FANTASY ISLAND: CORNELIUS AND ALPHONSE / THE CHOICE (TV)
Summary
One in this series of fantasy dramas, set on a tropical island resort, where the host, Mr. Roarke, helps guests live out their lifelong fantasies. In this episode, Roarke, Cindy and Tattoo greet Ruth Ewell, the kindly former head of an orphanage, and her last two remaining charges, Rebecca and Mark, who arrive by hot-air balloon. Roarke explains that Rebecca and Mark's fantasy is to be able to select their own adoptive parents. They then encounter Cornelius, a disgruntled former employee of the island, and his diminutive sidekick Alphonse. Roarke guesses that Cornelius is seeking revenge, though Cornelius claims that he wants to bury the hatchet and enjoy a vacation. When Tattoo takes the pair to a secluded spot for a picnic, they kidnap him and take him to an isolated castle, then calling Roarke and demanding ownership of the island as ransom. The crooks give Roarke two hours to process the deed, but Roarke seems unconcerned.
Elsewhere, Ruth and the children settle into their temporary home and Cindy explains that they have found two couples that fit the kids' specific parameters for their new parents. They meet the first couple, the Drakes, who explain that they are marine biologists and take the children on a scuba-diving trip. They find a sunken ship and "treasure," and Rebecca and Mark are delighted with the adventure. Cornelius and Alphonse inform Tattoo that there is no escape from the castle, but soon find that he has vanished and guess that he has hidden up the chimney. When they attempt to smoke him out, however, Tattoo emerges from a trunk and laughs at their efforts. Ruth tells the children that the second couple is a pair of schoolteachers, though the husband is also a magician, and Rebecca worries that she, Ruth, will be lonely when they are eventually adopted. Alphonse and Cornelius recapture Tattoo and call Roarke again, exasperatedly deciding that they will settle for a $10 million ransom instead.
In the morning, Cindy takes Rebecca and Mark to meet the Samuels, revealing that she too is an orphan and understands their hesitation in selecting parents. The husband and wife turn out to be as nice as the Drakes, and the children spend an enjoyable day assisting in a magic show. Tattoo evades Cornelius and Alphonse again with the help of his animal friends and they lower their ransom demand to one million, though Tattoo declares that he is having fun with the two bumbling criminals. Rebecca and Mark tell Ruth that they liked both couples and will have a hard time choosing, adding that she herself can now have a family once they are gone. A defeated Cornelius comes to Roarke and tries to return Tattoo once and for all, and Roarke tricks him into agreeing to pay a fee rather than collecting one. The children announce that while they liked the Drakes and the Samuels, they would prefer to be adopted by Ruth herself, as she has always been a loving parent to them. Though shocked, Ruth happily accepts, and the new family departs the island in the hot-air balloon. As they now cannot afford to leave, Cornelius and Alphonse are forced to work off their debt to Roarke, and he assigns them to work on a barge under an ill-tempered skipper, and Tattoo reflects that he will miss their antics. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: May 6, 1979 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:27
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:74804
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1977-1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Aaron Spelling … Executive Producer
- Leonard Goldberg … Executive Producer
- Michael Fisher … Supervising Producer
- Arthur Rowe … Producer
- Mike Vejar … Associate Producer
- Earl Bellamy … Director
- Gene Levitt … Created by
- Ron Friedman … Writer
- Steve Fisher … Writer
- Tommy Leonetti … Music by
- Laurence Rosenthal … Theme Music by
- Ricardo Montalban … Cast, Mr. Roarke
- Hervé Villechaize … Cast, Tattoo
- Kimberly Beck … Cast, Cindy
- Michael Anderson Jr. … Cast, Joe Drake
- Billy Barty … Cast, Alphonse
- Beth Brickell … Cast, Sheila Samuels
- Red Buttons … Cast, Cornelius Kelly
- Juliet Mills … Cast, Ruth Ewell
- Mary Ann Mobley … Cast, Ellie Drake
- Regis Philbin … Cast, Craig Samuels
- Kyle Richards … Cast, Rebecca
- Steven Spencer … Cast, Mark
- Frank Richards … Cast, Skipper