I Dream of Jeannie

What heterosexual male over the age of puberty wouldn't have wanted to have Barbara Eden as their own devoted and affectionate Jeannie?

Like most series built on some pent-up romantic tension between the leading characters ("Nanny and the Professor," to "Moonlighting") the problems arose when the series creators decided to put the couple together. It was a death knell...

It was hilarious that the network censors wouldn't allow them to show Barbara Eden's navel and a pity as well. She's closing in on 70 now but for those of us hitting puberty when the series premiered, she'll always have a special place in our...hearts.

I would say that "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched" and "The Flying Nun" constitute the trifecta of ultimate 1960's TV shows. That is, they were all fantasies and had very loony premises. In all three cases, a new kind of person enters the scene and upsets the status quo.

In Jeannie's case, when Maj. Nelson brings her home, she turns Cocoa Beach, Florida, upside down. The whole city goes from being a drab, old-order bastion, to a wacky, hippie-like enclave. In that sense, Jeannie's colorful outfit is a great contrast to Maj. Nelson's monochromatic uniform.

On a given episode, Maj. Nelson can expect Jeannie to do something like put an elephant in his house or repaint his office like an Arabian palace. Her antics always catch the attention of psychiatrist Dr. Bellows, who reports it to the general. But, as is always the case in silly comedy, she fixes it before Dr. Bellows can show the general, and Dr. Bellows ends up looking like an imbecile.

Maj. Nelson's hopeless romantic friend, Maj. Healey, hilariously has the worst luck of all. Every time he asks Jeannie for help, it always gets him in trouble.

One of the funniest aspects of this show is the fact that even people who do not know that Jeannie exists get affected by her magic. Dr. and Mrs. Bellows suffer the most, but even guest characters see their lives turned crazy when some misused magic messes something up.

So that's "IDOJ." This is one show that I never miss a chance to watch on TVLand. One thing that would have been really neat would have been if Jeannie and Samantha ("Bewitched") could have teamed up. Knowing what each woman did individually, just imagine what they could have done if they had combined their magic!

In conclusion, I will always dream of Jeannie.

Every time I read the threads about the comparison between these shows, I must question the age of the writer. While both shows were based upon very beautiful magical ladies, they had very different reasons to exist. I grew up watching both of these shows in the 60's, and liked each of them very differently. Bewitched was created after the success of the movie "Bell, Book, and Candle" (staring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak). In the early sixties, the women's movement was strong and changed the shape of society. June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) cleaning the house in "pearls and high heels" was to be challenged. Bewitched offered a love story between a husband and wife, where the wife had real power (in this case Samantha's magic). This presented a new tension to what viewers were used to (although it always ended with a love note). With Jeannie, we have a great deal of sexual tension created! What man would not wish for a beautiful magical servant, albeit deviant at times. Kinda sexy in the sixties when sexual openness was being discussed for the first time (although not directly in the media). Bewitched, I would argue, was marketed towards both sexes (men wanting a Samantha, and women wanting to be her), and IDOJ being more of a men's fantasy series where many women watched just to see Jeannie get even. Both good shows in my book!

In my view, this is one of the top 10 or 15 sitcoms ever, and it certainly is one of my personal favorites. Its misfortune was to be produced during an era full of silly, mostly non-topical comedies (Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian and so on) and I think it's been underrated because of that.

But sit down sometime and take a good look. You'll see a spirited ensemble performance from the actors, with standout work from Larry Hagman and Hayden Rorke. I don't think Hagman ever got enough credit for the wonderfully manic and nervous mannerisms that made Major Nelson so damn funny and endearing. And Rorke's prissy and arrogant Dr. Bellows was a terrific comic foil -- cartoonish in the best sense of that word.

Bill Daily did a good comic turn as Major Healy, although I think his character never was allowed to develop as much as Hagman's and Rorke's. (His finest comic hour was to come, on "The Bob Newhart Show.") And of course, there was the gorgeous Barbara Eden as Jeannie, sprightly and innocent and an excellent counterpoint to Hagman's world-weary astronaut. The romantic chemistry between Jeannie and Tony was one of the strongest in TV history.

The show was fast-paced, rarely sappy, full of pleasant "NBC Peacock" colors, and a showcase for fine comic timing and physical slapstick.

In the world of the 50s and 60s silly sitcoms, this is an except, a colorful and exciting show. Barbara Eden is very good at her role, Larry Hagman is better actor here than in "Dallas" or another serieses. The best is Bill Daily's Maj. Healey, but I like the late Hayden Rorke's suspicious Dr. Bellows too. When I saw the series' episodes first time I got a laughing-stock. It is fantastic! The first and second seasons are perfect, the third and fourth are good, but the fifth is a silly, American family sitcom. After Jeannie marries her master, the series goes wrong. But except for those 20 episodes, the whole series is my favorite sitcom of all times!