A shot of pure Sixties' nostalgia.
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The Sixties were full of choices, and not just making love vs. making war. There were serious TV issues, too, like Ginger vs. Mary Ann, or "Bewitched" vs. "I Dream of Jeannie." With those "Gilligan's Island" females it was all a matter of whether you preferred a glamour girl or the girl next door. But with the two "magic" sitcoms that went toe-to-toe, it was "Bewitched" by a nose. Make that a nose-twitch, compared to Jeannie's "blink."
The reason is simple: more people could identify with a married couple where one spouse just happens to be a witch in a marriage that was otherwise equal than they could with an astronaut who splashes down on a deserted island and finds a beautiful genie in a bottle who calls him "master" and attends to his every wish. It was unfortunately too close to male fantasy than it was to a household situation comedy, and at a time when a women's rights movement was gaining steam, it was bad timing indeed.
In fairness, though, this novelty show was still fun, and it's fun still. The premise was that Maj. Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) didn't really bring the bottle back. A genie named Jeannie (Barbara Eden) hitched a ride back to Cape Kennedy and Cocoa Beach, Florida, and POOF, just like that a fairly successful series was born. As a warm-up for the popular secret agent spoof "Get Smart" on NBC's Saturday night line-up, "I Dream of Jeannie" cracked the Top-30 its first year, finishing at #27. But by the time the show finished, even a wedding wasn't enough to entice enough viewers to watch.
In a way, it's too bad the premise rubbed feminists the wrong way and that the episodes were so hit-and-miss in terms of the writing. If you watch now, you have to marvel at the comic genius of Hagman, who's perhaps best known for his role as J.R. Ewing, Jr. in that nighttime soaper, "Dallas." Hagman does reactionary comedy as well as anyone, and the chemistry that he and Eden shared remained strong throughout the five-year run.. In this show, Hagman managed a range of physical comedy and expressions that was every bit as good as the talented Dick Van Dyke, and he deserved at least a nomination for his efforts. In fact, comedic sideman Bill Daily, who would go on to play the spacey navigator on "The Bob Newhart Show," was also quite good as Captain Nelson's swinging bachelor buddy, Captain Roger Healey. So was Hayden Rorke as the base psychiatrist who kept trying to catch Nelson in what he knew was craziness . . . or was he crazy? And in fairness, Eden was also darned good. But writers milked Jeannie's jealousy over other women a bit too much, and brought in a few too many kookie relatives and folks from Baghdad for her to react to.
But you have to give the writers credit for one thing: they know how to tie up loose ends. After pining for Major Nelson all these years, this is the season that Jeannie gets to say "I do." After years of not catching Major Nelson "in the act" with his genie and suspecting all along that something wasn't quite right, Dr. Bellows (Rorke) finally gets some satisfaction. Naturally (and unfortunately), Jeannie's wicked twin sister has to put in a final appearance in a tired routine that reminded everyone too much of Samantha's evil cousin Serena, but the compensation for this final season is a parade of interesting guest stars: Jim Backus (speaking of "Gilligan's Island"), Jackie Coogan ("The Addams Family"), Farrah Fawcett ("Charlie's Angels"), and Dick Van Patten ("Eight is Enough").
Here's a rundown on the 26 episodes, which are contained on four single-sided discs and housed in two slim plastic keep cases, with a cardboard slipcase:
1) "Jeannie at the Piano." Returning to old form (and formula), the writers have Jeannie blink a little magic into the base piano to enable Maj. Nelson to play more than "Chopsticks" for his superiors. But they all think he's a musical genius, and they arrange for him to play a concert tour. Naturally, that little red piano comes into play.
2) "Djinn, Djinn, the Pied Piper." I don't know who liked these episodes with Jeannie's dog, but I can only think of one funny one, and it was when the dog acted like a piranha and tore apart a uniform. But in this episode, when Gen. Schaeffer (Vinton Hayworth) invites Tony to bring the dog to the part to help him exercise his own dog, Jupiter, Djinn Djinn turns invisible again. Kind of dumb the second, third, or fourth time around.
3-4) "Guess Who's Going to Be a Bride?" Parts 1-2. Shades of earlier episodes again, Jeannie's Uncle Suleiman (Coogan) visits, expecting Jeannie to take over his kingdom after he abdicates. Naturally, Tony misses her, after she leaves, and he proposes.
5) "Jeannie's Beauty Cream." Trouble ensues when Jeannie creates a face cream that turns Mrs. Bellows (Emmaline Henry) into a woman so young and beautiful that not even her husband recognizes her.
6) "Jeannie and the Bachelor Party." Tony doesn't want a party, but that doesn't stop Roger and Dr. Bellows from throwing him one. Reminds you of a "Laugh-In" sketch.
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