Fantasy Island

This 1998 ABC series was a revival of the original Fantasy Island show, but it deliberately emphasized the supernatural aspects of Mr. Roarke and the island from the very start, along with a dose of dark humor.

Unlike the original 1970s series, which was filmed in California, this remake was shot on location in Hawaii.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld, best known for directing The Addams Family films, served as a chief creative force behind the new series.

Malcolm McDowell took over the role of Mr. Roarke, and to visually contrast with the original portrayal, his version of the character was dressed almost exclusively in black instead of white.

In the first episode, Roarke picks the single black suit out of a closet full of white ones and orders the rest to be burned, symbolizing the show's darker tone compared to the original.

The character Tattoo from the original series was dropped entirely; instead Roarke was given a team of assistants, including a female shapeshifter named Ariel, played by Mädchen Amick.

The relationship between Roarke and his island assistants draws many parallels with William Shakespeare's The Tempest, with hints that the assistants are imprisoned on the island to pay off a debt or earn a second chance at life.

This series marked the final acting role of actress Sylvia Sidney, who played travel agent Clia alongside Fyvush Finkel's Fisher character in the recurring travel-agency framing scenes.

In one episode, when a guest requests a fantasy involving a bottle resembling the one from I Dream of Jeannie, Ariel reacts with displeasure about bottles, and the scene closes with a clip of that show's theme song, hinting she may be a djinni.

The series was canceled midway through its only season on ABC, with the remaining unaired episodes later broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel; the show also aired on UPN.