Why didn't Tony just send Jeannie away?

[adbreen_spam]

I started watching I Dream of Jeannie again recently when it came to TVLand. I was curious as to why Tony didn't 'wish' Jeannie to go away in the early episodes. In the beginning he really wanted her to leave although as time went on he started to like her and seemed willing to put up with the troubles she caused.
But as I paid attention I figured out it was because on the beach after she got the helicopter for him Tony set her free. Because she was free she could do as she wished she chose to stay with Tony. Even though on several occasions he actually did order her to go away she just ignored him. I think that is also why she sometimes would just disobey him outright.
Then when Roger found out about her and she became his genie because he commanded the bottle she was no longer free. Then when Tony got Roger to give her back she actually was his genie and was supposed to obey him. So I guess from that point on if he ordered her to leave she would have to.

[ModGenie]

I never thought of it that way, and I agree with you on that..

[Commander Benson]

Adbreen,

I can't find fault with your analysis. It's logical and holds together well.

Let me posit something here that you may wish to fold into your explanation.

That is, Jeannie is compelled to obey what her Master really wants, rather than just what he says. In other words, his sub-conscious desire must be in tandem with his conscious desire, in order for his wish to be effective.

This possibility occurred to me--and I will more than allow that those more knowledgeable about the show may be able to tear that theory apart--when I recalled the opening sequence of the first episode.

Captain Nelson has freed Jeannie and to his perspective, she has disappeared (actually, she has returned to her bottle, then manœuvered the bottle among Nelson's gear). Yet, when Nelson is being escorted to the helicopter by the rescue team, he repeatedly glances back over his shoulder, looking for Jeannie.

It is not an improbable assumption that, deep down, Nelson wants to see Jeannie, again. And, with a little extrapolation, it stands to figure that, if Nelson really didn't want Jeannie to go away, then she was not obliged to follow his order to be free and on her own.

In way, this requirement would make a great deal of sense; it would be a "safety valve" so to speak, to keep genies from having to grant their masters' momentary or impulsive desires. Who among us hasn't, in a fit of pique or frustration, hasn't momentarily wished for something that one truly did not want to happen. Such a condition on Nelson's wishes would prevent Jeannie from granting something such as, if Nelson were irritated by, say, an order from Dr. Bellows, Nelson saying out of momentary anger, "I wish Dr. Bellows was dead!" Or in a moment of understandable envy over another astronaut getting a plum assignment, Nelson saying, "If Colonel Smith broke his leg, then I'd be assigned to that moon mission."

As I said, I don't know if this notion is supported by the situations of Jeannie granting Nelson's wishes over the course of the series--I'm not that die-hard a fan of the show--but it's an interesting possibility.

[FrankJSell]

It's an interesting theory, but a lot of the shows plots, particularly some of the episodes that have been on TV-Land in the last week, involved Tony saying something like "I wish I could have met Napoleon" or "Growing up, I wanted to be a surgeon" and *blink* Jeannie's granted it. Jeannie was more than willing to grant just about any wish Major Nelson wanted, unless it went against HER nature. (ie. she would almost never allow him on a date with anyone other than her) She wasn't always the most obedient genie. For example, on Hadjii's birthday, Tony had the ability to send Jeannie back for good. The whole episode, he keeps telling her that he's made his decision but she keeps avoiding it. In the end, he's upset that he made the decision he did but he comes home to find Jeannie still there.

I agree with a lot of what you said though. Many people keep wondering why the show was called "I Dream of Jeannie" when it seems like Tony keeps trying to get rid of her. But I also feel that his subconscious DID, in fact, dream of Jeannie. Episode #16 featured Tony going through all kinds of trouble to recite a sacred oathe to keep Jeannie from disappearing. In other episodes, if he truely wanted to get rid of Jeannie, I'm sure he could have said something like "Hadjii comands it" to make it more enforcing. Instead, his wishes were a lot more sarcastic, like "Sometimes I wish I never found that bottle on the beach" (which he would often regret saying that because it would upset Jeannie)

In closing, I'm going to say that Jeannie felt that her only purpose was to please Tony (whether he made compulsory wishes or not). I don't think that either of them believed that Jeannie going away would truely make him happy.

[Commander Benson]

Originally posted by FrankJSell
It's an interesting theory, but a lot of the shows plots, particularly some of the episodes that have been on TV-Land in the last week, involved Tony saying something like "I wish I could have met Napoleon" or "Growing up, I wanted to be a surgeon" and *blink* Jeannie's granted it. Jeannie was more than willing to grant just about any wish Major Nelson wanted, unless it went against HER nature.

As I said, I figured that the more knowledgeable IDOJ fans could torpedo my theory pretty quick.

