The scripts are uneven and the storylines often redundant, but the performances--especially Hagman's--are first-rate.
11) "Whatever Became of Baby Custer?"—Tony's 8-year-old neighbor causes trouble when he tells Dr. Bellows about the levitating girl he saw.
12) "Where'd You Go-Go?"—Jeannie goes out with Roger in order to make Tony jealous.
13) "Russian Roulette"—In an entertaining episode, a visiting female Russian cosmonaut becomes Jeannie's master for a while.
14) "What House Across the Street?"—Jeannie blinks a house in existence, and a pair of parents too.
15) "Too Many Tonys"—When Dr. Bellows says that married men make better astronauts, Jeannie asks Tony to marry her. And when he turns her down, she conjures up one who's more her type.
16) "Get Me to Mecca on Time"—Jeannie is fading, and unless they get her to Mecca and take part in a ritual, she'll lose her powers and have to live in limbo forever. A far-fetched one.
17) "The Richest Astronaut in the Whole Wide World"—Roger learns about Jeannie (and becomes her master for a while) when he pops the cork . . . and his own lid, as he gets momentarily power-crazy.
18) "Is There an Extra Jeannie in the House?"—Roger's demands are annoying Tony and wearing Jeannie out. But he gets his come-uppance when he keeps Dr. Bellows niece out too late.
19) "Never Try to Outsmart a Jeannie"—Jeannie schemes to accompany Tony on a trip to Italy.
20) "My Master, the Doctor"—Jeannie blinks Tony a doctor, and it complicates his life, as usual.
21) "Jeannie and the Kidnap Caper"—When Tony is captured by spies, he regrets making Jeannie promise not to use her magic to help him. A plot straight out of "Bewitched."
22) "How Lucky Can You Get?"—To celebrate promotions, Tony and Roger go to Reno and Roger smuggles Jeannie along for luck.
23) "Watch the Birdie"—Jeannie helps Tony's golf swing, and it lands Tony a spot on the General's team for an important match.
24) "The Permanent House Guest"—Dr. Bellows sees an elephant in Tony's bedroom, and decides the only way to find out for sure if he's nuts or if Tony's pulling stunts is to move in and observe him on a daily basis.
25) "Bigger Than a Bread Box and Better Than a Genie"—A fortune teller enters Roger's life and it's up to Tony to expose the fraud in an episode that guests real pilot Chuck Yeager.
26) "My Master, the Great Rembrandt"—Jeannie blinks Tony's copy into an original, and leaves Tony searching for an explanation.
27) "My Master, the Thief"—In a fun episode Jeannie reclaims a pair of slippers that were once hers . . . only they were on display in a museum.
28) "This is Murder"—Tony's assignment to shadow a visiting princess gets complicated when it turns out Jeannie is obliged to kill her because of a long-standing feud. Another plot lifted from "Bewitched."
29) "My Master, the Magician"—Dr. Bellows sees Tony levitating and the only way he can get out of it is to claim to be an amateur magician.
30) "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name"—Tony gets amnesia and a spell that makes him fall in love with the first woman he sees. Guess who?
Video: Sony is releasing this one in the original black and white and a color version which was colorized in 2000 for TV syndication. Being a purist, I opted for black and white, but the quality isn't as good as I had hoped. There are plenty of dirt flickers, some graininess, a few thin vertical lines that crop up from time to time, and variation from episode to episode in terms of general picture quality. I'm betting that the color version might make these defects seem less apparent. That said, the picture quality isn't bad. It's just not what I'd hoped for.
Audio: The audio is a no-frills Dolby Digital Mono, with a slight hollowness at times that sounds as if you could be inside Jeannie's bottle. Nothing severe, mind you, but something you notice at times.
Extras: There are two extras. An audio commentary with Eden, Hagman, and Daily on the pilot episode isn't full of much information—mostly Daily commenting on how good the show is and how surprised he is that it's good, with the trio mostly reminiscing about who's who ("Oh, there's so-and-so. She was beautiful.") The most interesting remarks come from Eden, who tells about the professor who taught her Farsi, recalls how a driver gave her bourbon one day when he noticed her goose bumps, and points out a scene where she broke her tooth and hurt Hagman's knee. Those insights are fun and much better than no commentary, but in truth this one is sub-par.
The other feature is a short "I Dream of Jeannie: Out of the Bottle" reminiscence which shows the trio on camera. Eden has weathered time the best, and also provides the most insight once more. But Hagman explains the special effects, and it's also fascinating to hear Sheldon talk about the no-navel censorship issue and explain how he wrote "a script a day" that year as he commuted between New York and writing for "The Patty Duke Show" and L.A. and "I Dream of Jeannie." You have to admire the man's talent, but can't help but wish he'd taken two or three days more on some of these episodes.
