The Odd Couple (Matthew Perry-Thomas Lennon)

Couldn't make it for more than ten minutes in on the first episode. Tarnishing a fine comedic legacy.

 

It's been 40 years since the Klugman - Randall series. That means the majority of people watching tv today weren't alive then and probably have no knowledge of that series and I'm guessing of the play and film, as well. Hardly tarnishing a legacy.

 

Guess you liked it then?

 

"Tarnishing a legacy" is re-editing for syndication or using time-compression, a bad remake no more harms the original than a bad cover version hurts a Beatles song...

 

This is just terrible. Doesn't seem like 'The Odd Couple' at all. Lennon isn't too bad as the Felix-type character, but Perry is a complete disaster as Oscar.

Let's just hope that at least this might inspire the original TV Series to come out on DVD again, this time without the song edits!

 

Yes, but Matthau and Lemmon were also very good, just like Randall and Klugman.

 

absolutely...as good if not better...

 

Well, I saw enough potential in the pilot to give me a smidgen of hope that this might work down the line, but now I give up...

Five episodes in and it hasn't shown any progress. The show is not awful, but it barely reaches fair at its very best moments. It's a shame that Matthew Perry, who put the series together and got it on the air, is the weak link...his lack of range here is mind-boggling. Thomas Lennon makes the show watchable, as does Dave Foley (who, incidentally, would make a much better Oscar than Perry does)....but everything else, from directing to set design, has shown no original thought. If the series stays on the air, perhaps I'll tune in again in a few months to check in, but for now it's off my dvr schedule...

 

First post: Jumping into the pool from the deep end! Seinfeld fans, feel free to mock me I've been on forums as long as the have been on the internet and BBS before that. I've lurked a bit on this site and think I may have found a new home.

With the initial reviews, I was a bit hesitant about watching the new Odd Couple, but when I did catch an episode and laughed more times than I do at the comedies my husband likes (2 Broke Girls for example)... but the thing that gets me -- is Matthew Perry ALWAYS reading from a teleprompter, or is there some other reason he is looking directly at the camera with his eyes slightly out of focus like he either needs to wear or needs to adjust his contacts?? Every episode, every commercial.

As far as Seinfeld references, The Jack Benny Show was MUCH better and Seinfeld is almost a direct lift off from that. And what a crew of people I never hope to interact with in any possible way (except maybe, of course, Kramer who is the most likeable of any of them). I guess that shows that different people like different things. I disliked Seinfeld so much (and I wish I could escape the reruns) that even if you gave me a complete boxed set, I'd send that box of rubbish off to the Goodwill. Can't even watch any of the Julia Louis-Dreyfus shows because I have so much animosity towards Elaine.

 

I so want to hate this show but I have to admit, it's very good.

And the original Odd Couple tv show is probably my favorite show ever.

 

I have no interest in this show, but the old TV show is one of my spouse's favorites. She says the new one stinks to high heaven.

 

As a fan of the old show, I'd suggest you give the new one a shot. I think they pulled off something worthwhile. And I reiterate. I HATE the idea of an Odd Couple remake and I don't like Matthew Perry in general but they pulled it off.

 

Matthew Perry is a much better actor than his performance in this series may indicate. He seems to have decided on a particular style of portrayal for the Oscar character, if not a 'one note' performance, very close to it [an 'artistic choice' on his part, I guess] - and his delivery of lines often gives the impression that he is either "reading from a teleprompter, or ... looking directly at the camera with his eyes slightly out of focus like he either needs to wear or needs to adjust his contacts".

And generally, I kinda like this series, surprisingly.

 

Tell her that as a huge fan of the old show I agree with her completely.

 

Well, I'm a huge fan of the Randall/Klugman version, and I was certainly curious about what direction they would take this latest sitcom. Quite frankly, I'm enjoying it quite a lot.

Some perspective...

If one is making a direct comparison between this edition and the Randall/Klugman version, then I think that approach is missing the whole point of this new endeavour. It's a new take...a different interpretation...no more. Micro-analyzing Matthew Perry's acting seems like a bit pointless to me, unless one is expecting a Shakespearian level of performance. It's a sitcom fer gawds sakes. As far as I'm concerned, he's doing quite well, and the rest of the cast is pretty solid. I've had more than a few good laughs over the course of this outing, and I'm looking forward to new episodes. The only thing that bothers me is the conscious concern regarding Felix's sexuality. Hell, Tony Randall's character didn't seem to need to explain things, and the premise of this new sitcom fairly clarifies the circumstances. So why is it such an issue?

Anyway, I like this show (and to be quite honest, I don't find many newer sitcoms worth the effort). I hope it gets a long run.

