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Now Playing: "I Dream of Jeannie" TV Theme Song

I Dream of Jeannie by Remco

1970's

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If you're over forty, or if you're younger than that and watch WAY too much TV Land, you may have seen the old "I Dream of Jeannie" television series, starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman. In the story of the show, Tony Nelson (Hagman) is an astronaut in Cocoa Beach, Florida who goes a bit off-course during what was supposed to have been a routine splashdown. His capsule drifts to an uncharted island where he discovers his radio isn't working, and he's out of touch with his control center. He's lost, and they don't know where he is. While trying to build an S.O.S. on the beach big enough to be seen from the air by a passing plane, he discovers an old, sealed bottle. Figuring he can use it to set a note adrift, he opens it and falls back in alarm as a column of smoke issues forth. The smoke coalesces into a very beautiful girl (Barbara Eden), and poor Tony thinks he's had too much sun. The girl delightedly calls him "Master" and tells him she is a genie, punished and sealed inside the bottle for refusing the attentions of another of her kind. Tony is a modern-day guy; he doesn't believe in ancient magic or genies, and he certainly doesn't need a girl---even a beautiful one---grovelling at his feet calling him "Master"! All he wants is for the search party to find him. "I wish they knew where I was," he says, not thinking, and suddenly, there they are offshore! The girl has brought them here! While Tony is relieved, he still doesn't believe she had anything to do with it, and tells her it's time for him to go. She pouts and goes back into her bottle, but rolls herself into his duffel bag without him noticing and goes back to Cocoa Beach with her new Master. Each new episode dealt with Tony trying to keep it secret that Jeannie, as she's now known, truly does have magical powers. The only one who knows, and who would LOVE to have Jeannie call HIM "Master", is Tony's best buddy Roger.

"I Dream of Jeannie" dolls, made by Remco, are very similar in construction to Topper Dawn dolls, and are marked "Remco Toys Inc." and "Made in Hong Kong" on their backs. The waist is slanted the same as Dawn's, and they have holes in the feet to place them on the two-peg doll stands that came with the Topper dolls. Jeannie has interior wires in her legs to help them bend. Jeannie's face is unusual in the angularity of her features and her almond-shaped brown eyes, which do not have rooted lashes. The painted lashes, however, are carried out beyond the eyes a little bit to enhance the Middle-Eastern look. Her rooted blonde hair has bangs, and is swept back into a loose ponytail, to be held in place by the headpiece and veil. Jeannie's stock fashion includes the headpiece made of blue velveteen and chiffon trimmed in gold braid, and a matching two-piece vest and pantaloons of the same materials. She has dark blue shoes and a light blue purse very similar in style to the handbags carried by Dawn.

Remco also released a "Dream Bottle" playset, which included Jeannie dressed in a pink version of her stock outfit. The bottle opened up to reveal the interior of Jeannie's living quarters...her boudoir and dressing room. The doll which came with this playset had jointed knees, and hips which were set into a sort of ball-and-socket assembly, allowing the doll to sit with legs akimbo. This set is very rare, and hard-to-find. I saw one once at a doll show, but at a price tag far beyond what I could afford. And since I couldn't be a serious buyer, I didn't bother to ask the seller to open it up just so I could see if everything was in it.

Back of doll box

Back of fashion box

There is a truly wonderful website I've found which has a page devoted to Jeannie, and you can see more photos of her with her bottle playset at OhMyDolls.com