I don't know how Bewitched's popularity measured against I Dream of Jeannie's during their original runs. I would assume that Bewitched was more popular since it had a longer run (about eight seasons on ABC compared to five on NBC for IDOJ). Regardless, both shows when you get right down to it pretty much the same concept, even some of the same sets. So what did Bewitched have that Jeannie didn't?

I know that Barbara Eden has always defended IDOJ over claims that the show was sexist. I wonder if the real problem was that at the end of the day, the character of Jeannie lacked the depth of Samantha. What I mean is that we knew more about Sam's family, history, inner monologue, motivations. With Jeannie, her entire reason for being was to serve. People simply could identify more easily with Sam and Darrin on Bewitched (junior executive with a stay-at-home wife) than with Jeannie and Tony (a literal genie in a bottle and an astronaut) on IDOJ.

Meanwhile, Samantha was torn between a stifling upper middle class existence and oodles of otherworldly possibilities. To put it in another way, Samantha was a woman struggling with her true nature and being the perfect housewife. She played down her talents to appease her husband, but always managed to assert her individuality. So you have one show that's about subservience and another show that was about independence.

I think another problem with IDOJ is that when compared to Bewitched, it lacked warmth, especially in the first few seasons. You have Jeannie, completely in love with and devoted to a stern jerk, who just bosses her around. With Bewitched, even though Darrin was angry whenever Sam used witchcraft, you still saw that he loved her whereas with Jeannie, you kind of got the sense that Tony Nelson would rather get rid of her.

Jeannie could probably have gone on another year or two had they not married them. It ruined the concept of the show and the episodes after the marriage are by and large not funny. You can see poor Larry Hagman struggling sometimes to mine some comedy from the scripts, but there's nothing there. The marriage killed the show.

I think Bewitched should have ended after season 5. There was nothing new or particularly interesting in the Dick Sargent years. They had already hit all their major story-lines several times. I am not sure why ABC continued the show past season 6 when it had dropped so significantly in ratings.

Both shows had about 5 years worth of stories to tell and it was time to go for both after that point.

I always thought Bewitched appealed more to adults and IDOJ more to children. Just the story lines of Bewitched were more "mature" I think.


I remember as a kid I loved IDOJ, I saw it as colorful, neat and just intriguing, but always found Bewitched to be a bit boring....now I love both shows.

I don't know how Bewitched's popularity measured against I Dream of Jeannie's during their original runs. I would assume that Bewitched was more popular since it had a longer run (about eight seasons on ABC compared to five on NBC for IDOJ). Regardless, both shows when you get right down to it pretty much the same concept, even some of the same sets.

I disagree. The shows are completely different.

I wonder if the real problem was that at the end of the day, the character of Jeannie lacked the depth of Samantha. What I mean is that we knew more about Sam's family, history, inner monologue, motivations. With Jeannie, her entire reason for being was to serve. People simply could identify more easily with Sam and Darrin on Bewitched (junior executive with a stay-at-home wife) than with Jeannie and Tony (a literal genie in a bottle and an astronaut) on IDOJ.

I disagree that Samantha had more depth than Jeannie. Jeannie had relativesas well. They didn't have to appear on the show all the time. We knew Jeannie's history and her motivations as well. She loved Tony and wanted to be with him just like Samantha loved Darrin and wanted to be with him, except Samantha tried to change herself to fit in Darrin's world, Jeannie did not change herself to fit in Major Nelson's world. And I found Jeannie and Tony just as relatable as Darrin and Samantha. However, how relatable can a magical witch and genie be, though?


Meanwhile, Samantha was torn between a stifling upper middle class existence and oodles of otherworldly possibilities. To put it in another way, Samantha was a woman struggling with her true nature and being the perfect housewife. She played down her talents to appease her husband, but always managed to assert her individuality. So you have one show that's about subservience and another show that was about independence.


Jeannie was very independent and did what she wanted from day one. And there was a struggle for Jeannie. She was a fish out of water, yet she never had to play down her talent to appease Major Nelson. She didn't even have to pretend to at all. There was nothing at all "subservience" about Jeannie. She was unapologetically rebellious, spunky, free spirited, and super independent. In fact, it was usually Major Nelson who had to answer to Jeannie.

I think another problem with IDOJ is that when compared to Bewitched, it lacked warmth, especially in the first few seasons. You have Jeannie, completely in love with and devoted to a stern jerk, who just bosses her around. With Bewitched, even though Darrin was angry whenever Sam used witchcraft, you still saw that he loved her whereas with Jeannie, you kind of got the sense that Tony Nelson would rather get rid of her.

I think another problem with IDOJ is that when compared to Bewitched, it lacked warmth, especially in the first few seasons. You have Jeannie, completely in love with and devoted to a stern jerk, who just bosses her around. With Bewitched, even though Darrin was angry whenever Sam used witchcraft, you still saw that he loved her whereas with Jeannie, you kind of got the sense that Tony Nelson would rather get rid of her.

I disagree. The early shows of Jeannie did have warmth. There were lots of sweet scenes between Jeannie and Tony, Tony and Roger, or Roger and Jeannie. And that is not true about Major Nelson bossing Jeannie around. Major Nelson rarely bossed Jeannie around. He cared about Jeannie and was in love with her as well, but he was reluctant because she was a Jeannie. There was an episode where Tony got amnesia that showed what Tony thought of Jeannie if he didn’t know that she was a genie and he was head over heels in love with her. It was so sweet. Major Nelson freed Jeannie and he also freed her from serving him the first day they met. Major Nelson was a reluctant “Master” and rarely asked Jeannie to do anything. She was free to do anything she wanted. He just didn’t want her interfering with his job and his love life. And Tony did not want to get rid of Jeannie. He cared about her, liked her and wanted her in his life.

