I Dream of Jeannie (TV Series) Jeannie, the Hip Hippie (1967) User Reviews

Phil Spector, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 22 December 2013]

"Jeannie the Hip Hippie" has Dr. Bellows fearing he may have to cancel his long-awaited vacation because 'The Rolling Waves' were mobbed in Indiana, leaving Mrs. Bellows scrambling to find a band to replace them for her bazaar. Since Tony's vacation is also in danger, Jeannie blinks up four young men to form a group, headed by hit singing-songwriting duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, just starting out as performers since producing some of The Monkees' most successful songs. The clincher has Barbara Eden doing a decent job on drums for an audition for none other than Phil Spector! Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, and Colgems Records certainly weren't shy about promoting their artists, and among many references we see are shots of record LPs THE MONKEES (in Hart's hand), THE MONKEES' HEADQUARTERS (behind Hart on the wall), MORE OF THE MONKEES (held by Mrs. Bellows), and hanging on the wall in Spector's office (behind Barbara Eden) we see the 1965 Colpix LP from David Jones, pre-Monkees. Introduced with an instrumental version of "Last Train to Clarksville," Boyce and Hart perform two songs from their first LP, TEST PATTERNS: first, "Girl, I'm Out to Get You," which was not issued as a single, and "Out and About," which became their first top 40 hit, peaking at 39 two months before this broadcast. The duo scored their biggest success the next year with "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite," going on to add BEWITCHED and THE FLYING NUN to their list of TV credits.

A strange, unfunny episode

[CDTrannyLez · 2/10 · 6 August 2014]

This is the type of series episode that I hate. Its nothing more then a vehicle to showcase up and coming celebrities or reboot declining stars. I've always disliked the episodes with special guest stars,... because it ends up being nothing more then a spotlight show with no real story. This is the case for "I Dream of Jeannie, Hip Hippies". You get to see the Boyce Hart Group,...WHO??? And a cameo by Phil Spector, temporarily coming out of seclusion. Oh and there is some side story about Jeannie and Tony going fishing. A rather boring episode with no real twist or humor. The only point of interest is watching Phil Spector doing a caricature of himself, knowing that 40 years later, he would be serving life in prison for the murder of Lana Clarkson. Yeah, very creepy.

Unhip 30-Minute Promo for a Music Group

[jivers01 · 3/10 · 22 August 2016]

The terrible title might as well be "Jeannie, the Hip Hop Gangsta" for all it has to do with hippies or being hip. A shamelessly cynical hijacking of the series to promote clean-cut Boyce & Hart, writers of hit songs for fellow NBC series The Monkees. (There's even an instrumental version of "Last Train to Clarksville".) Of course, the band is given plenty of screen time to perform their latest single (a tepid, forgettable ditty) for Phil Spector, no less. All that was missing was a wacky Monkees-style montage. A segment so disconnected from the series that Jeannie is shoe-horned in (via an implausible excuse) to play drums so the audience won't feel completely alienated by what is essentially an infomercial for a pop group.

The rest of the cast is shoved aside, having no purpose in this hack script. At least Emmaline Henry is given a chance to shine and show some personality and charm. She gets more lines and close-ups than usual. A very attractive, appealing comic actress totally overshadowed by gorgeous Barbara Eden.

Strange that the credits list future convicted murderer Phil Spector as "Steve Davis" yet a fawning Jeannie addresses him by his real name.

Eight weeks later the show went to Hawaii for a two-parter which paid for itself by promoting the hell out of singer Don Ho -- including a weirdly out of place music video. A shame to see the series being taken over by self-serving cigar-chomping record executives.