Fantasy Island

This revival of the 1970's series is a little darker and a little edgier than the one starring Ricardo Monteblan and Tattoo. This version harkens to Shakespeare's "The Tempest", with Malcom McDowell taking on the Prospero role accompanied by an Ariel and Cal(iban). In one episode we even meet Roarke's daughter Miranda. I found the original series bland and unappealng, but this new version (appearing on the Sci-Fi Channel) is certainly much more entertaining. It just goes to show that network programmers get everything bass ackwards.. throwing out the gold and keeping the dross.

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.

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."

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.)

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.