Fantasy Island (1977–1984)

Tales of visitors to a unique resort island that can fulfill literally any fantasy requested.

Creator:

Gene Levitt

Stars:

Ricardo Montalban, Hervé Villechaize, Christopher Hewett

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 9 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Ricardo Montalban	...	Mr. Roarke (154 episodes, 1977-1984)
Hervé Villechaize	...	Tattoo (131 episodes, 1977-1983)

Storyline

Fantasy Island is a resort, where there is very little that the host, Mr. Roarke cannot provide. Thus we have visitors have adventures in fantasies that should be impossible, but this island can accommodate them such as visits to any time period they want, meet absolutely anyone they see to do something they request such as getting William Shakespeare to write a play for them. The only constant (until the final season) was at the sight of the incoming visitors, the Mr. Roarke's midget assistant runs up to the bell tower to ring the bell and shout "De plane!, De plane!"

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Plot Keywords:

island | resort | midget | mysterious man | two word title | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1979 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

La isla de la fantasía

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Television, Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (157 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

When 3-D was revived in the early 1980s, some thought was given to shooting an entire episode in 3-D. The problem was that Anaglyphic glasses (tinted glasses) could not be used because it required that TV sets be correctly color adjusted - something in 1983 with dozens of TV makers and in an era without cable or satellite was unthinkable.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Tattoo: Da plane. Da plane.

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: That'll Do, Pig (2003)

User Reviews

Hypnotic t.v.

'Fantasy Island' was a show that remained an enigma as far as its main character was concerned. Ricardo Montalban's Mr. Roarke was a well dressed mystery man who, for a price, could make your fantasy come true on his tropical island and every week, a new group of characters would come to the island and a few different stories would evolve. As quality television, it didn't get a lot of respect from its peers but it was one of those cult like shows that had a following that seemed to die off quickly which explains why its almost impossible to find it anywhere in syndication. I enjoyed it mildly but it was by no means classic television.