What was the cause of the oddities in I Dream of Jeannie: Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?
I just watched the four part I Dream of Jeannie story Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie. It's unusual for a couple of reasons.
First, over half of Barbara Eden's footage has her by herself. Jeannie gets accidentally trapped in a safe in the first episode and is only freed at the end of the fourth episode. While in the safe, Barbara Eden does not appear on screen with anyone else, except in the third episode where she also plays her evil twin sister.
Second, a different actor is dubbed saying some of Major Nelson's lines. When the code for the safe is revealed, Larry Hagman as Major Nelson says the final number once on screen, but when Major Nelson repeats the full numbers, he is off screen (no lip sync issues) and the numbers are said by a different actor.
Did Barbara Eden take a holiday during the filming of this story? All of her scenes in the safe could have been filmed without any other actors needed allowing her to take a (two week?) break while the rest of the story was filmed. Is that what happened?
Was there a tie-in promotion for this episode about the combination for the safe? Were the numbers kept secret from everyone including the actors until just before broadcast?
If my guesses are completely wrong, what was the true reason for the oddities?
Best Answer
There was a promotional contest for fans and viewers that determined the final combination to the safe.
From I Dream of Jeannie (emphasis mine)
In a third-season four-part episode ("Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?" January 16 – February 6, 1968), Jeannie is locked in a safe bound for the moon. Any attempt to force the safe or use the wrong combination will destroy it with an explosive. Jeannie is in there so long that whoever opens the safe will become her master. The episodes spread out over four weeks, during which a contest was held to guess the safe's combination. This explains why Larry Hagman is never seen saying the combination out loud: His mouth is hidden behind the safe or the shot is on Jeannie when he says it. The combination was not decided until just before the episode aired, with Hagman's voice dubbed in. Over the closing credits, Barbara Eden announced and congratulated the contest winner, with 4–9–7 as the winning combination.
source: Wikipedia - I Dream of Jeannie - Multi-part story arcs
Apparently there were a couple of 'I Dream of Jeannie' promotions put out over the years. There's another one shown here.
Pictures about "What was the cause of the oddities in I Dream of Jeannie: Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?"
Was Barbara Eden pregnant during I Dream of genie?
Eden almost gave up the role because she had wanted to start a family. After being married for seven years to TV actor Michael Ansara, she learned she was pregnant on the very day the pilot for I Dream of Jeannie sold.Who was the man in I Dream of genie?
I Dream of Jeannie is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon, starring Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marries.Who is genie?
The Genie is a fictional Jinn appearing in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film Aladdin (1992). He was voiced by Robin Williams in the first film.How did Jeannie become a genie?
History. Jeannie was born a human in Baghdad. An evil Blue Djinn tried to force Jeannie to marry him, but she refused. He turned her into a genie and imprisoned Jeannie in her bottle.The Scene That Took I Dream of Jeannie Off The Air for Good
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Images: Enoch Patro, Pixabay, Molly Champion, cottonbro