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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dreaming of Jeannie, 16 Jul 2008
Season 1 is just that. It's the introduction to the series as a whole, and it is trying to find its way past just being a Bewitched clone. The writers are still developing the concept of just what this is all about, really, and it shows. So we get light fluffy storylines that are pure situation comedy, and not much really that has anything to do with continuity and a greater story arc. That comes in later seasons, as the cast and writers make this their own, and the show settles into itself comfortably. Being situation comedy, for each episode in this first season, you can sit back, content to now that 1. Something is going to happen, 2. its going to cause huge problems, and 3. They are going to fix it, but not before it causes all the hilarious problems. Knowing this, you can simply sit back, and let the romp begin, and begin it does.
Poor Capt. Nelson. He is a NASA astronaut, and has just splashed down in his capsule from a mission. NASA is busy trying to triangulate quite where he splashed down, and he realises as it washed up on a desert island, that he is not where they will expect to find him. So, he climbs out of the capsule, and does what any sensible person would do. He climbs out, and picks up debris on the beach and begins spelling out an SOS so that when they widen the search by plane, he will be spotted. But one bit of debris won't stay put. Thinking something must be inside the bottle causing it to roll about, he picks it up again, and pulls the stopper......and out pops a genie.She grants his wish to be found by NASA, and he tells her she is free. But after 2,000 years of being stuck in a bottle, being single, and then finding herself rescued from that bottle by a gorgeous guy, Jeannie has other ideas. So she tucks her bottle into his rucksack, and goes back inside for the ride....
The result is a series of standalone episodes that play on Jeannie's great crush on her "master", Tony Nelson, and her desire to be his wife, with the pressure poor Nelson feels as a happy bachelor who just wants a normal life and to pursue his career as an astronaut to it furthest possible outcome. Best friend Roger has a major crush on Jeannie, but she rebuffs him for Tony, and to be quite honest, when he finds out just WHAT she is, he is agog at Tony's refusal to exploit the possibilities to at least some extent. Having Jeannie pop in and out while he is trying to get on with his job is another complication. Being a most insistent and affectionate genie, Jeannie comes up with all sorts of ways to try to tempt Tony Nelson into letting her give him things, or to make his life easier, not comprehending quite how the outcome might unfold, especially when its at the office, and none more so than when its Dr Bellows on the prowl. Dr Bellows is the chief medical officer, and its his job to not only assist with the military admin stuff they do with NASA, but to ensure that the astronauts are at all times physically and mentally fit for duty. So when he realises Tony's behaviour has changed somewhat, and that Tony seems to be hiding something, he gets his nosy up, often with highly comic results.
Each episode being individual with no larger story arc limits the show, and makes it the somewhat paler shade of the successful show that sparked its creation, but halfway through Season 1, we begin to see it get its footing, and references to prior events take place, and the emergence of a longer possible story arc appears. This leads us more firmly into the Cocoa Beach that was in this version of reality, and helps begin to lift it from a well written pop up book of a situation comedy to a fully three dimensionalised world we can explore with the characters. It's fun seeing this take place, and one cannot help but be charmed by the whole innocence of the thing. It is light hearted fun, and makes no pretensions otherwise, which is as refreshing as the staying away from smarmy cuteness that it also manages.
Now, unusually, I am going to mention the sound track here. A lot of attention was put into the music on this show, and it shows. From its relaxed but jazzy opening number it has in season 1 as its theme tune, to the music being played in the background of the actual show, this is a real treat. Music was obviously very important to someone on the production team, and it shows. The quality of the music within this season hints at the glories to come, and future cameos by greats including Sammy Davis Jr. None of the cheap generic keyboard stuff so typical of 60's and 70's TV, nor any cringe worthy TV actor "pop" inflictions here!
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