True, 'powergirl'. But "JEANNIE" and 'BEWITCHED" remained in black and white during the 1965-'66 season, because Screen Gems was simply too cheap to convert them to color (they claimed the special effects cost too much for color filming, even though, as I've said, Sidney Sheldon offered to pay for the extra cost of filming "JEANNIE" in color from the start).
@powergirl901 i totally disagree. the original music was full of life and most folks DO remember this version (per the comments whenever a video with it comes up).
i have nothing against the second version, but this one stands out as the best to me.
By the fall of 1966, Screen Gems HAD to film all of their shows in color, as all three networks scheduled "all-color" prime-time lineups that season [including "JEANNIE"]. And yes, that's Paul Frees as the narrator, 'terryk' {he also handled the sponsor I.D.'s for Liggett & Myers in season one: i.e. "'I DREAM OF JEANNIE'- brought to you by.....LARK, the filter cigarette, that tastes 'Richly Rewarding, Uncommonly Smooth'. 'There Is NOTHING Like A Lark'!"}.
This WASN'T a "Screen Gems" production, 'terryk'- Sidney Sheldon produced, and owned the rights to, the series [until he sold it to Columbia in 1971]. They just wanted him to produce it as cheaply as possible, since he was using their facilities. They delayed color filming of THEIR various series as long as network TV mostly stayed in black and white {"HAZEL" and "EMPIRE" were filmed in color [in 1962] because they had autombile sponsors who could afford the extra money to film them in color}.
For more on Barbara Eden you can read my article on Lockergnome(dot)com: "Barbara Eden Launches Official Website, Biography 2011." There you can leave? a comment.
Great casting: the most beautiful woman ever to grace the TV screen was a Genie who can grant any wish. Oh, by the way...there is a mythical state called Florida, and a mythical town call Cocoa Beach (been there many times). P.S. The original theme played in this clip is my favorite of the two series themes.
...When i was a little girl watching the reruns of this show (in the 1970s) i had such a crush on Major Nelson, and i thought Jeannie was so beautifuL. I always loved her bottle and i think it was my inspiration to get Stained glasS windows thruout my hOme. ThanX for the UpLoad. :)
@mrmoore1970 damn, i was wondering the same thing!!......my gut feeling is that Frees is indeed the voice......the only other one i can think of would be Hans Conried.......
i''m glad they went with LIS as opposed to Star Trek. There were much better stories in the beginning, ones that dealt with survival in space and the characters were more relatable.
Probably a dumb question, but after all of these years, I'm someone can finally straighten me out. What was the deal with the announcer's line "Cocoa Beach...a mythical town in a mythical state called Florida"???. Obviously, the town & the state are very real, but perhaps sarcasm was intended, right?
...so she isn't quite "experienced" in the art of "being" a genie. As I've said, Jeannie KNOWS how to use her magic, but her emotions (usually her enthusiasm and "childlike" behavior) often get in the way of being more "effective" in using them. It was also due to the fact that she didn't understand modern 20th Century customs and "current behavior". But her stubbornness was often at odds with the "master/genie" relationship she was supposed to uphold, as well as her powers.
Jeannie certainly knew HOW to use her magical abilities, 'philly', but there was often something that often got in the way of using them to her advantage: her emotions. Sidney Sheldon established- TWICE- in his scripts that she was turned into a genie by the "Blue Djinn" (although later, most of her family is established as genies themselves)....
Because Tony Nelson didn't WANT mansions, "Corvettes", or anything that Jeannie wanted to give him; he wanted to live a "normal life", only she was living in the same house with him, trying to fulfill her duties as a genie by "serving her master". The opening sequence of "The Permanent House Guest" touched upon that. Tony keeps telling Jeannie he just wants "bacon and eggs" for breakfast, and she complains she'll be a "laughing stock" to other genies because he hardly wishes for anything "big".
@fromthesidelines That was one explanation. There was also the fact that Jeannie seemed to muck things up whenever she used her powers. She meant well, but it always got Tony in trouble.
Dr. Smith couldn't "lust" after anyone, 'hydrolito'. He was too much of a schemer and "bumbling coward" to commit himself to ANY woman. Besides, it was established, in "Wild Adventure", that Smith took his walk into space to follow "the green girl" {eventually known as "Athena"} because she "hypnotized" him into following her; she really wanted the Jupiter 2's "deutronium" fuel supply- and the only way she could get it was to go after Smith.
Sidney Sheldon, in his autobiography "The Other Side of Me", recalled that Screen Gems- not NBC- initially told him the series would NOT be produced in color (even though he was its producer and OWNER); he told studio executive Jerry Hyams, "It HAS to be in color. I'll pay the extra $400 a week to film it in color out of my own pocket". Hyams replied, "Sidney, don't throw your money away". That's when Sheldon realized not even Screen Gems expected the show to last its initial season, 'smith'.
@fromthesidelines just another example of Screen Gems' then-refusal to stick a friggin' crowbar in it's wallet to make a good show better......indeed, even in the mid-60s it seems that Harry Cohn never really died.......
As for CBS' decision concerning "STAR TREK", that might have been due to network president James T. Aubrey's "squeeze play" to force Lucille Ball to commit herself to another season of "THE LUCY SHOW" (she initially claimed she wanted to end the series after its first AND second seasons, but always changed her mind). I think Aubrey deliberately saw to it that ALL Desilu pilots and projects were rejected for the 1964-'65 season, leaving the only series her studio was producing...hers. Get it?
@fromthesidelines I prefer the 1st season theme over the other. The first season was intentionally filmed in b&w because the network didn't want to spend money on color because the producers didn't expect the series to last more than 1 season.
