A pair of store owners have just received a shipment of urns and old pots. One of them wonders how they can possibly sell their newfound junk, while the other remarks that all they need is the right sucker. At that exact moment, George P. Hanley (Howard Morris), a kindly-but-unlucky office worker, enters the store looking for a gift for Ann Lawson, the lovely secretary at his office. Settling on purchasing an old oil lamp, George heads off to work. His younger and more sucessful co-worker Roger Hackett brags about being "more equal" than him when it comes to life, beating him to the punch and gifting Ann a nightgown, earning him an open-mouthed kiss from the secretary. The boss, Watson, comes out of his office to seemingly break things up, only to give Ann a gift of his own. Disheartened at this turn of events, George returns to his apartment with his new oil lamp instead of joining the rest of the workers for a party.
George arrives back home to greet his beloved dog Attila and feed his fish. As George pities himself and calls himself a "jerk" (an annoyingly stupid or foolish person), Attila senses something strange about the lamp his owner bought. George decides to give the lamp a little cleaning, but in rubbing it, he awakens a genie (Jack Albertson) living inside it. Aside from some fanciful shoes, the genie is dressed in modern-day clothing and smoking a cigar, having grown tired of the old routines. The genie offers George one wish, as he says that most people he's met have abused having three, but gives him plenty of time to reflect on what he wants to wish for.
Throughout the night, George considers what to wish for, as well as the consequences of what would happen if he made various wishes. Reflecting on how Ann was so easily smitten with Roger's gift for her over his lamp, George's first probable wish has him considering wishing for love, prompting a dream sequence to begin. In this daydream, George is married to Ann, who is a highly successful movie star known as "Ann Alexandra". However, George comes to the conclusion that he would easily lose a wife like her, as she's obsessed with her acting career and has an affair with Roger, also a movie star. Additionally, George himself is easily pushed into agreements by Watson, appearing as a film director, and is hardly recognized by anyone, even when he tells them that he's Ann's husband. An aspiring starlet who George takes the time to lend an ear to even feels insulted for talking to him when she learns he's not in showbiz. The daydream ends when George leans back into his chair and falls to the floor.
The next day, George watches as Roger is called into Watson's office, while he's tasked with double-checking financial records of a client with a net worth of millions. Inspired by these records and how fulfilling it must be to live with such wealth, George considers using his wish to have money, cuing another dream sequence. In this daydream, George is a wealthy tycoon who goes by "G. Peter Hanley", with Roger acting as his chauffeur, Ann being his financial advisor, and Watson the president of his alma matter, seeking donations. George originally enjoys handing out money to anyone and everyone who asks for it, but he comes to realize that his incredible generosity is considered ostentatious by some people. Additionally, George also learns that being able to immediately buy anything he wants, without having to wait or struggle for it, would gradually take the flavor out of life. He is also pressured to keep on spending his money, being told that choosing not to buy anything would destroy the economy. George is woken up from this daydream by Roger, who announces that Watson promoted him to head bookkeeper, even though George has more experience in the field.
That afternoon, George takes Attila for a walk, where he grows inspired by the power Watson has to just give the head bookkeeper position to Roger. As a result, George and Attila sit down on a nearby stoop, where George then considers using his wish to seek power, which cues up another dream sequence. In this daydream, George is President of the United States, with Watson acting as his campaign manager. He's initially a good-hearted and successful President, performing all his duties admirably and taking the time to assist Ann, a poor mother whose soldier son is being accused of treason for falling asleep on watch duty, with clearing her son's charges. After doing so, George muses that how power is used should be far more important than power itself. Unfortunately, George is alerted to the imminent arrival of a fleet of extraterrestrial spaceships. Roger, an Army general, argues with him that he must make the first strike, while one of his political advisors tells him that he could risk potentially harming an innocent race of aliens, paralyzing George with indecision. George is broken out of this fantasy by the owner of the building whose stoop he and Attila were sitting on, who throws them both off.
Back in his apartment, George comes to realize the problem with all three of his prospective wishes: while his circumstances change, he remains a good-hearted man who is easily pushed around and browbeaten by others, and the only way he can truly improve his life is by improving himself. Inspired, George grabs the lamp and tells the bored genie that he finally knows what to wish for, noting that it's going to be something "original". Sometime later, a homeless man finds the lamp in a trash can and polishes it. The genie who emerges is George, still accompanied by his faithful friend Attila. Unlike the genie who served him, George and Attila both wear the stereotypical turbaned garb of genies, and grant three wishes to the finder of his new lamp. The only condition George has is that after he grants the wishes, he insists that the lamp be returned to the alley for another needy person to find.
