what their hearts really wanted or even showing them the error of their ways. While Roarke nearly always had the best intentions for his guests, he possessed a dark sense of humor and a dry wit with sarcastic undertones. He has an adopted daughter, Miranda, that was the only survivor of a shipwreck near the island. She left the island to live in the outside world after she turned eighteen. She became a doctor and eventually married but retained no memories of Fantasy Island or of Roarke while off-island.

• Ariel - Roarke's second-in-command. While she is incredibly old, physically she appears to be quite young and attractive and has the ability to shape-shift into various women to help guests' fantasies along. She is quite fond of Roarke and appears to have been romantically involved with him sometime in the past. She claims to have been with as many men as there are grains in a fistful of sand.

• Cal - While primarily introduced as the island's bellhop, he was also shown to have various other duties such as bartender, waiter, cook, and even helicopter pilot. In his former life, he was a small-time criminal but earned a chance to start life anew at the age of 10 near the end of the season.

• Harry - the island hotel's concierge. He was apparently the concierge of a burning hotel Roarke rescued him from.

• Fisher - a Travel Agent who arranges Fantasy Island trips for visitors at the start of each episode.

Syndication

In Canada, episodes of the original series are aired during primetime some evenings and again on the weekend on TV Land (as of January 15, 2009). In Greece, episodes are aired very early in the morning (sometimes 04.00-04.30) every day on Mega Channel.

Selected episodes from the first, second and third seasons are available free at Hulu. Selected Minisodes from seasons one, three, four, five, and six are available free at Crackle, along with complete episodes from seasons one, two, and three.

DVD releases

Original series

In 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Season 1 of the original series on DVD in regions 1, 2 & 4. The release included the 1977 pilot Fantasy Island and 1978's Return to Fantasy Island. However, due to poor sales, no further seasons were released.

In February 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1; they subsequently released the second season on DVD on May 8, 2012. Season 3 was released on October 23, 2012.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The Complete First Season	18	November 15, 2005
The Complete Second Season	25	May 8, 2012
The Complete Third Season	23	October 23, 2012

Ratings

• 1) 1978–79: #22 (20.8)
• 2) 1979–80: #28 (20.1)
• 3) 1980–81: #17 (20.7)
• 4) 1981–82: #30 (18.3)
• 5) 1982–83: Not in the Top 30
• 6) 1983–84: Not in the Top 30

Parodies and cultural references

• The animated TV series South Park has referenced Fantasy Island on three occasions.

• In the season 6 episode of Wings, titled "The Waxman Cometh", Lowell buys a waxwork, and Mr. Roarke is sitting on a bench in the president's stand. Antonio asks "when was Ricardo Montalban the president?" to which Brian replies "wait a minute, where's vice president Tattoo?

• Canada's comedy duo of Wayne and Shuster parodied Fantasy Island as Fantasy Motel.

• The Micallef Program featured a sketch entitled 'Fantasy Traffic Island' in which Shaun and Francis asked a pedestrian what his wildest fantasy was. He just wanted to get to the golf shop across the road.

• In the Looney Tunes compilation Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island, Daffy Duck found a wishing well, and started charging people to make wishes. When the business took off, he started wearing a white suit. Speedy Gonzales took on the role of Tattoo.

• SCTV produced a parody of Fantasy Island. Eugene Levy played a Mr. Roarke-like character, & John Candy played Pattoo, a Tattoo-like character.

• In "The Cryonic Woman", an episode of the animated TV series, Futurama, a reference is made to characters returning from Fantasy Planet, where "for one beautiful night".

• In the entertainment TV show El Lavadero, on the Colombian TV network RCN, there is a segment called Su Isla de la Fantasía (Spanish for "Your Fantasy Island"), which is presented by "Señor Ron" (a Mr. Roarke-like character') and Pelotú (pronounced pell-o-TOO, an imitation of Tattoo).

• In a MadTV sketch parodying the ABC drama Lost, Roarke and Tattoo emerge from the jungle at the end of the skit, with Roarke welcoming them, and announcing that the survivors are actually on Fantasy Island. Tattoo, on seeing their downed plane, exclaims, "The Plane! The Plane is in the ocean!".

• In George Lopez, Vic is seen in a white tuxedo and George walks in and says, "Welcome to Fantasy Island," and making a series of remarks related to the show, such as, "Boss boss, de plane, de plane!"

• In Robot Chicken, Mr. Roarke and Tattoo appear in an episode, with guests stating that they would like obscure, inappropriate fantasies, such as being able to have sex with a donkey or to administer a violent beating to Roarke.

• In the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury, Chris Kattan's character Doug Watabi yells to his father "Are you seeing planes?...Is your name Tattoo because I swear to God you're living on Fantasy Island" Then Will Ferrell's character Steve says "Man, that was a sweet show!" In which Doug adds "Yeah it was, wasn't it?"

• In the Entourage episode "Fantasy Island", Turtle can be heard saying "Ze plane, ze plane" to Vince as a plane flies overhead.

• In an episode of Bizarre, comedian John Byner plays Tattoo giving then-NBC executive Fred Silverman a wish. When Silverman asks for a decent line-up, Byner-as-Tattoo tells him "we only do fantasies, not friggin miracles!"

• In the film Deep Blue Sea, Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson) likens the research facility to Fantasy Island, and quotes "De plane, de plane!". When Thomas Jane's character Carter fails tot understand the reference, Russell remarks that he is getting too old.

• In the Disney Channel show, Phineas and Ferb, produced an episode titled "de plane, de plane".

• On the Gorillaz' Plastic Beach website, Tattoo can be found standing in front of the lift, saying "De lift, boss!".

• In the Doug episode, "Doug's In The Money", Doug Funnie finds an envelope containing a large sum of money, and later daydreams that he used it to start his own island resort called Funnie Island. In the fantasy, Doug stands in for Mr. Roarke, and a miniature version of Roger is Tattoo.

• The introduction to Dr. Dre's solo album The Chronic features Snoop Dogg referring to former N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller and rapper Eazy-E as Mr. Roarke and Tattoo. The metaphor was related to Dr. Dre being released from his contract with Ruthless Records.