My Fantasy Island Collection
Inspired by the new movie “My Dinner with Hervé” (Dinklage is pretty amazing in it BTW) I thought it would be fun to showcase the nick nacks (pun intended) that I’ve collected from the TV series “Fantasy Island“.
Growing up I rarely missed the show on Saturday nights, it’s mix of fantasy, comedy and horror were pretty intoxicating to my younger self and I’ve been an unironic lifelong fan. There isn’t a lot of merch and while not expensive, it’s elusive.
So my guests, welcome to Fantasy Island and join me after the jump!
Craft Master poster Art set, I was searching for this for quite a while until a kind person who found it at a yard sale reached out to me. I was able to name my price and while I don’t think the person got why i wanted it, they were extremely kind about it.
HG Toys Puzzle- This may have been the piece that kicked off the collection. It’s also the first time I ever got recognized for this blog. I bought this at a sleepy toy show in upstate New York and when I bought it the dealer said “Are you the PlaidStallions guy?” which of course, surprised me.
Speaking of Action figures, I found these magnificent hand-painted beauties on Ebay, they’re for 12″ dolls and are perfect. I just haven’t gotten around to giving them bodies yet.
Finally, this vintage Iron On was given to me by a gent named Clark Bucher. It’s actually licensed and I had no idea it existed. I’m terrified to actually wear it as I’m fond of gravy but I am in awe of both the gesture and the item.
Other than the board game (why don’t i own that?), I think that’s it for Fantasy Island Merch I don’t have. Unless you have something I don’t, if that’s the case, please show me!
Did you see the Fantasy Island remake ABC put out some years ago with Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke? It was pretty good, it upped the "fantasy/horror" elements. However I think it may not have caught on as much because of the tone change. Maybe it needed to be funnier and less scary. But it still had some interesting elements. If you can find it on a Canadian streaming service it's worth a peek. Here's the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Island_(1998_TV_series)
Love the collection! Such fun pieces, and seem pretty rare in the wild!
The poster art is great — it kind of looks like Neal Adams and he did a lot of random commercial art in the 1970s.
"Horror"? What horror was there in Fantasy Island, other than the prospect of spending an hour watching a suburbanite's maudlin dreams play out?
Also, check out this Lego set:
[url]https://www.retroist.com/2011/01/21/lego-fantasy-island-playset/[/url]
Love that artwork!
What did Tatoo say when he stubbed his toe? "Da Pain! Da Pain!"
You should read the books: somebody bothered themselves to pen them for fans, it’s the least you could do! Fantasy Island, a show that is rarely re-run. At least, at a decent hour. It starts off great, with the cool music, the gorgeous images of the island, the comic Tattoo quip and mysterious Mr. Roarke. That’s about it. Nearly every episode is a huge letdown. I loved this as a kid, but I guess my imagination took me further than the writers and cameras did. It used to be a show I looked forward to. How can it be so insipid? The magic is gone!
I think I like Mr. Roarke best now: his costume, his facial expressions. Although they’re always the same, but they leave you wondering, and that’s enough for that show. But there’s not enough of him to make the show fun. Still, sometimes he’s just phoning it in. I’m trying to get thru one that’s 1h30+ min on YT and I’m bored to here. The stories are boring. Sometimes a show can do with bad stories if the decor & costumes compensate and if the actors are good. Sadly, there isn’t much of either here. The actors are ok. Just a let down. Am I the only one who feels this way?
Also we would have liked to have read the rest of what happened when you said you were the P.S. guy. (Or did you lie to preserve your anonymity and now he knows?)