Rebooting "I Dream of Jeannie"

[Qonundrum]

A straight reboot? Absolutely not (Please, for the love of God, leave Jeannie-the-Bumbling-Idiot back in the Sixties).

Bumbling? Or "fish out of water" trope (a la Star Trek IV)? Or a bit of both. But, yeah, seeing characters all as bumblers is getting trite of late, and usually not very well done. It's hard to pull off, and not since Vila Restal has any bumbler been compelling as a character, if not Max Denby, but engaging bumblers are few and far between.

I would set it in between FYL and ISDoJ and take it darker (put more emphasis on the fantasy/supernatural aspects of it and less on trying to make it wall-to-wall laughs).

Humor, yep, outright all-the-time comedy? Please, noooooooooooo!

Tony and Jeannie in the TV-movies have a teenage son, Tony Jr.. That changes the dynamic considerably.

What happened after the two movies? That's something that's never been explored.

The 80s reunion movies did add to the lore rather nicely, a reboot might change all that as well. But recasting Jeannie for a sequel to explain happenings after the reunion tv flicks...

This scene from I Still Dream of Jeannie has to be my favorite scene from the whole series.

^^this , though there were others. The 60s were far more limited, so it was nice to see the reunion movies get to be a breath of fresh air, pun intended for once.

For me, this is Jeannie's "Elsa" moment .. her "Let It Go" moment ... The moment where she drops all pretense of being human and reveals her true identity as a genie.

Jeannie and Elsa have something in common: They both spent years hiding their powers.

I pumped my fist during this scene.

FWIW: I love Idina Menzel. She has an amazing voice.

Interesting!

And once the powers are put out for full display, there are new plot opportunities as well.

 

[Danja]

The 80s reunion movies did add to the lore rather nicely, a reboot might change all that as well.

I was thinking something along the lines of Logan (aging hero) and Highlander (What happened before Jeannie met Major Nelson? How does being the son of a genie affect Tony Jr.?)

The 60's show established that Jeannie did not spend 2000 years in a bottle (she was besties with Napoleon Bonaparte). I'm assuming she's had several masters (and not all them were nice people). What did she do during that time?

But recasting Jeannie for a sequel to explain happenings after the reunion tv flicks...

It's necessary (Barbara Eden is 93).

Then again, she could be another Betty White (Maybe bring her back as Queen of the Genies?)

Paramount had to carry 82-year-old Patrick Stewart over the finish line to complete Picard.

 

[Danja]

The 80s reunion movies did add to the lore rather nicely, a reboot might change all that as well. But recasting Jeannie for a sequel to explain happenings after the reunion tv flicks...

Lately, I've been thinking of the Netflix series Wednesday.

Wednesday puts the focus on Wednesday Addams with Gomez and Morticia being relegated to the background.

Perhaps something similar could be done with a Jeannie reboot in this regard with Jeannie and Tony being in the background and Tony Jr. taking more of a leading role?

Maybe they could do with this series what they did in I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later -- do a brief recap of how Jeannie and Tony met (in FYL, Jeannie has to tell Tony Jr. about her "secret identity").

 

[JD]

Did Tony Jr. get any powers from his mother? It could be fun to do kind of gender flipped version that kind combined elements of the original and Bewitched, with a guy with magic powers in a relationship with a non-magical woman. Barbara Eden is still alive, so if she's still in good enough shape we could even get some appearances by his mother.

 

[Danja]

Did Tony Jr. get any powers from his mother?

He didn't in I Still Dream of Jeannie (he does, however, possess the ability to break out of an enchanted bottle -- something that even his mother cannot do).

IMHC, Tony Jr.'s physiology is completely different from his mother's (Tony Jr. is half human). If he were to try the stuff that he sees his mother doing, it would tax him physically to the point of exhaustion.

It could be fun to do kind of gender flipped version that kind combined elements of the original and Bewitched, with a guy with magic powers in a relationship with a non-magical woman.

That's always bothered me about Bewitched (Tabitha and Adam are both half human, yet each comes out of the womb as a full blown witch and warlock! )

Tony Jr. did have a girlfriend in I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later.

Barbara Eden is still alive, so if she's still in good enough shape we could even get some appearances by his mother.

Spoiler: "Wednesday" S1

Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in the 1991 Addams Family movie) played a villain in Wednesday S1.

Maybe Barbara could come back as Queen of the Genies (Betty White was still rockin' and rollin' at age 99). Tony Nelson could either be an astronaut with a private company a la SpaceX or Blue Origin, an executive with said company, or a general in the Space Force.

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[MarcKle1964]

I'm so tired of darker reboots of old sitcoms, I'd much rather see them embrace the silliness of the original,

Wouldn't it be great to see a rebooted Batman in the same spirit and style as the original camp from the 60s. Kinda like SNW.

