“Look, boss! De DVD! De DVD!” When this modestly hyped midseason replacement first hit the airwaves in January 1978, neither the network (ABC) nor the critics expected much. To everyone's surprise, however, this Aaron Spelling-Leonard Goldberg series became a runaway hit, making pop-culture icons of its stars and virtually institutionalizing the multi-story format now employed by practically all hour-long dramas. Fantasy Island was a place where dreams came true, owing to the considerably complicated—and, on occasion, vaguely supernatural—efforts of the redoubtable Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) and his diminutive assistant, Tattoo (Herve Villechaize). The formula called for an average of three fantasies to be fulfilled per week, and the multiplicity of characters enabled the producers to cast practically every working actor in Hollywood at some point during the series' run. The pilot episode—which still ranks as one of the best—featured Joseph Cotten, Laraine Day, George Maharis, Cameron Mitchell, Adrienne Barbeau, France Nuyen, Karen Valentine, and Horst Buchholz, among others, and that was just the beginning. Needless to say, the formula remained the same throughout the show's original run (1978-1984): namely, guests often found that fantasies weren't all they were cracked up to be, and real happiness often was right in front of them, just waiting to be recognized. Compiling the first season's 14 episodes, as well as the prequel TV movie and series pilot, DVD extras on this set include a pair of featurettes. Recommended for those with large TV-on-DVD collections. (E. Hulse)
Fantasy Island: The Complete First Season
Sony, 4 discs, 776 min., not rated, DVD: $49.95 January 2, 2006
Fantasy Island: The Complete First Season
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