Jencyclopedia

An old man wants to be the pitcher in a historic baseball game, but the doctor says he’s not well enough, so Kai Winn steals his fantasy.
A man wants to know about the afterlife, so a ghost possesses his body and wreaks havoc.

“Dying to Dance”. Well, that sounds like something that’s never been done before.

Harry: I am so sorry, Miss Louis. I see your form says “Paris in the ’20s”, but you didn’t specify what century; you see how a mistake could be made.

Roarke: Miss Louis. I do apologize. You were supposed to have a wild romance with Ernest Hemingway, swinging from the chandeliers and all that, well… my staff is entirely to blame.

I was going to say that Our Roarke would never say that, except, he probably would blame Tattoo if it was Tattoo’s fault:

I think Our Roarke would be more tactful with the guests though.

Cal: The plane! The plane!

Roarke: Perhaps we should get Mr. Lee to the infirmary.

If I had any DS9 GIFs, I’d put a Bashir one here.

[Cal has a boat and wants to try to escape from Fantasy Island.]
Harry: How can we go anywhere? We don’t know where we are.
Cal: I know exactly where we are. We’re in the southern hemisphere. The Southern Cross is right above us.
Harry: Tonight, maybe. Celestial bodies are never the same here. I’m sure I’ve seen the North Star.
Cal: Harry, trust me. I was in the merchant marines for four months. I figure we’re about seven hundred nautical miles northeast of Australia.

I wonder if the rat in that scene listening to Harry and Cal’s conversation is Odo Ariel.

There’s a pizza delivery boy from Scotty’s Pizza; I like the continuity, although I still prefer the classic Fantasy Island brand over Scotty’s brand.

How did this ghost order a pizza if he can’t pick up a phone and dial?

Harry: Should have learnt my lesson after the hotel fire.
Cal: Don’t start with the hotel fire; that was your bright idea.

Hm. They’ve referenced a hotel fire before, but I thought it was something that happened to Harry alone, not both Harry and Cal. So by hotel, do they mean the Fantasy Island hotel? Also, there was a fire at the hotel in the last episode, and Roarke started it.

Nathan O’Neil: Look, uh, about last night. I’d really prefer that you didn’t get the wrong idea.
Pamela Louis: What idea would that be?
Nathan O’Neil: You… me… I don’t normally drink like that. I really wasn’t myself.
Pamela Louis: Too bad. It was a vast improvement.

“You’re a better person when you drink”. That’s a great message.

Doris Lee: I want to dance. You know, like Fred and Ginger.

lol, Lori Beth’s character’s name in 6×2 “Dancing Lady” was Kristy Lee:

Kristy Lee: You told me I would dance like Ginger Rogers.

I wonder if they’re related.

This series is a lot like the original series in that I tend to ignore half of the episode, except in the original series, I would ignore the war/airplane fantasies, while in this series, I ignore the Harry/Cal scenes.

Nathan O’Neil: He’s getting smashed, plastered, and he’s molesting women.
Roarke: Yeah, having the time of his life.

I mean, this is classic Roarke, but it’s still horrifying.

Roarke: Mrs. Lee, I really must apologize. I haven’t been able to find a suitable partner for you.
Doris Lee: Oh, well, that’s alright.
Roarke: Would I do?

Classic Roarke. Except This Roarke doesn’t go for women who are 30 years younger than him… oh wait. I forgot about Ariel. Never mind.

Clia [to Fisher]: Give it up; you’ll never dance like Roarke.

Who would want to?

A bit weird ending to this episode. There’s no dock scene; the final scene on the island is at the ball. Then we’ve got a Fisher/Clia scene, which seems to be how this series wants to end their episodes. In this scene, someone walks into the office, but we only see their shadow. The music Fisher was playing suddenly stops. It would have been ominous if the shot wasn’t so quick. I don’t know what we’re meant to think here.

Also, last episode ended with a beauty queen entering the travel agency, but she didn’t show up in this episode. I wonder if it’s like with Quantum Leap, how sometimes they’d show the wrong next leap? Maybe she’ll appear in another episode? Or maybe they shot some of those scenes not intending to make a full fantasy out of them?

• Guests:
  • Nathan O’Neil, a horror writer
  • Jack and Doris Lee
• Similar fantasies:
  • Ghosts – 5×22 “The Ghost’s Story”
  • Dancing – 6×2 “Dancing Lady”, 3×9 “The Dancer”
• Religion:
  • Cal: I gotta get new shoes; these are hell on my feet.
    Roarke: Cal, you don’t know what hell is… yet.
  • Roarke: That’s hell, Mr. O’Neil. A terrible itch that can never be scratched.
• Last chance:
  • Roarke: Look, are you quite sure you want to spend the night here alone? I mean, there’s no phone. There’s no possible way of contacting me.
• Disappearing act: Roarke disappears after Nathan O’Neil agrees to stay the night in the haunted house.
• Roarke’s powers: He can control the weather. He causes a storm when Harry and Cal are trying to escape by boat.
• Age gap:
  • Cynthia Geary: 33 / John Ales: 29 = -4 years
  • Cynthia Geary: 33 / Bill Smitrovich: 51 = 18 years
  • Louise Fletcher: 64 / ? (Jack): ? = ?
  • Louise Fletcher: 64 / Malcolm McDowell: 55 = -9 years
• Cast:
  • John Ales … Nathan O’Neil
  • Bill Smitrovich … Ezra Cross (the ghost)
  • Cynthia Geary … Pamela Louis (Nathan’s love interest)
  • Louise Fletcher … Doris Lee (Jack’s wife)
  • Allan Kolman … Doctor (Jack’s doctor)
  • John Mabry … ??? (probably Jack Lee)
  • ??? … Jack Lee