Barbara Eden Reveals she Tried to Prevent Tony and Jeannie's Marriage - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 08-05-2025, 07:22 PM

Barbara Eden Reveals she Tried to Prevent Tony and Jeannie's Marriage in the Final Season of "I Dream of Jeannie"
by Jordan Hoffman
August 5, 2025

Barbara Eden, who will celebrate her 94th birthday in a few short weeks, recently granted an interview to Forbes in which she spoke about her career, current hobbies, and opinions on current events. ("AI, for goodness' sake! It’s interesting," she said.)

The actress remains best known for the zany sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie", which mixed The Arabian Nights with the Space Age from 1965 to 1970 on NBC. The weekly antics involved Jeannie, a 2,000-year-old spirit in corporeal (and blonde!) form, who is freed from her bottle by an errant NASA astronaut played by Larry Hagman (Dallas).

It was never a top-of-the-charts ratings hit, but its good cheer served it well for five seasons and a ceaseless afterlife in syndication.

Like so many shows of the era, however, it did take some narrative turns that many fans disagreed with (see: The Fonz, a shark, and jumping over it). One of its critics turns out to be the series' provocatively-dressed lead actress herself.

Concerning the fifth season decision to have Jeannie and her "master" Tony Nelson get married, Eden was blunt: “I was very upset about it — not that anybody would listen to me.”

When asked if she ever brought her concerns to the show's producers, she replied, "I did not so much. No, I didn’t. I guess if I had asserted myself, yes, I would have, but I didn’t. I talked about it; I said, 'This is ridiculous. She can’t marry you. It’s ridiculous,' but it was okay. It was still funny. People could relate, one way or another.”

Among those who agreed with Eden was the show's creator, Sidney Sheldon.

"What finally killed us was the head of our network, in the fifth year, saying, 'You have to get them married.'" Sheldon said in an interview with the Television Academy.

Sheldon tried to explain that the sexual tension between the characters was what propelled the comedy, but it fell on deaf ears, he said.

https://ew.com/i-dream-of-jeannie-st...riage-11784568

08-05-2025, 07:22 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,214	Barbara Eden Reveals she Tried to Prevent Tony and Jeannie's Marriage *Barbara Eden Reveals she Tried to Prevent Tony and Jeannie's Marriage in the Final Season of "I Dream of Jeannie"* by Jordan Hoffman August 5, 2025 Barbara Eden, who will celebrate her 94th birthday in a few short weeks, recently granted an interview to Forbes in which she spoke about her career, current hobbies, and opinions on current events. ("AI, for goodness' sake! It’s interesting," she said.) The actress remains best known for the zany sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie", which mixed The Arabian Nights with the Space Age from 1965 to 1970 on NBC. The weekly antics involved Jeannie, a 2,000-year-old spirit in corporeal (and blonde!) form, who is freed from her bottle by an errant NASA astronaut played by Larry Hagman (Dallas). It was never a top-of-the-charts ratings hit, but its good cheer served it well for five seasons and a ceaseless afterlife in syndication. Like so many shows of the era, however, it did take some narrative turns that many fans disagreed with (see: The Fonz, a shark, and jumping over it). One of its critics turns out to be the series' provocatively-dressed lead actress herself. Concerning the fifth season decision to have Jeannie and her "master" Tony Nelson get married, Eden was blunt: “I was very upset about it — not that anybody would listen to me.” When asked if she ever brought her concerns to the show's producers, she replied, "I did not so much. No, I didn’t. I guess if I had asserted myself, yes, I would have, but I didn’t. I talked about it; I said, 'This is ridiculous. She can’t marry you. It’s ridiculous,' but it was okay. It was still funny. People could relate, one way or another.” Among those who agreed with Eden was the show's creator, Sidney Sheldon. "What finally killed us was the head of our network, in the fifth year, saying, 'You have to get them married.'" Sheldon said in an interview with the Television Academy. Sheldon tried to explain that the sexual tension between the characters was what propelled the comedy, but it fell on deaf ears, he said. https://ew.com/i-dream-of-jeannie-st...riage-11784568