I can't argue with your counterpoint that there were episodes in which Jeannie granted Major Nelson's casual requests. I don't think the examples you cited were necessarily examples of his voiced wishes running contrary to his sub-conscious desires, though. It is quite possible that Nelson did have a deep rooted desire to meet Napoleon or to be a surgeon, even though he expressed the desire casually. In fact, Nelson made these statements off-handedly, not expecting Jeannie to grant them, and it is possible that Jeannie acted on the strength of her Master's unconscious desire, rather than the force in which he expressed it.

None of which obviates your argument; they just weren't the best examples. One which might better illustrate your point was the occasion when Major Nelson expressed the off-handed wish that every day could be Sunday--a casual desire which Nelson certainly did not truly want to come true--nevertheless, Jeannie granted it. So, I stipulate to your point.

Of course, the actual reason that there was no consistancy of conditions placed on Jeannie's accomplishment of her Master's wishes were that the writers did whatever advanced any particular plot, which usually required Jeannie to ignore Nelson's wishes or to sidestep them.

In order to mine the most material out of the basic IDOJ premise, the writers could not look at the situation too logically or too rigidly. (For example, the most sensible thing to do would have been for Nelson to instruct Jeannie to wear modern attire and introduce her to his associates as his girlfriend. Live-in girlfriends would have been frowned upon in the military in those days, but it would have been easy to conceal that fact, given that Jeannie could pop out at a moment's notice.)

However, that was one of the things which always annoyed me about the show. Major Nelson was Jeannie's master, and as thus, she was compelled to obey his wishes--that was the standard. So every time Jeannie disobeyed him, I thought it denied one of the basic conceits of the series. (I know, I know--many fans thought Jeannie's disobediences were "cute", but I couldn't abide how such a thing bordered on arbitrariness. Either Nelson was Jeannie's master and she was required to obey; or Jeannie was a free agent, with no requirement to obey him--you can't have it both ways.)

[FrankJSell]

I'm sorry. I didn't intend to torpedo your theory, if that's what I have done. I actually agree with you on a lot of things, except for the impulsive-wish theory.

In all actuality, a better explanation of Jeannie's behavior is that she was always pushing things to the limit. There was the time she cast the love potion on Tony, which she ended up getting in trouble for. There was also the time that she was required to tell Tony that one of her children would be a genie but she decided not to because she wanted to marry him so badly. I'm sure you could probably think of a few more examples of this persistant disobedience of Hadjii (but I'm running on around 6 hours of sleep and am in a computer lab awaiting my next class). Jeannie was always trying to find loop holes, or in a lot of cases, just flat out ignore any code that the genies had to abide by. She did get away with a lot, especially when it related to Tony's wishes (such as the time Jeannie locked him in a cage in the living room for the whole evening to keep him from going on a date)

Part of it is related to the fact that Tony is a softy as far as masters go (which I would be too!) Tony could have very easily tricked Jeannie into her bottle, locked it in the closet and never opened it again if he didn't feel like it. The thing is, he has morals (well, and he really does care about Jeannie). He sees Jeannie as more than just a genie, which is part of the reason that he rarely ever wishes for anything larger than a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He may put Jeannie in her bottle for an afternoon so he can go golf in peace but, other than that, (and of course whenever he double dated with Roger), Jeannie was relatively free to do whatever she wanted, as long as it didn't jeopardize NASA.

Anyway, I think I'm starting to ramble so I'll post this and sign off so I can get to my next class. Hopefully, this helped clarify part of what I meant in my original message.

[marvin g]

Don't forget that Jeannie was also the typical dumb blond! She had a bit of problem with logic! That's why her brunette sister could so easily fool her, and she wasn't no dummy! My problem is why would he get rid of a cutie like that! It's not like Kathleen Freeman (The nun from the Blues Brothers movie) came out of that bottle! I would have ordered her back in and threw her in the ocean!

[Commander Benson]

Originally posted by FrankJSell
I'm sorry. I didn't intend to torpedo your theory, if that's what I have done. I actually agree with you on a lot of things, except for the impulsive-wish theory.

No reason to feel bad about that. I didn't have any particular devotion to the theory I advanced. I simply mentioned it out of hand as a possibility. If it doesn't fit all the circumstances that were depicted over the course of the series--well, so be it. I rather expected that, anyway.

(Jeannie) did get away with a lot, especially when it related to Tony's wishes (such as the time Jeannie locked him in a cage in the living room for the whole evening to keep him from going on a date).

This is what I would have found intolerable as Jeannie's master. Admittedly, there is the lure of being able to use Jeannie's magic to feather one's nest (and I admit, I would not have been as morally reluctant to use her powers as Major Nelson was). But still, at some point, Jeannie's incorrigibility would have become such an annoyance to me that I would rather be done with her completely.

