Jencyclopedia

A man is in love with K.C. Cunningham, but because witches, her family has to sacrifice the man she falls in love with.
Georgia Engel wants a concert pianist to fall in love with her.

When I first watched this episode, I wrote that I didn’t realize until recently that the fantasies only take place over one weekend, and I wanted to know what Roarke and Tattoo do during the week. Now, having seen almost all the episodes in full, I can confirm we never get an episode of them fielding requests for fantasies over the phone or arranging for people involved in other people’s fantasies to ~coincidentally~ show up on the island. That doesn’t make me want this episode any less though.

Delta Burke from Designing Women is in this episode. I watched a few Designing Women episodes a few months ago and immediately noticed  a Fantasy Island connection — Mr. Roarke’s gold box from his desk in his office appears in the Designing Women‘s office as well (at least in the first episode).

Tattoo: Boss, here comes my old friend Susan.
Roarke: Yes, Tattoo. Miss Susan Henderson, the young woman who saved you from a runaway taxicab in Paris years ago.

Thanks for reminding me, boss. I forgot all about that.

Tattoo: You’re right, boss. If it was not for her, you wouldn’t have the terrific assistant like me.
Roarke: Yes. So, in gratitude, you have arranged a fantasy for her, to make a man she has loved from afar fall in love with her.
Tattoo: Well, it’s simple, isn’t it, boss?
Roarke: We shall see, Tattoo. We shall see.

For once, Roarke isn’t upset at Tattoo for arranging a fantasy. I guess Tattoo learned to ask permission first.

This guy gets a regular car — not one of the Fantasy Island rovers — to take him to find his girlfriend. Weird.

Roarke: You won’t have any trouble finding Miss Miller; everyone there knows her.

Roarke: Any man you touch with your ring hand will fall immediately and passionately in love with you.

Well, this is gonna go smoothly.

Roarke: Now tell me, just exactly how do you wish to arrange payment for Miss Henderson’s fantasy?
Tattoo: Boss, I thought it was a favour!
Roarke: Tattoo, Tattoo, what about our overhead? Have you any idea how much we spend each year on flower leis alone? Huh?

If Tattoo was Roarke’s accountant like I originally thought he was, then Tattoo should know that. I wonder if Tattoo switched jobs partway through the series.

Stars Hollow doesn’t really fit in on Fantasy Island. I imagine you’ve got the “hotel” area, which encompasses the dock, the main house, the bungalows, the restaurant, the lagoon, and basically everything that’s white and red. There’s also the jungle and volcanoes. Then there are the rows of mansions that are all the same and no one seems to care, which is where all the millionaires live. So why is there this quaint little town with normal (well…) people living in it? Almost everyone who lives on Fantasy Island is either a hotel employee or a millionaire.

K.C. Cunningham is the most ’80s looking girl I have ever seen.

Brian: Wow! You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen! Look at those sideburns, and that body! […] I love you! I wanna have your child!
Susan Henderson: Tattoo, help!
Tattoo: Cool it, Mike, cool it!

Hallie’s little sister, Jamie, has a line (“help me, Hallie!”) but she isn’t credited.

It’s completely ridiculous that Tattoo sat to Susan’s right when the ring was on her right hand, and that’s the hand that had to touch the guy she wanted to fall in love with.

I feel like a lot of the acting in the “Devil Stick” fantasy is questionable.

Roarke: Even on Fantasy Island, certain rules must apply.
Tattoo: But boss, rules are made to be broken.
Roarke: Not this often.

Roarke: Tattoo, must I remind you that arranging that reception for Mr. Ransom at the last moment was no small task? These plans of yours are proving to be quite taxing, to say nothing of expensive.

I wonder if Roarke used his powers to arrange the reception. I feel like no. Because I mean, you need food, and you need waiters, and you need people, and sure, Roarke could poof the food in, but then Wally’s gonna be like what the heck, you got another chef I don’t know about? Or maybe, yeah, because there’s Wally and Henri, maybe they both just assume the other one made the food. But you can’t fake the people. I mean, he can hypnotize the people to force them to come to the reception, I guess. But when he says “taxing”, I wonder if he means taxing on his powers, or taxing as an event organizer.

Tattoo: Boss, please. Give me another chance. Did I ever ask you for anything before?
Roarke: As a matter of fact, yes.

Tattoo: Well… I’m gonna ask you again.
Roarke: Well, when you put it that way, how can I possibly refuse, Tattoo?

How can they keep not crediting this guy?! (In my original post for this episode, I wrote “is it bad if I recognized the guy bringing the champagne as being the same guy who drops the guests off at the end of the show?”)

I’ve spent entirely too long trying to identify if Carter Ransom is actually playing Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1 — which is what he said he was gonna play — but I’m still not really sure.

Susan Henderson is kind of a horrible person. Her fantasy was for Carter Ransom to fall in love with her. Okay, fine — that’s a typical fantasy. But now that she’s met him and seen that he has a wife… maybe that’s not such a good idea any more? I mean, yes, we’re supposed to think the wife is a jerk, but still, that’s cheating, and that’s bad. Tattoo distracts Carter’s wife, Susan sneaks into the Ransoms’ bungalow to meet him, and he touches her ring hand and falls in love with her. The wife comes back, and Susan goes to leave. Carter walks Susan to the door, and he says “we’ll meet later, my darling; give me half an hour”. Outside, Susan is all starry-eyed. Like no. She should be thinking, like, oh, okay, now I’m having an affair with a married man. That’s not cool, Susan.

