Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island is an hour-long TV-show that ran on ABC from January, 1978 to May 1984. Each week, a new batch of vacationers arrives on the island, ready to have all their dreams come true. Greeting them is Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban), a mysterious man dressed in white, and his sidekick Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize), a little person who rings a bell and announces: "De plane! De plane!" As each visitor exited the plane, Roarke would tell Tattoo their names and the nature of their specific fantasies. Roarke's demeanor while explaining each fantasy would often foreshadow its outcome. Some fantasies are fun, some dangerous, but all of them end in a valuable life lesson. Fantasy Island started in 1977 with two made for TV movies. In each, Roarke and Tattoo played small roles. The movies were so popular, they were re-worked into a full series, now with Roarke and Tattoo taking lead roles and acting as a kind of framing device. MORE