Fantasy Island To Get Real?
Written by Ian Cullen on October 9, 2009 – 10:00 am -
As a fan of quality science fiction and fantasy television I’m often at a loss for words to describe how fake and shoddy most cheaply made reality television is. I mean lets face it things such as Big Brother where your throwing loads of people into a studio built house is hardly real. Nor should it be thought of as such.
To me reality television has always been something, which I have either loved or hated, but in truth mostly the latter. Now I have renewed reasons to hate the genre of Reality Television because according to Variety Mark Burnett and Sony Pictures TV have as ever used their lack of imagination and developed a Reality TV version of the popular 1970’s cult classic Fantasy Island, which starred the late Ricardo Montalban as the mysterious Mr. Rourke.
The original Fantasy Island ran from 1978 to 1984 and was a huge favourite with both genre and none genre fans. The series used its format of fantasy fulfillment with a twist to pay host to some of the biggest acting names of the time as guest stars.
An attempt was made to do a rebooted version of Fantasy Island in 1998 in which British Actor Malcolm McDowell played a somewhat more sardonic Mr. Rourke. However the show was soon cancelled after 13 episodes due to the format being a bit much of a mixed bag of things that didn’t really go anywhere.
The format for the reality show, is described below by Digital Spy.
Contestants will be given the task of making other participants’ dreams come true as guests arrive during each episode. The visitors will then be asked to rate their experience, and based upon their answers, one player will be eliminated.
“Fantasy Island [has] all of the elements of a hit series,” Burnett said. “An exotic location, dream fulfillment, competition and, most of all, emotional storytelling.”
The show has not yet been picked up by any US networks, but Burnett and Sony are expected to begin pitching the idea in domestic and international markets.
Related posts:
- Primeval: The Lost Island….
- Sky One’s Skellig: A Gritty Urban Fantasy
- UK Fantasy TV Does Bit For Children In Need
- Ian’s Roving Editorial: British SciFi & Fantasy Returns
- Two Classic Children’s Fantasy Shows Set For Remake
Tags: Fantasy Island, Mark Burnett, Mr. Rourke, Reality TV, Ricardo Montalban, Sony
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