Roarke: You want to call off your fantasy, Miss Henderson?

The way Roarke says this line is like “oh… this again.” Like he just expects this now.

I like how Roarke just walks into town in the middle of the sacrifice.

Hallie Miller: Who is that man?

When I first saw this episode, I was glad someone made this comment, because it seemed like a random dude just crashed their sacrifice. But now, I feel like they should have known who Mr. Roarke was. They live on Fantasy Island; this isn’t a time travel thing. This is Roarke’s island. He’s the chief magistrate. Why wouldn’t they know who he was? Everyone else seems to.

Roarke and Tattoo are hiding in the bushes, creeping on Susan and Carter. They haven’t done that since like season one.

Roarke: Well, Tattoo. It appears your plan worked after all. You know, this is the second time Miss Henderson has saved your life.
[Tattoo laughs.]
[Roarke laughs with a look that says “I wasn’t kidding”.]

Aw, we finally got some final scene shenanigans again!

• Guests:
  • Mr. Carl Peters, a travel agent from Philadelphia
  • Miss Susan Henderson
• Ominous Roarke:
  • Tattoo: Will he find her? Will he fall in love?
    Roarke: Oh, yes, Tattoo. So much so he may even be willing to die for her…
  • Tattoo: Well, it’s simple, isn’t it, boss?
    Roarke: We shall see, Tattoo. We shall see…
• Friend of Tattoo:
  • Tattoo: Boss, here comes my old friend Susan.
• Roarke’s drink: same old
• Ominous shot of Roarke drinking: no, it fades too soon
• Locations:
  • Tattoo: He’s here on the island. He’s staying in the Lilac Bungalow.
  • Glen Hollow
• Magic object:
  • Roarke: This is a very special ring, Miss Henderson. When you wear it, any man you touch with your ring hand… will fall immediately and passionately in love with you. However, it will work only once, so you must be extremely careful.
• Money:
  • Roarke: Well, I suppose we could arrange a discount of, say, twenty percent.
    Tattoo: Twenty percent?! I was thinking more like one hundred percent.
    Roarke: Alright, my friend, just for you — but just this once, huh?
• Can’t help you:
  • Roarke: In any case, I’m afraid your fantasy has come to an unscheduled end.
    Tattoo: But boss, it was an accident. It can happen to anyone.
    Roarke: Nevertheless, Tattoo, my hands are tied. What can I do?
• Roarke’s powers:
  • [Eyes in the back of his head — Brian has been holding up signs in the background for the entire scene.]
    Roarke: Oh, and Tattoo? Kindly remove that young man from the premises, would you please?
  • He made an arrow pass through Carl and Hallie without hurting them.
• Costume change: Roarke and Tattoo wear white tuxedos and black bowties to Carter Ransom’s reception.
• Technobabble:
  • Roarke: Well, for your information, I am not energizing Miss Henderson’s ring — not again.
• Reminders:
  • Roarke: Tattoo, must I remind you that arranging that reception for Mr. Ransom at the last moment was no small task?
• Recurring phrases:
  • Roarke: What really concerns me, Tattoo, is that you’ve apparently not yet learned that second chances are very rare and very valuable indeed.
• Cancelling the fantasy:
  • Roarke: You want to call off your fantasy, Miss Henderson?
• All you need is love:
  • Roarke: They are both willing to die. The obvious strength of their love, their willingness to sacrifice everything for each other… surely such a demonstration of good deems any further evil unnecessary.
  • Hallie Miller: I still can’t believe this has all happened. It’s been a miracle.
    Roarke: Yes, Miss Miller. A miracle of love. You see, the strength of your love for each other and the dual sacrifice you were willing to make broke the power of the spell forever.
• Religion:
  • [After Roarke crashes the sacrifice.]
    Hallie Miller: Who is that man?
    Carl Peters: Only god knows.
• Leaving with an extra guest:
  • Carl Peters with new/old girlfriend Hallie Miller
  • Susan Henderson with new boyfriend Carter Ransom
• Shenanigans: Tattoo offers Susan Henderson the ring as a souvenir, but she doesn’t want it. After Susan leaves, Tattoo’s eye light up, and he finds the nearest girl and touches her with the ring. She immediately starts kissing him. Tattoo’s like “boss, I’ll see you later, bye”… and then he runs into the girl’s boyfriend.
  
• Drivers:
  • To the dock: Roarke
  • Carl Peters’ departure: That Guy
  • Susan Henderson’s departure: Wally
• Age gap:
  • Crystal Bernard: 21 / Dean Butler: 26 = 5 years
  • Georgia Engel: 34 / Bernie Kopell: 49 = 15 years
  • Delta Burke: 26 / Bernie Kopell: 49 = 23 years
  • Georgia Engel: 34 / Scott Thomson: 25 = 9 years
  • Georgia Engel: 34 / Earl Boen: 41 = 7 years
• IMDb notes:
  • The Mayor is George Miller, Hallie’s father.
  • Ethan is Ethan Miller, Hallie’s brother.
  • Henry is Brian’s father.