Thursday, April 10, 2014

Reviewing I Dream Of Jeannie:

I Dream Of Jeannie was a sit com that was both common for its time period, and ahead of its time period. It was similar because it had animated openings, (which would inspire the opening for "The Nanny" decades later) and it was also similar because of the magic. And who doesn't love magic?! Everybody has had that feeling when they wish (pun not really intended) to blink and something needed would appear instantly, an exhausting task being completed, etc.

It was also ahead of its time, because it was made in a time when the cast was unrelated...about a bunch of coworkers instead of relatives. And whenever there are children, they are only recurring characters. And, Major Nelson and Jeannie were not married for several years, which was not recommended during the 1960s. The network executives did not expect to see the show last very long, and held off on making it color. If I was the producer, I would wait one more season for it to guarantee being in color.

They also censored Jeannie's harem costumes. At first she was covered in veils. But that was because of Barbara Eden's pregnancy. And they did not want to have a character to bare their navel in every episode. (They did the same thing in Boxing for many many years) At the same time, Tony and Amanda did not have to cover themselves. But the characters that had several scenes in a costume such as a swimsuit or exotic clothing, they were censored. This happened with most of the scenes with King Kamehameha or whatever his name is. But there are a few episodes where you see more of her stomach. (and also her sister, nicknamed Jeannie II) they let it go and did not go back and refilm the scene. The whole censorship was stupid and left Barbara Eden to answer about this whenever she was interviewed (and some people probably thought she did not have one, because the requirement became strict enough to have her place cloth inside and paint it shut.) To end this topic, they do not require this censorship anymore. (This is still a requirement in several other very strtict nations.) Even Barbara Eden herself has appeared in her pink "Jeannie" costume, many years after the show ended.

The special effects are perfectly done, and are kept minimal. Nothing beats pausing the cameras and then re-recording them!! It makes it very funny. As for the special effects, there are clouds of multicolored smoke, and quick flashes of light. I hate to say this, but when they did Sabrina The Teenage Witch, the special effects of when they zapped or teleported, it was annoying, and made the show slower paced and predictable, overrated special effects. Like I said before, nothing beats Jeannie popping in and out of thin air (leading people to think they are crazy, as they'd see only the people and objects, and not the effects) Also, it was very funny when Jeannie was in a jammed file cabinet and as a result, for her to get around, a file cabinet appears out of thin air!!

Also, Jeannie can't drive, so instead she has the car drive itself while she sits by herself in the back seat!!

I don't know Jeannie's last name, but she has made them up before, such as Jeannie Uppington-Smythe.

Something else is funny, when she answers the phone in a deep voice.

Jeannie's and her relatives blinking leaves Tony and Roger in unexplainable situations, which Dr. Bellows is the main one that is very confused.

I like I Dream Of Jeannie compared to Bewitched. With Bewitched you get more dialogue and less magic. Also, many episodes of Bewitched are about spells gone wrong, making genies appear to be better at magic than witches. In I Dream Of Jeannie, Jeannie blinks things and disappears and appears a lot more often than they did on Bewitched.
This is an old article pending revision.

This is a very nice show, but it is extremely unlikely it would last any longer than it did. I am not saying the reason why is because of Larry Hagman not liking the scripts, or Barbara Eden having Blonde Hair... it would not last very long because of ...unlike Bewitched, not many people knew about Jeannie and the humor of I Dream Of Jeannie was based on people not knowing about Jeannie. Eventually they would HAVE to introduce her to everybody, and they were hinting that when Amanda Bellows walked in on Jeannie. They explained it as Jeannie being insane and causing Tony to neglect her, and they say that Jeannie leaves and goes to her mother's. But they later get married but still don't know she is a genie. I think it worked well once they got married. Lots of fans say it ruined the series, but I don't think there was any way out of writing them as married. Keeping Jeannie a secret would get boring and so would that harem costume. Trying to stretch out the show would be like trying to stretch out Gilligan's Island. But I do understand that once Jeannie and Tony got married, it put the show at serious risk of being too similar to Bewitched.

There is a problem with this series...there are continuity problems. I noticed that the show is set in Florida, but it would be more convincing in Texas. or perhaps I am mistaken. Major Nelson and Major Healey have different uniforms, and I guess it is because one enlisted in the Air Force and the other enlisted in the Army. But the worst thing they did was make an episode about how genies cannot be photographed. Perhaps they can't be photographed, but they CAN be filmed!! She was in a commercial with Carl Tucker..."owner and general manager of Carl Tucker Cars. The largest dealership in Cocoa Beach." Even if that was a live telecast with no film, How can anybody explain when Jeannie popped in next to Carl Tucker while he was in front of the camera? This means that Jeannie appeared out of thin air on the live television!

Produced by Screen Gems, just like Bewitched.

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