BTW...has anyone else noted the presence of the Martin Logan speakers in the background of the set in the apartment? I think it's curious because Perry's Friends character had the same brand speaker in his apartment. Kinda cool if you ask me.

 

It's not just the Randall/Klugman version I'm considering, it's the entire premise of THE ODD COUPLE itself, as created by Neil Simon. This is NOT "The Odd Couple". If they're going to change it so drastically, then why even call it "The Odd Couple"? It could just as well be "Two And A Half Men", or some other handle. I really can't stand it when movies or TV shows try to capitalize on a more successful name, and then the results never do the original premise justice.

I think Perry is horrendously bad, and wrong for that role. It doesn't matter if it's a sitcom; he's just not Oscar Madison, as conceived by the original writer (like, say, Klugman or Matthau were). Lord knows there have been plenty of successful sitcoms through the past 60 years where a certain actor worked for their character. But Perry is wrong for this one.

 

But that's the point I was attempting to highlight, the impression that the new version should somehow be a distinct reflection of the previous versions. It isn't, and shouldn't be interpreted in that way. It's simply a concept, with a different interpretation.

You apparently seem to be under the impression that "Oscar" must be defined by those performances. But Klugman's Oscar wasn't anything like Matthau's, anymore than Randall's Felix was like Lemmon's. That's my premise, that we shouldn't define these characters by their previous interpretations.

 

I watched the show when I was a kid.

Perry may not be right for the role, but if you accept the show for what it is instead of what it isn't, you may enjoy it too.

I think he doesn't portray Oscar very well, but I like what he is doing. It is instantly an enjoyable show that didn't have to grow on you. I do think it will get old quick though and dont think it will last long.

With the way networks find good shows, really good shows disposable and feel the need to dump them in favor of "something new" this is what we now get. Short lived OK shows.

It is a shame, but this is the trend now. A lot of great shows go bye bye now for no reason.

 

In turn, I think you may have missed my point. THE ODD COUPLE is what it is. As written by Neil Simon. If it's something else -- something that is interpreted differently -- then it is not "THE ODD COUPLE"... it is something other. And it should be called something other.

It's about how the character was written by Neil Simon (not just "the performances"). On the contrary, I would say that Matthau and Klugman's Oscar's were very similar. They were both slobs, for openers; I watched about four new episodes and I don't recall Perry being sloppy. Have they even shown his messy room yet?

 

Or a remake of a TV show of a remake of a TV show adapted back from a cartoon series adaptation derived from the TV show based on a movie based on a play.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oddball_Couple

 

Ive been watching it and want to like it, but I find Matthew Perry to be the weakest link in this show. His acting comes off as wooden and it sounds like he's just reading his lines instead of acting them.

 

I find that goes for all of Perry's roles.

 

Perhaps he signed a deal with the devil to become famous.

 

I recall another remake featuring Sally Struthers and I want to say Rita Moreno years ago but I digress. This show is awful like Two Broke Girls awful where it is absolutely wretched to watch. Perry is a talented actor but this role is all wrong for him. The only good thing about this show is that it gives the talented Wendall Pierce a steady paycheck.

 

I was around for the first Odd Couple TV show and we watched it regularly. There are some very subtle comments in both the play and the TV show that dance around possible gayness in specifically Felix but also in the relationship with Oscar too -- I remember some comment (from the play) about "who is the wife tonight" but I don't remember the context. Heck it's been decades. I know that the producers actually worked pretty hard within the portrayal that Felix not be gay because the advertisers and community at the time would boycott the show.

One problem I always have about sitcoms is the similarity if the housing (not to mention how huge the houses are in some of the areas/ages of the tenants), the Odd Couple feels pretty much like Frasier Crane's apartment has been lifted out of Seattle and moved cross-country. Plus, you can add in that both were radio hosts... both had assistants... and then there is the Felix/Niles comparisons...

From reading this thread and other sites, I know a lot of people just have problems with the series name, but c'mon folks -- media "re-brands" things all the time, consider all of the restarts of series like Batman, or the recent revisionist trend of adding/changing female characters in things like Robin Hood. Not that I object at all to females having more of a role than standing around waiting to be rescued, but it's not the same -- just as the people cry about Odd Couple.

No, it's not the same. It's 35 years later. I'm not the same as I was in high school either, the old gal is just not what she used to be. And a new comedy doesn't have to be the same as it used to be either. I especially liked the episode where Oscar is dating Felix's doctor. He says something about a "lady doctor" and she says "the 'lady' is silent". I thought that was great, back in the '70s JUST being a lady doctor would be the joke.