JTS for Fantasy Island

"De plaaaane! De plaaaane!" Ah, such fond memories. Which was more cloyingly saccharine, The Love Boat or this weirdness? The earlier poster was quite correct to remark that by making Tattoo silly and clownish, childish really, at the start of every episode, television forfeited an opportunity to cast a midget as a serious adult. Sadly, however, Tattoo's antics were one of the few things that made the show worth watching, similar to how many people tuned in to Carson just to watch the monologue. When FI dropped Tattoo's gags (was it pressure from the dwarf lobby? It'd be interesting to find out?), the producers didn't replace them with anything. Roarke would simply come out and say, "Good morning, Tattoo," and the two of them would settle into the rich Corinthian leather for the ride to the airstrip. The show began its rapid ramp-up at this juncture. On the other hand, one could persuasively argue that it was drivel from the start. The poster who commented that the fantasies were largely absurd is absolutely right. As George Carlin once remarked, if I could make myself anything, I wouldn't make myself a sandwich, but rather a horny, 18-year-old billionaire.