Simple: they are in a (consensual) BDSM relationship!

What? Are you intolerant of alternative lifestyles???

America might be ready for an Un-Vanilla couple like Jeenie and Tony

 

[Nerys Myk]

Lately, I've been thinking of the Netflix series Wednesday.

Wednesday puts the focus on Wednesday Addams with Gomez and Morticia being relegated to the background.

Perhaps something similar could be done with a Jeannie reboot in this regard with Jeannie and Tony being in the background and Tony Jr. taking more of a leading role?

Maybe they could do with this series what they did in I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later -- do a brief recap of how Jeannie and Tony met (in FYL, Jeannie has to tell Tony Jr. about her "secret identity").

I can't see a lot of people wanting to see a show about Tony, jr.

 

[Danja]

I can't see a lot of people wanting to see a show about Tony, jr.

It would be about the three of them (Jeannie, Tony, and Tony Jr.).

Jeannie and Tony can still be a significant presence in much the same manner that Gomez and Morticia are a presence on Wednesday (one does not cast Catherine Zeta Jones to play a bit part).

 

[Nerys Myk]

It would be about all three of them (Jeannie, Tony, and Tony Jr.).

Jeannie and Tony can still be a presence in the same manner that Gomez and Morticia are a presence on Wednesday.

Wednesday has always been a popular part if the Addams franchise. Tony, Jr is from a TV movie.

 

[Danja]

Wednesday has always been a popular part if the Addams franchise. Tony, Jr is from a TV movie.

Technically, TWO TV-movies.

On the plus side, he's a relatively blank slate. He doesn't carry a ton of baggage.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Technically, TWO TV-movies.

On the plus side, he's a relatively blank slate. He doesn't carry a ton of baggage.

Still cant see it being popular. Only hardcore fans remember those movies ( and some would like to forget them)

 

[JD]

I could see there being some nostalgic interest in a I Dream of Jeannie sequel series about Jeannie and Tony's son, even from people who aren't aware he was introduced in the movies.

He didn't in I Still Dream of Jeannie (he does, however, possess the ability to break out of an enchanted bottle -- something that even his mother cannot do).

IMHC, Tony Jr.'s physiology is completely different from his mother's (Tony Jr. is half human). If he were to try the stuff that he sees his mother doing, it would tax him physically to the point of exhaustion.

Oh ok, I've never seen the movies, so I don't know anything about him.

That's always bothered me about Bewitched (Tabitha and Adam are both half human, yet each comes out of the womb as a full blown witch and warlock! )

They did? I could have sworn only Tabitha had powers.

Spoiler: "Wednesday" S1

Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in the 1991 Addams Family movie) played a villain in Wednesday S1.

Maybe Barbara could come back as Queen of the Genies (Betty White was still rockin' and rollin' at age 99). Tony Nelson could either be an astronaut with a private company a la SpaceX or Blue Origin, an executive with said company, or a general in the Space Force.

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Yeah, something like that could be fun, and we already had Barbara Eden playing Jeannie's sister, so they could say that she's her grandmother or something like that. But with both Larry Hagman and Kenercheval being dead, that raises the question of wether we recast Tony again or just leave him off screen. Personally, I'd say leave him off screen, maybe we keep the show in California and he's off working in DC or somewhere like that.

 

[Danja]

with both Larry Hagman and Kenercheval being dead, that raises the question of wether we recast Tony again or just leave him off screen.

*** Darrin Stephens has entered the chat ***

They did? I could have sworn only Tabitha had powers.

Adam was a warlock.

Oh ok, I've never seen the movies, so I don't know anything about him.

I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later is available on Tubi and on DVD.

I Still Dream of Jeannie on Archive.Org -- It's about the closest thing the movie has to a streaming release (Sony/Screen Gems never kept the masters. There was no TV on home video back in 1991 when the movie first came out. They made the series DVDs from the streaming copies!)

 

[Nerys Myk]

Adam was a warlock.

​

 

[JD]

*** Darrin Stephens has entered the chat ***



Adam was a warlock.



I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later is available on Tubi and on DVD.

I Still Dream of Jeannie on Archive.Org -- It's about the closest thing the movie has to a streaming release (Sony/Screen Gems never kept the masters. There was no TV on home video back in 1991 when the movie first came out. They made the series DVDs from the streaming copies!)

I've had Fifteen Years Later on Tubi watchlist for a while, but I haven't gotten around to watching it.

 

[Forbin]

I'd cast Fox's Aishah Hasnie. Hot dang, she's beautiful.

 

[Danja]

I'd cast Fox's Aishah Hasnie. Hot dang, she's beautiful.

She is a journalist for Fox News who's never acted.