൯ FANTASY ISLAND

Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network. Before it became a long-running original television show, Fantasy Island was introduced to viewers in 1977 through two highly-rated made-for-television films in which Mr. Roarke and Tattoo played relatively minor roles. Airing from 1978 to 1984, the original series starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fantasies, albeit for a price.

Roarke was known for his white suit and cultured demeanor, and was initially accompanied by an energetic sidekick, Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize. Tattoo would run up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "The plane! The plane!" to announce the arrival of a new set of guests at the beginning of each episode. This line, shown at the beginning of the show's credits, became an unlikely catchphrase because of Villechaize's spirited delivery and French accent (he actually pronounced it, "Ze plane! Ze plane!").

Villechaize proved a difficult actor on Fantasy Island where he continually propositioned women and quarrelled with the producers. He was eventually fired after demanding that his pay be on par with that of co-star Ricardo Montalbán. The show's popularity waned after this move, and it was soon cancelled.

Tribute to Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (April 23, 1943 - September 4, 1993) was a French actor who achieved worldwide recognition for his role as Tattoo, in the television series Fantasy Island (1978 - 1984). His big break was getting cast in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 playing the evil henchman Nick Nack, by which time he had become so poor he was living out of his car in Los Angeles. Prior to being signed up by Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli, he made ends meet by working as a rat catcher's assistant near his South Central home. But from what his co-actor Christopher Lee saw, The Man with the Golden Gun filming was possibly the happiest time of Hervé's life, Lee likening it to honey in the sandwich between an insecure past and an uncertain future.

In addition to being an actor, Villechaize became an active member of a movement in 1970s-1980s California to deal with child abuse and neglect, often going to crime scenes himself to help comfort abuse victims. Villechaize's former co-workers recalled that despite his stature, he would often confront and chastise spousal and child abusers when he arrived at crime scenes. In the early morning hours of September 4, 1993, Hervé shot himself at his home. He left a suicide note saying he was despondent over longtime health problems. RIP Herve. [wikipedia]

൯ THE LITTLE MERMAID

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 17, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. During its initial release, The Little Mermaid grossed over $84 million in the United States and an additional $99 million internationally. The film is given credit for breathing life back into the animated feature film genre after a string of critical or commercial failures that dated back to the early 1980s. It also marked the start of the era known as the Disney Renaissance.

Ariel, a sixteen-year-old mermaid princess, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best fish friend Flounder, Ariel collects human artifacts and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate and comical knowledge of human culture. Ignoring the warnings of her father (King Triton) and court musician (Sebastian the crab) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden, Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret grotto with all the human artifacts she has found. ("Part of Your World") While Sebastian, who was assigned to watch over Ariel and be sure she does not visit the surface again tries to convince her that its better to live under the sea than in the human world ("Under the Sea"). The Little Mermaid was considered by some as "the film that brought Broadway into cartoons". Alan Menken wrote the Academy Award winning score, and collaborated with Howard Ashman in the songs.

1991 - Voted the Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television: Alan Menken (composer) Howard Ashman (lyricist) for "Under the Sea". The Little Mermaid was considered by some as "the film that brought Broadway into cartoons". Alan Menken wrote the Academy Award winning score, and collaborated with Howard Ashman in the songs. [wikipedia]

The seaweed is always greener, in somebody else's lake

You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake

Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor

Such wonderful things surround you, what more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea Under the sea

Nobody beat us fry us and eat us

In fricassee, We what the land folks loves to cook

Under the sea we off the hook, we got no troubles

Life is the bubbles, under the sea

Under the sea, since life is sweet here

We got the beat here.. Naturally

Even the sturgeon an' the ray. They get the urge 'n' start to play

We got the spirit. You got to hear it..Under the sea

The newt play the flute, the carp play the harp

The plaice play the bass, and they soundin' sharp

The bass play the brass, the chub play the tub

The fluke is the duke of soul (Yeah), the ray he can play

The lings on the strings, the trout rockin' out

The blackfish she sings, the smelt and the sprat

They know where it's at, an' oh that blowfish blow

Under the sea, Under the sea

When the sardine, begin the beguine

It's music to me, what do they got? A lot of sand

We got a hot crustacean band.

Each little clam here know how to jam here

Under the sea, each little slug here

Cuttin' a rug here. Under the sea

Each little snail here, know how to wail here

That's why it's hotter, under the water

Ya we in luck here, down in the muck here

Under the sea.

