I Dream of Jeannie vs. Bewitched (1 Viewer)

[Jaime_Weinman]

The first season of Bewitched was the best overall. (I blogged about this recently.) The showrunner that year was Danny Arnold, who went on to create "Barney Miller," and he explicitly said that he wanted to use the fantasy stories of "Bewitched" for social commentary:


That's why the in-depth analysis of an episode like "A is for Aardvark" is perfectly valid, because Arnold really did intend all those meanings to be in the episodes he did. After he left (he didn't come back after the first season), the show did a few episodes in that style, but only a few. Still, the show overall was much more sophisticated than "Jeannie," which never really seemed to try to use the magical stories to make any larger point.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Barbara Eden was and always will be the most prettiest woman to hit television in my book. Besides more pleasing to the eye, I Dream of Jeannie was just a much funnier show, not because it was written that way, but because it was more slapstick. That's not to say Bewitched wasn't a funny show, it surely was, and also better written. However, I just love to laugh without thinking about it, and Major Nelson's pratfalls always did it for me.

 

[Dan-P]

I think they're really completely different shows, although with a similar premise. I Dream of Jeannie is more slapstick and physical comedy, with really outrageous situations and sight gags. If you just want to turn off your brain and laugh at a cute show, I Dream of Jeannie should do it for you.

Bewitched, on the other hand, is written more seriously, as if this could be something that was actually happening. It is funny, sure, and outrageous at times also, but it has more depth than Jeannie and in general I'd say has better plots and stories.

So, imo, it all depends on what you're looking for - I think the shows are really quite different under the surface similarities.

Dan-P

 

[Ken Chui]

Although I grew up with Bewitched (in syndication), I find it unwatchable now; the Darrin character (played by Dick York) makes me uncomfortable, and for me, the humourous aspects haven't held up as well.

Another vote for IDOJ.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Again, if you think Darrin is just a sexist, you need to watch the first-season episode "A is For Aardvark," where Darrin has a change of heart and decides he's been wrong to stop Samantha from using her powers -- and Samantha doesn't like it.


So at Darrin's request, Sam turns back time to before she gave him a taste of what it's like to live off magic, and they go back to normal. The episode establishes that Sam doesn't want to live like a witch, because it's boring to have everything come easy. And if she used her powers too much, it might cause Darrin to become something other than the man she loves.

 

[Mark-P]

Jaime, it's funny you should quote lines from that particular edisode "A is for Aardvark" Because I've always felt that was one of the series best. The acting was top notch with Elizabeth Montgomery touching an emotional chord that was almost unheard of in a sit-com back then.

Incidently, maybe the reason the episode is so unique and speaks so much from the heart of a woman, is that it had a woman's touch. You see it was directed by Ido Lupino one of the very few women directors of the 1960s.

 

[Tony J Case]

Ok, based off that snippet, I'd say my perception is off. However, to be fair, most of my viewing comes from the later seasons - in which I seem to recall a pretty heavy handed male domination "no, no, no magic!" and a submissive Sam obeying.

Which I'll freely admit might be my memory cheating. To be honest, I havent seen either show in quite some time. The IDoJ set is my first exposure in years.

(And I'll still stand by my "Sam isnt nearly as hot" statment. )

Oh - and I'll yeild the "No social commentary" point. I had no idea that they were trying to shape cultural change and entertain at the same time.

***EDIT***
Oh, and one other thing that's bugged me about the series - and I'll admit that this is a very small point - the Darren swap. Not because they had to write around actors leaving the show - thats fine (Hell, I've liked Doctor Who for years). But it was the lazy way they got around it.

Here's a show that has an excuse automaticly built in and handed to the writers on a silver platter. And they just play the "well, we'll get two similar actors and hope nobody notices" route.

Like I said - small and pointless.

 

[Brian Himes]

I have to go with Bewitched all the way. I Dream Of Jeannie just didn't have the same charm that Bewitched had. I like Jeannie, but not as much as Bewitched.

 

[David*P]

My vote is for Bewitched, hands down! But it's like I tell people - Bewitched is my family whereas Tony, Jeannie et. al. are the good neighbors we go to hang out with They are really cool and fun but I wouldn't want to live there.

As far as the arguments go about Samantha being oppressed by Durwood, I semi-agree, and the reason I say that is that Samantha willingly gave up her witch-hood to marry him. So it wasn't like she was being forced. But on the other hand, when she would use magic Durwood shouldn't have been such a mortal lame-brain and get his panties in a knot! When you marry a witch, magic comes with the territory no matter if your witch-wife is practicing or not

 

[CodyCookie]

Tough Choice However You are comparing apples to oranges.
Jeannie is my all time favorite genie
Samantha is my all time favorite witch

The only question I have is this, starting with episode 1 of IDOJ, Tony Nelson was always pushing Jeannie away from him, didn't want to marry her, and consistently kept pulling her arms off of him, so whats the deal with the script, is the guy completely retarded, or is he gay, and just not interested in a beautiful blonde woman, sexy as hell , throwing herself at his every desire, want, need ? Makes No Sense.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

It was the 1960's. They weren't married.

There were several series where they were always trying to have unmarried men and women living together. Even if one was a Jeannie. Or a robot: My Living Doll. Or a fake marriage: Occasional Wife.

 

[ScottRE]

It was the 60's. It was NBC.

The series started with Tony engaged to Melissa, General Stone's daughter. Jeannie's desires were verboten because, well, Tony was getting married. It did, however, show him that maybe being married wasn't the brightest idea for him. SO a few episodes in (and it should have been the second but whatever), they had Melissa leave Tony for an old flame. Tony, I'm sure, wanted to stay unmarried. I mean, he said it, "you don't know how good it feels to be completely free!"

Actually, the series had a pretty low opinion on marriage. Bellows was henpecked, the NASA wives were pretty stuffy and even Roger was all about the sex. Why didn't Tony want all the riches? Because he loved being an astronaut and he didn't want Jeannie screwing it up for him. So, in the context of the fantasy premise, Tony loved Jeannie but didn't want to stop dating around or going into space. Finally, once he realized exactly how much he loved her, he finally took the plunge and married her. And then it all went to hell....