The BEST Episodes of Fantasy Island
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Jan 8, 2022
Network: ABC (US)
Smiles everyone, Smiles! So began this long-running (7 season) series which was one of the ABC Network's anthology/guest-cast series (along with The Love Boat) that proved wildly popular. Each week two guests came to "Fantasy Island" to get their wish/fantasy fulfilled. Their mysterious host, the debonair and suave white-suited Mr. Roarke, would do the sometimes impossible and grant them their wishes...but there was always some twist to the fantasy, letting the guest learn something about themselves or get something they weren't expecting. Best remembered for the presence of Herve Villechaize as the diminuitive "Tattoo" and his cry of "De plane! De plane!" the show proved popular enough to go the distance and then spawn a brief revival/remake in the 1990s. A remake, Fantasy Island (1998)in the late 1990's was not as successful as its predecessor. In 2020 it was made into a movie with Michael Pena in the title role.
#1 - Daddy's Little Girl / The Whistle
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired Jan 30, 1982
In "Daddy's Little Girl" Christa Ackland wishes to find her real father, a man she has never laid eyes on, so that he may give her away at her wedding. And in "The Whistle" Scientist, Adrian Brilles wishes to make a famous discovery at any cost, comes face to face with a terror he has never known before.
10.00 #2 - The Invisible Woman / The Snow Bird
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired Dec 6, 1980
In "The Invisible Woman" Harriet Winkler wishes to become invisible so she can spy on her philandering fiancee and finds that the one thing their relationship doesn't have is trust. And in "The Snowbird" Ned Pringle falls in love with one of the Flying Ferinis', a trapeze act, and in order for him to get close to her he takes on the challenge to become a trapeze artist himself.
9.33 #3 - A Very Strange Affair / The Sailor
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired Jan 2, 1982
In "A Very Strange Affair" Ron Price gets some very unusual help in obtaining the needed funds for an orphanage. And in "The Sailor" Mr. Roarke successfully arranges a love match but in order for the couple to have a future happiness together, Laura Myles must forfeit her life.
9.00 #4 - Crescendo / Three Feathers
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired Dec 20, 1980
In "Crescendo" singing star Susan Lohman hopes for romance with the brilliant composer of her songs. Not knowing that the mysterious and elusive composer is cursed her hopes are shockingly dashed when they meet. And in "Three Feathers" Alan Colshaw is unjustly accused of cowardice, having abandoned his three flight mates in the crash and disappearing. Not knowing what happened to him, he is in desperate need to exonerate himself.
8.67 #5 - My Late Lover / Sanctuary
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired Jan 3, 1981
In "My Late Lover" the widow Anastasia Dexter has three perspective suitors and is flabergasted by her husband's ghostly interference with choosing one of them. And in "Sanctuary" Thomas Henshaw has been poisoned for some unknown reason, and with only hours to live, searches for the identity of his killer in a place called Gull Island Rest Home a sanctuary for known criminals.
8.67 #6 - High Off the Hog / Reprisal
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired Jan 10, 1981
In "High Off the Hog" the Boggs a hillbilly family from the Ozarks become millionaires for the weekend and they fall prey to unscrupulous con men. And in "Reprisals" Trudy Brown abuses the power Mr. Roarke grants her to gain confidence and self esteem when her jealousy over her cousins' success in the Fantasy Island Athletic Competition nearly destroy her.
8.50 #7 - Mr. Nobody / La Liberatora
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired Nov 7, 1981
In "Mr. Nobody" A man who wishes for inner strength and confidence is accidentally made into another Hercules when Julie gives him the wrong type of strength. And in "La Liberatora" a young woman of Spanish descent wishes to go back to the hard times of old California in order to help liberate the poor and oppressed.
8.50 #8 - The Ghost's Story / The Spoilers
Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired May 8, 1982
In "The Ghost's Story" a young woman must face being alone in a terrifying haunted mansion in order to gain notoriety as an expert of the occult. And in "The Spoilers" a famous and fair-minded bounty hunter goes after the only man who has ever eluded him.
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#9 - Baby / Marathon: Battle of the Sexes
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired Oct 5, 1979
In 'The Baby' Tattoo becomes enamored of the little baby Patrick, whose parents were killed and Tattoo wishes to adopt him, but fears that because of his difference that he cannot give the baby the life he deserves. In 'Marathon: Battle of the Sexes" Olaf, Bunny and Gretchen enter the marathon in order to save their hometown, meanwhile the race has been sabotaged by Dr. Bunk and Bruno. The tables turn when Mr. Roarke throws in a few curves.
8.33 #10 - Hard Knocks / Lady Godiva
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired May 9, 1981
In "Hard Knocks" an ambitious young man gets some helpful pointers from Bogey himself as he sets out to become one of those hard-boiled private eyes of the 1940's. And in "Lady Godiva" Sheila Godfrey wants to be an accomplished equestrienne gets much more than she bargained for when she becomes Lady Godiva.
8.33 #11 - The Devil and Mr. Roarke / Ziegfeld Girls / Kid Corey Rides Again
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired Oct 17, 1981
In "The Devil and Mr. Roarke" Mephistopheles, the devil himself has come with a very specific purpose in mind -- to capture the immortal soul of Mr. Roarke. In "Ziegfeld Girls" two ex-showgirls wish to return to their youth when they were Ziegfeld Girls. And in "Kid Corey Rides Again" Ned Plummer who is enamored with the outlaws of the old west wishes to go back in time to ride with one of the legendary and deadly lawbreakers of that era.
