Despite his many, many bad ones, Neil Simon wrote a few good plays, too! One of them was The Odd Couple. When it opened on Broadway in 1965, it was a huge success and prompted a big-screen version in 1968 with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The film itself was a big hit; two years later, the inevitable television series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman was beaming across the airwaves into the homes of millions. It only lasted five seasons, but was popular enough with the public to worm its way into our lives and win 5 Awards and 13 Nominations.

Our friends at CBS/Paramount bring us the Third Season of the television series and, once again, the heated debate begins anew: Randall & Klugman or Lemmon & Matthau?

Personally (and I know many of you film fans will hate me for this), I prefer Randall & Klugman. Tony Randall’s performance as Felix Unger, the neurotic, hypochondriac neat freak/professional photographer (portraits a specialty) is so over-the-top that you have to wonder if the writers of Frasier used him for the inspiration of Niles Crane (Randall would find himself being associated with the character for years after the show’s end…anyone remember that Easy-Off commercial?). Jack Klugman, while not nearly as slobby as Walter Matthau’s portrayal of the extremely messy sportswriter Oscar Madison, is also superb.

For those of you who don’t know the storyline: several years back, Felix was kicked out of the house by his ex-wife, Gloria (Janis Hansen) and had to move-in with his old friend, Oscar. Since Felix is obsessed with cleanliness and Oscar is quite the opposite, the pair rarely get along and drive each other crazy more than anything. Other recurring characters are Myrna Turner, Oscar’s secretary (Laverne & Shirley star Penny Marshall); Miriam Welby, Felix’s pseudo-girlfriend (Elinor Donahue) and Murray the Cop (Al Molinaro).

Disc One
Episode One: “Gloria, Hallelujah” - Myrna talks Oscar into signing up for a computer dating service. Oscar lies on the application (naturally) to sound like he’s more than he really is and, much to everyone’s surprise, the computer matches him up with Felix’s ex-wife, Gloria (doh!). When Felix pretends not to be jealous, Oscar and Gloria play it up just to drive him crazy.

Episode Two: “Big Mouth” - Felix has a photo shoot with legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell. Since Oscar and Howard hate each other, the whole shoot goes South when Oscar walks in and starts with the insults.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Enjoy the bit where Felix tells Howard Cosell he should do something about his nasal voice.

Episode Three: “The Princess” - Oscar falls hard for a Royal beauty when he walks into another one of Felix’s photo shoots. Delighted by Oscar’s decidedly un-Royal-like behavior, the Princess (Jean Simmons) accepts Oscar’s invitation to go out on a date.

Episode Four: “The Pen Is Mightier Than The Pencil” - Felix develops a hankering for writing and signs up for a class. His ability to write poetry, however, stinks.

Episode Five: “The Odd Monks” - A monk who has found peace comes by looking for donations. Since both of the boys are overworked, they decide to sign up for a quiet retreat at the monastery.

Episode Six: “I‘m Dying Of Unger” - Oscar receives an advance to write a novel. Unfortunately, he can’t think of a thing to write (especially with Felix trying to help) so Murray the Cop lets him use his cabin in the woods.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Felix is about as good with animals as I am: every little critter he tries to talk to or pet bites him.

Disc Two
Episode Seven: “The Odd Couples” - Oscar’s mother (Madge Kennedy) shows up for a visit, but since nobody told her that either Felix or her own son were divorced, each man has to pretend to still be married (fortunately, their ex-wives are up for it).

Episode Eight: “Felix‘s First Commercial” - Felix gets the opportunity to direct a television commercial. The producers want football hero Deacon Jones to be in the ad, but nobody can get him to it except for Oscar (and Oscar wants to be in the ad, too).
Luigi’s Useless Information: Gee, an athlete that cannot act…what else is new?

Episode Nine: “The First Baby” - Oscar recalls the night Felix’s daughter was born to Myrna (Felix was banned from the hospital that same night for being so neurotic).

Episode Ten: “Oscar‘s Birthday” - Desperate to do something special for Oscar on his birthday, Felix plans the most annoying surprise party imaginable.

Luigi’s Useless Information: I hate birthdays. I remember when I turned 26: a friend of mine picked me up and drove me around the bars all night. Eventually, she and the one other person that was bored enough to join us (who was, by no strange coincidence, her boyfriend) left me three sheets to the wind to fend for myself at a run down bar. I nearly took out the fence when I pulled into my driveway. Ah, those were the good days.

Episode Eleven: “Password” - After running into Allen Ludden and Betty White in a restaurant, Oscar and Felix wind up playing “Password”.

Episode Twelve: “The Odd Father” - Felix is overcome with joy when his daughter Edna (Doney Oatman) comes over for a visit but soon finds himself alienated when Edna’s interests are more like Oscar’s. Naturally, Felix overcompensates in an attempt to fit in (again).

Disc Three
Episode Thirteen: “Don‘t Believe In Roomers” - Oscar offers a carefree wanderer named Lisa (Marlyn Mason) a place to stay when she passes out in his arms due to hunger in a diner. Lisa turns out to be a wonderful houseguest, but tension builds as both men develop an attraction to Lisa.

