Did you know the original backstory for Jeannie? Apparently, she was not always a genie! It was said that she was actually a mortal and when she would not marry Blue Djinn he banished her to live in a bottle as a genie.
The producers must not have liked that original claim, as they went on to change the story a few years later. They then stated that Jeannie was always a genie, and so was all of her family! Later when she refused to marry Blue Djinn – he banished her to the bottle. Which story do you think is more fitting?
Inspired By An Old Film
Did you know that the series “I Dream of Jeannie” was actually inspired by a movie? Sidney Sheldon was a producer of the show and wanted to base a television series off of a movie he loved called “The Brass Bottle.” The movie actually featured Barbara Eden!
Many people thought that “I Dream of Jeannie” was just a copycat of the widely successful show “Bewitched” but clearly that is not the case. This little-known fact proves that it was not at all a ripoff of that “Bewitched” after all! Sidney just really liked the idea of a show featuring a beautiful female Genie in a Bottle, and he brought it to life.
Weird Plot
The plot of the film “I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later” may seem a bit odd if you have not seen the film. Jeannie and the rest of the cast work tirelessly to stop an incoming meteoroid from hitting the earth. In the film, Jeannie has to leave Tony forever, and sadly it will be like she never existed at all!
Thankfully, she is able to find a loophole and is able to start a “new beginning” with Tony. She has to use her magic powers to lure Tony into a street corner. Sounds a little bit creepy, but overall pretty romantic!
Top 30 Show
The show “I Dream of Jeannie” only gained top 30 status after it had been canceled and was being shown in re-runs. However, with that being said, the series only hit the top 30 two times during its initial run. It hit number 26 one time, and that was the highest it would ever get. For the remainder of the run, it never even grazed the top 30.
You would think that when a show did not get good ratings at first, it would not do well in syndication, but that was certainly not the case whatsoever with “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Jeannie’s Bottle Got A Makeover
A lot changed with the coming of the second season of “I Dream of Jeannie.” The show went from black and white to full color. They also added a theme song and an intro animation!
Jeannie’s bottle also underwent a change during this transition. They changed the bottle to a different color now that the show was in color. The original bottle was green in color and had gold leaves painted on it so that it would look antique. They also reference the green color during the first season. Once the show transitioned to color, the bottle was painted purple. Most people did not realize since they never actually saw the green bottle.