I Dream of Jeannie

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.

I Dream of Jeannie, starring Barbara Eden as the blithe, beautiful two thousand year old blonde genie named Jeannie and Larry Hagman the perpetually befuddled astronaut Anthony Nelson.

The series starts when U.S. Air Force Captain (later promoted to Major) Anthony Nelson's space shuttle launch experiences a third stage rocket malfunction causing NASA to scrub the mission. Where upon his Mercury style capsule splashes down of the coast of an uncharted South Pacific island.

After washing ashore Nelson constructs an S.O.S. signal from debris on the shoreline. In this debris is an ancient sand caked bottle of Arabic origin. After noticing the bottle won't seem to stay in one spot, Tony picks it up to examine it. After pulling out the cork, and dusting it off a cloud of smoke gushes forth. The mystical fog then takes the form of a beautiful blonde girl dressed in an Arabic harem costume. After her appearance she kneels before Tony and exclaims in Arabic/Farsee "Your wish is my command master."

After wishing her to speak English Jeannie summons a rescue helicopter. But when Tony realizes that he could never explain her to his superiors, his nosy doctor, Dr. Bellows or the outside world he tries to set her free.

After believing she has left, Tony boards the helicopter.

Little does he know that Jeannie has snuck along with him inside her bottle. Her love for her now ex-master is so strong she can not bear to be away from him. There for Jeannie freely remains as Tony's genie.

From September 18th, 1965 to September 7th, 1970 through 139 half hour episodes, the series depicts the wacky situations Jeannie gets her 'master' and his goofy best friend "Major Roger Healey" (Bill Daily) into, and out of. From showing Tony he truly did not love his first fiancée, to finally marrying him in 1970. As well as unintentionally driving a very sane Dr. Bellows out of his mind with her wacky, misguided magic.

Along the way appearances are made by Jeannie's mother, her crazy uncles, her magical and usually invisible dog Djinn-Djinn and her unforgetable, worldwide infamous, wicked, raven haired twin sister also named Jeannie. Not to mention a long line of celebrity guest stars from Sammy Davis Jr. to Groucho Marx.

I Dream of Jeannie is a classic show with eternal appeal. Each generation will enjoy this classic sitcom. I'm sure two thousand years from now our descendants will be watching the girl in the bottle play 'spin the astronaut!'

I Dream of Jeannie (1965) TV series is something of every man's dreams; to have their cake and eat it too. Which is a beautiful knockout blonde female like Jeannie and anything else desired. This is really a timeless masterpiece. The problem with Nelson is he seemed too wrapped up in his astronaut duties/career that he seem to take for granted the appealing female Genie. I bet a lot of guys watching the show would had no problem or hesitation in wanting Jeannie for themselves. When it came to Jeannie, Nelson made me feel like I wish I could go up to him and POW right in the arm for being so blind to her. It's funny but I didn't realize until now, after all these years, that the name Jeannie matches what she was... which is a Genie. Barbara Eden will always be the Genie of our dreams!

I would say that the series "I Dream Of Jeannie","Bewitched",not to mention "The Flying Nun","My Favorite Martian",constitute the trifecta of ultimate 1960's TV shows of that period. That is in perspective that they were all shows that relay on fantasies and had very loony premises. In each of these shows,and especially in each and every episode,a new kind of person enters the scene and from there goes to reveal the secret powers of the individual and basically upsets the status quo of the episode intitled.

In the case of "I Dream Of Jeannie",when Major Nelson(Larry Hagman)brings Jeannie(Barbara Eden)home from a bottle that he found on the beach during a space mission,he takes Jeannie to his home in the suburbs of Cocoa Beach,Florida and from there,she turns the town upside down. Not only does she wreck havoc but she has a evil jealous streak whenever any girl or anybody tries to pull some scheme to win the love for her beloved master. In other words,she turns the once old-order bastion of Cocoa Beach to an enclave city. On any given episode,Major Nelson can expect Jeannie to pull something out of a hat or per se cause mischief which at times gets him into trouble. Her antics catches the attention of Dr. Bellows(Hayden Rorke)who reports it to the general. But before the problem ensues she fixes it before Dr. Bellows shows it to the general,making him looked more like an imbecile. Major Nelson's hopeless romantic friend,Major Healey(Bill Daily)who always asks for Jeannie's help gets him into trouble too who basically has the worst luck of them all. Hijinks ensues quickly leaving what's next for Major Nelson to occurred within the findings of his beloved home with Jeannie around. In other words,you'll never know what Jeannie's gonna do next,so its expect the unexpected.

