Airing from 1978 to 1984, with 7 seasons shown every Saturday night on ABC at 10:00 PM, after the The Love Boat, which was also produced by Aaron Spelling. Like several other series of the era, such as the abovementioned The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote, Fantasy Island employed many celebrity (if not A-list film stars of the time) guest stars, often bringing them back repeatedly for different roles. Such guests included TV stars like Bill Bixby and Bob Denver, music stars like Sonny Bono and Robert Goulet, classic film stars like Peter Lawford and Ray Bolger, young starlets like Victoria Principal, Barbi Benton and Michelle Pfeiffer who visited the series twice (Nov. 1978 and Jan 1981).

Before it became a long-running original television show, Fantasy Island was introduced to viewers in 1977 through two highly-rated made-for-television films.

The original series was starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke (known for his white suit and cultured demeanor), the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fantasies, albeit for a price. Roarke was initially accompanied by an energetic sidekick, Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize. Tattoo would run up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "The plane! The plane!" to announce the arrival of a new set of guests. From 1980 to 1982, Wendy Schaal joined the cast as another assistant named Julie.

The usual format of each episode consisted of an introduction in which Roarke would describe to Tattoo (or another assistant) the nature of each person's fantasy, usually with a cryptic comment suggesting the person's fantasy will not turn out as they expected. The episode would then alternate between two or three independent storylines as the guests experienced their fantasies and interacted with Roarke.

Roarke would then welcome his guests by lifting his glass and saying: "My dear guests, I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island.".

The program was popular in its day, and its campy style has won it a cult following in reruns.

Source: Wikipedia , Tv.com & Imdb

» Running time: 60 minutes (per episode)
» Original channel: ABC
» Country of origin: USA
» Seasons: 7 | Episodes: 158 (including 1977 pilot)
» Format: Drama, Science-Fiction

» Premiered: January 28, 1978 (First aired: Jan 14, 1977) 
» Last Aired: May 19, 1984

Created by Gene Levitt
Executive Production by Aaron Spelling

Production Companies:
Columbia Pictures Television
Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Fantasy Island - USA (Original Title)
La Isla de la fantasía - Argentina / Spain / Venezuela
L'Île fantastique - France
Fantasilandia - Italy
Fantasy Island - West Germany
To Nisi tis fantasias - Greece (DVD title)
Seikkailujen saari - Finland