The BEST episodes of Fantasy Island (1998) season 1
Every episode of Fantasy Island (1998) season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Fantasy Island (1998) season 1!
A darker and much more twisted take on the premise, this version of Fantasy Island bore little resemblance to the original 1978 series Fantasy Island. This time around, the character of Mr. Roarke was taken over by character actor Malcolm McDowell. Sinister yet somehow charming, Mr. Roarke hung up his white tuxes in the pilot to don a more stylish black suit, which was foreshadowing of the change in the character. His powers, which would often defy nature, were taken to the ultimate extreme as he summoned lightning and storms, terrorized his prisoners (and sometimes guests), and even changed the gender of one man. Meeting the guests at the dock with Mr. Roarke were Cal (Louis Lombardi), the chubby brainless bellhop, and Harry (Edward Hibbert), the debonaire Englishman concierge. Cal and Harry were reduced to being Roarke's prisoners, using their time on the island to work off a debt to Roarke. Also working as Roarke's assistant was Ariel (Madchen Amick), a beautiful shape shifter.
#1 - Let Go
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/26/1998
Roarke puts Harry and Cal in charge of fulfilling Ray's fantasy of getting revenge on the thief who stole his classic Corvette. It turns out that Ray's wife Tina is the one responsible... Meanwhile, Roarke's adopted daughter Miranda interrupts her marriage to come to the Island with no memory of her childhood and Roarke is busy helping her.
#2 - Secret Self
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/24/1998
A bored housewife dreams of being a talkshow host – but she's in for the shock of her life when she has to interview her cheating husband. A nice guy wants to trade in his conscience to become more successful at work – but things go awry when he starts to sprout horns and become devilish. Meanwhile, Ariel blows her top when she finds that Harry keeps eliminating the lilies from all her flower arangements.
#3 - The Real Thing
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/1999
Magazine editor Heather wants to get married and wishes that she can get married to Ben, who is marrying Heather's best friend Jenny. She arrives at Ben and Jenny's first date and interrupts them so she is engaged to Ben. But Heather soon realizes that Jenny is the one who should get married and calls the wedding off before it's too late. Carl wants to become the heavyweight champion of the world but discovers his wife loves him as he was - Carl wins his first fight but throws the second one to get his wife back. An obnoxious tabloid report, Filner, comes to the island and tries to get the ""true story"" on Fantasy Island to write an expose - he almost succeeds until Roarke has him abducted by aliens.
#4 - Heroes
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/23/1999
Actors Dirk and Bobby come to the island to have a chance to be heroes as the stars of their former series, Hard Squad They find themselves back in set as their characters except now they're in real life fighting crime, which isn't as easy. They opt to ""retire"" when things get too tough, but come back when their former co-star Cassie gets kidnapped by the actor who played their informant on the show, who wants revenge for their poor treatment of him... Linda insists her husband Jeremy, who insists they have a son, ends up pregnant! He and Roarke end up in a golf match with Linda and Ariel to see who will end up carrying the child...
#5 - Dreams
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/7/1998
A man falls in love with a woman – who's really a dolphin. A bookish teenage boy wants to know what it's like to be with the in-crowd, and his fantasies of being a great football player result in dire consequences. Meanwhile, Ariel's fowl mood erupts when she thinks no one remembered her birthday.
#6 - We're Not Worthy
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/1998
An insecure professor (Jason Blicker), convinced that he is ugly, has a wish to become beautiful, while a newlywed, Pete Collins (Jere Burns), wants to find out if his bride really loves him so he decides to read her mind...
#7 - Dying to Dance
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/17/1998
Nathan O'Neil, a horror writer obsessed with the occult, comes to Fantasy Island in hopes of seeing a ghost. Nathan gets more than he bargained for when the ghost starts running around in his skin. Jack Lee and his wife, Doris, come to fulfill Jack's fantasy of being a great baseball player. When Jack takes ill, Doris has the opportunity to have her wish granted -- to dance like Ginger Rogers. Meanwhile, Cal and Harry make an attempt to escape on a boat that's washed up on shore, but Mr. Roarke has other plans for them.
