I Dream of Jeannie
The Greatest Invention in the World
TV Flash files “The Greatest Invention in the World” as hour 47 of 139 in the TV Flash guide — I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970) on NBC, season 2, episode 17, aired 1967-01-09, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E17: listed hour 47 of 139 in the I Dream of Jeannie guide, hour 17 of 31 in season 2. It aired 1967-01-09 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “My Master, the Author” (S02E16). Next is “My Master, the Spy” (S02E18).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Maj. Healey pleads Tony to let Jeannie grant him at least one wish, but when he gets the chance, he blows it and things go unplanned. To top it off, Dr. Bellows gets entangled in it and after a few mishaps with Gen. Peterson ends up being transferred to Iceland, but Jeannie steps in to help remedy that situation.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Greatest Invention in the World sit in the I Dream of Jeannie guide?
S02E17 is listed hour 47 of 139 — hour 17 of 31 in season 2, season 2 episode 17.
When did I Dream of Jeannie S02E17 air?
The Greatest Invention in the World aired 1967-01-09 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
The bottle-and-astronaut premise is the contract: Eden's Jeannie, Hagman's Tony, NASA as the secret that must not get out. Early episodes sell the Space Race chrome; later ones ride the chemistry.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Astronaut Tony Nelson finds a genie and spends five seasons hiding her from NASA. Barbara Eden's sparkle and Larry Hagman's slow burn power Sidney Sheldon's Space Race sitcom — blinks, harem pants, and suburban paranoia. Peak 1960s fantasy multi-cam, and Hagman's calling card before Dallas turned him villainous.
The bottle is the crime scene. Astronaut Tony Nelson finds a genie and spends five NBC seasons (1965–1970; 139 episodes) hiding her from NASA, neighbors, and common sense — blinks, master/servant tension, Cold War space-age chrome. Barbara Eden's Jeannie is sparkle with a confidentiality problem. Larry Hagman's Tony is a slow burn in a flight suit. Sidney Sheldon built the fantasy; Bill Daily's Roger Healey and Hayden Rorke's Dr. Bellows orbit the cover-up. **They are not keeping a secret. They are keeping a…
Filed against
- Barbara Eden as Jeannie
Barbara Eden’s Jeannie blinked a Space Race sitcom into suburban paranoia — astronaut Tony Nelson hiding a genie from NASA, Larry Hagman’s slow burn, Sidney Sheldon’s five-season fantasy, harem pants as plot armor. Peak 1960s multi-cam…
- Larry Hagman as Maj. Anthony Nelson
Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing made “Who shot J.R.?” a global summer sport on Dallas — oil-opera villainy with a smile that sold cliffhangers. Southfork seating charts, spoiler culture as national weather. On TV Flash he is primetime soap’s…
- Bill Daily as Maj. Roger Healey
Bill Daily’s Maj. Roger Healey kept I Dream of Jeannie’s NASA secret from being a two-person bottle — 1960s catalog Space Race sitcom, then The Bob Newhart Show recasting the pal as Howard Borden’s flight-weather. TV Flash files him as…
- Hayden Rorke as Dr. Alfred Bellows
Hayden Rorke's Dr. Alfred Bellows spent I Dream of Jeannie trying to catch NASA in a blink — astronaut Tony Nelson hiding a genie, Barbara Eden's sparkle, Larry Hagman's slow burn, Sidney Sheldon's Space Race sitcom. Suburban paranoia as…