http://www.accessatlanta.com/AccessAtlanta-sharing_/i-dream-of-jeannie-600625.html

Do you agree with her comment? Disagree? Why?

I disagree. But then again, I always disagree with this assessment ;)

Because a good writer can work with any restrictions and still produce a top-quality product. Had Sydney Sheldon taken over all of the episode writing for the fifth season, I think the actors might not have been so bitter about it. Then again, I care more about the story than the actors, so what do I know? :lol:

They probably should have held off until the final episode but then again, there weren't many episodes after they did get married. I'm just happy to see Larry at these conventions. He tried to distance himself from Jeannie for so long...I'm glad he now sees what we all did...Jeannie is a classic.

I agree with Barbara. The romantic tension between Jeannie and Tony is what really made this series work. As soon as they got married that tension was gone. They should have saved the wedding for the last episode or at least very near the end of the series like they did with Angela and Tony on Who's the Boss.

I think the wedding did in the show, and I agree with Barbara.

....Sidney Sheldon was as well. In his autobiography "The Other Side Of Me", he recalled receiving a phone call from NBC programming executive Mort Werner in the summer of '69. Werner told him, "This coming season, I think Jeannie and Tony should get married". Sheldon tried to explain it like this: "If I do that, it'll kill off the romantic tension they have. Viewers want to see them trying to avoid marriage. If they get married, they'll lose interest in the show". "You want to be on the air next year?", Werner asked him. "Of course", Sheldon replied. "Either they get married, or the show won't be renewed". "I'll get them married", Sidney assured Werner. Naturally, Barbara and Larry [especially Larry] objected to this "strong arm" tactic. James Henerson, the series' head writer [he wrote "The Wedding" episode as well], recalled Barbara, Larry, Sheldon, himself and producer Claudio Guzman meeting with NBC executives to try to avoid a wedding episode- "The network was adamant", Henderson later recalled. "'You gotta do it'". The network (and Werner) used the excuse for a wedding to try to boost the show's sagging ratings {it was up against ABC's "THE MOD SQUAD" on Tuesdays in its final season...that was the #1 show in its time period}. Sure enough, after "The Wedding" aired on December 2, 1969, viewers started to "drift away"...and NBC cancelled "JEANNIE" at the end of the season. And what did Mort Werner say later on? "I think it was a mistake to have them married".


:tv:

...whenever Barbara is asked what her favorite episode is, she always replies, "The Wedding".

:confused:

She does say that but she says (I met her for the first time years ago and she stated this) she enjoyed it because it was fun playing the "robotic mannequin. HOWEVER she went on to say that they should not have gotten married because ultimately the marriage killed the show.

>>>>
"'You gotta do it'". The network (and Werner) used the excuse for a wedding to try to boost the show's sagging ratings {it was up against ABC's "THE MOD SQUAD" on Tuesdays in its final season...that was the #1 show in its time period}. Sure enough, after "The Wedding" aired on December 2, 1969, viewers started to "drift away"...and NBC cancelled "JEANNIE" at the end of the season. And what did Mort Werner say later on? "I think it was a mistake to have them married".
>>>>

I always find it interesting that is said about the ratings because during the fourth year of the show when Laugh In followed I Dream of Jeannie on Monday nights the show's ratings went UP! Maybe if NBC had not moved the series to a different night EVERY SEASON IT RAN IN PRIME TIME the ratings would have been more consistent. I'm sure it was hard for viewers to find it when it kept getting moved around. I think that's why the show exploded in popularity and began to be seen as a "classic" when it went into syndication - because it was on at one consistent time and viewers could easily find when it was airing. If only NBC had done that in prime time....

When Jeannie and Tony got married, the show turned into 'Bewitched'.

It is too bad the NBC executives forced Sidney Sheldon to marry them off.

When Jeannie and Tony got married, the show turned into 'Bewitched'.
Why do you say that?