൯ I DREAM OF JEANNIE

I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2000-year-old female genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries. Produced by Screen Gems, the show originally aired from September 1965 to May 1970 with new episodes, and through September 1970 with season repeats, on NBC. The show ran for five seasons and produced 139 episodes. The first season consisted of 30 episodes filmed in black and white (decades later colorized for some broadcasts and a DVD release). The other 109 episodes were filmed in color. The show has continued to air in reruns ever since, currently airing in the United States on WGN America.

Recently, Cocoa Beach, Florida, has been embracing the fame it garnered from Jeannie. A street near the Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach is named "I Dream of Jeannie Lane." On September 15, 2005, they held the "We Dream of Jeannie" Festival, including a Jeannie lookalike contest. There were plans for one in 2004, but it was interrupted by Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne. They did, however, hold the Jeannie lookalike contest in 2004, with Bill Daily attending.

The first season theme music was an instrumental jazz waltz written by Richard Wess; eventually, Sidney Sheldon became dissatisfied with Wess' theme and musical score. From the second season on, it was replaced by a new theme entitled "Jeannie", composed by Hugo Montenegro with lyrics by Buddy Kaye. Episode 20 and 25 used a re-recorded ending of "Jeannie" for the closing credits with new, longer drum breaks and a different closing riff. The lyrics were never used in the show. [wikipedia]

Larry Hagman is so sweet and adorable as the astronaut Capt John Nelson as compared to the evil and unscrupulous JR Ewing in Dallas, these two characters are like heaven and earth poles apart.

൯ WKRP IN CINCINNATI

WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982) is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising as a client of a classic album-oriented rock radio station. The ensemble cast consisted of Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Jan Smithers, Richard Sanders and Frank Bonner.

The opening theme, called "WKRP In Cincinnati Main Theme", was composed by Tom Wells, with lyrics by series creator Hugh Wilson, and performed by Steve Carlisle. [wikipedia]

Baby, if you've ever wondered,

Wondered whatever became of me,

I'm living on the air in Cincinnati,

Cincinnati, WKRP.

Got kind of tired packing and unpacking,

Town to town and up and down the dial

Maybe you and me were never meant to be,

Just baby think of me once in awhile.

I'm at WKRP in Cincinnati..

൯ KNIGHT RIDER

Knight Rider is an American television series that originally ran from September 26, 1982, to August 8, 1986. The series was broadcast on NBC and starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a high-tech modern-day knight fighting crime. Michael Knight drove a sentient talking car with artificial intelligence. Conceived and produced by Glen A. Larson, the show was an instant hit. "I wanted to do The Lone Ranger with a car", Larson said in The Last Great Ride. "Kind of a sci-fi thing, with the soul of a western."

A number of performers have released and remixed the main Knight Rider theme (which was written by series producer Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips ). When Stu Phillips left the series after composing 13 episodes, Don Peake became the music composer and did the remaining 71 episodes during the rest of the series. The change of the style between the composers can be felt in the middle of the first season, from Hearts of Stone onward. The style of the music composed by Phillips was more symphonic, Peake's was more electronic and rock. [wikipedia]

൯ INDIANA JONES

Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is afictional adventurer, soldier, professor of archaeology, and the main protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, The Last Crusade in 1989, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles from 1992 to1996, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Alongside the more widely known films and television programs, novels, comics, video games, and other media also feature the character. Jones is also featured in the theme park attraction Indiana Jones Adventure, which exists in similar forms at Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea.

Jones is most famously played by Harrison Ford; he has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade), and in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall. Doug Lee has supplied Jones's voice to two Lucas Arts video games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, while David Esch supplied his voice to Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb. Another great piece of music by John Williams and it is titled: The Raiders March. [wikipedia]

൯ HIGH CHAPARRAL

The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network. The theme song was also written and conducted by Bonanza scorer David Rose.

The show starred Leif Erickson as "Big" John Cannon, a rancher who lived in the Arizona Territory in the 1870s. He ran the ranch with his brother Buck (Cameron Mitchell) and son Billy Blue (Mark Slade). Billy Blue's mother Annalee (Joan Caulfield) was killed in the first episode by an Indian arrow through the window, and to ensure his future, John Cannon courted and later married Victoria (Linda Cristal), the daughter of the powerful Don Sebastián Montoya. His marriage to Victoria Montoya brought her brother Manolito (Henry Darrow) into the picture, and he also came to live with the family. Cameron Mitchell was offered the part of Buck following an airline flight to Tucson where he had sat next to the series originator and his wife. [wikipedia]