# You Wish (1997-98, TGIF)

Gillian Apple, a divorced mother of two (Harley Jane Kozak) has her life turned upside-down when she obtains a purple rug with a Genie (John Ales) inside. Her children (Alex McKenna & Nathan Lawrence) are overjoyed, but Gillian believes life is better if you don't make wishes. In the fifth episode, Jerry Van Dyke joins the cast as Genie's ecentric Grampa Max. John Rhys-Davies initially starred as wise rug shop owner Mustapha, but he was quickly phased out. History, Part 1: ABC The story of You Wish can’t be told without some backstory that's largely been forgotten. ABC president Ted Harbert had led the network to the top of its game, and in 1995, bumpers proudly declared, “ Watched by more Americans than any other network: ABC .” And what happens when something is successful? Disney buys it. The House of Mouse announced the acquisition that summer and formally took control in early 1996 — though they didn’t quite know what to do with their new toy. Cue crossover episodes of Roseanne , Boy Meets World , and Step by Step set at Disney World. Check. Instructed to bring in a younger audience, Harbert greenlit sitcom adaptations of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (from Showtime) and Clueless (from the hit film). Then he was ousted, replaced by NBC’s Jamie Tarses. A messy internal power struggle followed — Harbert technically remained in charge for a while but ultimately quit in frustration the following January. Tarses, now fully in control, quickly cleared house, axing nearly all of…

- Kind: Film
- Year: 1997
- By: Touchstone Television
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/you-wish-1997-1998)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/you-wish-1997-1998?play=1)