Quoting:
i guess i'm the minority for this one.  i liked bewitched better...her mom cracked me up just to look at her.  and samantha had more freedom than jeannie...she didn't have to live in a bottle and never had to do her master's bidding.
End Quote

Yes but I would rather have hidden when major Bellows showed up than be raising a child and have to stay home...I think Jeannie had more freedom, hence more fun....just my opinion though ;)

Quoting:
The arguments about this show are as old as the shows.  :P
Do you think Samantha had more freedom than Jeannie? Jeannie was far more liberated than Samantha! How many times did Samantha ever leave the kitchen? Darren was always trying to suppress her magic and make her live like a 'normal' mortal woman

End Quote

although neither woman was completely free/liberated, it's my opinion that samantha had more freedom than jeannie.  i think the operative word in your last statement was 'trying' because darren never achieved the suppression he wanted.  samantha did pretty much whatever she wanted.  and she did leave the kitchen ;).  also, samantha didn't have to hide when important people came over.  that jeannie had to hide when major bellows came over only seves to illustrate her lack of liberation.  along with this, she had to answer to her master, which is indicative of a slave-like status.  if she were truly more liberated, she'd have no master but herself and she'd show herself to anyone she pleased.  holy cow!  the tiny bit of feminist in me just showed up and took over my brain for a minute.  well, the freedom issue is only one reason why i like bewitched better.  quite frankly, jeannie annoyed the hell out of me.

Quoting:

 along with this, she had to answer to her master, which is indicative of a slave-like status.  if she were truly more liberated, she'd have no master but herself and she'd show herself to anyone she pleased.  
End Quote

Well, she was a genie, after all.

;D

Quoting:


Well, she was a genie, after all.

;D
End Quote

exactly...which only serves to illustrate my point.  however, if you look at old genie lore, most genies were male because the male dominated society in arabic countries didn't like the idea of women having any power.  although 'i dream of jeannie' wasn't the best show for feminism, the idea of the show having a female genie challenges the old patriarchal values of the mythology's originating countries.

as a side note, i never thought i'd ever think this in-depth about two sitcoms from before i was born.

Quoting:
Well, now-I don't know...if I had either of those ladies' powers, you can bet I would crawl out of the bottle, or out of the kitchen, whack both Major Bellows and Larry Tate upside the head, leave Tony to his true love, Major Healy, and set off with my twin sister, or cousin, or whatever....to maybe Tahitie, sweetie. Aunt Clara and Endora would come with us, because those ladies rock, and we would twitch our noses or cross our arms and blink around the world, sampling all that came our way..."So Many Men, So Little Time" would be our eternal theme song...

And we would call NO MAN "Master"!!!! ;) :D
End Quote

YEAH BABY!!!

Quoting:
Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie... Don't know/care who was more liberated/feminist, I just always loved Jeannie... I like her unconditional love for her Master, and besides, so cute and sexy... Besides, I find "I Dream of Genie" more relaxing to watch, the situations are more silly and funny, the show is somehow more naive than "Bewitched", which often includes an element of social tension and is a bit more "intellectual".

Questions: Which show was first to air? Did they ever "compete" on the air? Which ran for a longer period of time? (I was born in the late 60s so I've only watched re-runs...)

End Quote

Great Choice, Paul ;)