I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later

I absolutely love watching Jeannie and her antics in reruns still even now, but this movie, I wish I'd never knew it existed! It was free on streaming, and so I was excited to see more of Jeannie and the crew, but disappointed with the results. I noticed that Larry Hagman wasn't in it, and hear Barbara Eden almost didn't do it. I wonder if she regrets that she did?

The plot was poorly written. Although there were a few amusing jokes on Bellows and Roger, it felt forced. It just didn't have the fun campy feel of the show. I liked the idea of seeing her with a family, but expected there to be a daughter as well. That little detail didn't affect why I didn't like the movie though. It should be noted that the son's character was actually pretty decent, and the actor did a good job.

Overall, it seemed like a couple of show episodes crammed together by writers who only saw a couple episodes of the series, but thought reprising the show might be fun. Then they realized that a new show wouldn't happen, so they tossed all their ideas into a blender, and filmed what popped out. Then they realized when the movie was all over that the ending was terrible, (even more terriblethan the rest of the movie) so they decided to toss in another little scene... and that fixed it all better... NOT! Could this movie have worked if it had been better written, and if Larry Hagman had been in it instead of the block of wood they hired to play Tony instead? I think this could have been quite fun with some decent tweaks, and if they had focused on the main story line. Also if they had had the full main cast including Hagman. They shouldn't have done it without him.

It is almost bizarre this sub-plot because it propose , scene by scene, the comparation with the original serie . And the result is not so happy. A new actor as Tony Nelson is the first big mistake. The second - too many flaws and a childish story. The serie has nerve and charme and humor. In this case, the basic motif to be seems to remind the original serie. And nothing more. But sure, it is a nice film and Barbara Eden does her the best. .

This was a nice idea, and with the right script and ensemble, could have been very nice. But, with Larry Hagman committed to "Dallas," and with an ending that made no sense, it's really a collection of good vignettes poorly connected to each other.

The revised musical intro was a nice combination of classic and 1980's, and there are very nice scenes with Eden and her in-character son. Wayne Rogers turns a very nice effort as Anthony Nelson.

But, despite some delightful moments, overall TV movie failed at the end due to an entirely needless plot twist that served no overall purpose. Ultimately, when second made-for-TV movie was made, it ignored this poor plot twist, which is really its ultimate indication of how bad it was.

Without Larry Hagman, it was terrible for me. They should have paid Larry Hagman enough to still be Tony.

Even worse, when Jeannie went back in history to show how they met on the beach, it was nothing like how they really met, and changing Tony even going back to the beach was a brutal mistake.

As a big fan of the original series, this flopped for me during the whole movie. The chemistry between Tony and Jeannie disappeared.

Just like in the original series, Jeannie's sister tried to break them apart. Evidently it worked in this movie (Very fitting as the 'new' Tony Nelson was horrible with the relationship with Jeannie anyway).

The ending was also bad. It was not like Jeannie to leave, but I understand now since the new Tony was nothing like the original.

Perhaps younger people who never watched the series didn't notice how far it went from the original and rated higher, and am sad about that.

All around it was so disappointing.

A seemingly ageless Barbara Eden reprises her role from the 60s sitcom as a genial genie married to her mortal astronaut master. Jeannie, who seems to have discovered women's lib since we last saw her, is anxiously awaiting husband Tony's retirement from the space program, so he can be at home more to help her raise their teenaged son, TJ. But Tony's agreement to undertake one more space mission threatens their marriage, and even his life.

The script tends toward corny, and Larry Hagman is missed as Tony Nelson (Wayne Rogers from "M*A*S*H" fills in). And the ending makes the whole thing smell like a failed pilot to revive the series. Still, there are some nice nostalgic moments with Eden, Bill Daily (as Tony's best friend, Roger), and Hayden Rorke as the always-suspicious Dr. Bellows.