Dr. Alfred Bellows

[Subspace]

Dr. Bellows, a central cast member of I Dream of Jeannie, is by no means a one-dimensional character. He may often appear to be going the same route, but that doesn't mean that's the be-all and end-all of his character. Why do you think Dr. Bellows is so unique? What distinguishes him? (From, say, Larry Tate?) What are his positive and negative traits? Why do you love or hate them [these traits]? How do you think each of these traits affects Jeannie, Roger, Tony, Mrs. Bellows, General Peterson/Schaeffer/Stone, and any one else who is close to him? What makes him lovable?

[jeannietonyfan]

Oh you gotta love Dr. Bellows! Hayden brought a lot of depth to the role. I think that Dr. Bellows is a very committed officer to NASA, and is very committed and proud of his work. He wants everything to run like clockwork, which is impossible when Tony and Roger is around. He loves his wife, even though he may not get to see her very often.
I think the key of Dr. Bellows' character is that on the surface it's easy to hate him because he's constantly barging into Tony's life, and putting Tony at risk constantly with his secret. But yet, at the same time, he is a very faithful man... despite all the things that Tony does that make him crazy, he looks out for Tony, and doesn't want to see anything to happen to him. For example, in "Guess Who's Going to Be a Bride", when General Schaeffer wants to remove Tony from the space program, Dr. Bellows says "I'll stand behind you" meaning that even though Dr. Bellows' life would be SO much easier without Tony at NASA, he still wants him to stay on.
I think in Season 5 especially we begin to see a softer side of Dr. Bellows, and I think Jeannie brings that out in him. He obviously thinks that Jeannie is perfect for Tony, and is more than kind to her. And I think that in turn Jeannie kind of sees Dr. Bellows as a father figure, and she feels comfortable around him. Plus, we see that despite all the chaos that surrounds Tony, Roger, and Dr. Bellows constantly, they are all still friends and respect each other. Heck, they even all go on vacation together in the hotel episode in Season 5.
I think that the fact that we know that Dr. Bellows is a kind, caring man on the inside is what makes us love him and even feel sorry for him when he thinks he's going insane, and I think that it's very hard to find that subtlety in that character, and Hayden was able to do that. It was the vulnerability that made his character more than one-dimensional.

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jeannietonyfan said:

Oh you gotta love Dr. Bellows! Hayden brought a lot of depth to the role. I think that Dr. Bellows is a very committed officer to NASA, and is very committed and proud of his work. He wants everything to run like clockwork, which is impossible when Tony and Roger is around. He loves his wife, even though he may not get to see her very often.
I think the key of Dr. Bellows' character is that on the surface it's easy to hate him because he's constantly barging into Tony's life, and putting Tony at risk constantly with his secret. But yet, at the same time, he is a very faithful man... despite all the things that Tony does that make him crazy, he looks out for Tony, and doesn't want to see anything to happen to him. For example, in "Guess Who's Going to Be a Bride", when General Schaeffer wants to remove Tony from the space program, Dr. Bellows says "I'll stand behind you" meaning that even though Dr. Bellows' life would be SO much easier without Tony at NASA, he still wants him to stay on.
I think in Season 5 especially we begin to see a softer side of Dr. Bellows, and I think Jeannie brings that out in him. He obviously thinks that Jeannie is perfect for Tony, and is more than kind to her. And I think that in turn Jeannie kind of sees Dr. Bellows as a father figure, and she feels comfortable around him. Plus, we see that despite all the chaos that surrounds Tony, Roger, and Dr. Bellows constantly, they are all still friends and respect each other. Heck, they even all go on vacation together in the hotel episode in Season 5.
I think that the fact that we know that Dr. Bellows is a kind, caring man on the inside is what makes us love him and even feel sorry for him when he thinks he's going insane, and I think that it's very hard to find that subtlety in that character, and Hayden was able to do that. It was the vulnerability that made his character more than one-dimensional.

Oh, I agree! That was very well written out, jeannietonyfan. Dr. Bellows was always a likable character even though he was the cause of trouble for Tony, Jeannie, and Roger much of the time - Dr. Bellows was, after all, only doing his job as the NASA psychiatrist. He needs to make sure the astronauts are mentally fit, and he rightly wanted to investigate the strange happenings and stories surrounding Tony and Roger. If they had indeed been having delusions of some sort, they would be unfit to be astronauts, and it's Dr. Bellows' responsibility to check on that.

But at the end Dr. Bellows is really a nice person on the inside, which is why Jeannie and Dr. Bellows in Season 5 got along so well. Heck, in the Season 1 episode Too Many Tonys where Jeannie and Tony nearly got married, Dr. Bellows already liked Jeannie a lot.

