I Dream Of Jeannie – The Complete Fourth Season
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: D Episodes: C+
Sony continues to roll out DVD sets of I Dream Of
Jeannie, now up to The Complete Fourth Season and though the shows
continue to be entertaining, the quality of the prints here and lack of extras
make this look more dated than the varied prints we have seen on the recent That Girl sets.
To recap the show, Jeannie remains with the astronaut/good
guy (Larry Hagman as Major Tony Nelson) who got her out of that bottle in the
first place, the color shows is when the series started to shine. Though the scripts and situations are
formulaic and predictable, the duo’s chemistry is great and they remain one of
the great TV couples to the point that they often exceeded their material and
kept the show on top during its entire run.
Highlights among the 26 half-hour shows for this season
include “hippies” taking over the Nelson household, Jeannie’s mother (also
played by Eden) causing trouble and Jeannie getting the attention of the makers
of Laugh-In. Stars from that classic appear, but it never
reaches the set.
The 1.33 X 1 image is not as good as earlier sets, with mixed
color and soft detail ion too many shows, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is
sometimes harsh and distorted, but also lower in volume than it should be. Turning up your volume (a dangerous thing in
this case) just increases noise and distortion.
There is also warping and harmonic distortion that needs tended to for
future HD release. Now, can we get some
extras next time?
- Nicholas Sheffo