#8 - Superfriends
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/1998
In an effort to create a bond between an overworked father and his son, Roarke transforms banker Louis Burton into eight-year-old Max's favorite superhero. Although Max is impressed when Louis, as Dyno-man, stops a meteor from destroying Earth, Louis is just as overzealous in his work as a superhero as he was as a banker. Consequently, Max finds himself watching from the sidelines again. Meanwhile, to help two friends explore the possibilities of any enexplored romantic possibilities between them, Roarke offers Gina Williams a chance to meet her old friend, Doug Strickman, again for the first time. But Gina soon sees that without her influence as a friend, Doug has become a very different man from the one she knew.
#9 - Innocent
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/1999
Lawyer Sam, who defends scum criminals, wants to fulfill his fantasy of defending an innocent man - he gets his wish when he is accused of murdering his last, guilty, client. It turns out Sam once failed to thoroughly defend another innocent man and is convicted... Sybil tries to regain her virginity but loses it to the same man she lost it to the second time - she does reconcile with a former spurned lover after she realizes the happy life she could have had with him. Cal is put in charge of a guest's ignored son - the boy is a delinquent and Cal is tempted to get the boy into a criminal act...
#10 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/1998
Two travel agents, Fisher and Clia, send a form with their client's ultimate ""fantasy"" through a pneumatic tube, across thousands of miles, to Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island. Meanwhile, Roarke battles with his assistants, Cal and Harry, to prepare the island resort for a new batch of arriving guests: Matthew, who wishes he had married a different woman; Ricky, a daredevil looking for the ultimate challenge; and Jane, a law student battling for intellectual supremacy over her smarter sister, Regina. Ricky's fantasy begins as he's whisked away on a hell-bent helicopter ride and completes two days of running, boating and hang gliding. When the daredevil deems this course too easy, Roarke sends Ricky to climb a mountain of ice. Ricky is killed instantly, but he miraculously stands with Roarke looking at his own dead body. Roarke then takes Ricky on a tour of all the things he will now miss, including the birth of his daughter. Ricky then accepts Roarke's ultimate challenge: to live every mom
#11 - Estrogen
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/31/1998
Stan Rawlings and his married friend Dave arrive on the Island to chase girls, and Stan asks Roarke to help him learn the secrets of the female mystique. Stan gets transformed into a woman, ""Brenda,"" and Ariel provides ""him"" with tips. Mary Wilcox, the descendent of male soldiers, comes to the Island to fulfill her wish to become a soldier. Roarke puts her into an alternate World War II fought by women. Forced to choose between fighting and helping a wounded comrade, Mary helps the injured soldier instead.
#12 - Wishboned
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/19/1998
Ashley brings her boyfriend Joe to the Island to show him a perfect family holiday - she finds her own family there transformed into her ""perfect"" family. However, Joe soon starts to fall in love with Ashley's ""perfect"" sister... Disgruntled businessman Mike wishes to be sent back to rescue Katherine from her ogre of a husband in his childhood fantasy world - but the ogre loooks just like Mike. Mike realizes that's how he acts to his own wife... Fred wants to have a genie who grants him three wishes and Roarke gives Ariel the assignment. She sabotages his first two wishes by interpreting them literally and goads Fred into wishing ""he could do a better job"" and becoming a genie himself...
#13 - Handymen
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/12/1998
Germophobic Kenny comes to the Island to live in a germ-free environment. However, a woman, Brigid, crashes into habitat and is forced to go with her to escape her pursuers - they soon find themselvs in the jungle looking for an ancient mask. Jerry complains about his girlfriend leaving him on the Island and Roarke puts him in a victims' support group. Faced with a bunch of other complainers, Jerry eventually learns to take responsibility for his own screwed-up life and leaves the Island a happier man.