Such things have we have bandied about here were strong possibilities to have been dealt with during the first season, in which the show was more of a romantic comedy, rather than the madcap comedy it became later. (I have a strong preference for the first season.)

Especially in the first handful of episodes, both Nelson and Healey were, relative to their later depictions, less ditzy and bumbling. And the early Nelson seemed much less impotent as Jeannie's master than the later version. While never being an absolute master, the early Nelson carried his own weight, dealing with his responsibilities competently, even when thrust into the bizarre situations visited upon him by Jeannie.

Had the show continued in this vein, it is likely the matter of the conditions of Jeannie's servitude to Nelson would have been explored, as well as a deeper examination of the emotional dynamic between the two of them. It also would have been nice to view a slow maturation of Jeannie. As marvin g pointed out, she never really progressed past her childish impulsiveness and truculence.

Like many television shows, I Dream of Jeannie never really met the promise of its situation. Unlike other "supernatural" sitcoms of the early '60's, IDOJ never strayed even once into some of the serious undertones of its situation. IDOJ's "arch-rival", Bewitched was equally as "zany" and "madcap", but occasionally, it dealt with the serious problems of the situation, such as the episode in which Darrin realises that, while he will age, Samantha will retain her youth. This was a very realistic take for a madcap sitcom, and it was dealt with maturely and satisfyingly. Or the episode in which Samantha downdresses Endora for making a fool of Darrin on Hallowe'en by pointing out that her mother is acting just like the sterotypical witches that mortals hold as traditional and she is doing it to the one mortal who was willing to believe differently.

My Favorite Martian (which was my favourite of the supernatural sitcoms) worked mostly on the strength of the chemistry between the two leads--Ray Walston and Bill Bixby. This made the rare serious moments--such as the time when the Martian noted with sincere gratitude the fact that Tim O'Hara, a newspaperman, deliberately sat on the story which would have made him famous in order to help a lost traveller stranded on Earth, or Tim's sadness the time when he thought that "Uncle Martin" had made it back to Mars--seem real and believable.

In my experience--admittedly, not comprehensive--IDOJ never had a moment like this, at least not after the first season.

[FrankJSell]

IDOJ never had a moment like this, at least not after the first season.

I agree. The closest it came was in the two part episode, Guess Who's Going to be a Bride. However, this was the lead in for what eventually killed the series (that being the marriage of Jeannie and Tony). It was definitely a romantic way for this to all occur (Tony risking his life to propose to Jeannie). Only problem was that it was too little too late.

I enjoy having these intelligent discussions though. Most of the discussions I've had on the other boards all relate to whether or not I'd want to have a genie, in particular Jeannie (obviously yes). Then again, most of them are very young fans, which is good because hopefully the show will continue to live on as now it is reaching the younger generation.

[Fallon97]

Originally Posted by marvin g

Don't forget that Jeannie was also the typical dumb blond! She had a bit of problem with logic! That's why her brunette sister could so easily fool her, and she wasn't no dummy! .

Actually, Jeannie wasn't a "typical dumb blond." She wasn't human. She was a genie who had been locked in a bottle for 2,000 years.

She may of been a bit trusting towards her sister/family, but she probably had a soft spot for her sister and wanted to believe her sister had her best interest. However, that doesn't make her "dumb." Just a bit too trusting towards her sister.

[ansara1]

Quote from previous poster - [In my experience--admittedly, not comprehensive--IDOJ never had a moment like this, at least not after the first season.]

As you mention, the first season did have a touching episode entitled, "The Moving Finger," in which Jeannie thinks Tony is interested in a big movie star (Rita Mitchell), with whom he is working on an astronaut themed movie in Hollywood. Jeannie decides she will have to become a movie star in order to "save him," so she gets a screen test and recites the poem "The Moving Finger" by Omar Khayyam - quite movingly. Though she does not know genies can not be photographed and is crushed when she watches her screen test she could not show up in. Tony, who is supposed to go out with Rita Mitchell, cancels his date due to being worried about Jeannie, and comforts her as she sits alone in the theater quietly crying upon seeing the footage. It is a very touching scene and probably my favorite episodes

Season two also had somewhat of a touching episode entitled, "My Master, the Poor Civilian," in which the powers that be are pressuring Tony to leave the Air Force and go work at a plant that makes rocket boosters. Jeannie and Roger are very worried about Tony and come up with a plan (using Jeannie's magic) to help Tony stay in his current position. At the end, Tony acts like he is going to yell at them when he finds out, though he ends up telling them he would have never forgiven them if they hadn't helped him out. There is also the episode that same year when Tony struggles whether to send Jeannie away on "Hadji's Day" (Hadji's birthday). There is a touching scene when they say their goodbyes before Tony changes his mind. Just a few examples