Does anyone see connections between Fantasy Island and the book and film called "The Magus"?
I'm not talking about the show that Fantasy Island was to become, but the original concept and pilot, which to my mind had a more dark and serious tone.
Maybe I'm just reading things that aren't there, but Mr. Rourke seemed to me like a version of Maurice Conchis, the trickster from The Magus.
I always thought it was based on The Man With the Golden Gun, but instead of killing people Scaramanga fulfilled their fantasies.
shareIt's not very likely that "Fantasy Island" was based on The Magus. There are plenty of movies (and books and television shows, for that matter) dealing with a recluse on an island estate. (Mr. Roarke wasn't strictly a recluse, for one thing; but I digress.) To my understanding, if "Fantasy Island" was based on anything, it might have been Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Roarke could have been the equivalent of Prospero, who had an island estate, was a magician of sorts, and tried to use his powers to better the lives of others. (He also had a daughter named Miranda, and in the 1998 remake, Roarke had an adopted daughter named Miranda...so maybe the remake was more deliberately based on the play!)
But to the best of my knowledge, "Fantasy Island" wasn't consciously based on anything. There are too many possibilities for any one to really stand out, though obviously, some come pretty close.