Fantasy Island

I bought this for my wife, she waited with anticipation for the release date.

If it is not a part of your early teen years it may not appeal to you, as this is all about pleasant memory's.

There is a short but interesting documentary on the DVD set that gives some in-site to how the show came about.

The episodes them-self,for me, are a gentle reminder of how bad and corny and good T.V. was back then. A blast to watch and I really enjoy these as back ground visual and verbal noise as I study.On a good day I will sit and pay attention to the episodes. This is TV folks and it shows, but we liked it then and I enjoy the feelings it brings about now.

A very odd and weird fantasy series which were perfect to watch after midnight in the after hours zone where everything seems magic if u get the point. basically in this series those who went to that island got their wish come true but only until the end of the....episode they were on. Dozens of guest stars appeared in this show with Riccardo montalvan (the man who played zack powers of dynasty II the colbys 1985-1987) to be t a great host of the show. that dwarf actor is also one of the most memorable members of this show. if u love fantasy shows then this is for you. by the way seasons 2 and 3 are now available on dvd but seasons 4-7 are still yet to be released. let's hope we get them too soon.

After reading some of the earlier nasty remarks, I had to put in my two cents. This show was NOT, despite what that goon in Essex thinks, the worst thing that ever aired on TV. I think most of today's TV is much worse (when is this stupid "reality" fad ever going to end??) and there isn't a current show I can stand to watch. Gimme the stuff I grew up with. I'm a 1965 baby and not ashamed to admit it.

This show has been my all-time favorite for almost 30 years. I was in high school when it originally aired and I think it helped me to hang on throughout those miserable days. I was such a misfit back then, and "Fantasy Island" appealed to my imagination. As I was a budding writer in those days, it provided incredible opportunities for me to practice the craft. What a wonderful premise! I won't say it didn't have its faults. Sometimes the scripts were pretty bad, and some of the problems seemed trivial; but it could be good too, and it was a blast to watch and still is. As for the cheesiness factor, well, I think it's unfair to label every single 70s product as cheesy. There was a lot of great stuff back then and this was among the ranks. (BTW, most of the seasons aired in the 80s!!) My favorite episodes came from seasons 2, 3 and 4 mostly.

To those who disparage Hervé Villechaize for his heavy French accent and his short stature: GROW UP and LEARN SOMETHING! It's so easy to make fun when you're "normal" and "perfect". That man made the best of what he was dealt in life, and if you don't like it, that's just tough. Have a little compassion. He's been dead 15 years, and how easy it is to cut down someone who can't defend himself. There's just no shame anymore.

I love this show. So it looks dated. Hate to tell you this, but we didn't have splashy special effects and Blu-Ray discs. We were lucky to have VCRs. Live with it. Accept it for what it is, and that's just plain fun. "Escapist TV" describes it perfectly, and that's what it was for me -- an escape from my rotten real life. And it's still a lot of fun to watch.

As a teenager in the 70's, this was one of my favorite TV shows. I thought it had a truly unique and amazing idea for a show and there was nothing else like it on TV. I remember being instantly hooked on the show and looked forward to seeing the different guest stars each week fulfill their fantasies or dreams. Each fantasy was like a different show within that hour long period and each fantasy never seemed to turn out the way you thought it would which made the show even more interesting. Ricardo Montalban and (Da Plane!, Da Plane!) Herve Villachaize were great in their roles as hosts of Fantasy Island. I still love watching it and see it has fun and nostalgic. And in my opinion I still think it holds up well for that unique style all its own. After all it must've been a little special to last seven seasons and I hope eventually they all make their way to DVD!

When you set out to create a show like Fantasy Island you have to be well read on history and have one good imagination. Glad to say that Fantasy Island showed a good deal of both in their episodes.

One episode I well remember was a pair of women were real big into the Civil War and desired to go back and live the genteel life that Scarlett O'Hara and her family had on Tara. Fantasy Island brought them back all right, but showed them the downside of that era and I'll say no more on the story. The morale of that show was be happy in your own backyard.

Host and impresario of Fantasy Island was the mysterious Mr. Roarke played by Ricardo Montalban. In interviews Montalban said that he never got the real career role on the big screen that defined other of his contemporaries. But on the small screen Montalban got two of them, Mr. Roarke and Khan on Star Trek which went to the big screen also. What powers Roarke drew on to show his guests what they really thought was ideal was left open to the imagination.

For all but one season Montalban had his dwarf companion Herve Villechaize and these two had a gentle and playful repartee. Villechaize had a sad and tragic life, but Fantasy Island left him with a career role and an identity that will linger.

I could never see this show revived because Montalban and Villechaise had such a special chemistry for the small screen.