Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986.  Almost the entire show is currently streaming is on Youtube!

This week, season 3 comes to an end!

Episode 3.23 “Eagleman/Children of Mentu”

(Dir by Michael Vejar, originally aired on May 17th, 1980)

As I watched the third season finale of Fantasy Island, I found myself growing a bit sad.  Even though I went into this program knowing that Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize eventually came to despise each other, it’s still a bit jarring to see just how obvious that dislike was by the end of season 3.  Gone were the silly moments of banter that used to start each episode.  Instead, by the end of season 3, each episode opened with same stock footage of Tattoo announcing the plane and then Roarke and Tattoo heading down to the docks to meet their guests.  When Tattoo and Roarke do speak to each other, the actors barely look at each other.  As I said, it’s a shame and it’s hard not to feel that the show itself became a bit less interesting once Roarke and Tattoo stopped interacting.

As far as this week’s fantasies, they both feel somewhat familiar.  There’s a comedic fantasy and a vaguely serious fantasy, both featuring actors who had previously appeared on the show in different roles.  The comedic fantasy features Bob Denver as Morris Binstock who comes to the Island for a business retreat.  Accompanying him is his son, Barney (Keith Coogan).  Ever since the death of his wife, Morris has struggled to connect with his son.  His fantasy is to become his son’s favorite comic book hero, Eagleman!

And he gets his wish.  Roarke has set up an entire Eagleman secret headquarters in the closet of Morris’s room.  Morris puts on the Eagleman costume and he does a flew klutzy things and he gets to fly.  His son is happy.  But is Morris devoting so much time to being Eagleman that he’s running the risk of losing a promotion at work?  After all, a promotion would not only mean more money but it would also be something that would continue to exist, even after Morris left the Island.  It looks like obnoxious Hal Ripley (Larry Storch) is going to get the promotion but when the company’s CEO, H.H. Moran (Jim Backus), discovers that Morris has been pretending to be Eagleman to make his son happy, Moran makes Morris vice president.  H.H. Moran is all about family!

The more serious fantasy features Vernee Watson as Rochelle McKenzie, a reporter who is trying to track down Dr. Arthur Gates (Ralph Bellamy), a millionaire who vanished one day.  Roarke explains that Dr. Gates has been spotted on the nearby Island of Mentu.  Roarke warns her that the inhabitants of Mentu are not friendly and Rochelle will be putting her own life at risk if she goes to the island,

Rochelle still goes to the island and guess what?  Roarke was not lying about those angry inhabitants.  One of the men is horribly scarred.  Another has to use a crutch but still growls at every human he sees.  The island and the natives were exploited by a mining company and now, the natives distrust almost everyone they see.  However, Dr. Gates has decided to dedicate his life to taking care of them.  That’s a good thing because it turns out that the scarred native has a sick child and only Dr. Gates can provide the proper medical attention.

Both stories are fairly silly, though at least Rochelle’s story gives Ralph Bellamy a chance to take on the type of role that was usually given to Ray Milland.  If you only know Bellamy as the guy who was constantly getting dumped for Cary Grant in the 30s and 40s, this episode allows Bellamy a chance to show that he could be a likable and authoritative actor.  As for the Eagleman story, it was kind of uncomfortable to watch because Bob Denver looked like he was in his early 60s and it was hard not to worry about him seriously injuring himself whenever he put on the costume.

There’s an interesting moment in Rochelle’s fantasy, in which she tells Mr. Roarke that she feels foolish coming to the Island in pursuit of a “fantasy.”  She feels that she’s being childish but Roarke explains that fantasies are not childish and that one should always pursue their dreams.  Whether it was intentional or not, this scene serves as a mission statement for the entire series.  Yes, Fantasy Island was frequently silly and childish but, in the end, it still resonates because people will always have dreams and they will always have fantasies.  There will always be a place for Fantasy Island.