I think enough was enough at that point.

Regardless, both shows when you get right down to it pretty much the same concept, even some of the same sets. So what did Bewitched have that Jeannie didn't?

I wonder if the real problem was that at the end of the day, the character of Jeannie lacked the depth of Samantha. What I mean is that we knew more about Sam's family, history, inner monologue, motivations. With Jeannie, her entire reason for being was to serve. People simply could identify more easily with Sam and Darrin on Bewitched (junior executive with a stay-at-home wife) than with Jeannie and Tony (a literal genie in a bottle and an astronaut) on IDOJ.

Meanwhile, Samantha was torn between a stifling upper middle class existence and oodles of otherworldly possibilities. To put it in another way, Samantha was a woman struggling with her true nature and being the perfect housewife. She played down her talents to appease her husband, but always managed to assert her individuality. So you have one show that's about subservience and another show that was about independence.

I think another problem with IDOJ is that when compared to Bewitched, it lacked warmth, especially in the first few seasons. You have Jeannie, completely in love with and devoted to a stern jerk, who just bosses her around. With Bewitched, even though Darrin was angry whenever Sam used witchcraft, you still saw that he loved her whereas with Jeannie, you kind of got the sense that Tony Nelson would rather get rid of her.

With all these differences that you just pointed out, then how is it the "same" concept.

With all these differences that you just pointed out, then how is it the "same" concept.

https://www.harpiesbizarre.com/crossover/crossover%20-%20hb-lb.jpg

They both (https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/bewitched-and-i-dream-of-jeannie-154772) had and identical, mischievous dark-haired relative.
They both (http://www.jeanniesisters.com/factfiles/anodnose.html) gave the main female characters, Samantha and Jeannie powers.
They both had Samantha be loyal to Darrin and Jeannie loyal to Tony.
They both had overbearing bosses.
They both had beautiful blonde haired actresses in the roles of Samantha and Jeannie.
They both had Samantha and Jeannie be significantly older than they appeared.
They both had Darrin and Tony dislike their mother-in-law or mother-in-law to be and vice versa.
They both had the actresses who played Samantha and Jeannie play the roles of the mischievous, dark-haired relative as well.
They both had the real life husbands of Elizabeth Montgomery and Barbara Eden be part of the show is some way.
They both had Paul Lynde guest star.
They both used some of the same sets.
They both debuted in black and white.

https://www.harpiesbizarre.com/crossover/crossover%20-%20hb-lb.jpg


They both (https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/bewitched-and-i-dream-of-jeannie-154772) had and identical, mischievous dark-haired relative.
They both (http://www.jeanniesisters.com/factfiles/anodnose.html) gave the main female characters, Samantha and Jeannie powers.
They both had Samantha be loyal to Darrin and Jeannie loyal to Tony.
They both had overbearing bosses.
They both had beautiful blonde haired actresses in the roles of Samantha and Jeannie.
They both had Samantha and Jeannie be significantly older than they appeared.
They both had Darrin and Tony dislike their mother-in-law or mother-in-law to be and vice versa.
They both had the actresses who played Samantha and Jeannie play the roles of the mischievous, dark-haired relative as well.
They both had the real life husbands of Elizabeth Montgomery and Barbara Eden be part of the show is some way.
They both had Paul Lynde guest star.
They both used some of the same sets.
They both debuted in black and white.



Nice list, TMC!

I'd add:
They both used animated intros (rare on most other sitcoms)
They both used the plot device of the characters trying to keep the magic secret from others.
They both had male leads with dark hair.

https://www.harpiesbizarre.com/crossover/crossover%20-%20hb-lb.jpg

They both (https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/bewitched-and-i-dream-of-jeannie-154772) had and identical, mischievous dark-haired relative.
They both (http://www.jeanniesisters.com/factfiles/anodnose.html) gave the main female characters, Samantha and Jeannie powers.
They both had Samantha be loyal to Darrin and Jeannie loyal to Tony.
They both had overbearing bosses.
They both had beautiful blonde haired actresses in the roles of Samantha and Jeannie.
They both had Samantha and Jeannie be significantly older than they appeared.
They both had Darrin and Tony dislike their mother-in-law or mother-in-law to be and vice versa.
They both had the actresses who played Samantha and Jeannie play the roles of the mischievous, dark-haired relative as well.
They both had the real life husbands of Elizabeth Montgomery and Barbara Eden be part of the show is some way.
They both had Paul Lynde guest star.
They both used some of the same sets.
They both debuted in black and white.

They had a lot of differences, and, in your opinion, some huge ones. So I still don't see how they are the "same" concept.

https://www.harpiesbizarre.com/crossover/crossover%20-%20hb-lb.jpg

They both (https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/bewitched-and-i-dream-of-jeannie-154772) had and identical, mischievous dark-haired relative.
They both (http://www.jeanniesisters.com/factfiles/anodnose.html) gave the main female characters, Samantha and Jeannie powers.
They both had Samantha be loyal to Darrin and Jeannie loyal to Tony.
They both had overbearing bosses.
They both had beautiful blonde haired actresses in the roles of Samantha and Jeannie.
They both had Samantha and Jeannie be significantly older than they appeared.
They both had Darrin and Tony dislike their mother-in-law or mother-in-law to be and vice versa.
They both had the actresses who played Samantha and Jeannie play the roles of the mischievous, dark-haired relative as well.
They both had the real life husbands of Elizabeth Montgomery and Barbara Eden be part of the show is some way.
They both had Paul Lynde guest star.
They both used some of the same sets.
They both debuted in black and white.

