Producer Aaron Spelling once said that of all the characters he created, the one he most identified with was Fantasy Island's Mr. Roarke, because he made dreams come true. Following The Love Boat on Saturday nights on ABC from 1978 to 1984, Fantasy Island offered viewers a chance to imagine romantic escapes and gave B-list celebrities such as Bill Bixby, Joseph Campanella, Adrienne Barbeau, Karen Valentine, and Victoria Principal another opportunity to appear on the small screen. Unlike the comedic Love Boat, however, Fantasy Island was a romantic drama, complete with suspense and ironic twists. Each episode carried the implicit warning to be careful what you wish for.

The premise of Fantasy Island was simple: each of the three weekly visitors to the tropical Fantasy Island paid $10,000 to make a lifelong dream come true. Awaiting the visitors was their host, Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban), a suave, mysterious...