Yes, that's exactly what I meant, 'weenie' {that SHOULD have read, "filmed in black and white during its first season"}. Allen sold the pilot to the network BEFORE they made the decision to schedule at least half of their prime-time lineup in color for the fall of '65 [however, CBS decided "HOGAN'S HEROES" was going to be successful enough to order color episodes, after their black and white pilot].
"LOST IN SPACE" was filmed in color during its first season because, even though the network was scheduling half of their prime-time schedule in color by the fall of 1965, CBS (and Irwin Allen) preferred black and white. Not until they began 100% prime-time color programming in the fall of '66 was "LOST IN SPACE" finally "converted" to color.
I'm sure you meant that "Lost in Space" was NOT filmed in color during season 1, but I still find it amazing that CBS passed on "Star Trek" in favor of "Lost in Space"...
The original 15 minute "demonstration film" for "THE MUNSTERS" (with Joan Marshall and Happy Derman) was filmed in color, but the second version- with the cast in place- and the "official" pilot episode were filmed in black and white, as CBS was NOT telecasting any color series until the fall of '65; the only time "The Munsters" were seen in color was the 1966 feature film, "Munster Go Home". "THE ADDAMS FAMILY" was filmed in black and white because ABC telecast few color series until 1966.
They may also remember the blue genie in Disney's Aladdin, if they see reruns on cartoon network or something they might also have seen Shazzan. Twin boy and girl touched together the two halves of a ring to sommon Shazzan. They also rode on flying camel and had a magic rope and a cape of invisiblity I think.
Creator/producer Sidney Sheldon wrote Paul Frees' introduction; when he said, "oh, not your average, everyday genie", he was right; Sheldon later recalled, in creating the series, "instead of someone big and fat, like Burl Ives [referring to his role as a genie in 1964's "The Brass Bottle"], why not a beautful young girl who comes out of a bottle and says, 'What can I do for you, Master?'". And Barbara Eden's image is how most people perceive what a "genie" is supposed to be these days...
Don't forget the first season episodes "The Moving Finger" ["Rita Mitchell's" living room was a major "redress" of Sam & Darrin's living room, if you look carefully] and "Whatever Became Of Baby Custer?" (the "Jamison's" living room was a slight redress of the same set). Thanks, 'Tangible'!
Richard Wess wrote the first season's theme and score (he was best known for writing and conducting most of Bobby Darin's arrangements from 1959 through '66), but Sidney Sheldon decided towards the end of the season he wasn't satisfied with Wess' musical approach to the series, trying Nelson Riddle for one episode before settling on Hugo Montenegro, who wrote a new theme and score for season two, and stayed with the show until it ended.
1974, my Freshman year in High School. I audio tape all the t.v. shows I like, including afternoon reruns of IDOJ. First day of typing class, Mr. Prieb tells us to type something. I type the intro you've seen above on this vid. My partner at the desk next to me freaks...
The music was awesome for a sitcom. Hard bop chord changes, the drummer sounds like Elvin Jones. Healy, the Maynard Krebbs hipster astronaut bassist. Tony, the incredibly dufey. The "evil" hot sister was just too cool for the times.
OMG the first shot of the street features the BEWITCHED house. and more trivia--dr. bellows' house in one scene was actually darrin's and samantha's home after Bewitched was canceled.
Actually Bewitched lasted longer than I Dream of Jeannie ended in 1970 while Bewitched lasted until 1972. The scene filmed on the Bewitched set for "One of Our Bottles Is Missing" the Bellow's home was during Bewitched's third season.
The second Darrin also had appear on Jeanie as an inept small time country lawyer. Jeanie had evil sister with dark hair also played by Babara Eden. Samantha had mischievious though not as evil cousin Sarena played by Elizbeth Montgomery also. The movie with Burl Ive's as Genie had Tony Randal (Felic Unger on the Odd Couple) as the master, maybe where they got idea to call him Tony?
No wonder the 1st season music theme was changed,because who would have wanted to hear it for 5 seasons?Of course,the subsequent music theme is loved by not only me, but uncountable people all around the world!
I heartily disagree, Dj. It must be you don't enjoy jazz or jazz-flavored themes. I first remembered "I Dream of Jeannie" this way. I was 6 when it premiered and 7 when it went to color. Though I watched the remaining seasons, even as a 7-year old, I didn't like the 2nd theme.
Sheldon claimed not too long afterwards that the 'new' second - fifth season them was to reflect a more comical, slap-stick approach to the show as the first season was more romantic.
@TangibleDreamsEnt One of the all-time questions is Genie or Samantha, like Ginger or Maryanne. Well the slapstick approach killed Genie. I never liked it that much. I think everyone wondered why Darren and Tony didn't have their gurls whip them up mansions and Corvettes.
Because of Screen Gems' stubbornness (and the network agreeing with their opinion, "it costs too much to film special effects in color"), "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was the LAST black and white program on NBC's 1965-'66 prime-time schedule [that season, they billed themselves as "The Full Color Network"]. In the fall of 1966, CBS and ABC joined NBC in telecasting "100% color" prime-time shows, which is why "JEANNIE" went to color as well. In 2000, SONY spent millions to "colorize" the first season.
The Adam's Family and Munsters were also in black and white originally. Not sure if they went to color as we had a black and white tv at the time. Al Lewis who played grandpa said they wore color make up but then filmed in black and white. Publicity photos for magazines and tv guide, etc were often done in color though. The first year of Lost in Space (CBS 1965) was in black and white also and then went to color in fall of 1966.