One was a genie. The other is a witch.
Jeannie is naïve. Samantha is not.
Jeannie had a master. Samantha did not.
Jeannie is energetic. Samantha is calmer.
Samantha is a mother. Jeannie is not.
IDOJ dealt with NASA. Bewitched did not.
Samantha's mother was a regular on the show. Jeannie's was not.
Samantha and Darrin were married from the very beginning. Jeannie and Tony were not.
Two mortals knew the truth about Jeannie. The only mortal who knew the truth about Samantha was Darrin.
Jeannie originally had a different theme song. BW kept the same theme song.

Jeannie had a pet/Gin Gin who appeared on the show. Samantha did not.
There were kids on BW as regulars. Jeannie did not have any kids as regulars.
Samantha had a beloved aunt who appeared on the show regularly. Jeannie did not.
Samantha was an only child. Jeannie was not.
IDOJ had a smaller cast. BW cast was larger.
IDOJ had more male regulars in the cast. BW had more women.
Jeannie were here pink harem costume very often. Samantha just were plain clothes.
Major Nelson was single. Darrin was not.
Major Nelson would date women and Jeannie would get jealous. This never happened with Samantha and Darrin.

Jeannie's sister did not like her. All of Samantha's family members liked her.
Samantha often had to deal with a father and mother in law. Jeannie did not.
Darrin had to deal with many of Samantha's relatives. Major Nelson did not.
Darrin disliked magic. Major Nelson didn't mind and sometimes seemed amused/fascinated by it.
There were two actors who played Darrin. There was only one actor who played Major Nelson.
IDOJ had Sammie Davis Jr. guest star. Bewitched did not.
Jeannie is short. Samantha is taller.
On Bewitched, the witches/warlocks outnumber the mortals. On IDOJ, the mortals outnumber the genies.

The only difference that matters to me is the mythology. I really don't care much about the mythology of witches/warlocks. I do love the mythology of djinn (genies.)

The djinn have a rich (and ancient) history in storytelling. Yes, they had "sorcerers" back then, but you never see that kind of mythology presented in Bewitched. There are plenty of references to the old folk tales in I Dream of Jeannie, at least a thousand and one of them. Where's the equivalent of the "1,001 Tales of the Witches Nights"? ;-)

Both Barbara and Elizabeth also had personal jewelry they wore on the show; Barbara her tear drop necklace (a gift from Michael Ansara) and Elizabeth her heart necklace (a gift from Bill Asher).

And both actresses started the series pregnant and had to rush film a handful of the first season episodes.

There are a lot of similarities but according to Sidney Sheldon Screen Gems wanted "another show like Bewitched." He copied that formula because he was asked too by the studio that owned them both. Of course you could argue that Sheldon took that way too far....(and it certainly irked Elizabeth Montgomery).

Both Barbara and Elizabeth also had personal jewelry they wore on the show; Barbara her tear drop necklace (a gift from Michael Ansara) and Elizabeth her heart necklace (a gift from Bill Asher).

And both actresses started the series pregnant and had to rush film a handful of the first season episodes.

There are a lot of similarities but according to Sidney Sheldon Screen Gems wanted "another show like Bewitched." He copied that formula because he was asked too by the studio that owned them both. Of course you could argue that Sheldon took that way too far....(and it certainly irked Elizabeth Montgomery).

But what did Bewitched copy? And didn't Genies already exist before I Dream of Jeannie came on the air?

I always thought Bewitched appealed more to adults and IDOJ more to children. Just the story lines of Bewitched were more "mature" I think.


I remember as a kid I loved IDOJ, I saw it as colorful, neat and just intriguing, but always found Bewitched to be a bit boring....now I love both shows.
I think the first few seasons of Bewitched were more "mature" or sophistocated, but not by the last several seasons of the show.

Actually, one major thing about Bewitched that hasn't aged well at all is how much they smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. Neither vice showed up much at all in Jeannie, other than to get Jeannie drunk as a plot device. About all Tony or Roger ever had to drink was coffee, milk, and root beer :-D

Both Barbara and Elizabeth also had personal jewelry they wore on the show; Barbara her tear drop necklace (a gift from Michael Ansara) and Elizabeth her heart necklace (a gift from Bill Asher).

And both actresses started the series pregnant and had to rush film a handful of the first season episodes.

There are a lot of similarities but according to Sidney Sheldon Screen Gems wanted "another show like Bewitched." He copied that formula because he was asked too by the studio that owned them both. Of course you could argue that Sheldon took that way too far....(and it certainly irked Elizabeth Montgomery).
Sidney Sheldon got his inspiration for I Dream of Jeannie from the 1964 feature film "The Brass Bottle," in which Berle Ives played a male genie (and Barbara Eden co-starred in as well - as Tony Randall's fiance'). Bewitched was also inspired by feature films "I Married A Witch" and "Bell, Book, and Candle." Also, Sidney Sheldon had written the pilot for I Dream of Jeannie in AUGUST of 1964 - ONE MONTH BEFORE BEWITCHED PREMIERED - SO IT WAS NOT A COPY.Screen Gems went to Sol Sacks, who wrote the pilot episode for Bewitched and asked him to write another show about a witch for another network. He said he did not want to do that so they went to Sidney Sheldon. He told them he didn't want to do that, but already had been thinking of another idea for a magical show.

Both shows have a similar look and feel to them because they were both Screen Gems productions. Both had female leads who were blonde and had magical powers, but that was about the extent of the similarities other than occasional plot similarities, but BOTH have had a plot EACH did first that showed up on the other show a couple of years later. One example is on I Dream of Jeannie when Jeannie makes Tony a professional golfer in "Watch the Birdie" in season one and Samantha does the same for Darrin in the season four episode "Birdies, Baxters, and Bogies."

