Jeannie é um Gênio

In the world of the 50s and 60s silly sitcoms, this is an except, a colorful and exciting show. Barbara Eden is very good at her role, Larry Hagman is better actor here than in "Dallas" or another serieses. The best is Bill Daily's Maj. Healey, but I like the late Hayden Rorke's suspicious Dr. Bellows too. When I saw the series' episodes first time I got a laughing-stock. It is fantastic! The first and second seasons are perfect, the third and fourth are good, but the fifth is a silly, American family sitcom. After Jeannie marries her master, the series goes wrong. But except for those 20 episodes, the whole series is my favorite sitcom of all times!

I would say that the series "I Dream Of Jeannie","Bewitched",not to mention "The Flying Nun","My Favorite Martian",constitute the trifecta of ultimate 1960's TV shows of that period. That is in perspective that they were all shows that relay on fantasies and had very loony premises. In each of these shows,and especially in each and every episode,a new kind of person enters the scene and from there goes to reveal the secret powers of the individual and basically upsets the status quo of the episode intitled.

In the case of "I Dream Of Jeannie",when Major Nelson(Larry Hagman)brings Jeannie(Barbara Eden)home from a bottle that he found on the beach during a space mission,he takes Jeannie to his home in the suburbs of Cocoa Beach,Florida and from there,she turns the town upside down. Not only does she wreck havoc but she has a evil jealous streak whenever any girl or anybody tries to pull some scheme to win the love for her beloved master. In other words,she turns the once old-order bastion of Cocoa Beach to an enclave city. On any given episode,Major Nelson can expect Jeannie to pull something out of a hat or per se cause mischief which at times gets him into trouble. Her antics catches the attention of Dr. Bellows(Hayden Rorke)who reports it to the general. But before the problem ensues she fixes it before Dr. Bellows shows it to the general,making him looked more like an imbecile. Major Nelson's hopeless romantic friend,Major Healey(Bill Daily)who always asks for Jeannie's help gets him into trouble too who basically has the worst luck of them all. Hijinks ensues quickly leaving what's next for Major Nelson to occurred within the findings of his beloved home with Jeannie around. In other words,you'll never know what Jeannie's gonna do next,so its expect the unexpected.

This was a hybrid of another successful show as well,"Bewitched",and the key ingredient was not the situations that occur,but the special effects that kept viewers tune in each week to see what will happened next. "I Dream Of Jeannie",was an consistent winner throughout its six-year run on NBC from the premiere episode on September 18,1965 to the final episode of the series on September 1,1970 after producing 139 episodes,which 29 of those episodes were in black and white,in its first season(1965-1966),while seasons two through six were in color. The show was created and produced by Sidney Sheldon,whom after the show went off the air became one of the most influential writers of the latter century. And this was produced under the powers that be through Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television(the same company that was responsible for "Bewitched","The Flying Nun",and "The Monkees"). The show gobbled up its competition for much of its run,and when it went off the air,it left with just a whisper. The show bordered on farce most of the time,with Barbara Eden not only played Jeannie,but Jeannie's evil twin sister and Jeannie's mother. It also brought out some of the most fantastic special effects ever displayed for television. It also attracted some famous guest stars as well,like several episodes featured celebrities Sammy Davis,Jr.,Groucho Marx, Jack Benny,and George Burns,not to mention as well Hawaiian singer and actor Don Ho.

As far as the acting is concern,you get a spirited ensemble performance from the actors,especially when it came to the performances of Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden,not to mention as well Hayden Rorke. It is also to point that Bill Daily gives a great comic turn as Major Healy,who in my opinion was never given the chance to develop(but his finest comic hour was to come on "The Bob Newhart Show"). It also goes to show that Hagman to this day doesn't give credit for the mannerisms and made Major Nelson so hilariously funny and endearing(and also his finest work was yet to come on "Dallas",as JR Ewing). The romantic chemistry between Jeannie and Major Nelson was so endearing that the producers decided to have them engaged(in an episode from 12/1/1969)and from there they would become married,which killed off the show. But as for the characters themselves,sit down sometime and take a good look at the ensemble cast,its worth viewing.