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#12 - Charlie's Cherubs / Stalag 3
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired Dec 9, 1978
In "Charlie's Cherubs" three secretaries want to be like their heroines-Charlie's Angels. In "Stalag 3" four World War II veterans relive their days in a German prison camp.
8.17 #13 - Don Quixote / The Sex Symbol
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired Nov 15, 1980
In "Don Quixote" Texas millionaire Donald Quick wishes to become the heroic Don Quixote and find his Dulcinea encountering trouble along his journey. And in "The Sex Symbol" plain Jane, Helen Hendrix wishes to become adored and desired by men, as a sexy Marilyn Monroe type. She finds out that being a sex symbol gets her far more than she bargained for.
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#14 - Hit Man / The Swimmer
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired Sep 7, 1979
In "Hit Man" a desperate man hires a hit man to eliminate him, so his family can inherit his lucrative insurance money. When suddenly an unexpected sales offer comes to him, is it too late or will Johnny Detroit do him in. In "The Swimmer" Olympic swimmer Terry Summers is paralyzed in an accident and comes to the island seeking a cure.
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#15 - Nona / One Million B.C.
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired Mar 1, 1980
In "Nona" a blind man uses his gift of sight for 48 hours to search for the Nona, woman of his dreams. And in "One Million B.C. two women who wish for the days when men were expected to be macho find themselves being fought over by two tribes of cavemen.
8.00 #16 - Flying Aces / The Mermaid Returns
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired Nov 1, 1980
In "Flying Aces" airline pilot Tony Chilton goes back to World War II to experience the thrill of combat flying with his father who died in that war. And in "The Mermaid Returns" Princess Nyah desires to learn what human love is like and becomes enamored with Mr. Roarke.
8.00 #17 - The Skater's Edge / Concerto of Death / The Last Great Race
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired Nov 8, 1980
In "The Skater's Edge" untrained farm girl Charlie Girl from Minnesota fantasizes about competing as a world-class figure skater. In "Concerto of Death" piano player Jeremy Hale comes to believe that his famous concert pianist brother was murdered and is tormented by his memory. And in "The Last Great Race" a couple agree to a winner-take-all race to decide the property settlement for their divorce.
8.00 #18 - Elizabeth's Baby / The Artist and the Lady
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired Jan 17, 1981
In "Elizabeth's Baby" terminally ill and very expectant Elizabeth Blake wishes to look ahead into her unborn baby's future. And in "The Artist and the Lady" an untalented artist wishes to possess the talent to paint a great masterpiece, ends up becoming enamored of his muse.
8.00 #19 - The Man from Yesterday / World's Most Desirable Woman
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired Jan 31, 1981
In "The Man from Yesterday" William T. Keating posing to be a photo-journalist arrives with the intent to kill, not interview, his subject the famed Mad Major Calvin Doyle, deserter and murderer. And in "World's Most Desirable Woman" middle-aged Marsha Garnett is transformed into Carla Baines, the sexy beauty she was twenty years ago in order to get revenge on her soon-to-be-ex husband.
8.00 #20 - The Chateau / White Lightning
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired Feb 7, 1981
In "The Chateau" Vicky Lee, a journalist wishes to spend the weekend with the man her grandmother, famed Silent Screen actress Becky Lee was in love with in order to complete her biography. But everything isn't what it seems to be and Vicky falls for the same trickery her grandmother did. And in "White Lightning" ehe McAllisters' and the Scoggins are feuding families from Eagle Mountain, Tennessee. They enter a contest to find homemade whiskey, aka White Lightning.
8.00 #21 - Chorus Girl / Surrogate Father
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired Feb 21, 1981
In "Chorus Girl" when a dance teacher Franklin Adams gives his deaf pupil the gift of hearing, he runs the risk of losing her forever. And in "Surrogate Father" if the loving father Evan Watkins of a precocious 8-year-old daughter Amy fails to conquer his addiction to gambling, his daughter will be taken away.
8.00 #22 - Also Rans / Portrait of Solange
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired Feb 28, 1981
In "Also Rans" shy shoesalesman Jerome Pepper hopes to catch the attention of the girl he's loved from afar for seven years. By helping her to successfully race her horse Pomona Prince. And in "Portrait of Solange" Mr. Roarke grants Tattoo a birthday wish to become an artist like Francois Toulouse-Latrec, which ends up becoming bittersweet since Tattoo falls in love with Solange the girl he is painting.
8.00 #23 - Show Me a Hero / Slam Dunk
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired Oct 10, 1981
In "Show Me a Hero" Helen Ross a romantic woman must confront the love of her past, John Day before she can experience real love in her present, Ted Kingman. And in "Slam Dunk" a successful sports writer Matt Kane wishes to become a super-star basketball player in hopes in winning over Ginger Donovan the girl he loves.
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#24 - The Perfect Husband / Volcano
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired Nov 21, 1981
In "The Perfect Husband" a wealthy young woman learns that looking for perfection can mean looking for a lot of unpredictable trouble. And in "Volcano" a successful young seismologist, more concerned with science than with humanity, finds his life and the lives of others threatened by a volcano.
8.00 #25 - House of Dolls / Wuthering Heights
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired Jan 9, 1982
In "House of Dolls" window dresser Francis Elkins becomes infatuated with a mannequin and has her brought to life with some surprising results. And in "Wuthering Heights" social worker Clarissa Bevis in love with the character from the classic Emily Bronte novel, risks her life to actually meet her literary lover in person.
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