MovieChat Forums > I Dream of Jeannie (1965) Discussion > I felt bad for Dr. Bellows

I felt bad for Dr. Bellows

posted 10 years ago by TitanicFanForever101
24 replies | jump to latest

Tony and Jeannie were always trying to make him think he was crazy. I mean sometimes Tony tried to come up with explanations for the ridiculous things that happened, but other times he would just deny them and convince Dr. Bellows, the General and others he was just insane. In the episode Permanent House guest in season 1 is a good example of this. She makes him hear and see all these things when he is trying to sleep. Another time is when Jeannie messed with Tony’s physical, so Tony told her to make Dr. Bellows think he was just crazy; she did all these things to his sandwich later on. He was a nice man that always had Nasa and Tony’s best interest at heart. Dr. Bellow’s life could have been ruined. He could have lost his medical license, job or thrown into a psych hospital. He never did anything to Tony or Jeannie and they shouldn’t have done those things to him. They should have just came up with explanations or covered for him. Jeannie could have also erased his memory or made him think he was sleeping. I know sometimes they had to make it look like he was crazy because they couldn’t risk others finding out about Jeannie, but I still felt bad for him.

Lifes a gift and I don't intend on wasting it!

[–] Fletcherj119 10 years ago

In most cases, it was self-defense on Tony's part; he was trying to save his own ass. If Dr. Bellows was really in trouble; such as in danger of being kicked out of NASA, Tony would probably have found a way to help him.
But Bellows had it coming often enough by barging into Tony's house.

[–] TitanicFanForever101 10 years ago

Yes, I agree Dr. Bellows was asking for it sometimes. He gave Tony no privacy and just walked into his house or spied on him.

Lifes a gift and I don't intend on wasting it!

[–] snsurone 10 years ago

I despise Bellows; his whole "raison d'être" seems to get Tony into trouble and kick him out of the army.
In fact, he was no different than Capt. Binghamton on McHALE'S NAVY, the only real difference was that Hayden Roarke was a much better actor than that snarky Joe Flynn.

[–] HoneyBear5000 10 years ago

I've always loved Hayden Rorke's Dr. Bellows. He was incredibly entertaining. I consider the character to be a necessary component of the series. If all the characters cheered on Tony and Jeannie, it would've made for a boring show. Somebody had to do the dirty work of creating obstacles for the heroes to overcome. I think the doctor was a great antagonist who never crossed the line into sheer villainy. (Amanda seemed to walk that fine line, Jeannie II was pure villain and early version of Roger was trifling troublemaker.)

Dr. Bellows never seemed to be evil on purpose. I think he was simply curious as to why Tony Nelson seemed to be a black hole of strange occurrences. It was the doctor's job to report anything unusual (especially, mentally) with the astronauts in his care. NASA didn't want anybody deemed psychologically unfit in the space program, namely those designated for space travel.

---------
You can observe a lot just by watching. -- Yogi Berra

[–] TitanicFanForever101 10 years ago

Dr. Bellows was my favorite character next to Tony. He was so funny and his reactions were priceless. I can't imagine the show without him. Exactly, someone had to catch Tony and Jeannie and make them explain the strange things they did. I don't think he intentionally wanted to be mean or ruin Tony's career, he was just curious and doing his job. I still felt bad for him though. He kept thinking he was going insane or others thought it.

Lifes a gift and I don't intend on wasting it!

[–] deem_bastille 10 years ago

The biggest problem I had with him was his blatant obsession with tony and when he introduced Jeannie to him, Jeannie. He should have been obsessed with Roger and his weekly girlfriends...

he barged into tony's house on numerous occasions and in less than ideal timing for tony and Jeannie... what are they to do?? They had to think on their feet all the time because of this obnoxious turd. He deserves to see analysts when he does that and sees what he sees.

OH THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU SO BLOODY MUCH!!! Basil Fawlty

[–] BedHeadTalks 9 years ago

Yes, poor doctor Bellows! I feel the same, I can't imagine the show without him!

I like tea

[–] dbrockskk1 8 years ago

He wasn't in the Army. He was in the Air Force.

suzycreamcheese RIP Heath Ledger 1979-2008

[–] dbrockskk1 10 years ago

I agree. The walking in without knocking/ringing the bell always creeped me out.

suzycreamcheese RIP Heath Ledger 1979-2008

[–] trollomatic 9 years ago

<<<But Bellows had it coming often enough by barging into Tony's housey

In season 1, different episodes, not only does Dr. Bellows spy on Tony by looking through Tony's window at night from outside of the house,

Dr, Bellows barges into Tony's house and states he is living there now. "permanent houseguest".