Sidney Sheldon WANTED the series in color from the start, but Screen Gems refused (even though he produced and OWNED the rights to it!). He offered to pay the extra $400 an episode needed for color filming, but a Screen Gems executive told him, "Sidney, don't throw your money away". Not until the tail end of season one was he finally allowed to film two color episodes to see how the show would look in full color (those were seen in season two), and the show went "all-color" in season two.
Paul Frees was involved a a LOT of narration, commercial voice-overs, cartoons, dubbed voices in motion pictures, you name it- his was the voice you remember, but can't quite place the name...and yes, 'kirk', that WAS "Samantha & Darrin's" house in the background at 1:16. Virtually every Screen Gems TV comedy (from 1954 through '72) was centered in that same neighborhood setting- it's still located at the "Burbank {formerly Columbia} Ranch" facilities near the old Columbia studio in Hollywood.
Funny thing I noticed. Even though they were rival shows, when Paul Frees mentions Cocoa Beach being a "mythical town..." etc, just before they focus on Major Nelson's house, the house at the end of the block looks just like Darrian and Samantha's house from "Bewitched".
That's the late Paul Frees. He is the voice of the Ghost Host in Disney's Haunted Mansion and also the original voice of Ludwig Von Drake. He also voiced Borris in "The Adventures of Rocky and Bulwinkle".
No, this opening has always been black and white. The whole first season was black and white, though colorized versions of the first season episodes exist, with the animated openings attached.
@weenielongus I have seen th e colorized first season jeannies and the color looks remarkably REAL--how did they do that? The whole first season was shot in B&W
like weenielongus said, the first season was in black and white.
i remember reading on one of the 'i dream of jeannie' sites that the network and producers didn't have much hope for the show, so they didnt want to spend the extra money for things like color.
once it showed it had 'hit' possibilities, it was in color...along with a new theme song, a promotion for tony and roger, etc.
does anybody know why roger was in the army? that always bugged me.
The promotions were given during the first season before they were notified that they were picked up for a second season. Screen Gems didn't think it was worth the extra $400-$500 to film it in color.
Roger was in the Army and Tony was in the AirForce. The reason was, at the time both the Army and the AirForce were working to help boost and support the Space Program, which is why Tony wore blue and Roger wore green.
When I was young I wondered about the uniform difference. Once I learned about the military services and knew the insignia I saw that Roger was branched in the Engineers but had aviator wings which meant he was probably a chopper pilot, an unlikely candidate for NASA. Later I stopped worrying about uniforms and tried to figure out how a Genie with origins in the middle east could have fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. Oh well,,,
Recessive genes (or genies in this case) are tricky things. Like how a family full of blondes and brunettes can squeeze out a flaming red head every fifty or so years.
Imagine if they had the bawlz to cast a sexy, swarthy skinned middle eastern type as Genie in the 1960s. Of course that would never happen. They'd cast a WASP and put make-up on her. I'm not really a Genie fan and lean more towards Bewitched anyway.
Original Pilot for Star Trek (One with Capt. Christopher Pike later used in episode called the cage) they had Majel Roddenberry (a woman) playing second in command on the space ship, but then a woman in charge was unacceptable I guess so they reject it. Gene redid it with Women as Communications officer and Yeoman. They eventually had a woman as second in command on Star Trek Deep Space 9, and as commanding officer of ship on Star Trek Voyager.
@hydrolito Gene Roddenberry was very progressive which is ironic when you consider he was an LA cop. Making a sexy black gurl a Commo officer was bold. Having her kiss CPT Kirk was off the charts.
Back then a white guy kissing a black girl was unusual, but on Star Trek they also lusted after Green belly dancer so what's the big deal? They also had Dr. Smith lust after a green or blue woman on Lost in Space who wanted to steal their rocket fuel.
In Arabic folklore, genies always look "exotic." So if somebody from the Arabian Peninsula a couple of thousand years ago saw Barbara Eden, he would assume that she was a genie.
In story of Aladdin (At least version they had on tv a long time since I read the story in the Arabian Knights) Genie's could change forms so she could look like anything or anyone so she looked like that to please him I guess.
LOL@hydrolito, i was an officer in the army reserve, so i know that well.
as a kid, though, before i joined the army, i saw that rogers uniform was green and tony's was blue, and i was wondering why they never explained the difference (as silly as roger got, he was in the engineer corps of the army, and an astronaut, so he wasn't THAT dumb after all. LOL)
what i never got was navy officer rank if they didnt use brass. could never figure out the stripes.
Yes, narrator Jose Ferrer (not Paul Frees, 'blk') also began "BEWITCHED"'s first episode with "Once upon a time..." when describing Sam & Darrin's meeting, courtship and marriage in less than three minutes. Here, "once upon a time" was imposed by NBC to assure viewers that such a relationship between a man and a woman (even if she IS a genie) could NEVER happen in "real life"...
I like both themes but this one sounds more romantic. The other one implying more comedy.
As far as why Nelson did the "right" thing, well TV standards were way different back then and it was a family show. The other thing it makes sense that Jeannie would be in love with a "gentleman" and not someone shallow. Also, there wouldn't have been much of a show if there wasn't any chasing around going on.
You're not crazy, 'delidude'- that street, and neighborhood, was seen in virtually every Screen Gems TV situaion comedy from the mid-'50s through the early '70s (it's located on what used to be the outdoor "Columbia Ranch" backlot)- you get to see it several times during the first season {excellent examples: "Djinn and Water", during Tony's mad chase for his "driverless" car; and "Whatever Became of Baby Custer?", as Tony dashes out of his house, passing "Samantha's house" along the way}.
I have been thinking I was crazy...on all the repeats on tv they play that bouncy theme song but it the back of my mind, I could hum the lovely waltz from the first season. Now I see they both existed...I am not insane...I am not insane...