In Bewitched, they were already married before the pilot episode even started, and yet it went on to air eight seasons. In the second IDoJ episode, Jeannie could have married Tony 2000 years in the past. Who would have believed that in the present day? ;)

They could have been married, djinni-style, and no human need ever have known, until Tony was ready to marry her human-style. I think if they had done that, they could have had many more romantic episodes, instead of relying on slapstick so often.

Why do you say that?

In Bewitched, they were already married before the pilot episode even started, and yet it went on to air eight seasons. In the second IDoJ episode, Jeannie could have married Tony 2000 years in the past. Who would have believed that in the present day? ;)

They could have been married, djinni-style, and no human need ever have known, until Tony was ready to marry her human-style. I think if they had done that, they could have had many more romantic episodes, instead of relying on slapstick so often.

Before Jeannie and Tony got married, the only person who knew that she even existed was Roger. After they got married, Dr. Bellows and Mrs. Bellows and everybody else knew she existed but didn't know that she was a genie. They were pretending to be a normal married couple while trying to hide her powers from the rest of the world- just like 'Bewitched'.

It was also brought up that then Tony and Jeannie would have had kids, and they'd be back to the same Bewitched premise: "will the kids be genies or human?"

Still, I love the wedding episode and all the ones following when they were married and nobody knew she was djinn except Roger.

Before Jeannie and Tony got married, the only person who knew that she even existed was Roger. After they got married, Dr. Bellows and Mrs. Bellows and everybody else knew she existed but didn't know that she was a genie. They were pretending to be a normal married couple while trying to hide her powers from the rest of the world- just like 'Bewitched'.
Reread my second paragraph, please. I am proposing an entirely different scenario from Bewitched, and why it could have worked that way and not been the same.

When you reread it, you should notice that I said "in the second episode" (not to mention the time-traveling part.) Roger was as clueless as everyone else about Jeannie's existence back then ;)

It was also brought up that then Tony and Jeannie would have had kids, and they'd be back to the same Bewitched premise: "will the kids be genies or human?"
However, that concept didn't come up until almost the end of the second season. There was no mention of it early in the first season, and no mention that Jeannie would lose her powers, either. Without the later information to go on, it's safe to assume that none of that would have happened, because it was never proposed in the first episodes or the entire first season ;)

Again, Tony and Jeannie could have gotten married djinni-style. That is, by whatever rules the djinn had for such marriages/relationships 2000 years ago. Tony could have considered that not a "real marriage" and still held off with her in getting married "human-style" later on. Keep the sexual-tension for those that like that kind of thing. Or not, for those of us that can't stand it :p

Also, look at some of the classic Arabian stories. The djinn married (or raped) humans often, and had magical offspring. There were no rules against it, just more religion/spiritual adherence in the characters than seen in IDoJ.

Oh, and just so y'all know:

Djinni = Genie

Djinn = Genies :)

...had the opportunity to be married, "djinni-style", he wouldn't go through with it. Tony has stated, more than once, that he had NO intention of marrying Jeannie (he loves her, yes, but not that much as to actually "consummate" that love). Remember the reason he tried to give her in "Too Many Tonys"? "Jeannie, try to understand this- in the service, the kind of woman a man marries is very important...{striking up an imaginary conversation with another officer} 'And what does your wife do, Captain Nelson?' 'Well, she's a genie, sir, I put her in a bottle every night'. How's that gonna look on my service record????".

Of course, there might have been a story where the Blue Djinn unexpectedly returned- and in order to save Jeannie, Tony had to pretend he's married to her to appease his wrath (and take advantage of his uncanny ability to be deceived)...but the Djinn insists they have to be "officially" married, 'Djinni-style', before he'll confer his blessings upon them [or he'll turn Tony into....nothing!]. And Roger walks into the fray {again}, finding himself performing a "djinni marriage ceremony", using a book of bartending recipes he grabs from Tony's bar {"I now pronounce you djinn and scotch...I mean, djinn and...uh, Tony, what would you call yourself?"/(in somewhat of frustrated panic) "I'd call myself- 'nothing'..."}. And take it from there.....


