The show about a little blond Jeannie and her Astronaut Master stole the hearts of television buffs in the 1960s for its comedy, charm, wit and ridiculous scenarios. I Dream Of Jeannie brought ideas to television that weren't normalized in the time such as a woman and man living together without being married, women having the power in a relationship, women being central to the plot and the fusing of different cultures.
Despite these achievements, some things just didn't age well. Well-intentioned jokes and representations that just wouldn't cut it in modern society. Here are 10 jokes and plot devices that aged poorly.
10 Jokes About Mental Stability
Dr. Bellows has been through a lot."I'm dedicating my life to understanding you." But to be fair to Major Nelson, he has too. Every time Jeannie, Major Nelson, and Major Healey get into a sticky situation and Dr. Bellows witnesses something odd, they have to make it viable, reasonable or a trick of the eye.
It's a race against time. They don't mean to turn the Psychiatrist into the patient. But playing with someone's sanity and making them think something is wrong could cause serious damage, and at one point, Bellows's superiors think he's insane.
9 Humor Based On Jeannie's Jealousy
Most of the humor in the show is based around Tony and Jeannie's complex dynamic. Tony doesn't consider himself devoted to Jeannie and is interested in several women throughout the show's run. For several of the first episodes of season 1, Tony was engaged before his fiance broke it off.
When Tony's ex-girlfriend turns up and is interested in getting back together in season 1 episode "Where'd You Go-Go?" Jeannie starts seeing Tony's best friend Roger Healey to make Tony jealous. "I would not be going out with your best friend if I were married to his best friend." She turns Roger into a poodle so he can't tell Tony they have dates with models, and another time she traps Tony in a jail in the living room. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
8 Cultural Exaggerations
Jeannie comes from Baghdad. Her culture is greatly exaggerated with most of her family members being stereotypes of the middle eastern culture. The show often depicted the characters dressed in turbans, wearing bolero jackets over bare chests, flowing robes, and the like. Jeannie herself is wearing sheer pink harem pants, a top that is just above her ribs and a bolero.
Even Jeannie's home country is a stereotype, overflowing with silks, desert lands, camels, tents, crumbling buildings and carpets on every floor. Men are seen as savages yelling crude language and waving cutlasses while the women are sexualized and submissive, desperate to be married off.
7 The Master And Genie Dynamic
Tony opened Jeannie's bottle and she became his Genie, him her Master. The term doesn't exactly bode well. In season 5, Tony goes from being her Master to being her husband. But was the transition a healthy one?
How are her actions determined in their marriage? Does she truly feel free in this dynamic? Jeannie could have been portrayed as more powerful, but her role as a genie made her submissive when otherwise she was independent and did what she wanted. Her weakness was her desire to be loved by Major Nelson which stagnated her from coming into her own.
6 The Gullible Girl
Jeannie has spent most of her life trapped in a bottle. The show placed effort into making Jeannie curious and magical, as well as trusting and willing to help. Ideally, it wouldn't be a problem. But in the process, they also made her illogical in certain situations, highly naive in dangerous situations and gullible to Tony's tricks.
Jeannie's nature was what made the premise of the show so interesting. But it was also insulting to the main character, making jokes about her innocence and lack of knowledge. She was the most intelligent character, whose kindness was exploited.
5 Throwing Around Power
When Jeannie II is talking to Jeannie about Major Nelson and why they haven't got married, Jeannie says she doesn't understand. Jeannie II says “Darling, you can make a man eat shredded cardboard if you know the right tricks.” She then goes on to manipulate Major Healey into marrying her.
Throughout the series Jeannie gives Tony a love potion to make him love her, turns him into animals when she gets upset and even duplicates him. The men in the series also make jokes about the opposite sex, and Tony frequently mentions his desire to be able to control Jeannie's magical powers. When Jeannie gives Tony her powers for a day, he calls it men's work and she replies that it was women's work when she was doing it.
4 Roger's Desperation
Roger's a Major in the airforce, but that's about it for the fellow. Roger had been written as a desperate and increasingly sleazy character. Desperate with women, money and, self-image. What was meant to be comedic was just sad.
He tries to make Jeannie grant wishes for him and in season 1 episode "The Richest Astronaut In The Whole Wide World," he takes her to a casino to help him win money, makes a mess of things at NASA and with the police. Jeannie feels so sorry for him in season 2 episode "The World's Greatest Lover," that she makes him irresistible to women with dire consequences.
3 Nosy Characters
Tony and Jeannie have had some close calls. And it's no wonder with how many nosy characters there are in the show. Especially Mr. and Mrs. Bellows, and even Tony's best friend. In season 5 episode "Mrs. Djinn Djinn," Roger takes it upon himself to tell the whole of NASA that Jeannie is pregnant when he finds prenatal vitamins and a baby bassinet at Tony and Jeannie's house.
Roger had no right to tell anyone. In reality, these things are for Djinn Djinn the dog's pregnant mate who is expecting puppies. He should really know by now that not all things are as they seem with Jeannie.
2 The Mischievous Sister
Jeannie's sister Jeannie II, is extremely jealous of Jeannie. She doesn't remotely care that Jeannie is her sister and does some seriously questionable things throughout the series to get Tony to be her Master.
She puts Tony in a birdcage, impersonates Jeannie and traps her sister in her bottle, tries to split up Tony and Jeannie, creates the illusion that Tony is mentally unstable so that he'll lose his job, and casually stalks Tony in an effort to win his affections. The evil sister is a well-overplayed television trope that just isn't funny anymore.
1 Treating Jeannie Like A Jeannie, Not A Person
Jeannie is a genie. But she wasn't always a genie. She used to be a mortal but was turned into a genie by the Blue Djinn when she refused to marry him. After being stuck in a bottle for 2,000 years it would be assumed that Jeannie catches a break.
However, Tony Nelson doesn't treat her as well as he thinks he does. Jeannie is often dismissed, trapped in her bottle, yelled at for trying to help, kissed and her affections played with, the list goes on. Tony even proposes to Jeannie without loving her, just to get her to stop using magic because marrying a mortal could cause her to lose her powers. Anything for a bit of tension and a laugh from the audience.
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