"Fantasy Island" (1978-1984)

Another Aaron Spelling and ABC collaboration, about a tropical island where people came to fulfill long-held dreams. The place was run by mysterious character named Mr. Rourke (Ricardo Montalban). Next to nothing was revealed about where he came from, how he got the island, or how he gained the powers to make the fantasies happen. I remember an episode where Rourke had fallen in love with a woman and they married, but she died soon afterwards. Who knew that Rourke was a romantic? Other than that, Rourke remained an enigma. His assistant was a diminutive man named Tattoo (Herve Villechaize) who announced that visitors were arriving to the island with "The plane! The plane!"

The fantasies were not all fun and games. The people involved usually found themselves in be-careful-what-you-wish-for situations. Sometimes, they would find themselves in life-or-death situations or having to make hard decisions. At the end, valuable lessons were learned. Apparently, the island was a big place, because it had room to host all kinds of dreams, from being a race-car driver to being a movie star.

Audiences ate this show up, and it was at the top of the TV ratings for most of its run. Villechaize left the show at the end of the 1982-1983 season and was replaced by Christopher Hewitt, who appeared as Lawrence during the last season of the show. Villechaize later committed suicide. Montalban had been a movie matinee idol back in the day; recently, he appeared as a feisty granddad in the Spy Kids movie series. Hewitt went on to be the main character in the family friendly sitcom "Mr. Belvedere" (1985-1990).