I Dream of Genie

This article is about the Twilight Zone episode. For the television series, see I Dream of Jeannie.

"I Dream of Genie"
The Twilight Zone episode
Scene from "I Dream of Genie"
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 114
Directed by	Robert Gist
Written by	John Furia, Jr.
Featured music	Fred Steiner
Production code	4860
Original air date	March 21, 1963
Guest stars
Molly Dodd: May Milton Parsons: P.R. Man Howard Morris: George P. Hanley Patricia Barry: Ann Jack Albertson: Genie Mark Miller: Roger James Millhollin: Masters
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Parallel" Next → "The New Exhibit"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"I Dream of Genie" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Plot

George Hanley is offered one wish by a genie summoned from a lamp (dressed in modern clothing, except for his curl-toed slippers). Rather than make a rash wish, he carefully considers the three most popular options. He wonders what it would be like to wish for love. While having a beautiful actress for a wife sounds like a dream come true, he begins to imagine his wife so obsessed with her acting career, and wearing makeup at all times, and living a starlet's life that it drives him crazy.

Hanley next decides whether or not great wealth is a proper wish. The ennui that comes with excessive amounts of money is soon recalled, and Hanley chooses not to make this wish. His final thoughts are on wishing for great power, but he then imagines becoming the President of the United States, and being paralyzed by indecision when faced with a global crisis.

Realizing that he's not really cut out for any of the things that most people would wish for, Hanley comes to a sudden conclusion and decides that he's going to make an "original" wish. The audience is not made aware of what he wished for until the next scene, when an apparently homeless man in an alley finds the genie's lamp lying in a garbage can. A genie (wearing traditional "Arabian Nights" garb) emerges from the lamp and offers three wishes, on the condition that the lamp will be returned to the alley afterward for another needy person to find. The camera pulls away from the stunned man to reveal that the genie is none other than George Hanley himself, accompanied by his faithful dog (also sporting a turban).

References

• DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
• Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090

External links

• "I Dream of Genie" at the Internet Movie Database
• TV.com episode page