I Dream of Tropes:
- And You Were There: Ann, Roger, and Watson appear throughout George's daydreams in different roles:
- In the first dream, where he wishes for love/fame, Ann is a glamorous film star named "Ann Alexandra" who is also George's unfaithful wife, Roger is her co-star and lover, and Watson is the director of the film they're starring in.
- In the second dream, where he wishes for wealth, Ann is George's secretary and financial advisor, Roger is his chauffeur, and Watson is the president of his alma mater.
- In the third dream, where he wishes for power, Ann is a woman who wants President Hanley to pardon her son for falling asleep on duty, Roger is a three-star general who warns him that he must attack the approaching alien fleet, and Watson is a member of his campaign staff.
- Artistic License – Geography: In George's dream about being President, the Capitol Building can be seen right outside the window of the Oval Office, appearing to be much closer to the White House than it actually is. This is not the case in reality, but it can be justified by the fact that George is simply fantasizing all of this.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The genie warns George of the trope when introducing himself. He takes the time to warn him that a wish for wealth could lead to unwanted attention from the IRS and several charity cases, and a wish for love won't be as meaningful as love that's been found.
- Becoming the Genie: Unlike most stories involving this trope, where the wisher is tricked into becoming the genie, George asks for it willingly, because he realizes how to find happiness in altruism.
- Canine Companion: George's treasured dog Attila is essentially his only friend. No matter what daydream he conjures up, Attila follows him there, his breed changing to fit the dream's theme. He even accompanies George when he becomes a genie and moves into the lamp he bought.
- Catapult Nightmare: The end of George's first daydream has him falling off a ladder after witnessing Ann cheat on him with Roger. In the waking world, George has leaned too far back in the armchair he was sleeping in.
- The Chains of Commanding: In his third dream, George, as President of the United States, is faced with the arrival of an alien fleet, putting him in a situation where he has to make a decision of extreme consequence with inconclusive information. The realization that he wouldn't be able to handle a dilemma of that type is what leads him to choose against wishing for power.
- Fisher Kingdom: In addition to the people in George's life being changed to fit necessary roles, Attila the dog accompanies his owner through all of his dream sequences, his breed being modified to match George's own changed profession. He changes into a tiny purebred in the film dream, a wolfhound in the tycoon dream, and a black Scottish terrier in the presidential dream, as a means to invoke Franklin D. Roosevelt's dog Fala.
- Have a Gay Old Time: George refers to himself as a "jerk", whereas in contemporary slang he'd be anything but. These days, "jerk" connotes someone who is obnoxious and cruel. In the days where the episode is set, George is rightly describing himself as a "loser" or a "wuss".
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue: George first appears entering a store, just as its owners discuss needing a sucker to take a bunch of junk they received off their hands.
- Lighter and Softer: The episode is a comedy that focuses on a good-hearted but terribly unlucky office drone being visited by a loud-mouthed genie, who grants him only one wish instead of three. He spends the majority of the episode from this point daydreaming about his potential wishes, usually with rather comedic results.
- Love Triangle: A notable one between George, Roger, and Ann. George buys the genie's lamp as a gift for Ann, but gets beaten to the punch by Roger gifting her a nightgown, and this act largely kicks off the story.
- Nice Guy: This is the primary reason why George is deemed as a loser. Even in his fantasies of having love, fame, wealth, and power, he's eager to be kind and attentive to others, therefore allowing everyone to push him around.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: In his daydream of being the President, George clearly mimics John F. Kennedy's accent whenever he speaks.
- Our Genies Are Different: The genie George meets is an obnoxious loudmouth who smokes a cigar and dresses in contemporary clothes, with the exception of a pair of "velveteen mukluks." He also offers George only one wish instead of the usual three, citing that the previous "three wishes" formula had a history of being abused. Ironically, he's actually more responsible with his power than most fictional genies, handily averting both the literal and jackass characterizations. It's also averted at the end, where George wishes to become a traditional genie.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Roger calls Ann the prettiest girl in the office. She points out that she's the only girl in the office.
- Pet's Homage Name: George's dog Attila is named after Attila the Hun.
- Plot Hole: The genie explicitly rules out the possibility of George using his wish for love and wealth, meaning that two of the fantasies George has are utterly pointless.
- Pun-Based Title: The title is a play on Stephen Foster's song "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair".
- Selfless Wish: In the end, George discovers that altruism is what makes him happy more than anything else.
- Take a Third Option: With the mentality he has, George can't think of a single way to truly and permanently improve his life. So instead of wishing for love, money, and power, he uses his wish to become a genie himself, deciding to use his new role to find happiness by improving the lives of others.
- World of Ham: In the dream sequences, everyone is very notably over-the-top in pretty much everything they say and do. The genie who offers to grant George's wish is also an obnoxious-sound loudmouth who huffs cigars.
