11/26/12

R.I.P. J.R.

I was sad to read about the loss of Larry Hagman (1931-2012) at the age of 81 from cancer.  While many will remember him as J.R. on Dallas, my favorite role of his what that of the befuddled astronaut Major Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie.  First broadcast in 1965, I Dream of Jeannie was part of prime time that included Bewitched, The Andy Griffith Show, The Lucy Show, and McHale's Navy.  Television was quite different then and limited to basically three channels, but when I look at the line up of shows I somehow think we are missing something today.

The new Dallas will continue without Mr. Hagman, but one of its essential cornerstones is missing.  And while I am not calling for a new I Dream of Jeannie (I know better since I expect the networks would flub it), it seems the Indians just recently created their own version of the show. Jeannie Aur Juju involves an airline captain who lands on a deserted island and finds a genie in a bottle.