The beginning of episode had Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalbán) and his gregarious sidekick Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize) dressed in immaculate white suits, greeting their guests as they disembarked from the plane to indulge in a fantasy. Mr. Roarke would provide exposition to the audience by identifying each guest and explaining to Tattoo the fantasies being sought by each of the guests. Much like the passengers on The Love Boat, the guests on Fantasy Island are played by recognizable faces—television stars from the past, and former movie stars and B-list celebrities filled out the cast week after week. I always loved both Fantasy Island and The Love Boat; it was all about the guest stars.
Season two guest stars include Sonny Bono, John Astin, Jonathan Frakes, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Nielsen, Don Knotts, Cesar Romero, Janet Leigh, Roddy McDowell, Annette Funicello, Regis Phhilbin, Danny Bonaduce, Darren McGavin, Anne Francis, Shelley Fabares, Desi Arnaz Jr., Arte Johnson, Dan Rowan, Connie Stevens, Peter Graves, Phil Silvers, Eva Gabor, George Maharis, Rue McClanahan, Scott Baio, Tracey Gold, Jill Whelan, Maureen McCormick, Eleanor Parker and Florence Henderson.
Fantasy Island never tried to be particularly original. Many of the guest’s fantasies were variations or reinterpretations of popular films like The Great Escape, It Happened One Night and The Sheik. Not surprisingly, Aaron Spelling raided his own vault for “Charlie’s Cherubs,” when three secretaries portray Angels as Tattoo takes on the role of Bosley.
The six disc set contains all 25 episodes from the series’ second season. The episodes appear to be complete and unedited, based on their content and running times, which average approximately 49 minutes for 23 episodes that ran in their regular 60 minute timeslot on ABC. Two episodes that ran 90 minutes on commercial television are 75 minutes here.
Episodes:
The Sheik / The Homecoming
Big Dipper / The Pirate
The Beachcomber / The Last Whodunit
Best Seller / The Tomb
I Want to Get Married / The Jewel Thief
War Games / The Queen of the Boston Bruisers
Let the Goodtimes Roll / Nightmare / The Tiger (90 min)
The Return / The Toughest Man Alive
The Appointment / Mr. Tattoo
The Flight of the Great Yellow Bird / The Island of Lost
Women
Carnival / The Vaudevillians
Charlie’s Cherubs / Stalag 3
Vampire / The Lady and the Longhorn
Seance / Treasure
Cowboy / The Second Mrs. Winslow
Photographs / Royal Flush
Stripper / Boxer
Pentagram / A Little Ball / Casting Director (90 min)
Spending Spree / The Hunted
Birthday Party / Ghostbreaker
Yesterday’s Love / Fountain of Youth
The Comic / The Golden Hour
Cornelius and Alfonse / The Choice
Bowling / Command Performance
Amusement Park / Rock Stars
Presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, the video presentation is that of a typical 70’s show. Colors are accurate and surprisingly vivid, and flesh tones are accurate. For a show of this age, Shout! has delivered a solid product.
The included Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track does the job, just don’t expect anything special dialogue is clear, but channel separation isn’t really distinguishable.
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also available.
There are no special features.
