The Odd Couple – The Third Season

What started as a Neil Simon play and eventual film became one of ABC’s most endearing comedies of the 1970’s. One could credit the clever premise of putting a neat freak and a slob under the same roof. One might look to the fact that both the film and play were considerable hits to explain the success of the series. The truth is, it was none of these things. Plenty of hit films have spawned crappy shows. Remember That Big Fat Greek Wedding? Even Neil Simon plays have been the starting point for bad television. Remember Barefoot In The Park? My point exactly. Even The Odd Couple was attempted again in the 1980’s with Ron Glass and Demond Wilson. If you remember that one, you should get some help for those bad dreams you’re having. The simple truth is that it was Tony Randall and Jack Klugman that made this series fire on all cylinders. Before watching this set, I tried to think back on my favorite episodes, and I made a rather interesting discovery. I couldn’t remember even one plot. What I could recall were many moments between these two gifted comedic actors. Long after the stories themselves had been forgotten, it was Felix and Oscar, Tony and Jack that remained. It’s almost too horrific a thought that these were not the actors the show was created for. It was Art Carney and Martin Balsam that were expected to fill these parts when Gary Marshall began to construct The Odd Couple for television. Whatever happened, I don’t know the story; what I do know is that the television gods intervened and what was likely going to be a one season and out comedy ended up lasting 5 seasons.

The premise was simple and outlined in the show’s opening monologue. Felix and Oscar are recently divorced and share an apartment out of sheer convenience that doesn’t really end up being convenient to either. Felix is a clean freak who makes Adrian Monk look messy by comparison. He works as a photographer. His friends are high class opera lovers and art museum patrons. Oscar is a world class slob. His floor and even his bed are merely depositories for whatever needs throwing out at the time, including dirty clothes and leftover food. He works as a sports writer for a local paper. His friends are poker buddies and fellow sports enthusiasts. Most of the best moments occur when these two worlds collide. Other regulars included Murray the cop, played by Al Molinaro. With Murray on duty, it was an easy night for the crooks. Oscar’s poker buddy Speed was played by Gary Walberg who would rejoin Klugman as cop friend Monahan. Oscar’s secretary was played by Gary Marshall’s sister Penny, who would later become Laverne in the hit Laverne and Shirley. Oscar’s ex-wife was played by his real wife at the time, Bret Somers.

Season Three had more than its share of great moments. Howard Cosell engages Oscar in a match of nouns and adjectives in the episode, Big Mouth. Laughs border on the sacrilegious when The Monk of the Messy and The Saint of the Stool pigeons spend some time at a monastery retreat in The Odd Monks. If this isn’t one of the best 20 minutes in television comedy that doesn’t feature Redd Foxx, I’ll give you your money back for the set  (minus a $45.60 processing fee, of course). “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, we’re just going to find out how mucheth.” Oscar is a celebrity player on Password in the episode Password, but will he let Felix tag along?  It’s role reversal time when Felix and Oscar try to spend time in the other’s shoes in I Gotta Be Me.  It’s decorating make-over wars when Felix and Oscar both attempt to redecorate in Take My Furniture, Please. Anyway you slice it, this is a set full of laughs.

 
Video

Each episode of The Odd Couple is presented in its original full frame broadcast format.  There’s a lot of grain in these episodes. The colors are pretty muted as well. Truth is these aren’t very good transfers at all. Still, I found myself forgiving the bad picture. After all, it’s hard to really judge video quality when you’re laughing so hard your eyes are watering.

 
Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track is pretty bland. The dialogue is clear, and really, does anything else matter? The theme clips a bit in the intro and even sometimes throughout the show. I might have been able to detect other nuances in the sound if I weren’t laughing so hard that I missed them.

 
Special Features

Nothing.

Final Thoughts

The Odd Couple is one of those shows that will always appear dated, but it will never really matter. The laughs are what counts, and in the end you won’t remember much about the audio or video quality. You won’t really be thinking about the 70’s styles and colors at all. The only question you’ll be concerning yourself with is the critical one: “Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?”