TV Deja Vu: Remakes that worked, remakes that flopped
(ABC)
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"Fantasy Island" (1998)
Based on: "Fantasy Island" (1978-1984)
Hit or Miss? Miss
The original had Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, Tattoo, "De plane! De plane!" and enough creepy storylines to scar a kid from the '70s for life. (That ventriloquist episode? Nightmares still!) The new version had Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke, several shout-outs to Shakespeare's "The Tempest," and very little point for existing. It lasted one season.
Hit or Miss? Miss
The original had Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, Tattoo, "De plane! De plane!" and enough creepy storylines to scar a kid from the '70s for life. (That ventriloquist episode? Nightmares still!) The new version had Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke, several shout-outs to Shakespeare's "The Tempest," and very little point for existing. It lasted one season.