This was a hybrid of another successful show as well,"Bewitched",and the key ingredient was not the situations that occur,but the special effects that kept viewers tune in each week to see what will happened next. "I Dream Of Jeannie",was an consistent winner throughout its six-year run on NBC from the premiere episode on September 18,1965 to the final episode of the series on September 1,1970 after producing 139 episodes,which 29 of those episodes were in black and white,in its first season(1965-1966),while seasons two through six were in color. The show was created and produced by Sidney Sheldon,whom after the show went off the air became one of the most influential writers of the latter century. And this was produced under the powers that be through Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television(the same company that was responsible for "Bewitched","The Flying Nun",and "The Monkees"). The show gobbled up its competition for much of its run,and when it went off the air,it left with just a whisper. The show bordered on farce most of the time,with Barbara Eden not only played Jeannie,but Jeannie's evil twin sister and Jeannie's mother. It also brought out some of the most fantastic special effects ever displayed for television. It also attracted some famous guest stars as well,like several episodes featured celebrities Sammy Davis,Jr.,Groucho Marx, Jack Benny,and George Burns,not to mention as well Hawaiian singer and actor Don Ho.

As far as the acting is concern,you get a spirited ensemble performance from the actors,especially when it came to the performances of Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden,not to mention as well Hayden Rorke. It is also to point that Bill Daily gives a great comic turn as Major Healy,who in my opinion was never given the chance to develop(but his finest comic hour was to come on "The Bob Newhart Show"). It also goes to show that Hagman to this day doesn't give credit for the mannerisms and made Major Nelson so hilariously funny and endearing(and also his finest work was yet to come on "Dallas",as JR Ewing). The romantic chemistry between Jeannie and Major Nelson was so endearing that the producers decided to have them engaged(in an episode from 12/1/1969)and from there they would become married,which killed off the show. But as for the characters themselves,sit down sometime and take a good look at the ensemble cast,its worth viewing.

Much as "The Addams Family" had to be compared to "The Munsters," "I Dream of Jeannie" will perpetually be held up to scrutiny against "Bewitched" as two 1960s sitcoms with similar appearing concepts. In this case, a magical woman complicates the life of a mortal man, even as she tries to help him through his problems.

But let's stay on topic. NASA Astronaut Captain Anthony Nelson (Larry Hagman), on a space mission, went up, but something went wrong and they had to bring him down. His capsule came to earth on a tiny desert island where he discovers a bottle; he opens it and in a puff of smoke a genie (Barbara Eden) appears. She explains that because he freed her, she is his, forever, then blinks and a rescue helicopter appears.

When she follows him home, things instantly become complicated. His best friend, Captain Roger Healey (Bill Daily) gets in on the secret in short order, and helps Tony with his fiancé, who happens to be the General's daughter! Eventually, that engagement got broken off, leaving Tony free to play the field, and Jeannie to get angry about his other women. And the two buddies get promotions from Captains to Majors.

Lots more complications, like Jeannie's Sister, an evil, raven haired twin who was out to enslave Nelson for her boy toy, The Blue Djinn turns up (played by Eden's husband at the time, Michael Ansara), who first put Jeannie into the bottle, and even her dog Djinn Djinn (didn't the writers know any other Arabic words?) who had a penchant for disappearing and then tearing any uniform he saw to shreds... not a good thing on an Air Force Base!

The charm of the show was in Hagman's incredible ability to go from deadpan to fully reactionary on a dime (something he was required to do in nearly every episode), and Eden's brilliance at playing the petulant brat still learning about the 20th Century World, and with whom no one could be angry for very long. Daily was a great foil for both of them, (though I never understood why his uniform was GREEN) and of course, there was Dr. Bellows (the incomparable Hayden Roarke), intrepid base psychiatrist, who always knew something funny was going on, but could never quite prove it to anyone. Certainly part of the show's success was in his slow burns after whatever he was going to prove to whichever General was in command didn't pan out!

Though one has to wonder how they managed to do a contemporary mid 1960s program on and around a Military installation without so much as a passing reference to Vietnam! Yes, it's NASA, but still! Air Force Generals were on duty! Of course, in the end, it turned out to be for the best, as not referencing the war was likely part of the reason a diversionary program like this was on the air in the first place: all part of the magical, mystical lineup of comedy programs all of the networks were airing during the 1960s through the 1970s, designed to divert audiences from the newscasts of the day.

The irony of the censors not permitting Eden's belly button to be shown was that on the same network (NBC) and during the same hour (8pm, before "Jeannie" moved to 7:30 in its final seasons), "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" had Bikini clad Goldie Hawn fully exposed and dancing in body paint!

Despite the stock footage of Atlas rockets and Gemini missions, there is a certain timeless quality to the series and an obvious charm and sweetness that won't soon wane. It's certainly one of the best "special effects" sitcoms of all time, and is genuinely one of the funniest.