Blog #1 – The Odd Couple

The situation comedy, The Odd Couple, was produced by Gary Marshall and Jerry Belson and premiered on ABC on September 24, 1970. The show ended July 4, 1975 after maintaining Primetime time slots for five successful seasons (“tv.com”). Just as the name suggests, this comedy thrived on the contrasts of two men, Felix and Oscar, who have recently estranged from their wives and decide to live together in order to save money (Kassel). To their surprise, they discover that they are having the same conflicts [and fights] that both had, already, encountered in their marriages. Felix was the neat and compulsive cleaner photographer meanwhile Oscar was a “gruff, sloppy sportswriter” for a fictional newspaper, the New York Herald (“TV.com”).

The show starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. Both actors were quickly linked closely to their characters which led for both of them to receive Emmy awards. As I previously mentioned, the show was produced by Gary Marshall and Jerry Belson, both alumni of the Dick Van Dyke Show. The situation comedy would arise shortly after play-writer Neil Simon, signed away the TV rights. Simon had already had a great success with the play which ran 1965-1967 to be then transferred successfully to film in 1968. Marshall and Belson were reached by Paramount to begin the TV project (Kassel).

The Odd Couple is considered a classic program because it was one of the early examples of “sophisticated well-written, character-driven sitcoms” that essentially dominated the 1970s. The show also became one of TV’s first relevant sitcoms. Due to the experience of producers Marshall and Belson in Paramount’s Dick Van Dyke Show, they were able to address issues such as generation gap and sex in an adult fashion (Kassel). Furthermore, the comedy was only one of the few successful TV sitcoms to be based from another medium; in this instance, The Odd Couple was based upon the Neil Simon’s Broadway play of the same name.

Alike the play and the movie, the show had many memorable moments. One of the most memorable parts of The Odd Couple was the introduction of the memorable opening narration¹ in the second half of the first season (“TV.com”). The narration was played at the beginning of every episode up until the end of the first season. Some of the most famous episodes from The Odd Couple were “It’s All Over Now, Baby Bird” from Season 1, Episode 10 when Felix is trying to find a resting place for his dead parrot while Oscar just wants to get rid of it. Another memorable episode was “I’m Dying of Unger” in Season 3, Episode 6 when Felix is trying to encourage Oscar as he faces writer’s block on his novel and then they both retreat to the woods for inspiration (“tv.com”). The unique humor and style of this sitcom would influence a variety of contemporary programs including Happy Days, Mork and Mindy, and The Jeffersons which all included the humor, comedy, and even slapstick situations (Newcomb).

The 30 minute episodes of The Odd Couple will definitely be a treat for an audience that loves comedy and sitcoms. The show is bound to have the audience laughing at all the conflicts that Felix and Oscar face. Due to the jokes and the issues at hand, young adults and middle-aged adults would be the targeted audience. Young adults can relate to the ‘childhood’ relationship between the protagonists meanwhile middle-aged adults can relate to the marriage and living and work situation of the two men. Truly the humor is what made this television situation sitcom a classic not only in the United States but also in markets abroad, including South America and Europe (MBC) as the themes addressed were universal. Love, trust, and friendship are themes that are important, even more than living in different worlds, lifestyles or cultures and The Odd Couple was successful in emphasizing this with humor and for a wide audience (IMDb).

Notes

¹ “On November 13th, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down he knew she was right. But he also knew that someday he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime earlier, Madison’s wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?”

Works Cited

“The Odd Couple (TV Series 1970-1975).” IMDb. The Internet Movie Database, 2011. Web. 10 Jan 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065329/maindetails&gt;.

“The Odd Couple Most Popular Episode Guide.” tv.com. CBS Interactive Inc., 2011. Web. 10 Jan 2011. paginator;Top%20Episodes&season=Top%20Episodes>.

“The Odd Couple on TV.com.” TV.com. CBS Interactive Inc., 2011. Web. 10 Jan 2011. <http://www.tv.com/the-odd-couple/show/104/summary.html?tag=page_nav;main&gt;.

Kassel, Michael B. “THE ODD COUPLE.” MBC. The Museum of Broadcast Communications, 2011. Web. 10 Jan 2011. <http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=oddcouplet&gt;.

Newcomb, Horace. “Encyclopedia of Television.” Google Books. CRC Press, 2004. Web. 10 Jan 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=CFXgj7a55agC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=the+odd+couple+influenced+what+humor+shows&source=bl&ots=3kCmPA2nTy&sig=2dKwd3jp7Mf81LRWOMVxr-nNseM&hl=en&ei=a1MtTZnHHMWAlAez4ZzKCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFEQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false&gt;.