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"Fantasy Island" (1998)

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
I too loved the new Fantasy Island..., 10 August 2005
Author: William Kucharski from Louisville, Colorado

From the first few episodes, I knew that the Fantasy Island (1998) was going to be another short-lived, "too good for TV" series; I just didn't know ABC would kill it so early.

Unlike the original, which was little more than "The Love Boat" (1977) on an island, the new Fantasy Island was a "reimagining" of the original, not unlike the way "Battlestar Galactica" (2004) owes its existence to "Battlestar Galactica" (1978) but is in no way the same show.

The show's writers gave Roarke an incredibly detailed and mysterious back story, doing an excellent job of giving us information in the few episodes that were actually shown. Malcolm McDowells Roarke was both threatening and compassionate in the way only McDowell can be. Mädchen Amick was excellent as Roarke's companion, sidekick and possible love interest, Ariel, and Edward Hibbert and Louis Lombardi were excellent as Roarke's bumbling assistants, Harry and Cal.

Alas, the new series was just beginning to completely gel when ABC pulled the plug.

While it may be too much to hope that the thirteen episodes will someday be released on DVD, be sure to catch the episodes when they are occasionally rerun on the SciFi channel in the US; you won't regret it.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Daring, dark, brilliant, 8 July 2003
Author: lyonessNYC from New York, New York

I'd caught a couple of episodes of this when it was on network TV, but it kept being moved around, and was tough to catch.

SciFi Channel shows it, and I find I adore this twisted version of the classic I loved as a child. It's darker, edgier, has a bit of a mean streak at times, but there's just something I love about it. Not quite sure what it is, but I could start with Malcolm McDowell's Mr. Roarke. I have to wonder if his first name is Prospero, considering all the other _Tempest_ parallels...Ariel, Cal(iban), even Miranda.

Nothing ever quite goes as planned in the guests' fantasies, but it's not always bad -- oftentimes they discover that what they wanted would not have satisfied, and the new solution is *far* better, even if it means major disappointment to start. Sounds treacly, doesn't it? Nope. There's a healthy dose of reality in this _Fantasy_ -- Roarke doesn't let guests get away with simply living out a dream. There's always something...extra. [wicked grin] Lessons to be learned.

It's not that Roarke's *always* mean -- there are guests he seems to genuinely like and takes care of accordingly. But there's also an angle of "Be careful what you wish for" that makes this version a cautionary tale as well as a fantasy. It does seem that he has his guests' best interests at heart, when it comes down to it. Realistically benevolent, as it were.

The bits about the budget are pretty funny too -- adds a touch of amusing realism to the fantasy angle.

It's a shame this show didn't make it. Sure, it wasn't the original. I liked the original too, for its own merits. But I really love this one, and wish it had stayed around longer.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
dry, different, doomed, 15 January 1999
Author: ag-2 from United States

This series was far too good for ABC, home of Boy Meets World. (It survived but half a season and was replaced in late January of 1999.) I liked it very much and think that its god-awful Saturday-evening time slot was a huge disservice. The series had a terrific premise and some really wonderful actors (McDowell, Amick, Lombardi); pity that Sci-Fi Channel or some other outfit with a triple-digit IQ didn't get a crack at giving this show the run it deserved.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Far from a holiday in hell., 24 June 2001
Author: Victor Field from London, England

This shortlived revamping of the classically silly TV series was, ironically, closer to the original concept than the first show (the 1970s version's pilot was darker and a lot edgier than the subsequent series); the "fantasy" aspect of the title got as much play here as the "island" part, with a greater implication that Mr. Roarke and his crew were not all they seemed - particularly Madchen Amick's shape-shifter Ariel ("I'm not hard to get - I'm impossible to get").

The travel agency in NYC that booked the passengers for Fantasy Island filled in another gap from the original show (how the hell did they get there in the first place?), and the stories were overall a bit more interesting - in one episode someone even wanted to live out a fantasy where he died a hero, and got his wish. John Ottman's excellent title music (plus his Emmy-nominated score for the pilot) also managed to capture both the exoticism and the mystery of the locale; no disrespect to Laurence Rosenthal, a fine composer in his own right, but his old theme was far too lush and old-fashioned to work here.

On the other hand, what sane person would want to arrive on an island paradise and find someone as creepy as Malcolm McDowell waiting for you? (And admit it, while his aides are good characters you miss Tattoo.) Nonetheless, this remains a decent effort - and certainly a better TV venture for Barry Sonnenfeld than that hopeless "Secret Agent Man."

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Better than the first, 12 May 2003
Author: kfwilkinson from Auburn, Indiana

I used to LOVE the Mantalban Fantasy Island, so when this one came out I was happy to watch it.

This one, to me, seems to be better written, and far more enjoyable. the characters are more than one-dimensional; who in their right mind would stay on an island in the middle of nowhere catering to a bunch of spoiled whiny people? This series answers that question - someone who HAS TO. I thought that gave a dimension of "humanity" to Roarke et. al. that the original lacked.

And the humor and twists really do point out the old maxim "be careful what you wish for - you just might get it."