Bottom Line: "I Dream of Jeannie" is show that's going to trigger fond memories for some viewers and raise a few feminist hackles on others. The scripts are uneven and the storylines often redundant, but the performances—especially Hagman's—are first-rate.
12) "Where'd You Go-Go?"—Jeannie goes out with Roger in order to make Tony jealous.
13) "Russian Roulette"—In an entertaining episode, a visiting female Russian cosmonaut becomes Jeannie's master for a while.
14) "What House Across the Street?"—Jeannie blinks a house in existence, and a pair of parents too.
15) "Too Many Tonys"—When Dr. Bellows says that married men make better astronauts, Jeannie asks Tony to marry her. And when he turns her down, she conjures up one who's more her type.
16) "Get Me to Mecca on Time"—Jeannie is fading, and unless they get her to Mecca and take part in a ritual, she'll lose her powers and have to live in limbo forever. A far-fetched one.
17) "The Richest Astronaut in the Whole Wide World"—Roger learns about Jeannie (and becomes her master for a while) when he pops the cork . . . and his own lid, as he gets momentarily power-crazy.
18) "Is There an Extra Jeannie in the House?"—Roger's demands are annoying Tony and wearing Jeannie out. But he gets his come-uppance when he keeps Dr. Bellows niece out too late.
19) "Never Try to Outsmart a Jeannie"—Jeannie schemes to accompany Tony on a trip to Italy.
20) "My Master, the Doctor"—Jeannie blinks Tony a doctor, and it complicates his life, as usual.
21) "Jeannie and the Kidnap Caper"—When Tony is captured by spies, he regrets making Jeannie promise not to use her magic to help him. A plot straight out of "Bewitched."
22) "How Lucky Can You Get?"—To celebrate promotions, Tony and Roger go to Reno and Roger smuggles Jeannie along for luck.
23) "Watch the Birdie"—Jeannie helps Tony's golf swing, and it lands Tony a spot on the General's team for an important match.
24) "The Permanent House Guest"—Dr. Bellows sees an elephant in Tony's bedroom, and decides the only way to find out for sure if he's nuts or if Tony's pulling stunts is to move in and observe him on a daily basis.
25) "Bigger Than a Bread Box and Better Than a Genie"—A fortune teller enters Roger's life and it's up to Tony to expose the fraud in an episode that guests real pilot Chuck Yeager.
26) "My Master, the Great Rembrandt"—Jeannie blinks Tony's copy into an original, and leaves Tony searching for an explanation.
27) "My Master, the Thief"—In a fun episode Jeannie reclaims a pair of slippers that were once hers . . . only they were on display in a museum.
28) "This is Murder"—Tony's assignment to shadow a visiting princess gets complicated when it turns out Jeannie is obliged to kill her because of a long-standing feud. Another plot lifted from "Bewitched."
29) "My Master, the Magician"—Dr. Bellows sees Tony levitating and the only way he can get out of it is to claim to be an amateur magician.
30) "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name"—Tony gets amnesia and a spell that makes him fall in love with the first woman he sees. Guess who?
Video: Sony is releasing this one in the original black and white and a color version which was colorized in 2000 for TV syndication. Being a purist, I opted for black and white, but the quality isn't as good as I had hoped. There are plenty of dirt flickers, some graininess, a few thin vertical lines that crop up from time to time, and variation from episode to episode in terms of general picture quality. I'm betting that the color version might make these defects seem less apparent. That said, the picture quality isn't bad. It's just not what I'd hoped for.
Audio: The audio is a no-frills Dolby Digital Mono, with a slight hollowness at times that sounds as if you could be inside Jeannie's bottle. Nothing severe, mind you, but something you notice at times.
Extras: There are two extras. An audio commentary with Eden, Hagman, and Daily on the pilot episode isn't full of much information—mostly Daily commenting on how good the show is and how surprised he is that it's good, with the trio mostly reminiscing about who's who ("Oh, there's so-and-so. She was beautiful.") The most interesting remarks come from Eden, who tells about the professor who taught her Farsi, recalls how a driver gave her bourbon one day when he noticed her goose bumps, and points out a scene where she broke her tooth and hurt Hagman's knee. Those insights are fun and much better than no commentary, but in truth this one is sub-par.
The other feature is a short "I Dream of Jeannie: Out of the Bottle" reminiscence which shows the trio on camera. Eden has weathered time the best, and also provides the most insight once more. But Hagman explains the special effects, and it's also fascinating to hear Sheldon talk about the no-navel censorship issue and explain how he wrote "a script a day" that year as he commuted between New York and writing for "The Patty Duke Show" and L.A. and "I Dream of Jeannie." You have to admire the man's talent, but can't help but wish he'd taken two or three days more on some of these episodes.
Bottom Line: "I Dream of Jeannie" is show that's going to trigger fond memories for some viewers and raise a few feminist hackles on others. The scripts are uneven and the storylines often redundant, but the performances—especially Hagman's—are first-rate.
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[release]18068[/release]