The Odd Couple - The Second Season
Two divorced New Yorkers---a slob and a fussbudget---try to live together 'without driving each other crazy' in this classic sitcom based on Neil Simon's hit play and movie. Both Jack Klugman and Tony Randall won Emmys in the leads, the latter in the final year of a five-season run. 'Now if I only had a job,' Randall said at the Emmy gala. The show inspired two remakes, one an animated series portraying the main characters as a cat and a dog, and a 1982-83 version with a mostly black cast.
In its second season, "The Odd Couple was filmed before a live studio audience," and a good sitcom was well on its way to becoming a great one. Jack Klugman, as sloppy Oscar, and Tony Randall as fussy Felix, two divorced men trying to live together without driving each other crazy, was casting alchemy, and as time goes by, we appreciate the fundamental things that still apply: smart, character-based writing and indelible performances. While there are no episodes that can be said to be truly classic, several are fan favorites, including "Sleepwalker," which was included as one of the bonus episodes on the first-season set, "Felix the Calypso Singer," in which Felix becomes the third wheel on Oscar's romantic getaway with his girlfriend, and "You Saved My Life," in which Felix almost kills Oscar with kindness after Oscar rescues him. This season fleshes out the mismatched friends' backstory with two fun flashback episodes. In "Speak for Yourself," Oscar is forced to step in when Felix develops laryngitis on the night he was to propose to his future ex-wife Gloria, and in "A Night to Dismember," a season benchmark, Oscar, Felix, and Oscar's ex-wife, Blanche, have different memories of the fateful night on which Oscar and Blanche split up. Gone this season are the daffy Pigeon sisters. Introduced are Janis Hansen as Gloria, Joan Hotchkis as Oscar's girlfriend, Dr. Nancy Cunningham, and Brett Somers, a perfect match, as the dread Blanche. A pre-Laverne and Shirley Penny Marshall makes her first appearance as Oscar's secretary, Myrna, and in the episode, "Security Arms," that's John Fiedler, who portrayed Vinnie in the original 1968 Odd Couple movie (he is also the instantly recognizable voice of Piglet in the Disney Winnie the Pooh shorts). In later seasons, The Odd Couple overindulged on stunt casting (remember the Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs episode?) This second season offers comedian David Steinberg ("The Odd Couple Meets Their Host") and opera singer Richard Fredricks ("Does Your Mother Know You're Out, Rigoletto?"). The Odd Couple was a series that got better with each season. This live incarnation of the show is the one that is most fondly remembered, making the second season one that, unlike Felix, will never wear out its welcome. --Donald Liebenson
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The Odd Couple - The Second Season Reviews
For the second season, the program was filmed on an entirely new set, before a live audience, using three cameras. It is a huge improvement, and the two stars display new energy in their performances, taking their comedy to a higher and more physical level. Notable guest stars include Pat Morita, John Fiedler, Joan Van Ark, Vito Scotti, and Hal Smith. In one episode, Oscar is showing Felix how to play football, and a nimble Randall leapfrogs over Klugman while he is down in a football stance. Stars Tony Randall and Jack Klugman felt the setup cramped their style and retarded their creativity. With Felix's ex-wife Gloria (Janice Hansen), and Oscar's ex-wife Blanche (Brett Sommers), both being featured prominently in various episodes. . Nancy Cunningham (Joan Hotchkis) is Oscar's steady girlfriend, and Al Molinaro is back as Murray the cop.
This is a great season, rich with diversity and expansive character development. The only downside is that unlike the Season One set, which had a bonus disc and various commentary tracks, Season Two has absolutely no extras. .
Oscar isn't as physically active, but when properly motivated, you can find him running around the living room exercising a greyhound. The plots have moved beyond early clichés, like Felix's bad back going out, and Oscar's frequent threats to kick Felix out on the street. A one camera setup was used in the first season of The Odd Couple, and the look of the episodes shot inside the New York apartment set was tight, almost claustrophobic at times.
From here, the stage is set for even better things to come. . There is a lot going on. Dr.
For this season, Pamlyn Ferdin is Felix's daughter Edna, and Penny Marshall makes her first appearance as Oscar's Secretary Myrna. As a result, The Odd Couple was a wide open look and feel, with smooth transitional shots now possible. The circle of characters really opens up to more than just the boys over for a poker game. Highlights include `The Fat Farm', where the guys head to a retreat to lose weight, `Security Arms', where they move into a high-security building, and `Partner's Investment' which features Felix and Oscar toiling in a Japanese restaurant.
Another time Felix does a headstand, then kips up on a desk, finishing with flurry of pushups in an impressive display of physical fitness. While much activity is still centered around apartment life, the boys get out and about town too. The eclectic parade of celebrity guest stars that would become an Odd Couple trademark begins with the likes of opera singer Richard Fredericks, and comedian David Steinberg.
We can pretend otherwise, but that's my view and the views of a number of other people who watched some of the episodes with me and my family. TV has gotten much better in the last twenty decades - the writing and humor is just not that funny in this series. I loved The Odd Couple as a kid, and then as a twenty something watching on the old WPIX-11 in NY.
Clear picture. Buyit. Good, clean, masterful comedy at its best. Absolutley hilarious. This 2 were a perfect match for this show. You'll watch it over and over again, I promise. Fine product, great DVD.
I also think that it was, indeed, the geniune friendship between Klugman and Randall that gave the show a certain warmth. I do not plan to use up all these episodes at once. This, of course, was no easy accomplishment. They are both brilliant actors of stage, movies and telvision; and together they are even greater than the sum of their individual talent. I think it is because Klugman and Randall were such talented dramatic actors that they were able to make this show so inviting and funny.
Even in the episodes where the story is weaker, Klugman and Randall never lose that certain tension, energy, and underlying affection for one another. Klugman and Randall are an ensamble of two who more than live up to the original and outstanding "Odd Couple" movie pair (Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon). I have come to realize that "The Odd Couple" is probably one of my favorite TV shows of all time. These two guys are just perfect together. The story lines are not always incredibly profound; but the powerful element of the show is the chemistry bewteen Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. I remember "The Odd Couple" when I was growing up in the 1970s.
Once in a great while TVland might air a rerun around 3:00 AM, but that's about all I've seen of "The Odd Couple" lately. I'm savouring the experience by only watching one or two per week. I bought this DVD set recently and have viewed four episodes. Their comedic timing is always flawless. Years later in the 1990s, I would watch it in reurns around midnight when I was coming home from the 3-11 shift.
Somewhere along the line, it faded away from being on TV.
Great Show. I can see these shows over and over again and laugh every time. I can recommend this dvd to anyone who loves comedy.
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