I saw how the first episode originaly began with the space ship at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. I wondered why the narator and theme song did not start. Now it was like that on TV Land and Me TV in Chicago.
I only used to see seasons 2 - the next to last in the 70's which were on WGN. In 1980 WGN finally aired the first season. Before WGN aired season the station used the first season for a promo and I wondered about where that version came from or maybe WGN made it up. I finally got to see it the next week.
Paul Frees also functioned as the show's announcer in the 1965-'66 season for primary sponsor Liggett & Myers at the beginning and the end of their episodes- "'I DREAM OF JEANNIE'- brought to you by....LARK, the filter cigarette, that tastes richly rewarding, uncommonly smooth...There Is NOTHING..Like A Lark!", or "...L&M cigarettes. Come on over to the L&M side- come on over...just for the taste of it!".
Amazing how a guy finds a Jennie in a bottle and doesn't WANT her....when I first saw this show years ago I thought he was crazy not wanting a beautifull women who is a Jennie. lol I know Jennie's don't exist but if they were Real Hell have a good time with her. your on a private island for pete sakes...lol...I love this show was funny.
Yes, in some black & white syndicated prints of episodes 2 through 8, released to local stations in the '70s, there were indeed TWO titles- the one seen here, and, after the "teaser" scene setting up the episode, the 1967 opening title in black & white! Sometimes, the '67 title replaced the original black & white version in those syndicated prints...
This opening title was featured in episodes 2through 8; NBC, still nervous about the idea of a beautiful genie "serving" a modern Air Force officer, insisted that Sidney Sheldon spell out to viewers exactly WHY Jeannie was living with Captain Nelson in his house without benefit of marriage. That's why there were tongue-in-cheek references to "once upon a time" and "mythical" in Paul Frees' narration. Sheldon insisted the animated title be reinstated by episode 9 {"The Moving Finger"}- it was.
it's the stevens' house on bewitched LOL
mikehlebik 1 month ago
Cool and rare document. But just cant believe that nobody mentioned/noticed that the narrator is none other than Orson Welles!!!
StephotoMTL 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
True, 'powergirl'. But "JEANNIE" and 'BEWITCHED" remained in black and white during the 1965-'66 season, because Screen Gems was simply too cheap to convert them to color (they claimed the special effects cost too much for color filming, even though, as I've said, Sidney Sheldon offered to pay for the extra cost of filming "JEANNIE" in color from the start).
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
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fromthesidelines 1 year ago
The orginal music is totally lifeless and forgettable. I much more enjoy the swingy, bossa nova thing that replaced it.
powergirl901 1 year ago
@powergirl901 i totally disagree. the original music was full of life and most folks DO remember this version (per the comments whenever a video with it comes up).
i have nothing against the second version, but this one stands out as the best to me.
neoconsnightmare3 2 months ago
By the fall of 1966, Screen Gems HAD to film all of their shows in color, as all three networks scheduled "all-color" prime-time lineups that season [including "JEANNIE"]. And yes, that's Paul Frees as the narrator, 'terryk' {he also handled the sponsor I.D.'s for Liggett & Myers in season one: i.e. "'I DREAM OF JEANNIE'- brought to you by.....LARK, the filter cigarette, that tastes 'Richly Rewarding, Uncommonly Smooth'. 'There Is NOTHING Like A Lark'!"}.
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
This WASN'T a "Screen Gems" production, 'terryk'- Sidney Sheldon produced, and owned the rights to, the series [until he sold it to Columbia in 1971]. They just wanted him to produce it as cheaply as possible, since he was using their facilities. They delayed color filming of THEIR various series as long as network TV mostly stayed in black and white {"HAZEL" and "EMPIRE" were filmed in color [in 1962] because they had autombile sponsors who could afford the extra money to film them in color}.
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
@fromthesidelines Gidget was in color from it's first show in 1965.
powergirl901 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
For more on Barbara Eden you can read my article on Lockergnome(dot)com: "Barbara Eden Launches Official Website, Biography 2011." There you can leave? a comment.
jfko6 1 year ago
Great casting: the most beautiful woman ever to grace the TV screen was a Genie who can grant any wish. Oh, by the way...there is a mythical state called Florida, and a mythical town call Cocoa Beach (been there many times). P.S. The original theme played in this clip is my favorite of the two series themes.
rolex452 1 year ago
COOL
MEGABOINK65 1 year ago
...When i was a little girl watching the reruns of this show (in the 1970s) i had such a crush on Major Nelson, and i thought Jeannie was so beautifuL. I always loved her bottle and i think it was my inspiration to get Stained glasS windows thruout my hOme. ThanX for the UpLoad. :)
TheBornAnnoyed 1 year ago
WOW!!! I haven't seen this opening in years!!!! Thanks a million!!! I wonder if the narrator is Paul Frees, who voiced many cartoons during the 60's
mrmoore1970 1 year ago
@mrmoore1970 damn, i was wondering the same thing!!......my gut feeling is that Frees is indeed the voice......the only other one i can think of would be Hans Conried.......
citizenterryk 1 year ago
WOW!!! I haven't seen this opening in years!!!! Thanks a million!!!
mrmoore1970 1 year ago
Dios mio! UNA ASI QUIERO YO
bytton 1 year ago
That girl is wonderful. I wish, some day, I could find a girl like her. It would be like a dream coming true :-)
ealiagac 1 year ago
i''m glad they went with LIS as opposed to Star Trek. There were much better stories in the beginning, ones that dealt with survival in space and the characters were more relatable.
dhucke4assembly 1 year ago
Probably a dumb question, but after all of these years, I'm someone can finally straighten me out. What was the deal with the announcer's line "Cocoa Beach...a mythical town in a mythical state called Florida"???. Obviously, the town & the state are very real, but perhaps sarcasm was intended, right?
