The
genie-in-the-bottle story has seldom been done with as many twists as in this
1983 comedy.
First of all,
the genie – Shabu – was a hip black man disgusted at having fallen into the
hands of a wishy-washy young TV reporter. Shabu's previous assignments had been
much more glamorous, serving the likes of Cleopatra, Napoleon, and King Arthur.
His new master, Keith, was not so keen on the arrangement either, especially
since the fun-loving Shabu was given to practical jokes and throwing spells
around at all the wrong times. Keith was more interested in trying to save his
job at KPOX-TV, where he had just been replaced as weatherman by Professor Bob.
The officious program director, Meagan Huxley, thought Keith lacked charisma
("You just stick on the screen. Like old gum."), so Shabu gave him enough
charisma for ten people. When Keith needed to throw a party to impress the
station manager, Mr. Marriott, Shabu conjured up a night none of them would
forget.
There were
lots of surprises on this show, including cameos by such people as Roy Orbison,
Dr. Joyce Brothers, and Wink Martindale (doing a burlesque quiz show in which he
couldn't seen to give away anything). Unfortunately, Shabu's magic didn't work
against The A-Team, running opposite on NBC. Just his luck.
