Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a must see and have for any IDOJ fan!!, April 20, 1999
By A Customer
In glorious black and white film, captured for the ages by the magic of video tape, is the pilot episode of I Dream of Jeannie. Conceived, written and produced by famed author Sidney Sheldon, the pilot episode sets the stage for what was to become a five season run on NBC. In the pilot, Captain Anthony Nelson finds himself stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific after his space mission is aborted. While trying to spell out the distress signal SOS with shells and beach debris, he stumbles upon an odd shaped, old bottle and upon opening it forever changes his life when in a burst of smoke suddenly appears our beloved Barbara Eden. The episode follows a comic and rapid pace from this point after Captain Nelson is rescued and returns home to Coco Beach. Little does he realize that the genie he had said goodbye to on the beach cunningly becomes a stowaway in his duffle bag. What is very interesting about this episode is that the viewer walks away knowing that the two main characters (Jeannie and Cpt. Nelson) will build a very interesting relationship. To what degree, the viewer won't know...they'll just need to tune in to other espisodes. Also interesting to note is that IDOJ appears to be the first show that deals with a male and a female co-habitating outside of wedlock. (very progressive for 1965 society). I highly reccommend this video for any fan or anyone who has never seen the show, or anyone who likes a lady running around in a red velvet bolero jacket and sheer harem pants!!!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The meeting of Jeannie and Master.", August 29, 2004
I love this tape of the early 'I Dream of Jeannie' shows. I remembered seeing the series in color during my childhood. It was in 1981 (when I was a teenager) I discovered the series was originally shot in black-and-white.
In addition, I heard for the first time - and came to love - the series' ORIGINAL theme score. Unlike the familiar perky theme heard in the later 'Color' episodes, the score for the black-and-white series is slower, and romantic. The original theme song is featured on this tape for both episodes, "The Lady in the Bottle" and "My Hero". The first season for "I Dream of Jeannie" was in 1965.
In "The Lady in the Bottle" pilot, Captain Tony Nelson, an astronaut, gets stranded on a South Pacific beach after a space mission he's on suddenly goes wrong, forcing him to make an emergency landing. He writes S.O.S. in large letters on the sand.
As he waits for help to arrive, Nelson comes across an unusual-looking bottle lying on the sand. After unsuccessfully placing it aside (twice, the bottle intentionally rolls at his feet), Nelson takes it up. He unwittingly rubs it, only to release - to his surprise, a beautiful 2,000 year-old female genie (whom he calls 'Jeannie'). Kneeling and speaking in Persian, Jeannie promises to serve her 'Master' for the rest of his life, and to grant him any wish. Jeannie seals this promise when she rises, goes over, and tenderly kisses Captain Nelson. Jeannie later helps Tony get rescued; but Tony cannot bring her with him since nobody believes in genies as they don't exist.
Jeannie returns to her bottle and sneaks into Tony's kit bag. She later ends up in his home in Coco Beach, Florida. Yes, this was how Jeannie and Master came together ...with many loveable, amusing mishaps to follow in future episodes to come!
In the second episode, "My Hero", Jeannie transports Tony back to ancient Baghdad with assorted comic situations. Captain Nelson, as always, gets the brunt of things happening to him. In one cute scene in the episode's beginning, Tony, after having breakfast with Jeannie, verbally wishes he could go swimming instead of going to work. Jeannie immediately grants his wish (with her familiar blink), and Tony ends up plunging into a swimming pool that has suddenly materialized at his feet. Jeannie laughs as Tony, surfacing, mildly reprimands her.
"My Hero" also features a shortened version of the odd couple's romantic meeting on the beach in the opening segment. A male narrator's voiceover informs the viewers of how the couple met, soon followed by the original romantic 'Jeannie' theme played. This was the black-and-white episode I saw for the first time in 1981.
And for a bit of trivia: It was in this episode that Barbara Eden was pregnant. The extensive veil from her headpiece wrapped about her midsection hid her pregnancy. Eden's first husband would later play the wicked genie - 'The Blue Djinn' - who imprisoned Jeannie in the first color episode of the series. These facts are from the book "Dreaming of Jeannie: TV's Primetime in a Bottle", by Steve Cox -- which I own.
An interesting detail for "The Lady In the Bottle" episode is that the videotape version features English subtitles as Jeannie, upon being released from her bottle, speaks to Captain Nelson in Persian (before Nelson wishes that she could speak in English - which she thankfully does!). However when this episode recently aired again on TVLand, there were no subtitles.
Barbara Eden would re-create her and Captain Nelson's meeting in the 1985 T.V. movie "I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later" - minus both Larry Hagman (who, at the time, became mean and greedy J.R. of "Dallas"), and without the early 'Jeannie' theme song.
But the original episode is the way to go. Get this video gem, instead. In fact, try to get it as copies of this "I Dream of Jeannie" pilot episode are becoming hard-to-find.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two Great Episodes including the Pilot!, July 26, 1999
By A Customer
In the pilot episode, "The Lady In The Bottle", Captain Tony Nelson's spaceship crashes on a deserted desert island. He finds a bottle on the beach and a beautiful Genie (Jeannie) comes out of it!In the second episode, "My Hero",Jeannie "blinks" Captain Nelson back to ancient Persia where he meets another Genie. This one is a huge, nasty, male Genie named Ali and he doesn't care too much for Captain Nelson. Jeannie also comes to the mistaken conclusion that she and Captain Nelson will be getting married! When Captain Nelson tells her that his plans are different, she leaves him at the mercy of Ali!
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