Bentom86 1 year ago
My favorite line: "The girl and the bottle played spin the astronaut."
Unfortunately, nobody under 40 will get it.
zabadazidit 1 year ago
I love this song !
TheJBGAULIER 1 year ago
...so she isn't quite "experienced" in the art of "being" a genie. As I've said, Jeannie KNOWS how to use her magic, but her emotions (usually her enthusiasm and "childlike" behavior) often get in the way of being more "effective" in using them. It was also due to the fact that she didn't understand modern 20th Century customs and "current behavior". But her stubbornness was often at odds with the "master/genie" relationship she was supposed to uphold, as well as her powers.
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
Jeannie certainly knew HOW to use her magical abilities, 'philly', but there was often something that often got in the way of using them to her advantage: her emotions. Sidney Sheldon established- TWICE- in his scripts that she was turned into a genie by the "Blue Djinn" (although later, most of her family is established as genies themselves)....
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
Because Tony Nelson didn't WANT mansions, "Corvettes", or anything that Jeannie wanted to give him; he wanted to live a "normal life", only she was living in the same house with him, trying to fulfill her duties as a genie by "serving her master". The opening sequence of "The Permanent House Guest" touched upon that. Tony keeps telling Jeannie he just wants "bacon and eggs" for breakfast, and she complains she'll be a "laughing stock" to other genies because he hardly wishes for anything "big".
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
@fromthesidelines That was one explanation. There was also the fact that Jeannie seemed to muck things up whenever she used her powers. She meant well, but it always got Tony in trouble.
phillydisco 1 year ago
Dr. Smith couldn't "lust" after anyone, 'hydrolito'. He was too much of a schemer and "bumbling coward" to commit himself to ANY woman. Besides, it was established, in "Wild Adventure", that Smith took his walk into space to follow "the green girl" {eventually known as "Athena"} because she "hypnotized" him into following her; she really wanted the Jupiter 2's "deutronium" fuel supply- and the only way she could get it was to go after Smith.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Sidney Sheldon, in his autobiography "The Other Side of Me", recalled that Screen Gems- not NBC- initially told him the series would NOT be produced in color (even though he was its producer and OWNER); he told studio executive Jerry Hyams, "It HAS to be in color. I'll pay the extra $400 a week to film it in color out of my own pocket". Hyams replied, "Sidney, don't throw your money away". That's when Sheldon realized not even Screen Gems expected the show to last its initial season, 'smith'.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
@fromthesidelines just another example of Screen Gems' then-refusal to stick a friggin' crowbar in it's wallet to make a good show better......indeed, even in the mid-60s it seems that Harry Cohn never really died.......
citizenterryk 1 year ago
As for CBS' decision concerning "STAR TREK", that might have been due to network president James T. Aubrey's "squeeze play" to force Lucille Ball to commit herself to another season of "THE LUCY SHOW" (she initially claimed she wanted to end the series after its first AND second seasons, but always changed her mind). I think Aubrey deliberately saw to it that ALL Desilu pilots and projects were rejected for the 1964-'65 season, leaving the only series her studio was producing...hers. Get it?
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
@fromthesidelines I prefer the 1st season theme over the other. The first season was intentionally filmed in b&w because the network didn't want to spend money on color because the producers didn't expect the series to last more than 1 season.
msmithstud 2 years ago
Yes, that's exactly what I meant, 'weenie' {that SHOULD have read, "filmed in black and white during its first season"}. Allen sold the pilot to the network BEFORE they made the decision to schedule at least half of their prime-time lineup in color for the fall of '65 [however, CBS decided "HOGAN'S HEROES" was going to be successful enough to order color episodes, after their black and white pilot].
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
"LOST IN SPACE" was filmed in color during its first season because, even though the network was scheduling half of their prime-time schedule in color by the fall of 1965, CBS (and Irwin Allen) preferred black and white. Not until they began 100% prime-time color programming in the fall of '66 was "LOST IN SPACE" finally "converted" to color.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
I'm sure you meant that "Lost in Space" was NOT filmed in color during season 1, but I still find it amazing that CBS passed on "Star Trek" in favor of "Lost in Space"...
weenielongus 2 years ago
The original 15 minute "demonstration film" for "THE MUNSTERS" (with Joan Marshall and Happy Derman) was filmed in color, but the second version- with the cast in place- and the "official" pilot episode were filmed in black and white, as CBS was NOT telecasting any color series until the fall of '65; the only time "The Munsters" were seen in color was the 1966 feature film, "Munster Go Home". "THE ADDAMS FAMILY" was filmed in black and white because ABC telecast few color series until 1966.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
They may also remember the blue genie in Disney's Aladdin, if they see reruns on cartoon network or something they might also have seen Shazzan. Twin boy and girl touched together the two halves of a ring to sommon Shazzan. They also rode on flying camel and had a magic rope and a cape of invisiblity I think.
hydrolito 2 years ago
Creator/producer Sidney Sheldon wrote Paul Frees' introduction; when he said, "oh, not your average, everyday genie", he was right; Sheldon later recalled, in creating the series, "instead of someone big and fat, like Burl Ives [referring to his role as a genie in 1964's "The Brass Bottle"], why not a beautful young girl who comes out of a bottle and says, 'What can I do for you, Master?'". And Barbara Eden's image is how most people perceive what a "genie" is supposed to be these days...
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
I'd buy that for a dollar!