[–] Fletcherj119 9 years ago

Pretty rude, and Tony couldn't even defend himself - Bellows was threatening his position. Bellows deserved everything he got.

[–] NewYorkGrove 10 years ago

I. Found it hard. To belive. The Tony. Would have been kicked. Of the space. Program if the truth. Had come. Out maybe he but on the other handled. Correctly. Tonys career could. Have. Survived

[–] TitanicFanForever101 10 years ago

Yes, even when he introduced Jeannie to everyone nothing changed. He could have done it in season 1, but this way it gave the show more stories.

Lifes a gift and I don't intend on wasting it!

[–] Diamond97 8 years ago

Yes, even when he introduced Jeannie to everyone nothing changed. He could have done it in season 1, but this way it gave the show more stories

But Jeannie was more wilder in Season 1. She had been jailed for 2,000 years and she was very mischievous. There was no reason to introduce her to people because she and Major Nelson were not engaged or married. He was not ready to settle down with Jeannie since she was not mortal and he wanted to date other girls.

By the fifth season, Major Nelson and Jeannie were engaged so it then made sense to introduce Jeannie since she was becoming his wife. Plus, Jeannie had become more calmer by then as well.

[–] BareKnuckles 10 years ago

I think at some point Tony should have told Bellows (not his wife, she would have ratted Jeannie out to some bigwig), just to lift the stress off of each other's backs; He could have simply asked Bellows not to tell anyone about her powers and whenever weird stuff happened, he'd know why and he could go about his day and not mention it to anyone and not get his superiors to think he was nuts. Tony ONLY should have quit or threatened to quit if Bellows threatened to rat him out to NASA or the authorities.

[–] TitanicFanForever101 10 years ago

They showed in season 5 what would have happened if Dr. Bellows found out. He wasn't mean, but did make Tony leave Nasa. Tony just said he would leave and Dr. Bellows didn't stop him. He said nice things to Jeannie and Tony and how he didn't mind she ehad powers, but it was implied he couldn't work for Nasa anymore. I don't think Dr. Bellows would have allowed Tony to continue to work there and it was for the best he didn't find out.

Lifes a gift and I don't intend on wasting it!

[–] cclowell 9 years ago

I think Dr. Bellows was one of the best "frienemies" in TV history. Not only did Hayden Roarke do a terrific job of playing the role, but, as Tony's superior officer, and the one responsible for seeing that Tony is of sound mind and body to undertake the tremendous stress of being an astronaut, Dr. Bellows' curiosity and "obsession" with Tony's inexplicable behavior is much more justified than the time worn "nosy neighbor" character used by BEWITCHED and other sitcoms.

And, unlike Gladys Kravitz on BEWITCHED, despite his (justifiable) frustration at not being able to get to the root of Tony's eccentricities, Dr. Bellows is a real friend, who, when Tony's job is really in jeopardy, stands by him. In the episode where Tony and Roger are accused of selling the plans for NASA's latest space station to a toy manufacturer (because Jeannie blinked a working model of the station), it's Dr. Bellows who defends Tony and Roger to the NASA brass.

In the episode where Jeannie's uncle makes it appear that Tony tries to assassinate the Maharaja of Basenji, Dr. Bellows not only defends Tony before General Schaffer, Dr. Bellows is the one who persuades General Schaeffer to reinstate Tony and Roger, even though the general tells Dr. Bellows that if he doesn't find Tony dependable and reliable, he's going to hold Dr. Bellows responsible.

And Tony and Jeannie do help Dr. Bellows to keep his job in the episode where Jeannie inadvertently creates an indestructible fabric that Dr. Bellows can't duplicate when he tries to show it to the general.

I think it's perfectly natural that after Tony and Jeannie become engaged and everyone meets Jeannie, they would become good friends with Dr. and Mrs. Bellows and socialize with them regularly.

In the (dream) episode where Dr. Bellows finds out about Jeannie's real identity, I think his comments to Tony ("All things considered, it's been an honor and a privilege working with you") and Jeannie ("I always thought you were a charming and wonderful girl, the perfect wife for Major Nelson. Magic or no, I see no reason to change my opinion.") were completely in character. Dr. Bellows doesn't force Tony to resign, it's Tony's idea, possibly because he feels this information can't be kept under wraps any longer, but Dr. Bellows was a good guy and I don't think he'd ever intentionally do anything to harm Tony or Jeannie.

(That said, I agree that Dr. Bellows, like anyone else, got what he deserved when he barged into Tony's house unannounced. As Clifton Webb says to Dana Andrews in LAURA: "Haven't you heard of Science's latest triumph, the doorbell?!")

