Question: Please help me with ...

Question: Please help me with this trivia question: On I Dream of Jeannie, what was Jeannie's evil twin sister's name? Thank you! — Iris McCorry

Televisionary: Ah, the ever-present "evil Jeannie" question, which is nearly as common as the "evil Samantha"/Bewitched query (to be answered at a later date, I promise).

As disappointing as it may seem, Jeannie's troublesome sibling was named... Jeannie (and was also played by star Barbara Eden, for anyone who was fooled by the dark hair). Apparently, the character was referred to as "Jeannie II" in scripts for the show so the actors wouldn't be confused.

She first showed up during the third season in the episode "Jeannie or the Tiger," blinking astronaut Anthony Nelson (Larry Hagman) all over the planet in an attempt to win (or pilfer) his affections. As is typical with many such opponents, the writers squeezed all they could out of the character, who made eight subsequent appearances.

I Dream of Jeannie ran for five years on NBC, from 1965-70, but in syndication it grew into one of those evergreen rerun shows that became a major part of the TV consciousness. Play the magic blink sound effect for just about anyone between 25 and 50 and I guarantee they can identify it.

To top it off, Hagman went on to even greater stardom as Dallas baddie J.R. Ewing, while series creator Sidney Sheldon, who already had The Patty Duke Show and numerous screen and stage works on his résumé, became one of the most successful novelists to ever tap a typewriter (Bloodline, Master of the Game).