ABC did another version a few years after the Klugman-Randall show ended in ‘75. It was a ‘black’ version with Demond Wilson (from Sanford & Son) as Oscar and Ron Glass (from* Barney Miller* and later Firefly) as Felix. They made the incredulous decision to use some of the previous shows’ scripts, like, *word for word! *The Klugman-Randall series was widely syndicated all thru the 70s so this hardly went unnoticed! Got cancelled after one season.
I wanted to mention her, as even though I was never a *Friends *fan I’ve loved all the other stuff I’ve seen her in. She played the dumb blond on Friends, but she’s actually incredibly smart and talented. I thought *Web Therapy *was one of the smartest & funniest shows ever (and I think she was also a writer/producer of it).
I knew see was in something but couldn’t remember what it was. I did watch a few episodes of that cable series she did about a tabloid newspaper, Dirt. It was actually pretty good, but didn’t last.
Thanks to the Two and Half Men finale this was only the second worst show I saw this evening. Perry once again played the same character he always does, but what made this really bad was the writing. Lennon seems to be doing an over the top Tony Randall imitation (hard to believe there was much top left over Randall). Perry looked decidedly uncomfortable in his carefully pressed slob clothes with button down collars. The supporting cast was as weak as possible, every appearance by Dave Foley is a downer these days. But blame the writers, directors, and producers for tonight’s episode, better actors couldn’t do anything with that crap.
Today people would just assume that Felix is gay. I didn’t watch the show, but did they deal with this aspect?
It might work better if he were portrayed as OCD. Except that doesn’t really work because today there is medication that would help tremendously.
I just really think Felix Unger needs to be retired. Sheldon Cooper and Maurice Moss and others keep his genes alive and are much fresher.
Yes, they directly addressed this with the other buddies from college getting together. One complains that Felix appears to be a little bit gay, to which Oscar says, he appears a whole lot gay, but he isn’t. Randall and Lemmon played him as deeply neurotic, Lennon looks like Lennon, which is to say, a Hollywood stereotypical gay man. Perry didn’t sell as Oscar.
All this discussion about post-Friends shows and no one mentions Episodes???
It is a great comedy. Matt LeBlanc has gone 3 for 3 in Emmy nominations and has won a Golden Globe.
As to Mr. Perry’s previous shows:
Go On: 1 season. 22 episodes. Had a fairly normal airing schedule.
Mr. Sunshine: 1 half-season. 13 episodes. Only the first 9 aired on schedule.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: 1 season. 22 episodes. Only the first 16 aired in a normal schedule. It was off the schedule for a bit. Then the remaining episodes were burned off.
The fact that all 13 episodes of TOC have been recorded and it’s just now starting is not good. These will probably be the only episodes produced.
In addition to the “urban” version of The Odd Couple, wasn’t there also one with two women? There was an animated version called The Oddball Couple that lasted one season. (Even had Joe Besser!)
When Matthew Perry appeared on Letterman, he didn’t once name his co-star. :dubious:
Yet, he appeared on The Late Late Show when Lemon hosted this week and they seemed reasonably friendly. Since the 3-night run was nothing but a plugorama for the show, saw several clips. Not a single one was good. They resorted to playing some weird overdubbed sped up versions. Not a good sign.
According to Mark Evanier, Neil Simon sold all rights to The Odd Couple to Paramount when the movie was made (Evanier says “famously,” but I never heard that before). Which is probably why, every generation or so, we seem to get a new version of the Odd Couple.
It’s also why, even though his name appeared on every episode, Simon never got a dime from the Randall-Klugman TV series, and probably isn’t getting anything from this one. Not that Neil Simon is likely to be hurting for money, but it probably has a lot to do with the rather undignified way The Odd Couple has sometimes been treated. After all, we never got a cartoon adaptation of Brighton Beach Memoirs, starring an animated dog and cat, now did we?
I watched it. I was not impressed. It used too much from previous iterations:
Felix’ sinus-clearing noises
Note (scroll) signed F.U.
Unsuccessful double date with sisters in the same building
maybe other stuff I missed
and that was just the first episode.
Perry throwing his arms up in disgust was more awkward and unnatural than I could have imagined. And doing his show from home in his underwear - yeah, there’s a knee-slapper.
And holy crap, I didn’t recognize Dave Foley! He did not age well…
I may give it another chance or two, but I don’t expect much. I don’t recall the first Randall/Klugman episode seeming so stiff and badly acted.
Having recently done the play in community theater, it was immediately obvious to me that the first episode was basically the plot of the play/movie in miniature. Felix comes to Oscar’s apartment, trying to hold it together but crying a lot. Felix moves in. Felix irritates the poker buddies, quickly driving them away. Disastrous double date with the not-Pigeon sisters. Oscar and Felix argue, Felix leaves, Felix spends the night with the not-Pigeon sisters. Oscar and Felix reconcile in the final act.
They even used some actual Neil Simon dialogue. In addition to the “F.U.” bit, there was also this exchange:
That’s straight from the play.
I thought Tom Lennon was a very good Felix, but Perry just seemed to be going through the motions as Oscar. I’m excited by the presence of Lindsay Sloane, who I have enjoyed since her days on Sabrina. How I wish she could get a successful sitcom, but I have a feeling that this isn’t it.
Just the kind of thing I expected. On the other hand it’s just the first episode, so it’s not impossible to turn it around. This show was obviously rushed into production, poor writing and casting. But it is a mid-season replacement and may only have seen the light of day because Two and Half Men won’t be on Thursday night anymore.
Now the original TV show did copy a lot from the play in it’s first episodes, so I can’t criticize them too much for that, but I find the main problem to be the miscasting of Perry. Jack Klugman had done the part on Broadway already, and he was a natural Oscar like Matthau. In this case part of the problem is that it’s the 21st century and they’re trying to shoehorn a concept from the 60s into the modern world. Neither Perry nor Lennon seem to be middle-aged divorced men in the modern world.
Also, look at that ridiculous fuzz on Perry’s face. Couldn’t they just paint a shadow on him?
I watched it just out of curiosity, but likely won’t be watching again. I noticed Matthew Perry’s name in the producer credits, for whatever that’s worth. Shirley looks like she has lost some weight since Community. Even Dave Foley and Bunk couldn’t make it enjoyable.