Even in earlier seasons you could see Dr. Bellows was really a 'good guy'. In the Season 2 episode My Master the Rich Tycoon, for instance, Dr. Bellows is a staunch defender of Tony. (He even got in some trouble with the IRS himself because of his defending Tony.) A less obvious example is the Season 1 episode Bigger Than a Breadbox and Better Than a Genie where Dr. Bellows did not make trouble for Roger, or Tony, even after finding out that Roger was seeing a purported medium and even after catching Roger and Tony in a purported seance with the medium. (He could have filed a report upon finding out, saying that Roger might be mentally unbalanced to be so devoted to a medium.)

[jeannietonyfan]

subspace said:

jeannietonyfan said:

Oh you gotta love Dr. Bellows! Hayden brought a lot of depth to the role. I think that Dr. Bellows is a very committed officer to NASA, and is very committed and proud of his work. He wants everything to run like clockwork, which is impossible when Tony and Roger is around. He loves his wife, even though he may not get to see her very often.
I think the key of Dr. Bellows' character is that on the surface it's easy to hate him because he's constantly barging into Tony's life, and putting Tony at risk constantly with his secret. But yet, at the same time, he is a very faithful man... despite all the things that Tony does that make him crazy, he looks out for Tony, and doesn't want to see anything to happen to him. For example, in "Guess Who's Going to Be a Bride", when General Schaeffer wants to remove Tony from the space program, Dr. Bellows says "I'll stand behind you" meaning that even though Dr. Bellows' life would be SO much easier without Tony at NASA, he still wants him to stay on.
I think in Season 5 especially we begin to see a softer side of Dr. Bellows, and I think Jeannie brings that out in him. He obviously thinks that Jeannie is perfect for Tony, and is more than kind to her. And I think that in turn Jeannie kind of sees Dr. Bellows as a father figure, and she feels comfortable around him. Plus, we see that despite all the chaos that surrounds Tony, Roger, and Dr. Bellows constantly, they are all still friends and respect each other. Heck, they even all go on vacation together in the hotel episode in Season 5.
I think that the fact that we know that Dr. Bellows is a kind, caring man on the inside is what makes us love him and even feel sorry for him when he thinks he's going insane, and I think that it's very hard to find that subtlety in that character, and Hayden was able to do that. It was the vulnerability that made his character more than one-dimensional.

Oh, I agree! That was very well written out, jeannietonyfan. Dr. Bellows was always a likable character even though he was the cause of trouble for Tony, Jeannie, and Roger much of the time - Dr. Bellows was, after all, only doing his job as the NASA psychiatrist. He needs to make sure the astronauts are mentally fit, and he rightly wanted to investigate the strange happenings and stories surrounding Tony and Roger. If they had indeed been having delusions of some sort, they would be unfit to be astronauts, and it's Dr. Bellows' responsibility to check on that.

But at the end Dr. Bellows is really a nice person on the inside, which is why Jeannie and Dr. Bellows in Season 5 got along so well. Heck, in the Season 1 episode Too Many Tonys where Jeannie and Tony nearly got married, Dr. Bellows already liked Jeannie a lot.

Even in earlier seasons you could see Dr. Bellows was really a 'good guy'. In the Season 2 episode My Master the Rich Tycoon, for instance, Dr. Bellows is a staunch defender of Tony. (He even got in some trouble with the IRS himself because of his defending Tony.) A less obvious example is the Season 1 episode Bigger Than a Breadbox and Better Than a Genie where Dr. Bellows did not make trouble for Roger, or Tony, even after finding out that Roger was seeing a purported medium and even after catching Roger and Tony in a purported seance with the medium. (He could have filed a report upon finding out, saying that Roger might be mentally unbalanced to be so devoted to a medium.)

Yeah, that's true he does go to great lengths to protect Tony and Roger and keep them in the space program... "My Master the Rich Tycoon" is a perfect example of that... that's a cute episode!
I'm glad you started this post because I think that much of the time Dr. Bellows IS looked at as a one-dimensional character, so it's good that people that recognize that this certainly was not the case.

[Subspace]

jeannietonyfan said:

For example, in "Guess Who's Going to Be a Bride", when General Schaeffer wants to remove Tony from the space program, Dr. Bellows says "I'll stand behind you" meaning that even though Dr. Bellows' life would be SO much easier without Tony at NASA, he still wants him to stay on.

LoL - I just thought of something though... part of the reason he wanted Tony to stay was so he could continue trying to find out what made Tony tick! Remember, Tony was the only reason he [Dr. Bellows] was staying at NASA. (Otherwise he'd have retired.) We see in Episode #51 [My Master, the Civilian] that Dr. Bellows resigned from NASA as soon as he found out Tony was leaving.

[jeannietonyfan]

subspace said:

jeannietonyfan said:

For example, in "Guess Who's Going to Be a Bride", when General Schaeffer wants to remove Tony from the space program, Dr. Bellows says "I'll stand behind you" meaning that even though Dr. Bellows' life would be SO much easier without Tony at NASA, he still wants him to stay on.