Every time I read the threads about the comparison between these shows, I must question the age of the writer. While both shows were based upon very beautiful magical ladies, they had very different reasons to exist. I grew up watching both of these shows in the 60's, and liked each of them very differently. Bewitched was created after the success of the movie "Bell, Book, and Candle" (staring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak). In the early sixties, the women's movement was strong and changed the shape of society. June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) cleaning the house in "pearls and high heels" was to be challenged. Bewitched offered a love story between a husband and wife, where the wife had real power (in this case Samantha's magic). This presented a new tension to what viewers were used to (although it always ended with a love note). With Jeannie, we have a great deal of sexual tension created! What man would not wish for a beautiful magical servant, albeit deviant at times. Kinda sexy in the sixties when sexual openness was being discussed for the first time (although not directly in the media). Bewitched, I would argue, was marketed towards both sexes (men wanting a Samantha, and women wanting to be her), and IDOJ being more of a men's fantasy series where many women watched just to see Jeannie get even. Both good shows in my book!

I Dream of Jeannie, starring Barbara Eden as the blithe, beautiful two thousand year old blonde genie named Jeannie and Larry Hagman the perpetually befuddled astronaut Anthony Nelson.

The series starts when U.S. Air Force Captain (later promoted to Major) Anthony Nelson's space shuttle launch experiences a third stage rocket malfunction causing NASA to scrub the mission. Where upon his Mercury style capsule splashes down of the coast of an uncharted South Pacific island.

After washing ashore Nelson constructs an S.O.S. signal from debris on the shoreline. In this debris is an ancient sand caked bottle of Arabic origin. After noticing the bottle won't seem to stay in one spot, Tony picks it up to examine it. After pulling out the cork, and dusting it off a cloud of smoke gushes forth. The mystical fog then takes the form of a beautiful blonde girl dressed in an Arabic harem costume. After her appearance she kneels before Tony and exclaims in Arabic/Farsee "Your wish is my command master."

After wishing her to speak English Jeannie summons a rescue helicopter. But when Tony realizes that he could never explain her to his superiors, his nosy doctor, Dr. Bellows or the outside world he tries to set her free.

After believing she has left, Tony boards the helicopter.

Little does he know that Jeannie has snuck along with him inside her bottle. Her love for her now ex-master is so strong she can not bear to be away from him. There for Jeannie freely remains as Tony's genie.

From September 18th, 1965 to September 7th, 1970 through 139 half hour episodes, the series depicts the wacky situations Jeannie gets her 'master' and his goofy best friend "Major Roger Healey" (Bill Daily) into, and out of. From showing Tony he truly did not love his first fiancée, to finally marrying him in 1970. As well as unintentionally driving a very sane Dr. Bellows out of his mind with her wacky, misguided magic.

Along the way appearances are made by Jeannie's mother, her crazy uncles, her magical and usually invisible dog Djinn-Djinn and her unforgetable, worldwide infamous, wicked, raven haired twin sister also named Jeannie. Not to mention a long line of celebrity guest stars from Sammy Davis Jr. to Groucho Marx.

I Dream of Jeannie is a classic show with eternal appeal. Each generation will enjoy this classic sitcom. I'm sure two thousand years from now our descendants will be watching the girl in the bottle play 'spin the astronaut!'

In my view, this is one of the top 10 or 15 sitcoms ever, and it certainly is one of my personal favorites. Its misfortune was to be produced during an era full of silly, mostly non-topical comedies (Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian and so on) and I think it's been underrated because of that.

But sit down sometime and take a good look. You'll see a spirited ensemble performance from the actors, with standout work from Larry Hagman and Hayden Rorke. I don't think Hagman ever got enough credit for the wonderfully manic and nervous mannerisms that made Major Nelson so damn funny and endearing. And Rorke's prissy and arrogant Dr. Bellows was a terrific comic foil -- cartoonish in the best sense of that word.

Bill Daily did a good comic turn as Major Healy, although I think his character never was allowed to develop as much as Hagman's and Rorke's. (His finest comic hour was to come, on "The Bob Newhart Show.") And of course, there was the gorgeous Barbara Eden as Jeannie, sprightly and innocent and an excellent counterpoint to Hagman's world-weary astronaut. The romantic chemistry between Jeannie and Tony was one of the strongest in TV history.

The show was fast-paced, rarely sappy, full of pleasant "NBC Peacock" colors, and a showcase for fine comic timing and physical slapstick.