CliqueClack Flashback – The Odd Couple

Everybody has a favorite TV show from their past, and our reasons for loving them are personal. Be it Lost in Space, Dynasty or even Room 222, certain shows stick with us forever.

For me, that show is The Odd Couple.

For those of you have been living in a cave, the show is based on the Neil Simon play and classic movie. It deals with two mismatched room mates: Felix Unger, a neat freak, and Oscar Madison, super-slob. In the early seventies, the movie was a big hit, and ABC, desperate for hit shows, gave producer Gary Marshall the task of making a series out of this property. He really hit the jackpot in his casting, with Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman  as Oscar.
There have been a lot of great comedy teams, both in the movies and on television, but Randall and Klugman were in a class by themselves. Well, at least to me. Their chemistry together was hilarious. When you watched the show, you believed they were the characters; you never thought of them as actors reading lines. The supporting cast was great, too, with Al Molinaro as Murray the cop (“New York’s dumbest,” as Oscar called him), and Penny Marshall as Oscar’s secretary, Myrna Turner — her first professional acting gig. I think the fact Penny’s brother was the producer may have landed her the role.

Don’t get me wrong, the series is not without its faults: the canned laughter and cheapo set design are sometimes annoying, but the cast and the scripts overshadowed these faults.

The entire series is out on DVD now (finally!). Even the worst episode of this show is not without its pleasures, but if you want to cut to the chase, here are some gems:

• “Felix the Calypso Singer”: My pick as one of the funniest episodes. Tony Randall singing calypso has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
• “A Subway Story”: Hilarious episode set in a subway car packed with some of TV’s most beloved character actors, including Gary Marshall himself!
• “Fear of Flying”: About the funniest episode of a sitcom ever. Watch it and tell me I was right.
• “The Breakup”: Every flashback episode on this series was great, but this one, dealing with Felix and his wife’s split-up, still cracks me up.

Actually, when I  think about it, every episode of this show cracks me up. As I said, the DVDs are out there now. Go buy ‘em.

Especially if you think Two and a Half Men is the epitome of character comedy.

Clacked by Bill White
on Jan 08, 2009 @ 12:02 EST5EDT