History YMMV / IDreamOfJeannie

* FairForItsDay: The alternative interpretation to ReactionaryFantasy. Tony explicitly freed Jeannie in the first episode, never took advantage of her HappinessInSlavery and consistently refused to exploit her powers for his own advancement -- all fairly enlightened for a man of his era. So was his alleged desire for mundane conformity actually a sign of integrity? One could easily see how a man with enough drive to become an astronaut would not want a walking DeusExMachina to just hand him the things he was intent on achieving on his own merits. Furthermore in a sense, though Jeannie thinks she's Tony's slave, she's disobedient to his orders, even when they're in her best interests.

* FairForItsDay: The alternative interpretation to ReactionaryFantasy. Tony explicitly freed Jeannie in the first episode, never took advantage of her HappinessInSlavery and consistently refused to exploit her powers for his own advancement -- all fairly enlightened for a man of his era. So was his alleged desire for mundane conformity actually a sign of integrity? One could easily see how a man with enough drive to become an astronaut would not want a walking DeusExMachina to just hand him the things he was intent on achieving on his own merits.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: In "The Moving Finger," Jeannie schemes to become a Hollywood actress in order to impress Tony, who seems to be starting a budding romance with a starlet named Rita Mitchell. At Jeannie's screentest, it is revealed that Jeannie cannot be filmed. Humiliated and cheated, Jeannie breaks down crying, being reminded yet again how she will never be good enough for Tony. Meanwhile, Tony sneaks in and explains he broke his date with Rita to see Jeannie's test. Upon hearing this, Jeannie lights up and says, "I cannot believe it...I have taken thee away from the greatest star in Hollywood!."

** The Man Show had a sketch that uses this Trope to explain why Tony wouldn't be interested in a smoking hot genie... that and It convinced Jimmy that Adam's gay since he played Tony in that sketch.

* UnfortunateImplications: In early episodes, Tony has a fiancée, Melissa, until Jeannie successfully breaks up the match. Jeannie actually broke up a potential marriage out of jealousy and is essentially rewarded for it. To her credit, it is implied Tony was not going to go along with the marriage anyway.

* ValuesDissonance: There was considerable controversy during the episodes where Jeannie's costume showed off her belly button.

* EvilIsSexy: Wicked Jeannie

* HoYay: Tony generally seems more interested in hanging out with his astronaut buddies than giving Jeannie, a pretty blonde in a harem girl costume who is willing to be his literal slave, the time of day. The fact that he has no problem whatsoever with his fiancee, Melissa, leaving him also has shades of this.

* UnfortunateImplications: In early episodes, Tony has a fiancée, Melissa, until Jeannie successfully breaks up the match. Jeannie actually broke up a potential marriage out of jealousy and is essentially rewarded for it. To her credit, it is implied Tony was not going to go along with the marriage anyway, and this being the first season, we are probably supposed to think of this impish Jeannie and the later nicer Jeannie who marries Tony as two different Jeannies.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Jeannie started out more impish and jealous of Tony in the first season. Towards the end of the show, this was heavily toned down, with Jeannie being a sweet-natured innocent who would never intentionally try to hurt Tony, but the writers got to have an exaggeration of the original Jeannie with her wicked sister.

* FanonDiscontinuity: It is very easy to treat the first season as a separate series, due to contradicting plot points (Jeannie being a former human), as well as Jeannie being much more scheming and impish than the sweet, kindhearted Jeannie we get in later seasons. The fact that is in black and white (and lacks the iconic opening) helps too. It is probably also best to forget that Jeannie broke up Tony's budding marriage to Melissa.

** Ironically, many foreign dubs (the Italian and the German dubs) changed Jeannie to be a witch. It is rumored that the dubbers mistook the show for a spin-off (or tried to retcon it into being one).

* NiceCharacterMeanActor: Larry Hagman was reportedly a nightmare to the crew, and was known for actually urinating and vomiting on set if he disliked a script. He was also nasty to guest stars, like Sammy Davis Jr., on whom he was said to have spat. To his credit, Hagman got along well with Barbara Eden.
** Hagman actually confessed to this in his autobiography.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Jeannie started out more impish and jealous of Tony in the first season. Towards the end of the show, this was heavily toned down, with Jeannie being a sweet-natured innocent who would never intentionally try to hurt Tony, but the writers got to have an exaggeration of the original Jeannie with her wicked sisters.