[–] trollomatic 9 years ago

<<<think at some point Tony should have told Bellows

He did tell Dr. Bellows. He told Dr. Bellows about Jeannie in the very first episode.

[–] CajunGenie 9 years ago

Yes, and then he realized how crazy that made him sound. Especially after a visit by Dr. Bellows, Gen. Stone, Roger and Pete, where that information put him into a tough spot and he had to make up a story to get out of it. Then he knew that he'd have to keep Jeannie under wraps for as long as he could.

[–] aspergius5 8 years ago

As I had stated in a response to another thread, Dr. Alfred Bellows was always eager to get Anthony Nelson nailed to send him to the Air Force's answer to a mental hospital. The days when anyone different, including the Autistic, were considered loony. Then again, this was 1965-1970, not now.

[–] Diamond97 8 years ago

I think at some point Tony should have told Bellows (not his wife, she would have ratted Jeannie out to some bigwig), just to lift the stress off of each other's backs

He did try to tell Dr. Bellows (in the pilot), but he did not believe him.

[–] deem_bastille 8 years ago

I am reminded of a line from my alltime favorite movie Rear Window.

Lt. Doyle: Lars Thorwald... is no more a murderer than I am.
Jeff: [stunned] You mean that you can explain everything strange that has been going on over there, and is still going on?
Lt. Doyle: No, and neither can you. That's a secret private world your looking into out there. People do a lot of things in private they couldn't possibly explain in public.

and if you dislike what you find when snooping then you shouldn't have been snooping to begin with.

Oh God. Fortune vomits on my eiderdown once more.

[–] Beeracuda 8 years ago

Dr Bellows was the best part of the show! And yes, I felt sorry for him too, since he always got screwed, especially in front of General Peterson.

One of my favorite exchanges:

Dr Bellows: "Here's a report of a woman who swears she saw Major Nelson flying over Cocoa Beach."
Man: "Well, he's a pilot. What's unusual about that?"
Dr Bellows: "Major Nelson had no plane."
Dr Bellows: "A gas station attendant saw Major Nelson's car pull into a Drive-in Movie"
Man: "That doesn't sound out of the ordinary"
Dr Bellows: "No one was in the car"
Dr Bellows: "Here's a report of it snowing, only on Major Nelson's house, in the middle of July"
Man: "Obviously that was just some screwball reporting that"
Dr Bellows: "I'm the one who filed that report.

[–] Diamond97 8 years ago

Tony and Jeannie were always trying to make him think he was crazy. I mean sometimes Tony tried to come up with explanations for the ridiculous things that happened, but other times he would just deny them and convince Dr. Bellows, the General and others he was just insane. In the episode Permanent House guest in season 1 is a good example of this. She makes him hear and see all these things when he is trying to sleep. Another time is when Jeannie messed with Tony’s physical, so Tony told her to make Dr. Bellows think he was just crazy; she did all these things to his sandwich later on. He was a nice man that always had Nasa and Tony’s best interest at heart. Dr. Bellow’s life could have been ruined. He could have lost his medical license, job or thrown into a psych hospital. He never did anything to Tony or Jeannie and they shouldn’t have done those things to him. They should have just came up with explanations or covered for him. Jeannie could have also erased his memory or made him think he was sleeping. I know sometimes they had to make it look like he was crazy because they couldn’t risk others finding out about Jeannie, but I still felt bad for him

Well, Major Nelson did try to tell Dr. Bellows about Jeannie but Dr. Bellows did not believe him. However, I think all the crazy things surrounding Dr. Bellows gave him a thrill. Remember he told Major Nelson that he had thought of retiring but he found the strangeness of Major Nelson fascinating. The way I look at it is, that Jeannie and Major Nelson gave Dr. Bellows something to be passionate about. I don't think Dr. Bellows thought that he was really crazy. He just would question himself briefly, but overall I think he knew it was something strange about Major Nelson. And he was determined to get to the bottom of it. It was like a puzzle to him. Sometimes, Dr. Bellows seems to enjoy thinking he had caught Major Nelson. I don't think he was being malicious. He just wanted to solve the mystery.

Besides, if Dr. Bellows really got in trouble, I think Major Nelson and Jeannie would help him. Though they had a unique (and occasionally adversary) relationship, I felt there was a respect and fondness between Major Nelson and Dr. Bellows. But if there was truly no threat of Dr. Bellows losing his job, I saw nothing wrong with them keeping Dr. Bellows' fascination going. As I curious psychiatrist, it kept him on his toes and gave him something to look forward to. Sometimes having a passion can be good for your health. And the "strange case" of Major Nelson and trying to understand what made him tick was Dr. Bellows' passion.