Barbara Eden Reveals Surprising Reason the 1st Season Was Filmed in Black & White - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 09-29-2025, 07:19 PM

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...143540454.html

"I think they thought I was going to die or something," Eden, 94, said after sharing the real reason for the uncolorized initial episodes.

Screwy Wabbit · 10-27-2025, 11:00 PM

Sorry, but that's baloney. She says "I think they thought I was going to die." At best, that's just an unfounded assumption. Or she's simply joking. Did she think that Elizabeth Montgomery might die? Or the cast of Lost in Space in the first season? The real reason is that color film and processing was a lot more expensive than black & white back then. But right around 1965, there was a concerted push by the networks to switch to color. Hence all network shows became color by 1966, exactly in time for Bewitched and Jeannie to welcome their color seasons.

TV Knowledge Fan · 03-31-2026, 04:51 AM

In his autobiography, "The Other Side of Me", Sidney Sheldon recalled he wanted to film the pilot- and the series- in color from the beginning, but Screen Gems (and NBC) refused to allow him to do that. Sidney insisted he'd pay the extra $400 per episode for color out of his own pocket, as he also owned the show. But Screen Gems executive Jerry Hyams told him, 'Sidney, don't throw your money away." They believed the show wouldn't last a full season to justify the extra cost. But "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" equalled the ratings of {and sometimes got higher ratings than} CBS' "JACKIE GLEASON SHOW" on Saturday nights......which embarrassed NBC, as "JEANNIE" became the last black and white prime-time program on their 1965-'66 schedule. In January 1966, Sheldon got the go ahead to film two color episodes as a "test" to see how the series would look in full color ["The Fastest Gun in the East", "Jeannie Breaks the Bank"] at the end of season one's production schedule. Those episodes were scheduled the following fall, as a new season of color episodes were produced, beginning that summer. The final black and white telecast was a repeat of "I'll Never Forget What's-Her-Name" (the last black and white episode produced and scheduled) on September 10, 1966. Two nights later, on September 12th, "Happy Anniversary" was the first color episode scheduled on Monday nights.

09-29-2025, 07:19 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,928	Barbara Eden Reveals Surprising Reason the 1st Season Was Filmed in Black & White https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...143540454.html "I think they thought I was going to die or something," Eden, 94, said after sharing the real reason for the uncolorized initial episodes.

10-27-2025, 11:00 PM	#2
Screwy Wabbit Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 15, 2017 Posts: 64	Sorry, but that's baloney. She says "I think they thought I was going to die." At best, that's just an unfounded assumption. Or she's simply joking. Did she think that Elizabeth Montgomery might die? Or the cast of Lost in Space in the first season? The real reason is that color film and processing was a lot more expensive than black & white back then. But right around 1965, there was a concerted push by the networks to switch to color. Hence all network shows became color by 1966, exactly in time for Bewitched and Jeannie to welcome their color seasons.

03-31-2026, 04:51 AM	#3
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	In his autobiography, "The Other Side of Me", Sidney Sheldon recalled he wanted to film the pilot- and the series- in color from the beginning, but Screen Gems (and NBC) refused to allow him to do that. Sidney insisted he'd pay the extra $400 per episode for color out of his own pocket, as he also owned the show. But Screen Gems executive Jerry Hyams told him, 'Sidney, don't throw your money away." They believed the show wouldn't last a full season to justify the extra cost. But "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" equalled the ratings of {and sometimes got higher ratings than} CBS' "JACKIE GLEASON SHOW" on Saturday nights......which embarrassed NBC, as "JEANNIE" became the last black and white prime-time program on their 1965-'66 schedule. In January 1966, Sheldon got the go ahead to film two color episodes as a "test" to see how the series would look in full color ["The Fastest Gun in the East", "Jeannie Breaks the Bank"] at the end of season one's production schedule. Those episodes were scheduled the following fall, as a new season of color episodes were produced, beginning that summer. The final black and white telecast was a repeat of "I'll Never Forget What's-Her-Name" (the last black and white episode produced and scheduled) on September 10, 1966. Two nights later, on September 12th, "Happy Anniversary" was the first color episode scheduled on Monday nights.