Tony is hit on the head by a falling vase and suffers from a strange case of amnesia – he can recall all other events from his life but can’t remember anything about Jeannie. So when he sees Jeannie standing in his kitchen (and as luck would have it she’s wearing ordinary clothes since Tony had promised to take her out), he’s instantly attracted to her. Assuming she is the friend of his aunt’s that he had been expecting, Tony introduces himself and openly flirts with her, leaving poor Jeannie very confused until she realises about the bump on the head. Yet she won’t let Roger tell Tony the truth since she’s rather enjoying the attention that Tony is lavishing on her. The episode continues with Tony courting Jeannie – and Jeannie continually magicking Roger away every time he tries to tell Tony the truth, first to the South Pole, then the jungle and finally under the sea! Tony eventually proposes to Jeannie and she accepts but not without a certain amount of guilt at deceiving him. She resolves to tell him the truth but there is no need in the end since Tony (conveniently) suffers a second blow to the head which cures the amnesia – but leaves him with no memory of his actions over the past few days.
This is actually quite a sad episode in my opinion as it gives a glimpse into what might have happened if Tony had just met Jeannie walking down the street as an ordinary woman. And what would have happened is that he would have fallen in love with her and married her. Were it not for the fact that Jeannie is not an ordinary woman and he found her in a bottle on the beach. At any rate, this episode makes it clear that the fact that she is a genie is really the only reason why Tony won’t marry her. There are some nice moments and also some rather melancholy ones. Like the moment when Jeannie and the amnesia-affected Tony are dancing, and she knows that he is about to propose to her and when he starts to speak she says “Don’t say it”, as she feels so conflicted about deceiving him. Also the heartbreaking exchange when Jeannie says “I can’t marry you.” and Tony replies, “Why? Don’t you love me?” and she responds, “More than you know.” Much of the humour in the episode involves Roger finding himself at the mercy of Jeannie and perplexing Dr Bellows with an array of unexplainable symptoms - first frostbite, then injuries from a pygmy attack and finally a touch of the bends! It’s also a shame that Tony is left with no memory of his actions. If he did, of course he’d be annoyed with Jeannie for deceiving him but it also might have prompted him to reassess his feelings for her. Thus, all in all, a good episode that is a little sad in places but is lifted by the moments of comedy.
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