Jinny

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!

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.

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.

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.