Welcome to
The New Fantasy Island
New, edgy episodes of Fantasy Island were produced by ABC in 1998 starring Malcolm McDowell, who set the tone in the first new episode by looking in the closet at all the white suits & ordering them burned (he wears only black). This new Fantasy Island exists in another dimension, reached by way of a small travel agency where troubled people come in off the street. This new Mr. Roarke is aided by two guys who died sometime back and are now doing a purgatory version of community service. The 2 people in the travel agency also seem to be doing the same, though I'm not sure if they're dead (or have ever been alive as mortals in the first place).
The original Fantasy Island (not this one) was a 1978 spinoff from the Love Boat tv series, which it followed on ABC. Ricardo Montalban played Roarke and says the character became so engrained that after the series when he was hired to reprise his 1960's Star Trek role in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, he had to play a tape of the original Star Trek episode Space Seed episode over & over to replace Roarke with the personality of the vengeful Khan. Roarke's assistant for most of the series was Herve Villechaize as Tattoo, best known previously as Christopher Lee's assistant in the James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun. By the way, Malcolm McDowell was the villain in the 7th Star Trek movie (replacing as Fantasy Island's Roarke Ricardo Montalban, who was the villain in the 2nd Star Trek movie, make of that what you will)...MonsterVision review & host segments for Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
Review page for Star Trek 7: Star Trek Generations (Malcolm McDowell)
Fantasy Island back then was filmed at a public park 25 miles from Los Angeles called the Arboretum. I don't know where in Hawaii this new series is filmed and it doesn't say at the Official Fantasy Island page at SciFi Channel.com
"The SCI FI Channel will air reruns of The New Fantasy Island, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven and Highlander: The Raven starting in July 2000. Fantasy Island began July 11, 2000; both The Crow and Raven start July 23."
"SCI FI bought the rights to all 13 episodes of Fantasy Island, and 22 episodes of The Crow, based on James O'Barr's comic series. SCI FI also bought the rights to 22 episodes of Raven," a spinoff of the Highlander syndicated tv series, based on the Sean Connery movie Highlander.
Note: Episode titles are not shown on TV or in episode credits
Episodes of the original Fantasy Island starring Ricardo Montalban can be seen sometimes on TV Land channel, click here for Fantasy Island 1970s tv-series themesong
Descriptions of all 13 Fantasy Island episodes, in original broadcast order
Series Cast
Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke
Fyvush Finkle as the travel office manager
Sylvia Sidney as the chain-smoking secretary *
Madchen Amick, Edward Hibbert, Louis Lombardi
as the loyal staff
Created by Gene Levitt
* Personally, I think Sylvia's character in this TV series was based on the similar character in charge of the netherworld waiting room in "Beetlejuice" MonsterVision review & host segments for BeetlejuiceAnd the idea of a place where guests get anything they want but not what they expect sounds just a little bit like the Westworld movies Westworld page
Or maybe Robert Englund's Nightmare Cafe
Don't like this page? Blame: Bill Laidlaw@fantasy.isle
Previous episode broadcasts on the Sci Fi Channel
Official Fantasy Island website on Sci Fi.com