CrankCase08 2 years ago
lolol the first time i saw this on tv i thought it was porno ...It was a genie but not your average genie sounds like a porno line to me
pypy22 2 years ago
Don't forget the first season episodes "The Moving Finger" ["Rita Mitchell's" living room was a major "redress" of Sam & Darrin's living room, if you look carefully] and "Whatever Became Of Baby Custer?" (the "Jamison's" living room was a slight redress of the same set). Thanks, 'Tangible'!
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Richard Wess wrote the first season's theme and score (he was best known for writing and conducting most of Bobby Darin's arrangements from 1959 through '66), but Sidney Sheldon decided towards the end of the season he wasn't satisfied with Wess' musical approach to the series, trying Nelson Riddle for one episode before settling on Hugo Montenegro, who wrote a new theme and score for season two, and stayed with the show until it ended.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Paul Frees did the voice over. 1:15 to 1:20 is the Darren & Samantha Stevens Cape Cod styled house.
frankd1965 2 years ago
The second theme is more remembered.. but if you really listen to this one.. its very good. Jazzy. Great percussion.
SJYNYC 2 years ago
1974, my Freshman year in High School. I audio tape all the t.v. shows I like, including afternoon reruns of IDOJ. First day of typing class, Mr. Prieb tells us to type something. I type the intro you've seen above on this vid. My partner at the desk next to me freaks...
TheMikester307 2 years ago
The music was awesome for a sitcom. Hard bop chord changes, the drummer sounds like Elvin Jones. Healy, the Maynard Krebbs hipster astronaut bassist. Tony, the incredibly dufey. The "evil" hot sister was just too cool for the times.
frownerb 2 years ago
OMG the first shot of the street features the BEWITCHED house. and more trivia--dr. bellows' house in one scene was actually darrin's and samantha's home after Bewitched was canceled.
delidude1999 2 years ago
Actually Bewitched lasted longer than I Dream of Jeannie ended in 1970 while Bewitched lasted until 1972. The scene filmed on the Bewitched set for "One of Our Bottles Is Missing" the Bellow's home was during Bewitched's third season.
TangibleDreamsEnt 2 years ago
I love cool trivia stuff like that--and I should have known that too--I have the bewitched book. Thanks. Guess I am just finally getting old LOL
delidude1999 2 years ago
The second Darrin also had appear on Jeanie as an inept small time country lawyer. Jeanie had evil sister with dark hair also played by Babara Eden. Samantha had mischievious though not as evil cousin Sarena played by Elizbeth Montgomery also. The movie with Burl Ive's as Genie had Tony Randal (Felic Unger on the Odd Couple) as the master, maybe where they got idea to call him Tony?
hydrolito 2 years ago
I hope teenaged Barara Eden isn't one of the 72 virgins.....I might slip into a comfortable bomb myself....
dougyoolikeme 2 years ago
First season music was better, later music was typical network cheese. Caraqueno is right.
caseyg5 2 years ago 2
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TheeSleapinbeauty 2 years ago
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TheeSleapinbeauty 2 years ago
No wonder the 1st season music theme was changed,because who would have wanted to hear it for 5 seasons?Of course,the subsequent music theme is loved by not only me, but uncountable people all around the world!
djminimoto 2 years ago
I heartily disagree, Dj. It must be you don't enjoy jazz or jazz-flavored themes. I first remembered "I Dream of Jeannie" this way. I was 6 when it premiered and 7 when it went to color. Though I watched the remaining seasons, even as a 7-year old, I didn't like the 2nd theme.
caraqueno 2 years ago
I heartily agree, caraqueno. This song really is "dreamy"--the second one is too cute--and overplayed...
nauort23 2 years ago
Sheldon claimed not too long afterwards that the 'new' second - fifth season them was to reflect a more comical, slap-stick approach to the show as the first season was more romantic.
TangibleDreamsEnt 2 years ago
@TangibleDreamsEnt One of the all-time questions is Genie or Samantha, like Ginger or Maryanne. Well the slapstick approach killed Genie. I never liked it that much. I think everyone wondered why Darren and Tony didn't have their gurls whip them up mansions and Corvettes.
tonywallacess45 2 years ago
An ep of IDOJ dealt with that. How do you explain away mansions and Corvettes?
SailorBarsoom 2 years ago
I want my I dream of jeannie picture back!
TheeSleapinbeauty 2 years ago
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TheeSleapinbeauty 2 years ago
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TheeSleapinbeauty 2 years ago
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TheeSleapinbeauty 2 years ago
Because of Screen Gems' stubbornness (and the network agreeing with their opinion, "it costs too much to film special effects in color"), "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" was the LAST black and white program on NBC's 1965-'66 prime-time schedule [that season, they billed themselves as "The Full Color Network"]. In the fall of 1966, CBS and ABC joined NBC in telecasting "100% color" prime-time shows, which is why "JEANNIE" went to color as well. In 2000, SONY spent millions to "colorize" the first season.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Actually Sony went very 'bottom of the barrel' on the colorization process and spent much much less than that, well under half a million dollars.
