Fool for a Client/Double Your Pleasure

I'm watching all of Fantasy Island, a show I remember fondly in general, though I don't clearly recall any specific episodes from so long ago! I watched this one "out of sequence," because it is Mary Ann Mobley's first appearance on the show, and she is one of my favorite actresses. Another plus was that lovely Lana Wood also appears in the same story.

One thing that surprised me was how little screen time Mary Ann and Lana had in their segment! As I start watching Season 1 episodes, I'm realizing that with two complete stories in each episode, by necessity most of the supporting roles will be brief, and the actors in those will be lucky if the writing offers them some good moments.

That said, both Mary Ann and Lana were fine, they just didn't have much to do! Well, Mary Ann appeared in 7 more episodes, so I'll look forward to those! (She was tied with another actress for appearing in the third-highest number of ep's: Carol Lynley had the most appearances, at 11, and Phyllis Davis (co-starred in Vegas with Bob Urich) was second with 9.

Rich Little did a good job in his role as a would-be star attorney. I'm an attorney myself, so I always take an interest in how my profession is portrayed! The courtroom scenes had to be pushed along very quickly, more than would be at all realistic, but given the time constraints of the show, that story still had some good moments.

I thought the story with Ken Berry as a love-seeking, would-be womanizing guy who wanted to romance two women at the same time, was a more effective story. It was helped by Ken's excellent physical comedy skills and his great comic timing--I laughed out loud several times during his segment.

I think the most effective FI episodes are those where there is a nice romance, and also those where you get a feeling that the hero or heroine is in real danger--I especially liked, now that I think about it, the ones where there is something magical or occult going on, and Roark has to get into it and battle the forces of evil or the supernatural. I'm really looking forward to seeing those. I have the first three seasons that are out on dvd--the transfers look good--and 'll have to figure out how to watch the other four seasons when I finish 1 to 3.

Bottom line: fans of FI should enjoy this episode. It's entertaining and relaxing, though not a standout.

Not to give it away, but the most hard core fans will have to rewatch this episode for a second time. No spoilers. I'm doing just that now. What a fun episode with a twist at the end. Or should I say a double twist, but one of the twist I grasped right away (the one that is revealed the second, the first one totally took me by surprise, and that's why I am rewatching it, but I should have known better!)

When watching this show online, one or 2 episodes a day, I find it frustrating to find the same actors. Some are very pleasant to watch. Some are annoying. Others get old after a while and it's like "no other actors would accept a role in this then high rated show?" Or did they charge too much? Well, anyway.

I couldn't follow the Mary-Ann Mobley murder case, but it was well done. At first, I found the would-be romance one boring but things picked up mid-show. Look for this blunder: the set is badly resused; namely, the Caribbean blue bungalow (wallpaint & matching carpet) is the same exact set used for both stories bungalows. Look at the set up, the white French doors at right, the opening straight up to the back bedroom, the window at left. The prop master has the paints, curtains and furniture removed and replaced by the 2nd story. They evidently shot one after the other, then edited them in between (they weren't going to be switching furniture all day long: we all know Hollywood doesn't film things in aired sequence!) I've spotted this Caribbean blue bungalow many times (first time for me was Carol Lynley's Lady of the Evening, but I'm not watching them in order) and I'm thinking it's a beautiful paint color I should bring into my home some time.

I recommend you watch this one, even if you find it boring at first. If you're a fan of this show, you'll be glad you stuck to the end and will most likely find yourself pressing rewind and rewatching at least one of the stories, like I am doing now.

8/10 for what it was. There's much better episodes and ... Oh! I now remember the girl: she played Hutch's groupie girl in The Groupie, in that episode where Hutch (Starsky's) swills milk by the glassful. A very endearing story with Tattoo that very well showcased the friendship between him & Roarke. Pity that in later seasons, the writing was so that it appeared as if Roarke totally despised him or was constantly aggravated by him but with no friendship to balance that out by. I wonder if that reflected the wedge that grew between them and deteriorated their working friendship? All in all, a very nostalgic show to revisit, with some solid episodes in spite of all the boring ones in the Tattoo-less seasons.