I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970)

A United States astronaut finds his life vastly complicated when he stumbles on to a bottle containing a female genie.

Creator:

Sidney Sheldon

Stars:

Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman, Bill Daily

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Barbara Eden	...	Jeannie (139 episodes, 1965-1970)
Larry Hagman	...	Major Anthony Nelson (139 episodes, 1965-1970)
Bill Daily	...	Major Roger Healey (130 episodes, 1965-1970)
Hayden Rorke	...	Dr. Alfred Bellows (128 episodes, 1965-1970)

Storyline

Captain Tony Nelson is an astronaut. While on a mission, he discovered a mysterious bottle. Opening it, he released Jeannie (a Genie) who was so overjoyed at her release she promised to serve Captain Nelson. Nelson is unsure what to make of Jeannie, especially given that his work is highly secret and his superiors tend to keep a close eye on him.

---

Plot Keywords:

bottle | genie | astronaut | desert island | blink | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Official Sites:

Screen Gems Network

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mi bella genio

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems Television, Sidney Sheldon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (139 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White (1965-1966) Color (1966-1970)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the episode "How to Marry an Astronaut", Barbara Eden's cries for help from inside the champagne bottle were real. As a prank, director Claudio Guzmán called "lunch!" and had everyone leave the set, leaving Eden trapped in the bottle. While everyone waited in a nearby hallway, the cameras kept rolling, and the resulting footage was used in the episode shown on TV.

---

Goofs

NASA is portrayed as being run in a more military fashion. NASA does not operate this way in real life. Plus, NASA Astronauts do not live in Florida, they live in Houston, TX.

---

Quotes

Jeannie: Let me see now. A six letter word for rat. M-A-S-T-E-R.

---

Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: Frontierland (2011)

---

Soundtracks

"Theme song"
(First season only)
by Richard Wess

User Reviews

I Dream Of Jeannie

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.