If I could resurrect one TV series,…

Thanks to Netflix Canada for posting this tweet a few months ago:

I had a discussion a few weeks ago while sitting around the boob tube and posed this very question since it has vexed me for so long.  I wanted to make this into a blog post, but couldn’t nail it down to a single show. Trust me, this was no easy decision.

Then it came to me: Fantasy Island. And before you say anything, no, I am not talking about the one with Ricardo Montalban. I’m talking about the remake done in 1998. This is one of the very few shows that not only did a good job of making a remake, but it surpassed the predecessor, in my humble opinion.

What made this one different? The biggest plus? I’ll tell you: Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Rourke. This version on the 1970’s/80’s classic show gave it an edge that I think the show needed. In this version, the wishes have consequences. Not simply that your life would change thusly, but that someone else might lose out because of your actions/inactions. And some of those consequences were pretty dark. It really made you think about the consequences.

The other really cool thing: Malcolm McDowell wears all black, versus Ricardo Montalban’s all-white suit. Simple, but it does set a certain tone.

Unfortunately, this series only lasted 13 episodes. It was even nominated for a Prime-Time Emmy but ABC cancelled it just the same. I even tried to locate a short video to show his version, but I couldn’t find one.

So, in answer to the original question: Bring back the remake of Fantasy Island with the “Dark” Mr. Rourke. But in so stating this answer, it poses more questions:

1. If you were to do this series again, who would you have play Mr. Rourke?

2. If there was a series you’d want to resurrect, what would it be?

Enjoy!

Jeremy Piven as Cupid

PS: I must give an honorary mention to “Cupid”, a show that was released around the same time as “Fantasy Island” starring Jeremy Piven. That was a great role for him. Big fan of both of these actors so I needed to give props to both of them. Again, tried to find a good video of him delivering my favourite line from the show, but no dice. Will let you know if I find one.

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Rogers Cable Volume Too Low

I have one of those really simple digital boxes from Rogers Cable. (Model: Explorer E940). When I play a DVD through my TV, the volume doesn’t need to be much higher than about 14 out of a range of 0-63 (I don’t know either…just go with it). When I watch anything through Rogers, I almost always have to have it up to the max. So, I decided to do what any technically minded person would do…I Googled it.

I should note that I have already programmed my remote to control my TV’s volume control.

I found a great discussion here: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/archive/index.php/t-752470.html One of the first things it suggests is under the Audio Range in Settings, change it to “Narrow”. Turns out, mine is already there. Still not very good. Further down, it talks about Audio Control = “Fixed”. Turns out mine was set to “Variable” and as soon as I changed it, I had to turn down the volume! Not much mind you, but I noticed a difference right away. It’s not as good as when I watch the DVD, it’s still better than having it all the way up and not being able to hear anything.

So even though the post was almost 2 years old, it was still relevant. Thought this might help some of you out there without Netflix. 😉