I Dream of Jeannie has been accused of "stealing" from Bewitched because of cousin Serena and Jeannie II (Jeannie's sister), but Serena was on ONE episode in season two as a plot device (when Tabitha was born, Darrin sees Serena and he thinks Endora turned Tabitha into a grown woman). Serena does not appear again until season four - ONE WEEK AFTER JEANNIE'S SISTER IS INTRODUCED in season three of I Dream of Jeannie (the script was written by James Henerson). Anyway, years BEFORE both shows, Sidney Sheldon created The Patty Duke Show and William Asher worked on it with him. Sidney wanted to have TWIN SISTERS but Asher thought it would be fun to have TWIN COUSINS, so Sidney agreed. So, really it was Sidney who came up with the twin idea first on Patty Duke - with William Asher collaborating with him.

Another very important but almost always forgotten point is that My Favorite Martian premiered on CBS one year before Bewitched. This show was filmed at another studio (Desilu and later MGM), which makes "copying" even worse. There is an article the year Bewitched premiered where My Favorite Martian star, Ray Walston, is complaining of scripts and special effect "tricks" being "taken" from their show. After having watched the show, there are several scripts seen on My Favorite Martian that are later seen on Bewitched (ex. - 1 - Uncle Martin gets green squares on his face and the next week Samantha gets green spots on hers / 2 - Martin turns into a mannequin in a department store due to an alergic reaction from a cologne and can't get "out" and a few seasons later Samantha's cousin turns a sales clerk in a department store into a mannequin, pops out, leaving Samantha to have to get him "out" of the mannequin / 3 - On My Favorite Martian, Tim gets cast into a mirror, is freezing cold, and can't get out and a few seasons later on Bewitched Darrin gets put in a miror, is freezing cold, and can't get out. These are just a FEW examples.

I only bring all of this up because so many times I hear things said about Bewitched as if it was totally original and "the first" show of it's kind. It wasn't and they all used certain "similar" plot devices. I honestly don't think anyone was stealing ideas, but some writers simply came up with similar ideas, also writers talk, collaborate, etc. All of that being said, I simply want the record straight and want to be FAIR to ALL of these shows. I love them all!!!

But what did Bewitched copy? And didn't Genies already exist before I Dream of Jeannie came on the air?
My Favorite Martian premiered one year before Bewitched and if you watch it, you will see several familiar plot devices....

I think most of the supernatural sitcoms like I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters, etc. have all aged well because of the fantasy element. They are timeless and charming "evergreen" shows. That's why they have never been off the air and are seen all over the world some 50 years or so after they left primetime. I doubt The Bachelor or much of any of the trash currently airing will be in repeats 5 years after it leaves primetime... much less 50.

About all Tony or Roger ever had to drink was coffee, milk, and root beer :-D

The astronauts at that time had to appear to be squeaky clean!

Sidney Sheldon got his inspiration for I Dream of Jeannie from the 1964 feature film "The Brass Bottle," in which Berle Ives played a male genie (and Barbara Eden co-starred in as well - as Tony Randall's fiance').

I've seen The Brass Bottle, and it's not good. Thankfully, Sheldon didn't borrow too heavily from it.

I feel they are still about the same.

The astronauts at that time had to appear to be squeaky clean!
I know, but they did still have a hard drink or a beer every now and then. They weren't teatotalers. They were military men who enjoyed to relax like anyone else in the military ;)

I've seen The Brass Bottle, and it's not good. Thankfully, Sheldon didn't borrow too heavily from it.
I enjoyed it. I even have a DVD of it. Of course, my favorite of the movie no one ever mentions: The djinni Tezra. Not even Barbara Eden mentioned her in that biography, and I was disappointed. Kamala Devi was dubbed by Hollywood as "too beautiful to use" and it sucks. Because she could have easily been the djinni on IDoJ (in my opinion, which will likely ruffle some feathers!) :lol:

Interesting discussion. I have always preferred Bewitched over IDOJ. I kind of disagree about Bewitched later seasons. I liked the episodes when they traveled to Salem and Europe. There were some funny moments and Serena was featured more outrageously. But I do prefer Dick York as Darrin. He was a natural comedian whereas Dick Sargent was ok but much more reserved. As for the series going on too long. Perhaps it did but Elizabeth stated that she would have liked the series to continue on. She loved playing Samantha.And she was so beautiful with her longer hair and "Mod" clothing. I love her!

Samantha's relatives were a huge part of Bewitched... I Dream Of Jeannie never delved much into Jeannie's family, other than her sister, and even she wasn't there that often.

It seems like toward the end they started introducing more of Jeannie's family...IDOJ started to become more and more like Bewitched toward the end.

And I don't think Jeannie's sister totally disliked her.... she just wanted Tony. I wanna think if anyone else was trying to hurt Jeannie, her sis would defend her, I just feel like she would. I remember reading a Jeannie vs Samantha fanfic where that happened.... the main conflict happened between Jeannie and Endora, and Jeannie's sister helped her a little anyway

Other than Daniel Boone, Bewitched was my favorite show when I was young. As I got older, I lost interest in Bewitched and soon gave up watching it in reruns. But I never have gotten tired of looking at Barbara Eden so I Dream of Jeannie definitely aged better.

Sidney Sheldon did not copy that formula. He had already been working on Jeannie and finished writing the pilot in August 1964, one month BEFORE Bewitched premiered. Also, My Favorite Martian premiered one season BEFORE Bewitched on CBS. It was a hit. If you watch it, you will see all of the gimmicks and many plot devices on MFM that end up on Bewitched.

I was under the impression that a network saw the "Bewitched" pilot (so this would've been before it aired) and asked Sol Saks to write a similar show, but he turned it down. So if it was Screen Gems, they were kind of intentionally copying "Bewitched."