TangibleDreamsEnt 2 years ago
The Adam's Family and Munsters were also in black and white originally. Not sure if they went to color as we had a black and white tv at the time. Al Lewis who played grandpa said they wore color make up but then filmed in black and white. Publicity photos for magazines and tv guide, etc were often done in color though. The first year of Lost in Space (CBS 1965) was in black and white also and then went to color in fall of 1966.
hydrolito 2 years ago
Sidney Sheldon WANTED the series in color from the start, but Screen Gems refused (even though he produced and OWNED the rights to it!). He offered to pay the extra $400 an episode needed for color filming, but a Screen Gems executive told him, "Sidney, don't throw your money away". Not until the tail end of season one was he finally allowed to film two color episodes to see how the show would look in full color (those were seen in season two), and the show went "all-color" in season two.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Do You Understand yet?
dumbnditzydish 2 years ago
she want sent to him for a reason
dumbnditzydish 2 years ago
dammit, a young barbara eden planting a kiss on me, and willing to grant ME any wish would have gotten a 'come on home with me'. LOL.
damn, she was fine!
yeah, i love the original music.
neoconsnightmare3 2 years ago
Paul Frees was involved a a LOT of narration, commercial voice-overs, cartoons, dubbed voices in motion pictures, you name it- his was the voice you remember, but can't quite place the name...and yes, 'kirk', that WAS "Samantha & Darrin's" house in the background at 1:16. Virtually every Screen Gems TV comedy (from 1954 through '72) was centered in that same neighborhood setting- it's still located at the "Burbank {formerly Columbia} Ranch" facilities near the old Columbia studio in Hollywood.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Ok. Paul Frees. Thanks for the reminder!
He also was the reporter talking into the tape recorder in War Of The Worlds and did the voice of the talking rings in The Time Machine.
Soujurn 2 years ago
Funny thing I noticed. Even though they were rival shows, when Paul Frees mentions Cocoa Beach being a "mythical town..." etc, just before they focus on Major Nelson's house, the house at the end of the block looks just like Darrian and Samantha's house from "Bewitched".
jtkirkfan2002 2 years ago
I just noticed that someone else pointed this out.
jtkirkfan2002 2 years ago
Who did the voice over? I remember that voice from many Disney productions too.
Soujurn 2 years ago
That's the late Paul Frees. He is the voice of the Ghost Host in Disney's Haunted Mansion and also the original voice of Ludwig Von Drake. He also voiced Borris in "The Adventures of Rocky and Bulwinkle".
jtkirkfan2002 2 years ago
Why it is white and black??? i remember it always at full color....
Gabriellandon 2 years ago
No, this opening has always been black and white. The whole first season was black and white, though colorized versions of the first season episodes exist, with the animated openings attached.
weenielongus 2 years ago 2
@weenielongus I have seen th e colorized first season jeannies and the color looks remarkably REAL--how did they do that? The whole first season was shot in B&W
DavelovesRealMusic 1 year ago
like weenielongus said, the first season was in black and white.
i remember reading on one of the 'i dream of jeannie' sites that the network and producers didn't have much hope for the show, so they didnt want to spend the extra money for things like color.
once it showed it had 'hit' possibilities, it was in color...along with a new theme song, a promotion for tony and roger, etc.
does anybody know why roger was in the army? that always bugged me.
neoconsnightmare3 2 years ago
But how they did to change the black and white tv show to color???
Gabriellandon 2 years ago
they've been able to make black and white into color for quite sometime.
nowadays, with computers. back in the day, i know they had cruder methods.
neoconsnightmare3 2 years ago
Hmmmmmmmmm :)
Gabriellandon 2 years ago
The promotions were given during the first season before they were notified that they were picked up for a second season. Screen Gems didn't think it was worth the extra $400-$500 to film it in color.
Roger was in the Army and Tony was in the AirForce. The reason was, at the time both the Army and the AirForce were working to help boost and support the Space Program, which is why Tony wore blue and Roger wore green.
TangibleDreamsEnt 2 years ago
When I was young I wondered about the uniform difference. Once I learned about the military services and knew the insignia I saw that Roger was branched in the Engineers but had aviator wings which meant he was probably a chopper pilot, an unlikely candidate for NASA. Later I stopped worrying about uniforms and tried to figure out how a Genie with origins in the middle east could have fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. Oh well,,,
tonywallacess45 2 years ago
@tonywallacess45 I guess the neighborhood changed during the few thousand years she was couped-up in that bottle?!? :+)
weenielongus 2 years ago
Recessive genes (or genies in this case) are tricky things. Like how a family full of blondes and brunettes can squeeze out a flaming red head every fifty or so years.
TangibleDreamsEnt 2 years ago
Imagine if they had the bawlz to cast a sexy, swarthy skinned middle eastern type as Genie in the 1960s. Of course that would never happen. They'd cast a WASP and put make-up on her. I'm not really a Genie fan and lean more towards Bewitched anyway.
tonywallacess45 2 years ago
Original Pilot for Star Trek (One with Capt. Christopher Pike later used in episode called the cage) they had Majel Roddenberry (a woman) playing second in command on the space ship, but then a woman in charge was unacceptable I guess so they reject it. Gene redid it with Women as Communications officer and Yeoman. They eventually had a woman as second in command on Star Trek Deep Space 9, and as commanding officer of ship on Star Trek Voyager.
hydrolito 2 years ago
@hydrolito Gene Roddenberry was very progressive which is ironic when you consider he was an LA cop. Making a sexy black gurl a Commo officer was bold. Having her kiss CPT Kirk was off the charts.
tonywallacess45 2 years ago
Back then a white guy kissing a black girl was unusual, but on Star Trek they also lusted after Green belly dancer so what's the big deal? They also had Dr. Smith lust after a green or blue woman on Lost in Space who wanted to steal their rocket fuel.
hydrolito 2 years ago
In Arabic folklore, genies always look "exotic." So if somebody from the Arabian Peninsula a couple of thousand years ago saw Barbara Eden, he would assume that she was a genie.
So actually, the show got that part right.
