Loved this show as a kid, but find it unwatchable as an adult - Fantasy Island (1977) Discussion

[–] brucebrod 11 years ago

Can't side with you. When it was on I was in my early 20s. Now I'm 35 years older and Lovin it on reruns.

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[–] ericas_auntie_wo 11 years ago

Where are you finding it on reruns? I was 7 or 8 when Tattoo first sighted "Da Plane." I would love to revisit Fantasy Island, but I'm too cheap to buy the DVD and can't find complete episodes on YouTube.

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[–] drcoffyne 11 years ago

Crackle.com has most of the episodes, though I was hoping to find the original TV movie and haven't yet.

"It was a dark and stormy night..." Snoopy
"Ack!" Bill the Cat

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[–] jillian.diamond 11 years ago

Sunday nights on COSI TV (which is channel 109 in Nassau County NY).

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[–] mikeflw1 10 years ago

Dallas/Ft. Worth (Texas, USA) metroplex area has it on Cozi TV (digital ch 5.2 over-the-air broadcast) and ran season 3 episode 12 (Cheerleaders/Marooned) on Friday July 17, 2015. It is showing one episode each weekday.
All you need is one of those hi-def digital antennas - cheap enough?
And although it is "edited to run in the time allotted", it is also broadcast in the 720 hidef format, with black bars on both the left and right sides, so you get the whole 'fullscreen' image.
If you want to record that, you would need some way to do that...

That said, I do not know if it will get past season 3.

As far as being 'unwatchable', I disagree.
However, there are more than a few of the older non-Politically Correct ideas present in the plots, and I don't think those were done sarcastically when the show was first written and taped. Be warned about that, if that sort of thing bothers you.

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[–] trishadee 8 years ago

I wish Cozi TV did have the reruns, since I get it on my digital over the air channel lineup. I mainly tuned in for the opening of the show, with those beautiful and sexy Polynesian girls including the hula dancers from later seasons and some of the luau scenes too. A few of the episodes I watched were most memorable too with Lisa Hartman (now Mrs. Clint Black) calling out for Mr. Roarke when he disappeared from her fantasy and Michelle Phillips as a mermaid who became human.

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[–] lroy77 10 years ago

I'm on your side. I was approaching my late teens and missed a lot of episodes because of other activities on Saturday night.

It's a flash back to the only things I had to worry about was teen problems like homework and what to wear to the prom.

I'm waiting for the rest of the seasons to be available on DVD.

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[–] BradyBraveJoel 8 years ago

I was only 8 or 9 so I had to be in bed after the love boat - remember hearing "da plane" from bed and waking up to junky sunday morning cartoons (not much besides tom hatten and popeye) - enjoying seasons 1 and 2 on dvd - tonight will be season 2 episode 10...Peace and Roarke

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[–] kceight 11 years ago

You're not the only one who feels this way. I also loved this show as a kid, but in watching it recently on reruns, I haven't been able to get through an entire episode. (for the question about reruns, it's on Sunday nights on the COZI channel)

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[–] ericas_auntie_wo 11 years ago

I researched COZI and found that it is unavailable where I live. I did eventually find some complete episodes on YouTube. After a few hours I came to the same unhappy conclusion as other posters on this thread. What seemed magical as a child was almost unwatchable as an adult. Fantasy Island was fun to revisit...for about 10 minutes...but I wouldn't want to live there!

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[–] mam13143 11 years ago

Anything from the seventies sadly reeks of that decade. For some it may be nostalgic, for most others it brings back way too many bad memories of the times, and tv/movies stamped with that seventy feel and look. Since I am now in my seventies, I can bear with Fantasy Island lol.

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[–] stones78 11 years ago

I like it much better than the corny Love Boat, but I do enjoy the more sinister segments, like "Vampire" with Robert Reed, and the 70's cheesiness.

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[–] mikeholmes-48012 9 years ago

i tried to get the wife to watch but she yells its stupid (shes 36 im 39) and i used this as my best excuse to what makes it awesome and not what you'd think. Being young i thought it was all Tatoo but he sbarely in the show, which is great.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] richard.fuller1 11 years ago

The first Fantasy Island movie with Bill Bixby, Carol Lynley and Peter Lawford, among others, was a man who wanted to relive his lost love, a woman who wanted to see her own funeral and a big game hunter who wanted to experience what it was like to be hunted.

Almost immediately on the show, we had the endless pattern of one was a light-hearted story, one caused Roarke to have a grim look on his face, and they always found romance no matter what. It was painfully predictable.

Love Boat, while not overflowing with originality, had THREE storylines and didn't have the same setup over and over.

Love Boat had a story where Donny Osmond was a country boy done good and Slim Pickens, Marion Ross, Richard Paul and Loni Anderson showed up as his hillbilly bumpkin family. It was a wonderful story.

Then Fantasy Island very strangely recreated this storyline with Stephen Shortridge (!) as the son-done-good (in what? modeling?) and Noah Beery, Dodie Goodman and Misty Rowe were the two-bit family reconstructed here.

I didn't even watch the silly episode.

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[–] robv156 11 years ago

There have been more stories used in 2 different TV series. Remember Growing Pains (the one with the older brother, younger sister, & younger brother) ? And mr belvedere (the one with the older brother, younger sister, & younger brother) ?
I twice saw the same story used twice, one with Mike Seaver's (and Kevin Owens) having an awkward time with a nude model in an art class. It's no surprise you've seen the same story on Fantasy island you saw on the Love Boat.

The question is, did the same writer get paid? :)

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[–] robv156 11 years ago

There have been more stories used in 2 different TV series. Remember Growing Pains (the one with the older brother, younger sister, & younger brother) ? And mr belvedere (the one with the older brother, younger sister, & younger brother) ?
I twice saw the same story used twice, one with Mike Seaver's (and Kevin Owens) having an awkward time with a nude model in an art class. It's no surprise you've seen the same story on Fantasy island you saw on the Love Boat.

The question is, did the same writer get paid? :)

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[–] mikeholmes-48012 9 years ago

an episode of Perfect Strangers had Larry and Balki making some pastry out of Dough for a bakery and finding out that it was too much and ending in a fight with them chucking flour and eggs at each other. ( and balki had a song, "whey you are rolling out the dough, make sure you roll it slow (spoiler they di dnt ) or else your billy babkas wont be babka". (sad i remember that but i was about 11 or 12 then and everything is remembered at that age. But anyhow a year or two later the spin off Family matters came about. it took them about 2 years and they did the same exact episode but it was Urkels recipe if i remember right. anyhow a big flour and egg fight ensued. Instead of Larry getting a face full of flour and egg and opening his eyes to a laugh track, it was Carl Winslow.

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[–] tstevens32 11 years ago

Yes, it is called experience and maturity.

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