One was a genie. The other is a witch.
Jeannie is naïve. Samantha is not.
Jeannie had a master. Samantha did not.
Jeannie is energetic. Samantha is calmer.
Samantha is a mother. Jeannie is not.
IDOJ dealt with NASA. Bewitched did not.
Samantha's mother was a regular on the show. Jeannie's was not.
Samantha and Darrin were married from the very beginning. Jeannie and Tony were not.
Two mortals knew the truth about Jeannie. The only mortal who knew the truth about Samantha was Darrin.
Jeannie originally had a different theme song. BW kept the same theme song.

Jeannie had a pet/Gin Gin who appeared on the show. Samantha did not.
There were kids on BW as regulars. Jeannie did not have any kids as regulars.
Samantha had a beloved aunt who appeared on the show regularly. Jeannie did not.
Samantha was an only child. Jeannie was not.
IDOJ had a smaller cast. BW cast was larger.
IDOJ had more male regulars in the cast. BW had more women.
Jeannie were here pink harem costume very often. Samantha just were plain clothes.
Major Nelson was single. Darrin was not.
Major Nelson would date women and Jeannie would get jealous. This never happened with Samantha and Darrin.

Jeannie's sister did not like her. All of Samantha's family members liked her.
Samantha often had to deal with a father and mother in law. Jeannie did not.
Darrin had to deal with many of Samantha's relatives. Major Nelson did not.
Darrin disliked magic. Major Nelson didn't mind and sometimes seemed amused/fascinated by it.
There were two actors who played Darrin. There was only one actor who played Major Nelson.
IDOJ had Sammie Davis Jr. guest star. Bewitched did not.
Jeannie is short. Samantha is taller.
On Bewitched, the witches/warlocks outnumber the mortals. On IDOJ, the mortals outnumber the genies.

Of course, because they were two different shows, you could spend all day finding differences. But the fact is, they were produced by the same company, at the same time, with the basic gist of the stories being nearly identical. Compared to other shows, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were near twins.

In fact, the shows were so alike, that Elizabeth Montgomery considered I Dream of Jeannie to be a rip off of her own show.

Of course, because they were two different shows, you could spend all day finding differences. But the fact is, they were produced by the same company, at the same time, with the basic gist of the stories being nearly identical. Compared to other shows, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were near twins.

In fact, the shows were so alike, that Elizabeth Montgomery considered I Dream of Jeannie to be a rip off of her own show.


I think I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched are about as similar as The Addams' Family and the Munsters.... they will always be comparable and sorta rivals with each other.

In the later seasons, I think IDOJ become more and more similar to Bewitched...i.e. more of Jeannie's relatives started to be introduced, everyone knew that Jeannie existed, it was only her powers that had to be kept a secret, etc...

I remember hearing that some ppl on the show didn't like the idea of marrying Tony and Jeannie, because basically you just have Bewitched lol The idea that Jeannie's existence had to be a secret was one thing that made the show unique

I'm going with Bewitched. Better writing.

I don't know how Bewitched's popularity measured against I Dream of Jeannie's during their original runs. I would assume that Bewitched was more popular since it had a longer run (about eight seasons on ABC compared to five on NBC for IDOJ). Regardless, both shows when you get right down to it pretty much the same concept, even some of the same sets. So what did Bewitched have that Jeannie didn't?

I know that Barbara Eden has always defended IDOJ over claims that the show was sexist. I wonder if the real problem was that at the end of the day, the character of Jeannie lacked the depth of Samantha. What I mean is that we knew more about Sam's family, history, inner monologue, motivations. With Jeannie, her entire reason for being was to serve. People simply could identify more easily with Sam and Darrin on Bewitched (junior executive with a stay-at-home wife) than with Jeannie and Tony (a literal genie in a bottle and an astronaut) on IDOJ.

Meanwhile, Samantha was torn between a stifling upper middle class existence and oodles of otherworldly possibilities. To put it in another way, Samantha was a woman struggling with her true nature and being the perfect housewife. She played down her talents to appease her husband, but always managed to assert her individuality. So you have one show that's about subservience and another show that was about independence.

I think another problem with IDOJ is that when compared to Bewitched, it lacked warmth, especially in the first few seasons. You have Jeannie, completely in love with and devoted to a stern jerk, who just bosses her around. With Bewitched, even though Darrin was angry whenever Sam used witchcraft, you still saw that he loved her whereas with Jeannie, you kind of got the sense that Tony Nelson would rather get rid of her.

The reason Bewitched ran longer is that it had a stable Thursday night timeslot for the first 7 out of the 8 years that it ran. When Bewitched was moved to Wednesday night (and later Saturday night) in its 8th season, it fell to #72 in the Nielsen ratings. I Dream of Jeannie had to be a strong show or it never would have survived. NBC moved it to a different night EVERY SEASON IT WAS ON THE AIR! It was up against The Jackie Gleason show in its 1st season and was the only series to consistently compete with it, sometimes beating it in the ratings. That's why Jackie Gleason brought back The Honeymooners sketch on his show. It also was up against some heavy competition in other seasons such as Gunsmoke and The Mod Squad. It either was in the top 30 OR won its timeslot three out of the five seasons it ran. Season one, I Dream of Jeannie was on Saturday night @ 8:00-8:30 (Eastern) and was #27 in the Nielsen ratings. It moved to Monday night @ 8:00 - 8:30 (Eastern). It came in #34 in the Nielsen ratings and won its timeslot. In season three, NBC put it in a terrible timeslot, Tuesday nights @ 7:30-8:00 (Eastern). I Dream of Jeannie NOR any of its competition on ABC or CBS was in the top 30. That's how bad the timeslot was then. In its fourth season, it moved to Monday night @ 7:30-8:00 (Eastern). It preceded Laugh-In and came in at #26 in the Nielsen ratings. It was up against Gunsmoke that season. In season five, NBC not only moved it back to the exact same horrible timeslot it was in during season three, but it was up against ABC's new, hip series The Mod Squad. In addition, NBC forced Sidney Sheldon to marry Tony & Jeannie or threatened to cancel the show. NBC did the same thing the year before with Get Smart. After the main characters in both shows were married, the ratings dropped, and NBC canceled both of them. Luckily for Get Smart, CBS picked it up for one more season. Sadly, I Dream of Jeannie wasn't so lucky. Bewitched was lucky ABC kept it on the same night for its first seven years where viewers knew where and when to tune in.