LoL - I just thought of something though... part of the reason he wanted Tony to stay was so he could continue trying to find out what made Tony tick! Remember, Tony was the only reason he [Dr. Bellows] was staying at NASA. (Otherwise he'd have retired.) We see in Episode #51 [My Master, the Civilian] that Dr. Bellows resigned from NASA as soon as he found out Tony was leaving.

hee hee... that's true, but I still think that he really doesn't want to see Tony get fired for the reason of not being able to get the phinkillium (I have no idea how in the heck you would spell that)... at least for that episode. But yes, Dr. Bellows almost LIVES for finding out Tony's secret.

[Subspace]

jeannietonyfan said:

Yeah, that's true he does go to great lengths to protect Tony and Roger and keep them in the space program... "My Master the Rich Tycoon" is a perfect example of that... that's a cute episode!
I'm glad you started this post because I think that much of the time Dr. Bellows IS looked at as a one-dimensional character, so it's good that people that recognize that this certainly was not the case.

Thanks. Yes, I agree completely. The reason I started this thread was indeed because I think a lot of people take one look at Dr. Bellows and decide that he's just a simple one-dimensional character whose only personality trait is making trouble for Tony, Roger, and Jeannie. That's really not the case at all as we've discussed.

The other thing I think that makes Dr. Bellows more likable as a character is that he himself is often in jeopardy (from General Peterson/Schaeffer) when he reports the funny stuff Tony and Roger are up to. And the fact is that often, with Jeannie's help, when the General does investigate, Dr. Bellows comes out looking like a fool or looking crazy, and gets reprimanded. This furthers the impression that Dr. Bellows is really a basically nice guy who's only trying to do his job and unwittingly gets caught up in something that's larger than he can chew.

[Subspace]

jeannietonyfan said:

hee hee... that's true, but I still think that he really doesn't want to see Tony get fired for the reason of not being able to get the phinkillium (I have no idea how in the heck you would spell that)... at least for that episode. But yes, Dr. Bellows almost LIVES for finding out Tony's secret.

Yeah... he didn't want to see Tony get fired in that episode for certain episode-specific reasons, but he's also protected Tony's job in other episodes, so I thought there might be a common underlying motivation behind all of that. (I was only being half-serious, btw! ) After all, he does nearly live and breathe for finding out what makes Tony tick!

[jeannietonyfan]

subspace said:

The other thing I think that makes Dr. Bellows more likable as a character is that he himself is often in jeopardy (from General Peterson/Schaeffer) when he reports the funny stuff Tony and Roger are up to. And the fact is that often, with Jeannie's help, when the General does investigate, Dr. Bellows comes out looking like a fool or looking crazy, and gets reprimanded. This furthers the impression that Dr. Bellows is really a basically nice guy who's only trying to do his job and unwittingly gets caught up in something that's larger than he can chew.

Yes, exactly!

[desir]

I like very much Dr Bellows because in my opinion the fact that he's psychiatrist give depth to his comic. It's not a stereotyped character. He's vulnerable and engaging.

Sorry for my bad english

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desir said:

I like very much Dr Bellows because in my opinion the fact that he's psychiatrist give depth to his comic. It's not a stereotyped character. He's vulnerable and engaging.

Sorry for my bad english

The thing with Dr. Bellows and why he is such a successful character for IDOJ is because he is a good officer and a good doctor. He is unwittingly thrust into a situation where he is constantly handling more than he can chew. Although Dr. Bellows may appear to be the trouble-maker, more often than not, he is really the one getting the short end of the stick, so to speak. That makes viewers feel sympathy for his plight and makes him a very likeable character since he is seen as basically a good, sane, reasonable, highly-educated person who is just trying to do his job.

[jeannietonyfan]

desir said:

I like very much Dr Bellows because in my opinion the fact that he's psychiatrist give depth to his comic. It's not a stereotyped character. He's vulnerable and engaging.

That's a perfect way to put it! I completely agree.

[jeannietonyfan]

subspace said:

The thing with Dr. Bellows and why he is such a successful character for IDOJ is because he is a good officer and a good doctor. He is unwittingly thrust into a situation where he is constantly handling more than he can chew. Although Dr. Bellows may appear to be the trouble-maker, more often than not, he is really the one getting the short end of the stick, so to speak. That makes viewers feel sympathy for his plight and makes him a very likeable character since he is seen as basically a good, sane, reasonable, highly-educated person who is just trying to do his job.

That's right. He's really never at fault and yet he always gets the blame... poor guy!

[Subspace]

jeannietonyfan said:

That's a perfect way to put it! I completely agree.

As do I.

That's right. He's really never at fault and yet he always gets the blame... poor guy!

Yeap. Poor Dr. Bellows...

[jeanniegenie]

Hayden Porke was the perfect man for the role of Col. Dr. Alfred Bellows. His facial expressions and his attitude towards Major Nerlson really brought the show together.