Favorite character

[jeanniegirl]

Well, of course, my number one favorite is Jeannie. After her I guess it would be her evil twin sister, Tony, and Roger. He's so funny and helps make the show what it is.

[Chris R]

I think they're all great... however, the subject of Dr. Bellows constant bewilderment and the quest of keeping him baffeled, always had me in stitches!!!!

[Subspace]

Well, I have a list of 'favorite characters to watch', and 'most lovable characters that I like'.

For 'favorite characters to watch', my #1 pick is... Dr. Alfred Bellows. Whenever he comes on, you know for sure that hilarity is coming up, and soon.

#2: Jeannie
#3: Roger Healey
#4: General Peterson
#5: Jeannie II
#6: Tony Nelson

(I'm not including characters which I dislike such as General Schaeffer, and characters like General Stone and other lesser-known characters.)

Sorry, but you've got to admit that, while Tony Nelson is part of the series' bedrock, by himself he's not all that funny, most of the time.

For 'most lovable characters that I like', my #1 pick is, of course... Jeannie!!! You can't help but love her.

#2: Roger Healey
#3: Tony Nelson
#4: Dr. Alfred Bellows
#5: General Peterson

Sure, Bellows was always causing trouble for Nelson and Healey, but hey, he was just doing his job. Nelson and Healey, with Jeannie's help, often paid him back big time, too.

[Patterson Lundquist]

You have to hand it to Amanda Bellows, there were some pricless moments watching both her and Alfred react to Major Nelson (or Jeannie post wedding) and the crazy things that would happen. Some of the best examples happened after the wedding. My Sister the Homewrecker is one of my favorite episodes...

"I am going to have it out with that blonde hussy."- Mrs. Bellows

[jeannietonyfan]

Yeah, Emmaline Henry was wonderful in the show! She never missed a beat! Every line delivery was so perfect. It's so sad her life ended only 9 years after the end of IDOJ. She was a great talent.

[Subspace]

Hmm you are right. But you have to admit that Amanda Bellows' role was not as significant as some of the other characters.... all the same I'll think of where I'll add her in my lists above.

[jeannietonyfan]

True, she wasn't as significant, especially early on, but I think she became quite important in Season 5 (a friend of Jeannie's, another person to be suspicious, another person bringing the comedy when Tony and Jeannie couldn't do as "fun stuff" sometimes. I think Season 5 was when we really saw the development of her character... too bad we couldn't have seen more of her.

[Patterson Lundquist]

Season five was clearly a hallmark of the I Dream of Jeannie series. If there had ever been a season six I am more than sure that the show could have continued farther. I've always, (in my heart) imagined Jeannie becoming pregnant (but not showing) because genies don't show... The Bellows witnessing many strange ocurances because of this... Mrs. Bellows meeting Jeannie's sister... (Jeannie II) and going well into the 70's. The show ended when it did not because of a lack of 'story line' but because the writers had their heads up thier.... bottles.

-P

[jeannietonyfan]

Awwww that's cute! Jeannie getting pregnant and not showing... hee hee! Yeah, I think if the writers had had a more open mind about the characters getting married, it most certainly could have gone on longer than the show that shall not be named... hee hee.

[Subspace]

I think it was both the writers and the network needing to have a more open mind. There was definitely potential to make very good and enjoyable additional seasons, possibly even 5 more seasons at least. After marriage and children and open interaction with modern society, the show will be a lot different from the earlier seasons, and the possibilities are endless. As the kids grow up, the focus can be altered yet more and even more possibilities arise. People also feared that it would become too similar to the 'show that shall not be named' but in reality IDOJ had enough unique merits of its own to keep going without becoming anywhere close to a copycat. Interestingly, both shows lifted a few broad plot/episode ideas from each other while they were both running - interesting how people always accuse IDOJ of being a rip-off of the other show, but I've never seen people accuse the other show of ripping off IDOJ.

The 'show that shall not be named' went on for as long as it did because the network just didn't want to cancel a successful show. They wanted to milk it and keep milking it as long as possible. In that show though the well really did run dry on the part of the writers, by the later seasons they were re-making early episodes word-for-word. In an ironic twist from the usual, with that show it was finally the writers who begged the network to let them work on another show... the network had already renewed that show for yet another season.