But what did Bewitched copy? And didn't Genies already exist before I Dream of Jeannie came on the air?


Yes, there had been genies in books, movies, and even on two episodes of The Twilight Zone. In addition, there had already been many witches in books, movies, and I'm sure in an episode or two on some TV shows. Having said that, there have been several successful shows about witches since Bewitched (both Sabrina series on ABC and HBO & Charmed to name a few), but I Dream of Jeannie is the only successful and memorable TV series about a genie.

Sidney Sheldon had already been working on an idea for a show about a spirit. He then saw the 1964 movie The Brass Bottle with Berle Ives as the genie and thought it would be fun to have a show about a beautiful female genie. Sidney was approached about making "another show about a witch" after Screen Gems approached Sol Sacks and he turned them down. However, Sidney stated that he told them he already had an idea for another fantasy show and didn't want to do another show about a witch. He had already written the pilot for I Dream of Jeannie (Aug. 1964) before the Bewitched pilot even aired (Sept. 1964). Bewitched also had movies such as I Married A Witch and Bell, Book, and Candle that preceded it. Sol Saks was concerned about being sued until he realized that Columbia/Screen Gems owned those two films. Also, My Favorite Martian premiered in 1963, one year before Bewitched. It was a Desilu (later MGM) production. Its star, Ray Walston, was interviewed once and complained that Bewitched was stealing from their show. If you have ever watched My Favorite Martian, you can see why he complained. They use many similar scripts and many of their gimmicks.

Of course, because they were two different shows, you could spend all day finding differences. But the fact is, they were produced by the same company, at the same time, with the basic gist of the stories being nearly identical. Compared to other shows, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were near twins.

In fact, the shows were so alike, that Elizabeth Montgomery considered I Dream of Jeannie to be a rip off of her own show.

...and My Favorite Martian star Ray Walston considered Bewitched a rip-off of his show, stealing many episode plots and their gimmicks. It started in 1963 (one year before Bewitched premiered) and was #10 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1963-64 season. If you watch the show, you will see why Ray Walston complained.

...and My Favorite Martian star Ray Walston considered Bewitched a rip-off of his show, stealing many episode plots and their gimmicks. It started in 1963 (one year before Bewitched premiered) and was #10 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1963-64 season. If you watch the show, you will see why Ray Walston complained.

Ray and the production team took a swipe at Bewitched, in the season 3 opener, Tim and Uncle Martin find themselves back in the old west, they are tied up by two bad guys with Martin's levitating finger disabled. Martin tells Tim to hold up his hands informing him that saw this on American television, he then proceeds to twitch his nose which breaks Tim's ropes with Tim being then able to free Martin.

I have the complete My Favorite Martian series on dvd and yes, Uncle Martin did make more than one reference to the "witch" who could twitch her nose throughout seasons 2 and 3 of his show.

And Bewitched seemed to mock I Dream of Jeannie openly when Endora once blinked:

https://i.postimg.cc/mgx1zRVC/endora-see-3831435346.gif

Of course, because they were two different shows, you could spend all day finding differences. But the fact is, they were produced by the same company, at the same time, with the basic gist of the stories being nearly identical. Compared to other shows, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were near twins.

In fact, the shows were so alike, that Elizabeth Montgomery considered I Dream of Jeannie to be a rip off of her own show.


Another difference is, on Bewitched everyone was always drinking alcoholic drinks, martinis mostly. I don't recall any one ever drinking alcohol on IDoJ, except champagne at weddings

Another difference is, on Bewitched everyone was always drinking alcoholic drinks, martinis mostly. I don't recall any one ever drinking alcohol on IDoJ, except champagne at weddings

Major Nelson was heavily drinking in one episode, though

https://i.postimg.cc/6pWNBWmY/milk.gif

Another difference is, on Bewitched everyone was always drinking alcoholic drinks, martinis mostly. I don't recall any one ever drinking alcohol on IDoJ, except champagne at weddings


Bewitched was the only show that I remember where heavy drinking was a regular occurrence other than a minor character town drunk.

Major Nelson was heavily drinking in one episode, though

https://i.postimg.cc/6pWNBWmY/milk.gif


LOL IKR!! Major Nelson almost seemed like a teetotaler to me, it could have had to do with his Nasa career.

I heard someone say the other day that Samantha, Darrin, Larry and Louise almost seemed like alcoholics, because they are never seen drinking anything that's not alcohol, and as soon as Darrin gets home from work, he makes a bee line to the wet bar lol

Yes, there had been genies in books, movies, and even on two episodes of The Twilight Zone. In addition, there had already been many witches in books, movies, and I'm sure in an episode or two on some TV shows. Having said that, there have been several successful shows about witches since Bewitched (both Sabrina series on ABC and HBO & Charmed to name a few), but I Dream of Jeannie is the only successful and memorable TV series about a genie.
If you look at all of the movies produced before the 1960s, and even well into the 70s, you will see many about ancient times with magical beings. Tales of mythology, and even more tales from the Arabian Nights. How many times has the story of Aladdin been told? What is the equivalent basic story for a witch or warlock? Other than the Arthurian tales, I can’t think of any. And Merlin wasn't the focus of those stories.

