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The witch or the genie? (1 Viewer)

David*P

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So there has always been the debate of which is better, Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie ...I would like to present that question in terms of DVD.

Which series are you anticipating more, Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie ?

Of course I'm all about Bewitched coming out on DVD. Once I have that I will be into getting Jeannie on DVD.
 

Dane Marvin

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Bewitched, I think, was a better show. Of course, it had to be. For years, floundering ABC was seemingly kept alive by the success of that one hit show (until Batman came along and helped bear the burden).

I might buy Bewitched if the B&W episodes are kept that way. I don't know what CTHE plans to do about that.
 

Mike Rivera

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I'll buy all the Dick York Bewitched eps., and probably the first season of I Dream of Jeanie.

To me, the early Bewitched is a classic while IDOJ is merely a fun memory from childhood.

I loved the cars "Derwood" drove. Chevrolet sponsored the show and he would pull up into his driveway in convertible SS Novas and Impalas and you'd see lots of 60's Corvette Stingrays, etc.
 

Malcolm R

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Not particularly interested in either one, but upon the threat of torture to pick one I'd pick "Bewitched." :)
 

Steve Phillips

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I love both series, but "I Dream of Jeannie" is my favorite overall.

"Bewitched" was a great show that was on the air too long, and started to repeat itself, even remaking early episodes. The constant cast changes didn't help either.

I still think a cross-over movie would have been amusing.

The DVD season sets of the first and second years of "Bewitched" Sony released in Japan are the colorized versions. I wouldn't be surprised if the plan is to follow suit in the US, so speak up now if that bothers you. "Jeannie's" first season has also been colorized.

Bring on both series in Region 1, in complete season sets only!
 

Gary OS

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I'd pick up the first couple of seasons of "Bewitched" and the 1st season of "IDOJ", but ONLY if they aren't colorized. As far as TVonDVD goes, that is the unpardonable sin! They dare not do that, and frankly, even though it happened in Japan, I'd be absolutely shocked (and ticked off enough not to buy the sets) if they did that with a Region 1 release of either show.

Gary "anxiously awaiting my Season 3 Dick Van Dyke Show release to come in the mail" O.
 

Chris:L

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IDOJ copied Bewitched.... even going so far as to make some storylines similar... and for that, I hate IDOJ with a passion.. I'll only buy the season sets if I can get a glimpse of Jeanie's bellybutton.
 

Steve...O

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In my opinion, Jeannie was the superior show so I will be more likely to buy that one.

Bewitched started off strong but faded over time. The Dick York years were quite funny because Mr. York was quite funny. The Paul Lynde episodes are a riot. Too bad he wasn't used more often.

In my view any attempt to say one show was based on the other is irrelevant. Just like the "Munsters" and the "Addams Family" each series stands or falls on their own merits.

Jeannie benefited from a fairly stable cast. Only the death of Barton MacLane and the wise decision to scrap the first season romance of Tony and Gen Stone's daughter caused cast changes.

Nothing against Miss Montgomery, but Barbara Eden had her beat hands down in the looks department. That's worth something. :)

Steve
 

Steve Phillips

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And "Bewitched" copied stuff that came before it, such as "My Favorite Martian".

"Bewitched" was not above copying things that "Jeannie" did either, like doing a Boyce and Hart episode two years after Jeannie did.

Fighting over which show is better always seemed pretty silly to me. They're only TV shows after all, and they both had successful first runs and hugely successful and long lived syndication runs.

Shouldn't we also argue over "The Addams Family" v.s. "The Munsters"? ;)

Chris, I guess you'll be buying Jeannie because her navel is visible at times on the series, despite all the publicity to the contrary.
 

John KB

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Oh please Chris, like as if Bewitched is an original idea, give me a break.

PLUS I Dream of Jeannie was based on a movie that was released in 64' but shot in 63'....before Bewitched. So maybe Bewitched was influenced by a Genie movie! :)

Either way, IDOJ was just more fun imho, of course.
 