[jeannietonyfan]

Yes, that's absolutely right... Bewitched (oops I said it!) definitely borrowed from Jeannie... one episode that immediately comes to mind is one of the last that Dick York did... Darrin gets shrunken somehow (I can't remember how) and is almost about to get kidnapped by a garbage truck (at least I think that's what it was)... anyway, it was in the 5th season of Bewitched, and VERY much resembles the 2nd season episode "My Incredible Shrinking Master" with Tony getting shrunken and chased by the cat... so Jeannie was first with this one, and in my opinion did a much better job with the plot line than the other show did. So Bewitched copied too- Jeannie isn't the only guilty party!!

[Patterson Lundquist]

What really pissed me off about the entire ordeal of 'who copied who' was that it wasn't until the late 1990's that Bewitched fans began making up HUGE lies about Sidney Sheldon. To my knowledge (and I may be wrong) but I think it was Herbie J. Pilato who wrote the book that claimed Sidney had lunch with Bill and Elizabeth and asked them for help creating I Dream of Jeannie. It said something to the effect that Sidney wanted them to help him think of how she should evoke her magic and went as far as to suggest that Bill said she should blink.

Since then a great deal of the Bewitched fans refuse to believe otherwise when Sidney himself has stated in great detail HOW I Dream of Jeannie came about and where he was when he produced the pilot/treatment.

Now, I have heard from some reliable sources that Elizabeth did NOT like Barbara at all. Even Sally Field mentioned once that she was in make-up one morning (The Flying Nun was shot on the same lot) and Elizabeth was on one side and Barbara came in on the other. Early morning, and Barbara was singing and Sally claimed Elizabeth rolled her eyes and muttered "I wish someone would shut her up."

How's that for congeniality?

[jeannietonyfan]

Yes, I have heard that Elizabeth was definitely not the kind, sweet loveable Samantha in real life. That is just horrible and downright rude that Elizabeth would want our Barbara to shut up... and with her lovely voice who would want her to? That's just really in poor taste.
And the whole thing that Bill Asher suggest that Jeannie blink is ridiculous. It's sad that the Bewitched fans believe this.

[Subspace]

jeannietonyfan said:

Yes, I have heard that Elizabeth was definitely not the kind, sweet loveable Samantha in real life. That is just horrible and downright rude that Elizabeth would want our Barbara to shut up... and with her lovely voice who would want her to? That's just really in poor taste.
And the whole thing that Bill Asher suggest that Jeannie blink is ridiculous. It's sad that the Bewitched fans believe this.

Oh, I know. It's horrible some of the kinds of rumors that Bewitched fans (fanatics?) have come up with about our beloved I Dream of Jeannie. At least Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha on Bewitched, was more polite:

Any opinions on the never-ending comparison of I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched?

ERIN: I don't think I Dream of Jeannie took away much of Bewitched's audience. I liked the show.

I've got to agree with Erin there - the protagonists in the shows are so different in character that there are probably few people who are die-hard fans of one show that would also be die-hard fans of the other show. Casual fans of both shows, sure, but die-hard fans? It's one or the other. Someone who's a big fan of Jeannie's mischief will be bored by Samantha. Someone who's a big fan of Samantha's obedience will be appalled by Jeannie's strong will.

It's ironic in a sense that Elizabeth, in-character as Samantha, was always obedient, demure, and deferential, but in real life was actually controlling, sometimes rude, and definitely not deferential. OTOH, Barbara, in-character as Jeannie, was mischievous, not quite obedient, and strong-willed, but in real life was actually pretty deferential/obedient. One case in point: Barbara went along with whatever the network wanted her to do, and ultimately the network cancelled the show, but Elizabeth didn't really defer to the network, at some point she had the network give her and her husband part ownership of the show so that she would keep acting in it, and later she was the one who decided to cancel the show!

But really, I can't see why Bewitched and IDOJ fans can't coexist peacefully. As Barbara Eden stated,

EDEN: But although both were fantasies, they were nothing alike. She [Bewitched's Elizabeth Montgomery] was a housewife and wanted that. Jeannie didn't want to be anything but a genie.

I think that really sums it up. Two shows that are similar on the surface but are really completely different when you get down to it. If people would care to find out enough about both shows, that's the conclusion they should arrive at.

[Patterson Lundquist]

subspace said:

If people would care to find out enough about both shows, that's the conclusion they should arrive at.

Very true, but it's become almost a fact that anyone who takes the time to write published material on either show is almost always a 'diehard' fan of one, or the other which guarantees the other show will suffer in the authors representation.