The witches of books, fairytales, movies, and shows are not really as powerful as just one djinni. If you have ever read any of the Arabian folk tales with any magical being (including magic animals), most are often quite powerful, much more than even the sorcerers depicted in the stories. Those magical beings often use their powers through wishes, where the magic just makes things happen.

Witches, warlocks, sorcerers, sorceresses, generally have to use spells, and the complexity of the spell determines its strength in doing what is requested of the magic. They have to actually work at magic more than a djinni. Those magicians of the stories also don’t really do their magic like on a TV show, where they can teleport, or snap their fingers and do little stuff and so on. TV-show magic isn’t the same as in the stories, or not for the fairytale sources with witches and warlocks. All too often their magic is done through nature, like with Merlin. It isn’t just there, poof, out of smoke or sparkles. In the old djinni stories it does indeed work that way.

What Bewitched had going for it the most was Emmy Award-winning writing. (That’s the only awards detail I know between the two shows. I’m sure many of you pay attention to such things more than I and will voice them.)

What Bewitched also seemed to have was better continuity for how the magic could be used and the power of their magical beings. IDoJ suffered too much from writers unfamiliar with the plot and who kept changing Jeannie’s abilities and powers. She was quite powerful in the first season and could have easily defeated her future self in the fifth season by how much the writers dumbed down her abilities.

Had Sheldon been as good as someone like Joe Straczynski in writing quality and had taken more control of what guest writers created, we wouldn’t have had the discontinuity issues and likely would have had an award-winning show, too. Had Sheldon ignored the advice of the NBC suits who seemed determined to take it off the air and paid for the color film of the first season anyway, we might have seen even better ratings.

But conceptually, IDoJ was better through not just from what everyone else supporting it has pointed out, but because the Tales of the Arabian Nights is truly a rich resource, and a well-known one at that. Bewitched had no such strong and single literary-work background. They made it work by copying the ‘magic’ of a Martian, and because magical fantasies were popular back then.

Sidney Sheldon had already been working on an idea for a show about a spirit. He then saw the 1964 movie The Brass Bottle with Berle Ives as the genie and thought it would be fun to have a show about a beautiful female genie.
There was a beautiful female djinni in that movie as well, which everyone seems to purposely ignore! I don’t know why, because Kamala Devi was easily as beautiful as Barbara Eden, if not more so. She even wore pink harem clothing!

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/4086/NM3x6t.jpg.https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/2894/0KgKKh.jpg

IDoJ suffered too much from writers unfamiliar with the plot and who kept changing Jeannie’s abilities and powers. She was quite powerful in the first season and could have easily defeated her future self in the fifth season by how much the writers dumbed down her abilities.

Yes - Jeannie was a wonderful character in season 1 and very powerful. She said that she could cure appendicitis or give Tony the abilities of a great surgeon. Then in later seasons she couldn't give him 20/20 vision.

Barbara mention that the studio had one complaint about that first season - she was too headstrong and confident. They said audiences didn't like her. So they deliberately asked Sheldon to tone her down.

Also, I think with Sidney doing most of the writing he eventually just wrote what he needed to do to get the script done. Often totally contradicting his past scripts. After that first season Jeannie being constantly so jealous seemed out of place and was an overused plot line (that and her being trusting of her sister every time she came back).

Barbara mention that the studio had one complaint about that first season - she was too headstrong and confident. They said audiences didn't like her. So they deliberately asked Sheldon to tone her down.

Typical of a network suit it. Never mind that Samantha was also headstrong and confident, and that Bewitched had better ratings. No, the 'audience' can't handle that.

Thus, I still contend that there was some network suit at NBC who absolutely hated IDoJ and was doing everything possible to kill it, such as putting it on different nights each season. Maybe he was the one most threatened by a headstrong and confident woman.

If you look at all of the movies produced before the 1960s, and even well into the 70s, you will see many about ancient times with magical beings. Tales of mythology, and even more tales from the Arabian Nights. How many times has the story of Aladdin been told? What is the equivalent basic story for a witch or warlock? Other than the Arthurian tales, I can’t think of any. And Merlin wasn't the focus of those stories.

The witches of books, fairytales, movies, and shows are not really as powerful as just one djinni. If you have ever read any of the Arabian folk tales with any magical being (including magic animals), most are often quite powerful, much more than even the sorcerers depicted in the stories. Those magical beings often use their powers through wishes, where the magic just makes things happen.

Witches, warlocks, sorcerers, sorceresses, generally have to use spells, and the complexity of the spell determines its strength in doing what is requested of the magic. They have to actually work at magic more than a djinni. Those magicians of the stories also don’t really do their magic like on a TV show, where they can teleport, or snap their fingers and do little stuff and so on. TV-show magic isn’t the same as in the stories, or not for the fairytale sources with witches and warlocks. All too often their magic is done through nature, like with Merlin. It isn’t just there, poof, out of smoke or sparkles. In the old djinni stories it does indeed work that way.

What Bewitched had going for it the most was Emmy Award-winning writing. (That’s the only awards detail I know between the two shows. I’m sure many of you pay attention to such things more than I and will voice them.)

What Bewitched also seemed to have was better continuity for how the magic could be used and the power of their magical beings. IDoJ suffered too much from writers unfamiliar with the plot and who kept changing Jeannie’s abilities and powers. She was quite powerful in the first season and could have easily defeated her future self in the fifth season by how much the writers dumbed down her abilities.