:wink2:

When Jeannie and Tony got married, the show turned into 'Bewitched'.

Not true.

Bewitched was about witches, and the beginning of the show was about a married couple, and constant interfering in-laws.

Jeannie was about a Genie. Plus, by the time Jeannie and Tony got married, Darren and Samantha were more like an old married couple with two kids.

Before Jeannie and Tony got married, the only person who knew that she even existed was Roger. After they got married, Dr. Bellows and Mrs. Bellows and everybody else knew she existed but didn't know that she was a genie. They were pretending to be a normal married couple while trying to hide her powers from the rest of the world- just like 'Bewitched'.

So what. Bewitched has similarities to other shows like My Favorite Martian, I Love Lucy, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

On Bewitched, there were several meddling in-laws, kids, and no mortal other than Darren knew about Samantha. Plus, by that time the Stephens were an old married couple with kids.

Jeannie and Tony had no constant meddling in laws, another mortal (Roger) knew about Jeannie, and friends who became lovers, and she was not a witch calling Dr. Bombay.

Personally, I loved the fact that Jeannie and Tony got married. I thought it was a fitting ending to this friendship that blossomed into true love. Plus, it was really interesting seeing Jeannie interact with The Bellows and General Schaffer. I loved Jeannie being a wife........FINALLY! :D

I finished watching my dvds of the show the other week. I thought the final season was very strong. The wedding was great and having Jeannie interact with Mr and Mrs Bellows was great. People always say the show is about the romantic tension between Jeannie and Tony but seriously, where was that? Jeannie seemed to love Tony. He seemed to find her a pain messing his life up and frequently went out on dates with other women. It's hard to say what the show was other than a bit of a farce.

Samantha Stevens was a very different character to Jeannie so even when Jeannie married Tony, the show was nothing like Bewitched. I never really remember Tony saying to Jeannie, don't use your powers. It was more, use them right and not at the wrong moment. With Sam and Darren it was, don't use them at all and it was often the relatives of Sam that caused the problems that Sam would have to fix. Jeannie caused her own problems. ;D

Samantha also never deliberately put Darrin in any life or death situations. Something Jeannie took great pleasure in doing to Tony. This is the big difference between Jeannie and Bewitched to me, in Bewitched Sam really did love Darrin in more ways than just saying over and over that she loved him but in actions too.

Jeanie while constantly claiming she loved Tony she also repeatedly put Tony in life endangering situations, be it being torn apart by a lion or hanging from a snowy cliff. Not only was it Jeannie herself that put Tony in these horrible situations she laughed insanely the more Tony begged for his life. Can you even imagine Sam ever doing anything like this to Darrin?

Sam not only NEVER put Darrin in a life threatening situation she was the one who got him out of any bad situation that her relatives did put Darrin in. 2 Major differences in these shows, one gets great pleasure out of putting her "loved one" in a situation where he's about to be killed and the other would never dream of doing such a thing. If that's love I'll do without.:crazy:

My thoughts on why Jeannie often put Tony (and Roger) into life-threatening situations was due to her short temper. That also goes back to the djinn of the folk tales, who did similar things to their masters, as well as teased them with threats of violence.

In Jeannie's case, I figure she could 'see' all of these places she sent her Master or Roger without having to be there watching over them before they fell. Such as when she had put Tony over a group of crocodiles. She wouldn't have done that if she knew he'd have fallen right away. It was all more of a tease, as she was right there when he fell, and landed back in the living room. We never see her blink him there, yet he did fall rather conveniently through a magic-portal.

However, even with a short temper, Jeannie is almost as quick to forgive. So really, her Master and others are rarely in any true danger. They just don't know that, or don't remember that Jeannie never lets them be permanently harmed.

