<P> When casting was opened for the role of Jeannie, producer Sidney Sheldon could not find an actress who could play the role the way that he had written it . He did have one specific rule: He did not want a blonde genie, because the similarity with the blonde witch on Bewitched would be too much . However, after many unsuccessful auditions, he called Barbara Eden's agent . When NBC began telecasting most of its prime - time television programs in color in fall 1965, Jeannie was one of two regular programs on NBC that remained in black and white, in this case because of the special photographic effects employed to achieve Jeannie's magic . By the second season, however, further work had been done on techniques to create the visual effects in color, necessary because by 1966 all prime - time series in the United States were being made in color . </P> <P> According to Dreaming of Jeannie, a book by Stephen Cox and Howard Frank, Sheldon originally wanted to film season one in color, but NBC did not want to pay for the extra expenses, as the network (and Screen Gems) believed the series would not make it to a second season . According to Sheldon in his autobiography The Other Side of Me, he offered to pay the extra US $400 an episode needed for color filming at the beginning of the series, but Screen Gems executive Jerry Hyams advised him: "Sidney, don't throw your money away ." </P> <P> The first few episodes after the pilot (episodes two through eight) used a nonanimated, expository opening narrated by Paul Frees; the narration mentions that Nelson lived in "a mythical town" named Cocoa Beach in "a mythical state called Florida". The remaining episodes of that first season featured an animated sequence that was redone and expanded in season two, when the show switched from black and white to color . This new sequence, used from season 2--5, featured Captain Nelson's space capsule splashing down on the beach, and Jeannie dancing out of her bottle (modified to reflect its new decoration) and then kissing Nelson . Both original versions of the show's animated opening sequence were done by famed animator Friz Freleng . </P> <P> Although the series was set in and around Cape Kennedy, Florida, and Nelson lived at 1020 Palm Drive in nearby Cocoa Beach, locales in California were used in place of those in Florida . The exterior of the building where Healey and he had offices was actually the main building at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles . "If you look at some of those old (episodes), it's supposed to be shot in Cocoa Beach, but in the background you have mountains--the Hollywood Hills," Bill Daily said . In actuality, the home of Major Nelson was filmed at the Warner Ranch, in Burbank (on Blondie Street). Many exteriors were filmed at this facility . Interior filming was done at the Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood . </P>

When did i dream of jeannie air in color