Jencyclopedia

A woman wants her husband’s orphanage to be successful, so Roarke brings her an angel.
Mrs. Brady wants to fall in love with a different kind of man, so Roarke offers her the cursed captain of the Flying Dutchman.

What? Roarke takes off in the car without waiting for Julie or Tattoo?

Oh, yeah, right… the pirate thing.

I think they stole this shot from 4×2 “The Mermaid Returns”.

Roarke: Again, I bid welcome to Captain Heinrich Van Hortman, wanderer of the seven seas, the legendary Flying Dutchman.

I wish when people met me, they would tell me all about myself, like I’m on a game show.

Roarke: Only love can lift your curse, captain. Is it then your fantasy to find… love?
Captain Hortman: Yes! For God’s sake, help me, man!

Geez, what’s with everyone overreacting lately?

This is one of the few (only?) times Roarke doesn’t say “Smiles, everyone. Smiles!”

Roarke: Once each seven years, the captain is allowed to leave his ship for two short days to search for a woman’s love.

So he’s a Vulcan.

This is kind of interesting; they show the regular wide shot of the Queen Anne Cottage, but in this particular shot, you can just see Roarke exiting from the front door. Then they cut to a closer shot of Roarke and Julie exiting from the front door on the main house set. Which… if they intended that door to be the door on the Queen Anne Cottage, why wouldn’t they put that door in the middle of the house? Why did they put the door where they did if they really wanted to fool us into thinking it was the same out?

omg Julie, cut your nails, you’re gonna kill somebody with those.

Roarke: As long as you are here… you may as well satisfy your female curiosity, Julie!

What about curiosity is feminine? What does that have to do with anything? What is Roarke’s problem?

Miss Harbinger: It’s been a long, long time, hasn’t it?
Me: 🎶 It’s been a loooong time… 🎶
Roarke: Much too long.

I watched this whole episode before, but I don’t remember if they state outright that she’s angel. I think it’s very heavily implied though, like they says she looks “like an angel” or something like that. Already, you’ve got Roarke looking skyward when he talked about needing special assistance for this fantasy, and then he summoned her by striking a bell. I don’t know if that’s an actual thing; I just assume angels and bells go together because of It’s a Wonderful Life.

Awww shit. The bell tower — the Fantasy Island bell tower! If angels and bells are a thing, well, there you go. And every week, Tattoo rings the bell, and Roarke appears. Okay, I have to look this up…

Alright, the Wikipedia article about angels has no mention of bells, and now I have “how to summon an angel” in my search history.

Archangels […] can be in many places at once, so they can assist multiple people at the same time.

Unlike guardian angels who will not mediate your life choices or push their will on you, archangels can intervene whenever necessary.

How to Summon Angels When You Need Help

Hmmm… if Roarke is an angel, then he sounds like an archangel. But then, this page goes on to claim that Michael is the most powerful archangel; Michael shows up in 6×4 “The Angel’s Triangle/Natchez Bound”, and it seemed like he was Roarke’s equal, not his boss.

The practitioner shouldn’t leave his home at all while conducting this long ritual. Furthermore, the practitioner must bring the ritual to its completion. If stopped for any reason it could lead to serious harm as the practitioner has unleashed many spiritual forces but hasn’t yet learned how to contain them.

How to Summon an Angel or Archangel: Full Guide

Well, that certainly sounds familiar — but I think that’s probably a standard disclaimer for any kind of spiritual ritual, not just angel stuff.

Anyway, in conclusion, using a bell to summon an angel is not a thing outside of Fantasy Island.

But also… this angel chick is totally starry-eyed for Roarke; she reacts just like Helen of Troy did when Roarke showed up. We also know Roarke had a thing with Elizabeth Bathory. But that’s not a thing; people don’t usually fall in love with angels, do they?

Laura Myles: Well, I hope you don’t think I’m pushing things, but, uh, the gentleman of my fantasy? When will I meet him, Mr. Roarke?

“You already have; it’s me again.”

Also, stop doing the soap opera thing and talking to someone with your back to them:

I’m gonna start keeping track of the age gap between love interests on this show, because I end up looking it up a lot of the time any way, and I thought I needed something to make these episodes take even longer to get through.

Surprisingly, Elaine Price’s actress is 3 years older than her husband’s actor — no wonder he falls in love with the 13 years younger angel. Also, geez, 32 years between Roarke and the angel; that could very possibly be the series record.

I want a closeup of Julie’s barrette. It looks boring, but I want it to be interesting.

Ron Price is all starry-eyed over the angel, and Elaine Price is thinking:

There’s this silly shot of the captain getting all serious, talking about the sea, and the camera slowly zooms in on his face.

Laura Myles: What Mr. Roarke calls a picnic would be a meal in a three-star restaurant anywhere else.
Captain Hortman: Oh, he does things well, this Mr. Roarke.

I should have been tracking every time the guests compliment Mr. Roarke. It always feels so awkward to me; it’s like I’m reading a Mary Sue fanfic.

Laura Myles: Oh, there’ve been men; just not the ones I wanted. I was married once.

I wish she would have been like “yeah, I had a big family… but it wasn’t for me”.

Maybe I should have been paying more attention to this fantasy; Mrs. Brady’s boyfriend shows up and immediately gets into a fight with her new boyfriend… wait, okay, yeah, I guess there doesn’t need to be any more explanation than that.

Afterwards, Mrs. Brady goes to the pirate, and she’s like why did you have to beat him up, and he’s like will you marry me, and she says yes, and everything that happened earlier is completely forgotten.