Had Sheldon been as good as someone like Joe Straczynski in writing quality and had taken more control of what guest writers created, we wouldn’t have had the discontinuity issues and likely would have had an award-winning show, too. Had Sheldon ignored the advice of the NBC suits who seemed determined to take it off the air and paid for the color film of the first season anyway, we might have seen even better ratings.

But conceptually, IDoJ was better through not just from what everyone else supporting it has pointed out, but because the Tales of the Arabian Nights is truly a rich resource, and a well-known one at that. Bewitched had no such strong and single literary-work background. They made it work by copying the ‘magic’ of a Martian, and because magical fantasies were popular back then.


There was a beautiful female djinni in that movie as well, which everyone seems to purposely ignore! I don’t know why, because Kamala Devi was easily as beautiful as Barbara Eden, if not more so. She even wore pink harem clothing!

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/4086/NM3x6t.jpg.https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/2894/0KgKKh.jpg

Sidney Sheldon has said several times that he got his inspiration from The Brass Bottle. That being said, he obviously saw Kamala Devi along with many other dark-haired Middle Eastern types but couldn't find the right person until he found Barbara Eden. In an interview, Barbara Eden states that she had seen in the trade papers that they were testing many, many exotic, Middle Eastern types and she never thought she would be considered for the role. Sheldon wanted a brunette so there would be no comparisons to Bewitched, but Barbara was the only one who had the innate qualities he was looking for. As Bill Daily said in an interview, "That note she (Barbara) does, it's innocent, it's charming. To play clean, wholesome sexy is a tough one. Without Barbara, that show could never have gone on the air." I'm sure Devi was a fine actress and she is very pretty, but I think for THIS SHOW about a genie, Sidney was absolutely right about Barbara. That is my humble opinion. It is also my humble opinion that while both Eden and Devi are very pretty, they are two totally different looks and can hardly be compared. Barbara Eden is gorgeous, arguably one of the most beautiful women to ever be on television. In spite of various odds, she and I Dream of Jeannie have continued to have immense popularity and staying power over 50 years since the program left primetime!!

Sidney Sheldon has said several times that he got his inspiration from The Brass Bottle. That being said, he obviously saw Kamala Devi along with many other dark-haired Middle Eastern types but couldn't find the right person until he found Barbara Eden. In an interview, Barbara Eden states that she had seen in the trade papers that they were testing many, many exotic, Middle Eastern types and she never thought she would be considered for the role. Sheldon wanted a brunette so there would be no comparisons to Bewitched, but Barbara was the only one who had the innate qualities he was looking for. As Bill Daily said in an interview, "That note she (Barbara) does, it's innocent, it's charming. To play clean, wholesome sexy is a tough one. Without Barbara, that show could never have gone on the air." I'm sure Devi was a fine actress and she is very pretty, but I think for THIS SHOW about a genie, Sidney was absolutely right about Barbara. That is my humble opinion. It is also my humble opinion that while both Eden and Devi are very pretty, they are two totally different looks and can hardly be compared. Barbara Eden is gorgeous, arguably one of the most beautiful women to ever be on television. In spite of various odds, she and I Dream of Jeannie have continued to have immense popularity and staying power over 50 years since the program left primetime!!

Yes, I know that was his opinion. My opinion is that Devi would have been just as good because I see her as at least as beautiful as Eden. And if she had been chosen, there would likely be minority opinions about other equally beautiful and talented actors, such as Eden ;)

Yes - Jeannie was a wonderful character in season 1 and very powerful. She said that she could cure appendicitis or give Tony the abilities of a great surgeon. Then in later seasons she couldn't give him 20/20 vision.

Barbara mention that the studio had one complaint about that first season - she was too headstrong and confident. They said audiences didn't like her. So they deliberately asked Sheldon to tone her down.

Also, I think with Sidney doing most of the writing he eventually just wrote what he needed to do to get the script done. Often totally contradicting his past scripts. After that first season Jeannie being constantly so jealous seemed out of place and was an overused plot line (that and her being trusting of her sister every time she came back).


Jeannie was a lot smarter in season 1 also. I don't think season 1 Jeannie would have ever fallen for her sister's tricks

I don't know how Bewitched's popularity measured against I Dream of Jeannie's during their original runs. I would assume that Bewitched was more popular since it had a longer run (about eight seasons on ABC compared to five on NBC for IDOJ). Regardless, both shows when you get right down to it pretty much the same concept, even some of the same sets. So what did Bewitched have that Jeannie didn't?

I know that Barbara Eden has always defended IDOJ over claims that the show was sexist. I wonder if the real problem was that at the end of the day, the character of Jeannie lacked the depth of Samantha. What I mean is that we knew more about Sam's family, history, inner monologue, motivations. With Jeannie, her entire reason for being was to serve. People simply could identify more easily with Sam and Darrin on Bewitched (junior executive with a stay-at-home wife) than with Jeannie and Tony (a literal genie in a bottle and an astronaut) on IDOJ.

Meanwhile, Samantha was torn between a stifling upper middle class existence and oodles of otherworldly possibilities. To put it in another way, Samantha was a woman struggling with her true nature and being the perfect housewife. She played down her talents to appease her husband, but always managed to assert her individuality. So you have one show that's about subservience and another show that was about independence.

I think another problem with IDOJ is that when compared to Bewitched, it lacked warmth, especially in the first few seasons. You have Jeannie, completely in love with and devoted to a stern jerk, who just bosses her around. With Bewitched, even though Darrin was angry whenever Sam used witchcraft, you still saw that he loved her whereas with Jeannie, you kind of got the sense that Tony Nelson would rather get rid of her.


Good points, it took years for Jeanne and Major Nelson to even get married.

With all these differences that you just pointed out, then how is it the "same" concept.

Definitely a riff on the same concept, as television networks tended to do back then.