# You Wish (TV series)

You Wish is an American fantasy sitcom television series created by Michael Jacobs, that ran from September 26, 1997, to June 19, 1998. It started as part of ABC's TGIF programming on Friday nights for the fall of 1997, along with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, and Teen Angel.

## Synopsis

In the show's pilot episode (in which the proposed series was still known under a working title of Genie), Gillian Apple (Harley Jane Kozak) and her two children, Mickey Apple (Alex McKenna) and Travis Apple (Nathan Lawrence) visit a rug shop where they meet the owner, Madman Mustafa (John Rhys-Davies). There they buy a rug, where they unexpectedly release a genie (John Ales), who has been imprisoned for 2,000 years. The genie's name is simply "Genie", although in the first episode Gillian refers to him as "Steve from Canoga Park", an alias he later uses. Jerry Van Dyke was introduced to the show in the third episode as Genie's Grandpa Max (thus, Van Dyke was simultaneously appearing on two TGIF series, You Wish and Teen Angel at the same time as different characters).

## Cast

* John Ales as Genie
* Harley Jane Kozak as Gillian Apple
* Jerry Van Dyke as Grandpa Max
* Alex McKenna as Mickey Apple
* Nathan Lawrence as Travis Apple

## Production
### Crossovers

Although the series made a total of 13 episodes, it was taken off after the seventh episode, "Genie Without a Cause." This episode, which aired on November 7, 1997, was part of a night-long TGIF retro crossover, which started with Sabrina. Sabrina made a time ball, which Salem swallowed and caused the time period to be the 1960s. Salem then crossed over to Boy Meets World, turning it into the 1940s, then this series to the 1950s and then to Teen Angel to the 1970s.

### Cancellation

You Wish was a ratings failure, ranking 92nd for the season and was cancelled after seven episodes. Reruns from the first season of Sabrina the Teenage Witch were added to the TGIF lineup to fill the empty slot for the remainder of the season. The remaining six unaired episodes of the series were burned off in May and June 1998, filling the slot of its fellow new TGIF series, Teen Angel, after that show was canceled.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Pilot" | David Trainer | Michael Jacobs | September 26, 1997 (1997-09-26) | 13.54 |
| Gillian Apple accidentally releases a genie from a rug where he's spent 2,000 years in captivity. ||||||
| 2 | "Jillions of Gillians" | Jeff McCracken | Michael Craven & Richard Childs | October 3, 1997 (1997-10-03) | 10.53 |
| The Genie clones Gillian, leading to a competition to determine which of the two Gillians will take charge of the family. ||||||
| 3 | "The Big Ride" | Jeff McCracken | Susan Estelle Jansen | October 10, 1997 (1997-10-10) | 10.44 |
| The Genie's 50,000-year-old grandfather pays a visit and it's learned he must be decommissioned because of his waning powers. ||||||
| 4 | "Mind Games" | Jeff McCracken | Stephen Sustarsic & David Silverman | October 17, 1997 (1997-10-17) | 10.74 |
| The Genie gives Gillian the power to read minds, which she uses to learn that Mickey is keeping cigarettes in her purse. ||||||
| 5 | "A Real Don Juan" | Jeff McCracken | Daniel Paige & Sue Paige | October 24, 1997 (1997-10-24) | 9.77 |
| The Genie creates a romantic suitor for Gillian, while Mickey enters a talent contest at school. ||||||
| 6 | "Halloween" | Jeff McCracken | Steve Pepoon | October 31, 1997 (1997-10-31) | 9.45 |
| On Halloween, the Genie learns what it's like to be human, while his grandpa brings Frankenstein to life. ||||||
| 7 | "Genie Without a Cause" | Jeff McCracken | Jeffrey Sherman | November 7, 1997 (1997-11-07) | 11.89 |
| The Apples become a stereotypical family and the Genie a rebellious beatnik when a time warp sends them to the 1950s. Note: This episode is part three of a time-travel themed crossover with Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World and Teen Angel that begins on "Inna Gadda Sabrina", continues on "No Guts, No Cory" and concludes on "One Dog Night". ||||||
| 8 | "Future Shock" | Jeff McCracken | Linda Mathious & Heather MacGillvray | May 22, 1998 (1998-05-22) | 8.68 |
| The Genie and his grandpa must rely on fate when they lose their ability to predict the future and Travis learns to believe in himself. ||||||
| 9 | "All in the Family Room" | Jeff McCracken | Linda Mathious & Heather MacGillvray | May 29, 1998 (1998-05-29) | 8.03 |
| Gillian uses mementos to redecorate the family room, while Travis uses the Genie's time travel portal to run away to a pirate ship. ||||||
| 10 | "Welcome to the Dollhouse" | Jeff McCracken | Daniel Paige & Sue Paige | June 5, 1998 (1998-06-05) | 6.73 |
| The Genie shrinks Gillian and can't bring her back to her normal size, so his grandpa takes her to a genie celebration to fix the problem. ||||||
| 11 | "The Bad Influence" | Jeff McCracken | Jeffrey Sherman | June 12, 1998 (1998-06-12) | 7.94 |
| With the Genie's help, Mickey learns how much of a wild teen Gillian used to be. In the meantime, the Genie has a clumsy apprentice to train. ||||||
| 12 | "Bride and Prejudice" | Jeff McCracken | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | June 19, 1998 (1998-06-19) | 7.21 |
| The Genie's fiancee shows up after 2,000 years of waiting and demands their arranged marriage take place, but Gillian gets in the way. ||||||
| 13 | "Gift of the Travi" | Jeff McCracken | Daniel Paige & Sue Paige | July 24, 1998 (1998-07-24) | 6.47 |
| On Christmas, the Genie grants a wish for each of the Apple children, Travis's being that every day were Christmas. ||||||

## Reception

TV Guide called the series "Hammy, artificial, and altogether excruciating".