Episode Fourteen: “Sometimes A Great Ocean” - Oscar’s foul taste in awful food causes his ulcer to wreak havoc in his stomach, prompting Felix to take him on a relaxing cruise…with a shipload of geriatrics. Things become worse when Felix appoints himself Program Director.

Episode Fifteen: “I Gotta Be Me” - When they decide they cannot take anymore of each other, Oscar and Felix attend a group therapy session…and get kicked out in the process. Afterwards, they decide to try role reversal - each adopting the other’s qualities and characteristics.

Luigi’s Useless Information: When Randall and Klugman finally get around to their character switch-off, it’s a howl.

Episode Sixteen: “The Ides Of April” - It’s tax time…and Felix is in a panic because the IRS wants to meet with him. During the meeting, accidentally mentions Oscar’s name and inability to properly file a tax return.

Episode Seventeen: “Myrna‘s Debut” - Myrna decides that her true calling in life is her ability to dance. Felix gladly offers to help her, leaving Oscar with no reliable secretary.
Luigi’s Useless Information: This episode hurt.

Episode Eighteen: “The Hustler” - When a gambling-oriented fundraiser for Felix’s opera group falls through, Oscar has to play a high-stakes game of pool against Sure-shot Wilson (Stanley Adams).

Luigi’s Useless Information: The great Stanley Adams shows up in this one.

Disc Four
Episode Nineteen: “My Strife In Court” - Oscar gets four tickets for the much-anticipated musical Kiss My Face, but can’t seem to find a date for the fourth seat. When Felix tries to give the ticket away in front of the theater, he and Oscar wind up getting arrested for ticket scalping. If you think that’s bad, wait until you see Felix defend the two of them in court!

Luigi’s Useless Information: Felix’s defense in court is the old “When you assume, you make and ass out of u and me” gag. Did they really get away with that on TV in the 70s?

Episode Twenty: “Let‘s Make A Deal” - Guest star Monty Hall plays himself. Oscar accidentally burns Felix’s mattress up with a cigar and persuades him to go onto his old college roommate’s hit game show, “Let’s Make A Deal.”

Luigi’s Useless Information: I forgot how truly insane some of the wackos were that participated on “Let’s Make A Deal” until I saw this episode. One wonders if Monty Hall was a bit crazy himself for hosting it.

Episode Twenty-One: “The Odyssey Couple” - Oscar’s mother (Elvia Allman this time) comes by for another visit and begins to pester Oscar with the “When are you going to get a woman?” bit. Felix sets him up with a charming young Greek woman who turns out to be a dancer at her father’s restaurant (she also looks a bit like Karen Black).
Luigi’s Useless Information: Strange that in the last episode to feature Oscar’s mother, she was unaware her son was divorced, yet in this one, he makes a reference to her starting in on the whole nagging bit on the stairs of the courthouse the day the split was made official!

Episode Twenty-Two: “Take My Furniture, Please” - Felix repaints the whole apartment (in one day) and sells all the furniture…buying some of the most wretched-looking swinging 60s/futuristic-for-the-70s furnishings to replace them. Oscar retaliates by buying his own stuff.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Bubba Smith (another athlete that cannot act) has an in-depth conversation with Felix about interior decorating…years later, Bubba would prove to the world what an eye he has for good taste by starring in the Police Academy series.

Episode Twenty-Three: “The Murray Who Came To Dinner” - Murray the Cop comes over to stay for a few days when his wife kicks him out.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Strangely enough, all of that redecoration that was done previously reverted back to normal before this episode.

While many bits will have you in hysterics, a portion of the episodes tend to fall a bit flat. Al Molinaro as Murray the Cop can be amusing at times, but his character is relied on way too much (mainly just for big nose jokes). However, apart from this and some occasionally bad writing (not to mention the fact that a lot of the now-dated jokes will fail to click with a lot of the younger generations), you should still have a pleasant enough time watching The Odd Couple.

Presentation
CBS/Paramount brings us a very nice looking transfer of the Third Season of The Odd Couple. The image on these episodes look very beautiful: what few vibrant colors they used on 70s television are very vivid while even the dull pastels that were extremely common on TV back then do not fail to impress. I did notice, however, that a portion of the episode “Password” has some flaws…either the original print was damaged in the vault or the guy restoring the footage stepped out for a minute (there were also parts of “The Hustler” that suffered from the same problems). The Mono Stereo soundtrack is most satisfactory.

Extras
There are a few promo trailers at the beginning of Disc One, but nothing else.

The Bottom Line
It’s safe to say there’s a bit of Oscar and Felix in all of us: I myself am rather neurotic, somewhat obsessive-compulsive, I constantly correct the spelling and grammar of others and yet, I can be a total slob, too. If you feel like getting in touch with either side, put on your best garish-looking clothes that clash, pour ketchup all over your lasagna and French Fries dinner and enjoy.