This one feels like a rip-off of an I DREAM OF JEANNIE episode, yet it aired just a few weeks after JEANNIE'S 1965 premiere, so the similarities must be purely coincidental.
Uncle Martin must shrink himself in order to maintain the minimum weight required to get his spaceship back to Mars (don't ask). For some reason, the procedure involves standing in the shower fully-clothed, yet he's dry as a bone when done - but he's now miniaturized. He transforms himself into smoke EXACTLY like Jeannie and pops into an empty wine bottle, giving Tim orders to seal it.
I groaned when Tim left for work, leaving the bottle on the kitchen table RIGHT NEXT to a box marked OVERSEAS RELIEF, so we know where this is going -- to Baghdad, of course. We get a tired plot with lots of Middle Eastern stereotypes, harem girls, the powerful, tyrannical sultan, and Ray Walston and Bill Bixby in turbans and balloon pants.
At first, I thought the ABU character was Anthony Franciosa, but then I knew he would have been too old by this time and would not have been slumming on a TV sitcom. Veteran character actress Naomi Stevens plays Abu's mother and Linda Scott (playing Abu's fiancee) appeared in many '60s shows where an attractive starlet was needed to play a small part.
From what I've seen so far, the black and white episodes of this series were much more imaginative and original. Not been impressed with the 3rd (color) season as much. The performances here are all dull and everyone just seems to be there for the paycheck.
Uncle Martin must shrink himself in order to maintain the minimum weight required to get his spaceship back to Mars (don't ask). For some reason, the procedure involves standing in the shower fully-clothed, yet he's dry as a bone when done - but he's now miniaturized. He transforms himself into smoke EXACTLY like Jeannie and pops into an empty wine bottle, giving Tim orders to seal it.
I groaned when Tim left for work, leaving the bottle on the kitchen table RIGHT NEXT to a box marked OVERSEAS RELIEF, so we know where this is going -- to Baghdad, of course. We get a tired plot with lots of Middle Eastern stereotypes, harem girls, the powerful, tyrannical sultan, and Ray Walston and Bill Bixby in turbans and balloon pants.
At first, I thought the ABU character was Anthony Franciosa, but then I knew he would have been too old by this time and would not have been slumming on a TV sitcom. Veteran character actress Naomi Stevens plays Abu's mother and Linda Scott (playing Abu's fiancee) appeared in many '60s shows where an attractive starlet was needed to play a small part.
From what I've seen so far, the black and white episodes of this series were much more imaginative and original. Not been impressed with the 3rd (color) season as much. The performances here are all dull and everyone just seems to be there for the paycheck.