Elaine Price: Why should I be jealous of somebody absolutely stunningly gorgeous who has my husband crawling around on his hands and knees after her as if she was some kind of… angel.

That’s not a thing though? People don’t lust after angels? At least not that I’ve ever heard of? Apparently, Fantasy Island has decided to make up its own angel lore.

Elaine Price sniffles all over a kerchief, then gives it to Mr. Roarke, and he looks at it way too long afterwards.

Roarke: There is no need for her to die.
Captain Hortman: But the curse stipulates she has to die in order to share my love.
Roarke: I beg to differ with you, captain. The curse states that a woman must be willing to die as a measure of her love. Well, don’t you see? “Willing to” are the key words.
Laura Myles: And I am totally willing.

Mm, I don’t think it works like that, sorry.

I wonder how Mendrek tricked Mr. Swezey into working for him.

Now Roarke is talking to the Prices, but he keeps hearing a bell, so he goes off to meet with Miss Harbinger.

Roarke: I was afraid you had already gone on to other work.
Miss Harbinger: And not say goodbye to you? Oh, no, Roarke.
Roarke: You have performed well, as always. They have already forgotten you.

Okay, this is angel lore I’ve heard of before — in the Quantum Leap episode, 4×18 “It’s a Wonderful Leap”, Miss Patty plays an angel, and she said that they would forget her after she left. I just watched the last scene of that episode again though, and maybe she only meant Sam specifically, because of his swiss cheese brain, because Sam seems to forget her instantly, but Al still knows who she was. However, I’m not finding any supporting documentation online to support that this is a Thing.

Miss Harbinger: Sometimes, I wish I could stay, just for a little while. It would be so nice to walk with you, talk like we used to, once upon a time, when the world was very young, and we were young with it. Adieu, Roarke. Adieu.

“A Very Strange Affair”, first of all, has a terrible title — I don’t get what that has to do with the fantasy at all — and it’s also a kind of a boring fantasy, even though it does feature two Monkees actors, and there’s the whole angel thing. “The Sailor” also shoulda been better than it was, seeing as it features Mrs. Brady, and it’s a bit different than most fantasies. This is one of those episodes where I wrote a lot, but I didn’t particularly like the stories, and I’m conflicted about how to rate this episode.

Julie: We really did hear a bell, didn’t we?
Roarke: Possibly, Julie. Possibly a very special bell. Or it could have been merely the echo of an old and distant memory. On the other hand, perhaps you heard only the bell around the neck of your friend over there.
[Roarke points to a llama.]
Julie: Priscilla! So it was you all the time.
Roarke: Perhaps, Julie… perhaps…

Wow, this is the first time we’ve had an animal friend on the show since… I don’t know, season 2? However, it seems to be a llama (maybe an alpaca?), and Priscilla the Llama doesn’t have the same ring to it as Chester the Chimp or Pepper the Parrot.

• Julie’s outfit: pants
• Where’s Tattoo?
  
• Drivers:
  • To the dock, for Roarke: Wally
  • To the dock, for Julie: That Guy
  • To the Fantasy Island Clinic: I think it’s “Steve”
  • The Prices’ departure: “Steve”
• Guests:
  • Captain Heinrich Van Hortman, wanderer of the seven seas, the legendary Flying Dutchman
  • Miss Laura Myles from Terre Haute, Indiana, a designer with her own line of lesiurewear
  • Mr. Ronald Price, a youth welfare worker by profession, and his wife Elaine from Humboldt, Nebraska
• Recurring phrases:
  • Julie: Do you have the kind of man she wants, Mr. Roarke?
    Roarke: Oh, indeed I do, Julie.
  • Julie: A tough one, Mr. Roarke?
    Roarke: Very tough indeed.
• Ominous Roarke:
  • Roarke: Unfortunately, he is one whose fantasy is also to find love for his special need, which may require Miss Myles to be willing to make an ultimate commitment and sacrifice.
• Angels:
  • Roarke: Yes, we will need luck… [he looks up]… and some very, very special assistance.
  • Julie: Mr. Roarke… she’s… she’s like an angel.
  • Elaine Price: Why should I be jealous of somebody absolutely stunningly gorgeous who has my husband crawling around on his hands and knees after her as if she was some kind of… angel.
  • J.D. Stoneman: Turn that damn–
    [Miss Harbinger gives him a look.]
    J.D. Stoneman: –thermostat down.
    Miss Harbinger: Thank you, but I’m very comfortable. As a matter of fact, I’m quite impervious to heat.
  • Ron Price: I… I thought I heard a bell ringing.
• Roarke’s drink: same old
• Ominous shot of Roarke drinking: not at all
• Magic object: Roarke rings a bell to summon an angel.
• Money:
  • Elaine Price: This fantasy took our last dollar.
• Can’t help you:
  • Captain: You’ve got to help me, please.
    Roarke: You know I can’t. I don’t know why these conditions exist for you, but they do. They cannot be altered.
• Locations: Fantasy Island Clinic
• Not leaving on the plane: Captain Hortman and Laura Myles sail off to sea instead.
• All you need is love:
  • Roarke: Yes, uh, love is the most important ingredient of all, isn’t it?
• Age gap:
  • Florence Henderson: 47 / Peter Graves: 55 = 8 years
  • Arlene Golonka: 45 / Dick Smothers: 42 = -3 years
  • Shelley Smith: 29 / Ricardo Montalban: 61 = 32 years
  • Shelley Smith: 29 / Dick Smothers: 42 = 13 years