While we don't expect to hear the enthusiastic call of Tattoo as a plane soars overhead in the new Blumhouse production of Fantasy Island, we're still excited about the darker, edgier take on the ABC series starring Ricardo Montalban that originally ran from 1978 to 1984. Privileged guests are taken to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean to live out their greatest fantasies, courtesy of a mysterious proprietor, and learn that it's sometimes dangerous to get exactly what you wish for.
The trailer for the new Fantasy Island shows a picturesque island retreat, much like the original series, and a fresh crop of guests to be tantalized. Their desires range from terrorizing an old high school bully, to playing soldier with live rounds in the jungle. Each fantasy seems to take a drastic turn for the worst. It turns out this wasn't that far off from the original series. Here's 10 things to know about the original Fantasy Island before you see the film, expected to be released in 2020.
IT FEATURED DOZENS OF CELEBRITY GUEST STARS
Fantasy Island became known for its slew of famous guest stars over the years, with a cavalcade of celebrities from the '70s and '80s showing up to play the guests that came to the island. Famous faces included Regis Philbin, Don Knotts, Scott Baio, Leslie Nielsen, David Cassidy, and even Jimmy Dean (yes, the sausage guy).
Some guest stars would become famous later, like Michelle Pfeiffer (in 1983's Scarface), Sid Haig (Captain Spalding from Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects films) Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation a few years later), and Tori Spelling (who was just a kid!). All the guest stars signed the real plane that was used to fly their characters onto the island.
IT BEGAN WITH TWO FILMS
Prior to the show being picked up for distribution, it began with two made-for-TV films to introduce audiences to the concept of the show. The context was laid out with Mr. Roarke being the sole proprietor of fantasy island, assisted by his diminutive helper, Tattoo.
Fantasy Island and Return to Fantasy Island acted as pilots, and were considerably darker than the main series turned out to be. More The Twilight Zone and less The Love Boat, these movies focused on the risks, repercussions, and ramifications of guests getting exactly what they wished for. No backsies!
ALL THE GUESTS WERE INCREDIBLY WEALTHY
In the first made-for-TV film (which was actually a pilot for the series), it was revealed to viewers that all the guests paid $50,000 for a stay on Fantasy Island. By today's currency standards, that's well over $200,000.
Seeing as how most guests were incredibly wealthy, they often acted as thought they'd never had to struggle in their lives. This spoiled attitude often didn't do them any favors on the island, as it had a way of teaching them some humility as far as their fantasies were concerned.
EACH FANTASY WAS VERY PERSONAL
Every guest that arrived on Fantasy Island had a fantasy that was very personal to them. One guest might want to be reunited with a departed loved one, while another guest might want to "die a hero's death". They may want to fall in love with someone who they could never get the attention of, or hunt down someone who hurt them.
More often than not, the fantasies would take an unexpected turn and become very different from what the guest expected. This could frighten them, but in the end, the result often forced them to perceive their original fantasy differently as they learned some new revelation about themselves.
MANY OF THE FANTASIES WERE DIRTY
Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg initially pitched six other ideas to ABC executives, each of them getting turned down. Finally at his wits end, Spelling purportedly blurted out, "What do you want, an island that people can go to and all their sexual fantasies will be realized?" to which the executives enthusiastically said yes.
Coming out of the '70s, the nature of the series predictably leaned very much into the concept of free love and exploring sexual deviancy thanks to the social norms of the time. That, and this guaranteed high ratings. It also allowed for the female guest stars to wear very little, which also boosted ratings.
THE OWNER WAS ALWAYS VERY MYSTERIOUS
Mr. Roarke was the sole owner of Fantasy Island, and not much was ever revealed about him on the series. He was known to have several lovers, and pursued several women as the seasons went on. Everything from his age or how he came to acquire Fantasy Island are a complete mystery.
Roarke, as he was called by guests, also had a habit of mentioning guests being "so mortal", which fans have begun to speculate about over the years. Some have wondered if that indicated that he was an immortal being, playing out his own personal fantasy while guests played out theirs. He also acquired supernatural powers in later seasons, "The Gift of the McNabs".
THE FANTASIES TAUGHT A LESSON
Mr. Roarke always gave a tell as to whether or not a guest's fantasies would end well, usually with an eye movement or facial expression. As their fantasies unfolded, Roarke endeavored to use them to teach the guest an important life lesson. The fantasy often exposed a guest's error in judgment, and they were often far happier if the fantasy wasn't realized. For example, wanting to go back to the "good old days" might just put you back in the days of the Salem Witch Trials.
Roarke's ability to help guest's realize their fantasies wasn't free of danger, but the danger usually came from the guests themselves. Roarke had a strict code of conduct, and his morals made him merciful. He intervened when the fantasies became too perilous, but guests occasionally died due to their own negligence or arrogance.
FANTASIES COULD TURN INTO NIGHTMARES
Often guests weren't prepared for how real Mr. Roarke could make their fantasies. One guest, hoping to learn the identity of Jack the Ripper, found herself back in Victorian London where she was about to become one of his next victims. Another guest who wanted to fall in love with her dream man ended up becoming his sex slave.
Mr. Roarke often remarked that he was powerless to stop a fantasy once it began, and that the guests needed to play the fantasy out to its natural conclusion. This wasn't exactly true, and Roarke did intervene on occasion, but more often than not he let the fantasy run its course.
FANTASY ISLAND WAS PURGATORY
If you ask Ricardo Montalban, the man behind the enigmatic Mr. Roarke, he'll tell you that Fantasy Island was purgatory, where visitors find out their fantasies are tests of character. And Mr. Roarke? Was he the devil, God, or something else?
Montalban concluded that he must have been an angel, whose sin of pride had forced him to be cast out of Heaven and placed in charge of Purgatory, with "a little cherub to help him". Of course, this backstory was created by Montalban to guide his performance, but given Roarke's possible immortal status and his use of mystical powers, it makes sense.
IT WAS REMADE IN THE '90s TO BE DARKER
The popular series was remade in the '90s, and starred none other than Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke, but followed the same premise. Spoiled wealthy people were transported to the island and had their fantasies made true, except along the way viewers got to know a little more about why exactly Mr. Roarke chose to make the wish-fulfillment business his profession.
The writing was generally better in this one, with less corny episodes and more philosophical ones. The old maxim "be careful what you wish for" was ever-present, and this series had more in common with the original pilot in that it was darker and edgier. Alas, the reboot was too dark for ABC, and they pulled the plug after just 13 episodes in 1999.