Now, when she was under the control of her sister's potion and hated Tony, the tortures she blinked upon him were understandable and not due to a short temper. Even so, that one scene where Tony is being roasted was quite difficult to watch, what with his moans of pain and anguish and Jeannie's utter delight and intention of truly killing him. Roger brings the scene back to comedic reality with no sense that Tony is any real danger ;)

Yeah right. Who wouldn't enjoy being eaten alive by a lion or roasted on a spit? That Tony, what a guy. Maybe they deserved each other, but it sure ain't love.

To me, the whole thing boils down to a simple choice:

Do you like Barbara Eden better in the harem outfit or miniskirts?

I'll take one from column A and one from column B. :groucho

I think also that Jeannie was very immature compared to Samantha.

:rolleyes: I think also that Jeannie was very immature compared to Samantha.


That was the whole point of the show. :rolleyes:

Samantha also never deliberately put Darrin in any life or death situations. Something Jeannie took great pleasure in doing to Tony. This is the big difference between Jeannie and Bewitched to me, in Bewitched Sam really did love Darrin in more ways than just saying over and over that she loved him but in actions too.

Jeanie while constantly claiming she loved Tony she also repeatedly put Tony in life endangering situations, be it being torn apart by a lion or hanging from a snowy cliff. Not only was it Jeannie herself that put Tony in these horrible situations she laughed insanely the more Tony begged for his life. Can you even imagine Sam ever doing anything like this to Darrin?

Sam not only NEVER put Darrin in a life threatening situation she was the one who got him out of any bad situation that her relatives did put Darrin in. 2 Major differences in these shows, one gets great pleasure out of putting her "loved one" in a situation where he's about to be killed and the other would never dream of doing such a thing. If that's love I'll do without.:crazy:

Yet she allowed her family, who constantly endangered Darrin or caused major trouble for him, to keep coming around.

I think also that Jeannie was very immature compared to Samantha.

Maybe Jeannie was younger or Samantha just acted like a senior citizen.

Yeah right. Who wouldn't enjoy being eaten alive by a lion or roasted on a spit? That Tony, what a guy. Maybe they deserved each other, but it sure ain't love.

Those episodes that you are referring to were either Jeannie's sister impersonating her or Jeannie was not herself. She was under a spell.

However, I guess it's not love for Samantha and Darrin either. Otherwise, she would of stopped her family from torturing Darrin and constantly coming around. Sometimes Samantha even laughed when her family caused danger/distress for Darrin. She also was dishonest and deceptive by not telling Darrin that she was a witch until after the wedding. That aint love.

Reread my second paragraph, please. I am proposing an entirely different scenario from Bewitched, and why it could have worked that way and not been the same.

When you reread it, you should notice that I said "in the second episode" (not to mention the time-traveling part.) Roger was as clueless as everyone else about Jeannie's existence back then ;)

I agree with you. Good point.

Samantha also never deliberately put Darrin in any life or death situations. Something Jeannie took great pleasure in doing to Tony. This is the big difference between Jeannie and Bewitched to me, in Bewitched Sam really did love Darrin in more ways than just saying over and over that she loved him but in actions too.

Jeanie while constantly claiming she loved Tony she also repeatedly put Tony in life endangering situations, be it being torn apart by a lion or hanging from a snowy cliff. Not only was it Jeannie herself that put Tony in these horrible situations she laughed insanely the more Tony begged for his life. Can you even imagine Sam ever doing anything like this to Darrin?

Sam not only NEVER put Darrin in a life threatening situation she was the one who got him out of any bad situation that her relatives did put Darrin in. 2 Major differences in these shows, one gets great pleasure out of putting her "loved one" in a situation where he's about to be killed and the other would never dream of doing such a thing. If that's love I'll do without.:crazy:

I recall a "Bewitched" episode where Darrin and Samantha were on their way to a dinner party. Samantha refused to help Darrin change a flat tire in the pouring rain due to her ego. Darrin asked for her help cause he didn't want to be late for the party but she refused. Darrin could of gotten pneumonia and died. Samantha did not care and did not lift a finger.