David*P

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Actually Bewitched wasn't an original idea. It was actually based on two movies that had similar themes, the first of which was I Married a Witch in the 40s and then Bell, Book, and Candle in the late 50s.

And Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie cribbed off each other constantly. I actually wrote an article detailing these occurences for Harpies Bizarre.com a Bewitched website. It was interesting to see what was copied from whom. You can view that article here.

I haven't watched My Favorite Martian enough to know what story lines were copied by either of my favorite shows.

I like to view each show as their own separate entity. They both were entertaining, both had gorgeous women as their stars, and both had talented casts.

As far as the colorized episodes are concerned I hope Columbia decides to not release them and just go with the original b&w. But it won't really make me mad if they do release the colorized.

p.s. Where the Munsters and the Addams Family are concerned, all though I would buy both series on DVD, Herman and Lily's family are my favorite.:)
 

Chris:L

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I'm thankful that David just cleared that up.

The Munsters was more slapstick than Addams Family... that's why I like it more.
 

David*P

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I was actually thinking that Columbia could release Tabitha on a DVD that could only be purchased by buying so many of the season sets of Bewitched . I would only want it simply because it is related to Bewitched by having the Tabitha and Adam characters, even though it was ridiculous for them to be that age at the time the show originally aired. Plus Dr. Bombay and Mr. and Mrs. Kravitz make appearances on it.

If you think the last couple years of Bewitched were bad, just watch Tabitha : it makes the Dick Sargent years look golden! The best part about Tabitha is seeing the sexy Lisa Hartman. She was so hot!
 

Steve Phillips

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Tabatha and Adam must have suffered from SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome). For example, babies born in 1993 on "Days of Our Lives" are now in college.

And she must have changed the spelling of her name as well by the time her series appeared.
 

Mikel_Cooperman

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I liked them both growing up but Bewitched is my favorite.

I remember years ago they had a pole about who had the stronger powers and the answer turned out to be Samantha because Jeannie could never get out of the bottle when it was corked but Samantha could twinkle her nose and get out of a vault.
I know that has nothing to do with the DVD but a little interesting trivia.

Tabitha was a horrible show but it's funny because I remember parts of the theme song.
"Some people got it and some people dont."

That's all I remember.
 

Chris:L

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No, the pole was on Nick At Nite and it was "Who would you rather have? Jeannie or Samantha?" Samantha won becuase she could do anything for you and she wasn't a Jeannie because Jeannie had to "grant" you "wishes"
 

JohnDMoore

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I'm much more a fan of "Bewitched" as I barely stand "Jeannie" most of the time. I feel the writing as far as character was better defined in "Bewitched." I also feel Samantha was a much stronger character. And Dick York was amazing to watch.
Also, for what it's worth, I'd prefer Montgomery over Eden.
 

Jaime_Weinman

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An interesting thing about Bewitched and Jeannie is that in both shows, the black and white episodes seem both more "sophisticated" and better-produced than the colour episodes -- the B&W Bewitcheds are more of a sophisticated domestic fantasy/comedy, while the early Jeannie episodes are more risque than the colour episodes. And in both cases, the B&W episodes seem to have more exterior shots and better set design; everything got more drab and static to accomodate the color photography (same with Beverly Hillbillies).

Of the two, I think that Bewitched was better-written and had better characters, but I think it ran out of steam around the fourth or fifth year. My problem with Jeannie is that the characters didn't appeal to me much (the humor was often surprisingly mean-spirited), and I don't care for the writing of Sidney Satan, er, I mean Sheldon. I'd buy the first season in B&W, though, and the show did have its moments after that -- by the fourth season it was about even with Bewitched.

Addams Family vs. Munsters -- no contest. Addams Family has wit and style and a satirical edge, while The Munsters is just a dopey comedy with mismatched monsters.
 

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