The BEST episodes of Fantasy Island
Every episode of Fantasy Island ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Fantasy Island!
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 - The Invisible Woman / The Snow Bird
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/6/1980
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.
#2 - My Late Lover / Sanctuary
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/3/1981
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.
#3 - God Child / Curtain Call
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/29/1983
In "God Child" little Laurie Shannon who lost her parents in an accident wishes to ask God why he took them. And in "Curtain Call" a once-famous comedian whose TV show was canceled wishes to do one last shot.
#4 - Hard Knocks / Lady Godiva
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/9/1981
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.
#5 - Crescendo / Three Feathers
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/20/1980
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.
#6 - The Dancer / Nobody's There
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/17/1979
In "The Dancer" a Texas millionaire sponsors the comeback of a famous ballerina, so that he can declare his love for her. And in "Nobody's There", a well-intentioned but bumbling lady private eye gets the chance to crack her first big case.
#7 - The Devil and Mr. Roarke / Ziegfeld Girls / Kid Corey Rides Again
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/1981
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.
#8 - The Ghost's Story / The Spoilers
Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/8/1982
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.
#9 - Remember...When?
Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/7/1983
Tattoo has an auto accident and suffers a serious head injury. Mr. Roarke helps him through the surgery and to overcome his depression by reminiscing about their favorite fantasies. In flashback scenes there are appearances by: Anne Jeffreys, Richard Lineback, James Steward, Mabel King, Raymond St. Jacques, Cleavon Little, Berlinda Tolbert, Kedren Jones, Samantha Eggar, Joseph Cotton, John Brandon, Linda Thompson Jenner, Don Ho, Laraine Day, Dick Fair, Sam Melville, Tom Wopat, Robert Mandan, John Fiedler, Lynda Day George, Victor Buono, Michael Hadlow, Angela Slater, Philece Sampler, Rosemary Lord, Paul John Balson, Tom Bailey.
#10 - Edward / The Extraordinary Miss Jones
Season 6 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/9/1983
In "Edward" a successful man comes to the Island to restore his acquaintance with his ex-wife and son. And in "The Extraordinary Miss Jones" Melanie Jones has a terminal blood disorder and she wishes to make a scientific contribution.
#11 - The Magic Camera / Mata Hari / Valerie
Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/1982
In "The Magic Camera" a man who wishes to take pictures no other photographer ever has is shocked when his pictures begin telling the future. In "Mata Hari" a woman who wants to know what Mata Hari's life was really like finds her life in grave danger when she actually becomes the famous spy.
#12 - Lillian Russell / The Lagoon
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/1981
In "Lillian Russell" Lillian Martin goes back in time and becomes a famous singer in order to accurately write a biography of the performer. And in "The Lagoon" a man seeking a peaceful, nostalgic weekend is forced to come face to face with some events of his secret, tormented past.
#13 - Cyrano / The Magician
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/1981
In "Cyrano" Marjorie Denton travels back in time to the days of Cyrano de Bergerac in order to find the world's most chivalrous and romantic man. And in "The Magician" Timothy Potter a likable amateur magician learns his craft the hard way when he accidentally makes the girl he loves vanish into thin air.
#14 - Flying Aces / The Mermaid Returns
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/1/1980
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.
#15 - Baby / Marathon: Battle of the Sexes
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/1979
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.
#16 - Amusement Park / Rock Stars
Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/13/1979
In "Amusement Park" a boy wants to run the park in order to have the opportunity to hire his dad whom he hasnt seen in a long time. In "Rock Stars" four kids whose parents are believed dead seek fame and fortune to remain a family and not be separated by childrens aid.
#17 - Hit Man / The Swimmer
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/7/1979
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.
#18 - The Inventor / On the Other Side
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/15/1979
In "The Inventor" absent-minded professor Professor Clebe finds himself in big trouble when his secret invention is revealed to the world. And in "On the Other Side" widow Irma Gideon wishes to travel through the doors of death to see what it is really like and contact her deceased husband.
#19 - Chorus Girl / Surrogate Father
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/21/1981
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.
#20 - Also Rans / Portrait of Solange
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/28/1981
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.
#21 - The Chateau / White Lightning
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/7/1981
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.
#22 - The Skater's Edge / Concerto of Death / The Last Great Race
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/8/1980
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.
#23 - The Wedding
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/1979
Mr. Roarke marries his longtime love Helena Marsh, knowing that their time together will be very short. Helena has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and her last wish is become Mrs. Roarke.
#24 - The Man from Yesterday / World's Most Desirable Woman
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/31/1981
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.
#25 - The Love Doctor / The Pleasure Palace / Possessed
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/22/1980
In "The Love Doctor" movie actress Kim Holland seeks to become anonymous for the weekend and finds the Love Doctor instead. In "The Pleasure Palace" Gordon Hughes' attitude about his life is dramatically altered when he travels back to find his "roots" circa San Francisco 1906. In "Possessed" a very worried mother brings her suddenly cold and very changed little girl to Mr. Roarke for help.