* FanonDiscontinuity: It is very easy to treat the first season as a separate series, due to contradicting plot points (Jeannie being a former human), as well as Jeannie being much more scheming and impish than the sweet, kindhearted Jeannie we get in later seasons. The fact that is in black and white (and lacks the iconic opening) helps too.

** Evil Jeannie, ironically, also doubled as an exaggeration of Jeannie's original impish personality, which was toned down in the later seasons.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Jeannie's Evil Sister, of the "love to hate" variety.

** Ironically, many foreign dubs (the Italian and the German dubs) changed Jeannie to be a witch. It is rumored that the dubbers mistook the show as a spin-off (or tried to retcon it into being one).

* OlderThanTheyThink: Barbara Eden's career as an actress. She had already appeared on a TV version of ''HowToMarryAMillionaire'', so no, ''I Dream of Jeannie'' was not her first series.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: The show's infamous rivalry with ''Bewitched'' stemmed in part from this. While [[http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/dejaview.htm many episodes share the virtual plot of earlier Bewitched episodes]], the two most infamous examples were giving the heroine an evil dark-haired twin relative (Cousin Serena/Jeannie's sister) and retconning Jeannie's backstory from being a former human into her coming from a family of genies, much like the situation on ''Bewitched''.

** Evil Jeannie, ironically, also doubled as an exaggeration of Jeannie's original impish personality, which was toned down from the later seasons.

* UnfortunateImplications: In early episodes, Tony has a fiancée, Melissa, until Jeannie successfully breaks up the match. Jeannie actually broke up a potential marriage out of jealousy and is essentially rewarded for it. To her credit, it is implied Tony was not going to go along with the marriage anyway, and this being the first season, we are probably supposed to think of this impish Jeannie and the later nicer Jeannie who marries Tony are too different Jeannie's.
* TheWoobie: Jeannie. Her tragic backstory consisted of being stripped of her humanity and being trapped in a bottle by a wicked djinn (though she was later retconned to have been born a genie), her mother and sister are outright evil, and Tony could be an ass to her.

** Her actress, Barbara Eden, counts as one, too.

* UnfortunateImplications: In early episodes, Tony has a fiancée, Melissa, until Jeannie successfully breaks up the match. Jeannie actually broke up a potential marriage out of jealousy and is essentially rewarded for it.

** Dr. Bellows. How can you not feel sorry for him every now and then?

** Arguably, Barbara Eden herself was often mistaken to be a teenager. She was in her early 30s when the show began.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Jeannie's Evil Sister

* UnfortunateImplications: In early episodes, Tony has a fiancée, Melissa, until Jeannie successfully breaks up the match. Jeannie actually broke up a potential marriage out of jealousy.

** Ironically, many foreign dubs (the Italian and the German dubs) changed Jeannie to be a witch. It is rumored that the dubbers mistook the show as a spin-off (or tried to retconned it into being one.)

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In "Mrs. Djinn-Djinn," a woman asks Jeannie whether she is pregnant. At the time, Barbara Eden ''was'' pregnant with her second child, but complications with it caused it, in short, to end in a miscarriage.
* NiceCharacterMeanActor: Larry Hagman was reportedly a nightmare to the crew, and was known for actually urinating and vomiting on set if he disliked a script. He was also nasty to guest stars, like Sammy Davis Jr., who he was said to have spit on. To his credit, he got along well with Barbara Eden.
** Larry Hagman actually confessed to this in his autobiography.

* RetroactiveRecognition Of a young [[Series/CharliesAngels Farrah Fawcett]] in the final season.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: "Divorce, Jeannie Style" points out how abusive that Tony is to Jeannie; it is treated as being all right because she is a genie.

* UnfortunateImplications: In early episodes, Tony had a fiancée, Melissa, until Jeannie successfully breaks up the match. Jeannie actually broke up a potential marriage out of jealousy.

** Tony's treatment of Jeannie gets lampshaded in "Divorce, Jeannie Style," in which the Bellows meet Jeannie and mistake her as Tony's wife, and nearly bring Tony to the authorities over DomesticAbuse.