This show tried hard. First, it was fun to see a male character with magic powers. I loved Samantha and liked Jeannie, Sabrina and the others, but it was almost always a woman who got to do the magic stuff.
John Ales was so cute as the manic Genie. He was kind of like a humanoid Bugs Bunny. His magic reflected his off-the-wall personality beautifully.
In retrospect, the show should have been more of a romantic comedy, playing on the tension between Genie and Gillian (the fabulous Harley Jane Kozak). Yes, that would have made it more like _I Dream of Jeannie_,but that formula works better in this genre than the family sitcom with kids having to learn a "valuable lesson". It tried to be a little of both, leaning toward the family sitcom, which weakened it. Adding Jerry Van Dyke was a mistake. He is a wonderful comic actor, but he detracted from the Genie/Gillian relationship.
They put forth an earnest effort, but ultimately it went down the wrong path. It would be interesting to see a new version of this concept--the magical romantic comedy--with either a magical male character and a mortal woman, or, perhaps, a magical male character and a mortal man!