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A wretched imposter, 20 January 2002

Author: TVholic from New York

The fall of 1998 looked to be retro-Spelling, with the ABC Saturday night shows of late '70s/early '80s being remade, albeit on separate networks. Alas, neither lived up to the original. Love Boat: the Next Wave was a pale imitation of the classic. The new ship was colorless, lacking the character of the Pacific Princess, and something is seriously wrong when your best episode is the reunion of the original cast. Going in the other direction was the new Fantasy Island. Instead of becoming frothier, it became heavier.

The first sign that this was not your father's Fantasy Island was the utterly forgettable opening theme, which took the place of the familiar, welcoming, swelling strains. Worse was the casting of Malcolm McDowell as the new Mr. Roarke. From its inception as a series of TV movies, Fantasy Island guests never got their fantasies exactly the way they wanted them. There were always unexpected complications, if usually happy endings. Ricardo Montalban's Roarke always seemed like he genuinely cared for his guests and was saddened by the pain and struggles they always had to endure. But the new "management" of Fantasy Island seems to revel in their customers' misery. McDowell's Roarke had been sentenced there as some form of supernatural punishment, a fact not just alluded to but stated outright. McDowell seems to like playing sinister old men, starting in Blue Thunder, which is a shame because he played a nice guy very well in Time After Time. The rest of the staff is just as nasty, once betting on how much abuse a guest can take. Those who consider this show better than the original because it brings "twists" really didn't watch the original. Fantasy Island guests have always had rocky roads to their dreams. Want to play detective? You'll become a suspect in a case. Want to sing in the 1920s? You'll get caught up in gangland gunfights. Want to be a famous actor? You'll lose every last shred of privacy. Want to stage your own funeral? Somebody else will actually die. That's how it's always been.

The most egregious change came from executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld. He started his career as a cinematographer and he still tries to show as much as he can. The old show used a lot of smoke, mirrors and mystery so we were never really sure what happened (at least until the later years when Roarke faced down the Devil himself, among other things). Sonnenfeld left nothing to the imagination, using then overusing special effects, often for no other reason than he felt like it and almost always without helping the plot along. As Hitchcock showed, especially in "Psycho," a good filmmaker can often use the viewer's imagination more effectively than by actually showing something on screen. Another unwelcome change is the comedic travel agency scene bracketing the stories on the island. While this is probably meant to bring some light and thus contrast to the darkness of the show, it just seemed out of place and unnecessary. Like everything else, it takes away some of the mystery. Besides, nobody really cares exactly how they found out about Fantasy Island. The only thing that matters is that they came.

As far as I'm concerned, this series is not part of the FI canon and does not exist. Where have you gone, Hervé Villechaize? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent show. Should NOT have been cancelled., 24 September 1999
Author: Barry-73 from Mullica Township, New Jersey, USA

I saw the first few episodes of this new version of Fantasy Island. I immediately loved it. But the time slot it was in (Saturday evening) was weird. Occasionally I forgot to watch. But then the TV station started pre-empting it with movies and what have you. Then it disappeared altogether. I think it should have been played on Sci-Fi. That might have helped. I can't believe it was canned in the first season! It kind of reminded me of The Twilight Zone, in some ways. I liked Malcom McDowell as Mr. Roarke, and I liked Ariel the shapeshifter. I also liked Fyvush Finkel as the travel agent. If this ever comes out on video, I will buy every episode. This show is high on my list of favorite TV shows. If it ever shows up on TV in reruns, it is a MUST-SEE!

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
The original was OK, but this version ROCKED!, 12 May 2004
Author: Sparki from United States

I may be in the minority, but I actually liked Fantasy Island '98, as i called it, better than the original. It was a lot edgier and darker, and more cautionary (be careful what you wish for! You may get it!)whereas the original was fluffier and sillier and more escapist. I think all the episodes were excellent, but if I had to choose a favorite, I would go with the Thanksgiving one, where a lady was bringing her partner to meet her folks. I think Fantasy Island '98 was one of the freshest, most creative things on TV, and i think it was a stupid move on part of the Awfully Boneheaded Clods at ABC to pull it. I guess because it wasn't a reality eating-bugs thing or a glorified FRIENDS repeat. Who knows?

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly better than the original, 23 August 2001
Author: Dr_Hieronymus from Orlando, FL

This is one of those shows I never watched in the first run because of the association with the original. Sure, I sometimes was amused at the original but in the late 90's that kind of show held little appeal for me to actually carve out yet another hour in my schedule for it. So I found myself saying "oh, no, not another remake". (I also recalled how pitiful most remakes were).

I have seen some of the reruns on SciFi and realize this show was far superior to the original. Somewhere along the way the original was made less edgy and far more silly. Apparently this newer incarnation was closer to the original concept.

Seeing it I realize why it was cancelled. Most TV is geared towards the lowest common denominator. Ahh, well. At least we have a few reruns to enjoy.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
far too dark and funny for ABC, 28 July 2000
Author: ag-2 from United States

Legacy or no legacy, how the producers of Fantasy Island talked the Absolutely Banal Content network into running this is a mystery up there with why Roarke's suits have gone from white to black -- yet another thing we'll never know, but you can bet there's a story behind it. Bless Sci-Fi for picking up this gem; wish they could afford to resurrect it, but I'll happily take (and TAPE) what I can get. (And I won't be watching ABC again. Any network that could can this and Wonderland and keep Regis Philbin on eight days a week is angling for a much *dumber* demographic than mine.)

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