SailorBarsoom 2 years ago
In story of Aladdin (At least version they had on tv a long time since I read the story in the Arabian Knights) Genie's could change forms so she could look like anything or anyone so she looked like that to please him I guess.
hydrolito 2 years ago
@tonywallacess45 Don't you think that a genie that can disappear in mid-air and "grant any wish" can look any way she wants ?
dhucke4assembly 1 year ago
Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, even Coast Guard sometimes serve at the same bases as go to some of the same training schools.
hydrolito 2 years ago
LOL@hydrolito, i was an officer in the army reserve, so i know that well.
as a kid, though, before i joined the army, i saw that rogers uniform was green and tony's was blue, and i was wondering why they never explained the difference (as silly as roger got, he was in the engineer corps of the army, and an astronaut, so he wasn't THAT dumb after all. LOL)
what i never got was navy officer rank if they didnt use brass. could never figure out the stripes.
neoconsnightmare3 2 years ago
This intro is so cute! It's very 60s!
BornYesterday0126 2 years ago
Yes, narrator Jose Ferrer (not Paul Frees, 'blk') also began "BEWITCHED"'s first episode with "Once upon a time..." when describing Sam & Darrin's meeting, courtship and marriage in less than three minutes. Here, "once upon a time" was imposed by NBC to assure viewers that such a relationship between a man and a woman (even if she IS a genie) could NEVER happen in "real life"...
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
didn't the first bewitched episode open up with "once upon a time..." too? i think paul frees did the narration for that too.
blkconservativ 3 years ago
Thanks for posting this. I prefer this opening MUCH better. It is Romantic.
O yea, Larry hagman DID have a nice nice behind.
Shed360 3 years ago
I like both themes but this one sounds more romantic. The other one implying more comedy.
As far as why Nelson did the "right" thing, well TV standards were way different back then and it was a family show. The other thing it makes sense that Jeannie would be in love with a "gentleman" and not someone shallow. Also, there wouldn't have been much of a show if there wasn't any chasing around going on.
palacio154 3 years ago
I always preferred this opening to the color one. I thought it was funnier and the music was better.
ericinwisconsin 3 years ago
wow. larry hagman was hot back then! barbara eden is still a beautiful woman but my gosh,she was so sexy then.
kayetraye 3 years ago 7
I know wasn't he though?!!
Iphengina 3 years ago
You're not crazy, 'delidude'- that street, and neighborhood, was seen in virtually every Screen Gems TV situaion comedy from the mid-'50s through the early '70s (it's located on what used to be the outdoor "Columbia Ranch" backlot)- you get to see it several times during the first season {excellent examples: "Djinn and Water", during Tony's mad chase for his "driverless" car; and "Whatever Became of Baby Custer?", as Tony dashes out of his house, passing "Samantha's house" along the way}.
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
am i crazy, or what? But the house/street scene at 1:17--isn't that the Bewitched house?
delidude1999 3 years ago
Yeah, it's the same house!
visor109 3 years ago
To be honest, I've always perfer the black and white theme over the familiar color theme.
NewGremlin 3 years ago 2
Me too!!
tubelover12 3 years ago
I have been thinking I was crazy...on all the repeats on tv they play that bouncy theme song but it the back of my mind, I could hum the lovely waltz from the first season. Now I see they both existed...I am not insane...I am not insane...
dotsymae 3 years ago 2
I saw how the first episode originaly began with the space ship at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. I wondered why the narator and theme song did not start. Now it was like that on TV Land and Me TV in Chicago.
britfrenir 3 years ago
I only used to see seasons 2 - the next to last in the 70's which were on WGN. In 1980 WGN finally aired the first season. Before WGN aired season the station used the first season for a promo and I wondered about where that version came from or maybe WGN made it up. I finally got to see it the next week.
britfrenir 3 years ago
Paul Frees also functioned as the show's announcer in the 1965-'66 season for primary sponsor Liggett & Myers at the beginning and the end of their episodes- "'I DREAM OF JEANNIE'- brought to you by....LARK, the filter cigarette, that tastes richly rewarding, uncommonly smooth...There Is NOTHING..Like A Lark!", or "...L&M cigarettes. Come on over to the L&M side- come on over...just for the taste of it!".
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
Forgot Paul Frees did this voiceover....
musicom67 3 years ago
The credits look like the "Get Smart" font!
Aeolis7 3 years ago
Love the music.
jkane8 3 years ago
Amazing how a guy finds a Jennie in a bottle and doesn't WANT her....when I first saw this show years ago I thought he was crazy not wanting a beautifull women who is a Jennie. lol I know Jennie's don't exist but if they were Real Hell have a good time with her. your on a private island for pete sakes...lol...I love this show was funny.
Astraldragon1 3 years ago 3
this was the orginal opening and song to I Dream of Jennie the 1st season. was different song from the one everyone knows and loves.
Astraldragon1 3 years ago
I know and love the first season theme better than the one later seasons.
tamfun2003 3 years ago 2
Yes, in some black & white syndicated prints of episodes 2 through 8, released to local stations in the '70s, there were indeed TWO titles- the one seen here, and, after the "teaser" scene setting up the episode, the 1967 opening title in black & white! Sometimes, the '67 title replaced the original black & white version in those syndicated prints...
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
On the Columbia House videos, for the second episode and such, they used both the animated title and this opening--boy, was that confusing!
Jude1968 3 years ago
The amount of innuendo packed in the intro is hilarious.
tmrobertson 3 years ago
Great video. Thanks for posting.
dkmckinney1 4 years ago
This opening title was featured in episodes 2through 8; NBC, still nervous about the idea of a beautiful genie "serving" a modern Air Force officer, insisted that Sidney Sheldon spell out to viewers exactly WHY Jeannie was living with Captain Nelson in his house without benefit of marriage. That's why there were tongue-in-cheek references to "once upon a time" and "mythical" in Paul Frees' narration. Sheldon insisted the animated title be reinstated by episode 9 {"The Moving Finger"}- it was.
fromthesidelines 4 years ago