I'm still a nut for many of the classic sit-coms that came out during the 1960's and early 1970's. There are so many favorites that I couldn't possibly count them on one hand, as opposed to the newer comedies that rarely get so much as a smile out of me. There are a handful of good ones, but for the most part today's sit-coms are nothing more than a breeding ground crass humor and sociological agendas. Whatever happened to good old 'family' TV?' This month, the fine folks at Sony decided to add "I Dream of Jeannie" to its ever growing roster of TV-on-DVD titles. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the 1st season set, which by the way is being released in both the original black & white version as well as a colorized one. I opted to ask for the black & white version being the purist that I am. (The only time I like the colorization process is when it is used to clean up a show or movie that was ALREADY in color.)

On the off chance that you might have never heard of the series, it surrounded the misadventures of astronaut Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) who lands on a beach upon reentry from a mission and finds an old bottle. It turns out the bottle contains an ancient Genie (Barbara Eden) who wishes to grant her rescuer's every wish. At first, he attempts to leave the bottle, but it (and she) unknowingly catches a ride in his knapsack and follows him home. What follows were several seasons of magic and mayhem, and the continual attempts by Nelson to keep everyone from thinking he was crazy.

"I Dream of Jeannie" was a favorite of mine for so many reasons. The most important being the great rapport between stars Barbara Eden (Jeannie), Larry Hagman (Captain Nelson) and Bill Daily (Captain Healey). All three actors gave performances throughout the run of this series that I still believe eclipse anything they have done since. Even in some of the less funny episodes (of which there were a few), their comedic timing was a sharp as anything else on TV at the time. And while some of the humor had a little bit of sexual connotations to it, it was so innocently delivered that every episode was still completely family friendly.

Now, speaking of the underlying sexual humor this brings me to the second reason I loved the show. Barbara Eden was (and is) drop dead gorgeous and any guy who watched the series back then, or even now cannot deny having his own little fantasies about what he would do if he were in Nelson's shoes. This was also cause for years of frustration with Nelson, whose initial reaction to the situation for the first few seasons were NOT those of the typical male. Think about it, you are faced with a gorgeous woman who has the ability to grant your every wish AND loves you madly…. what would YOU do? Admittedly, between the magical aspects of the series and Nelson's actions, his actions were the less believable. At least until he finally gave in and married her a few seasons later.

The new DVD from Sony offers up al 30 episode (30!!) from the first season, and my only disappointment lies in the overall quality of the presentation. The episodes are watchable, but there is little in the way of restoration that appears to have been done. You'll find a lot of scratches and blemishes, which vary from episode to episode. Again, they are still watchable, but I would have appreciated a little more in the way of a cleaner transfer.

On the bright side, the set also offers a commentary from Eden, Hagman and Daily on the Pilot episode, as well as featurette that reunites the three on camera for a bit of reminiscence.

All in all, it is not a bad first release for the series, but I hope future sets will include slightly better transfers and a few more extra features.

Episodes:
The Lady in the Bottle
My Hero?
Guess What Happened on the way to the Moon?
Jeannie and the Marriage Caper
G.I. Jeannie
The Yacht Murder Case
Anybody Here Seen Jeannie?
The Americanization of Jeannie
The Moving Finger
Djin & Water
Whatever Became of Baby Custer?
Where'd You Go-Go?
Russian Roulette
What House Across the Street?
Too Many Tonys
Get Me to Mecca on Time
The Richest Astronaut in the Whole Wide World
Is There an Extra Jeannie in the House?
Never Try to Outsmart a Jeannie
My Master, the Doctor
Jeannie and the Kidnap Caper
How Lucky Can You Get?
Watch the Birdie
The Permanent House Guest
Bigger Than a Bread Box and Better Than a Genie
My Master, the Great Rembrandt
My Master, the Thief
This is Murder
My Master, the Magician
I'll Never Forget What's Her Name

Starring: Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman,
Extras: Commentary on the Pilot Episode, "I Dream of Jeannie - Out of the Bottle"
Specifications: Full Screen, Black & White
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 3/14/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give I Dream of Jeannie: Season 1 a B.