User Reviews

We've been watching Fantasy Island straight through, one episode each Sunday morning. The last half of season five was pretty bad, so I didn't know what to expect for the first episode of season six.

I'm glad to say that with an entire hiatus to come up with some new ideas, at least this first episode was decent to watch.

On the one side, we have a career secretary with overlooked skills and corporate knowledge. Her fantasy is to show that she can perform well as an executive, and even in her fantasy she has to do so in the face of misogyny and sexual harassment.

The other story, starring Stuart Whitman (looking VERY much the worse for wear) and Barbara Rush, involves a family curse which might make him murder his wife (Rush) at midnight on this 50th birthday. His fantasy is to break the curse.

Both stories were interesting and for the first time in weeks I didn't complain that the endings were poorly thought out.

At first I didn't care for the actress playing Linda, the cosmetics CEO (Pamela Hensley, first time I've ever seen her in anything.) She was overacting in her first scene with Roarke and seemed to be taking herself for one of the Charlie's Angels. Her "man Friday" was quite the looker. (I'd never seen him before, but he was your typical 70s pretty boy, though it was already the '80s by then!)

Of course, the fright story was going to be better. I instantly like the actress playing the wife (Barbara Rush), who looked vaguely familiar and was so elegant. I looked her up here, and she had quite a different face when young and aged to become a real older beauty. I thought the chemistry between her and the actor playing her husband was perfect.

Long story short, imagine my surprise when I'm having deja vu with the perfume CEO story, when Linda has a change of heart and waltzes into her client's apartment. Without giving you any spoilers, you will find that same scene (or a script variation, rather) in none other but "Who's The Boss", episode Not with My Client You Don't, which aired almost 4 years later (but which I watched before, just a year or so ago!) Marisa Berenson starred as the client in that one. Watch them both closely, back to back and you'll see that their storyline was lifted directly from Fantasy Island.

Judith Light recreates Pamela Hensley's scene and even had the same line (not verbatim, though) of "Am I too late" and Berenson says something similar to what the old lady here says about "I'm glad somebody is having some pleasure" (listen for that last word on WTB?!) and you'll see they totally copied this show. A pity, after finding out that The Nanny had lifted all the elements from WTB and copied many episodes (and a few other sitcoms, too!) to find this there!

Anyway! Watch for a scene with Vito Scotti, playing the same character he always plays, minus the French accent here. (I've seen him do the same one in Charlie's Angels, Bionic Woman and, I do believe, Starsky & Hutch, too!) He's the smooth, dapper businessman who takes himself for Adolphe Menjou (or maybe fashioned his characters after him?!)

Highlights of the show: The terror element was very well done in the "Curse" storyline. I'm talking about a certain scene, when some people "waltz" into a room, literally. Then finding out Katharyn Michaelian Powers was involved into writing this story. Of course! But kudos to the makeup artist! Wel done.

Also the scene with when the elevator opens, and it's Mr. Roarke and Tattoo, cool as cucumbers. Once again, Mr. Montalban deploys maximum charm with the Roarke smirk. Watch for that. (Hard to miss, to be fair!)

I didn't take notes for costumes here, I guess none really stood out as spectacular, but I do think the man Friday wore a sweater in a very unusual (and very pretty) shade of green. A nice episode all in all, and now it's time to watch a new one tonight.