Can 2 divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?

With CBS airing a new version of THE ODD COUPLE starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon beginning tomorrow night, here's a post from 2008 when I was just starting to watch season 4 of THE ODD COUPLE on dvd, and I declared that the show, in my opinion is the second greatest American sitcom ever. That's right, I said it.

After MARY TYLER MOORE, no other US sitcom is more consistently funny, well-acted or holds up as well over the years. Based on Neil Simon's Broadway play and adapted into a 1968 feature starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. The TV version, starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall premiered on September 24, 1970 and ran for five seasons in a variety of timeslots on ABC - usually on Thursday or Friday nights. The series was never a Top 10 hit, and actually was in danger of cancellation every season it aired. The first season is quite unremarkable, having been filmed with one camera and an added laugh track. The show really came to life in season two, when a live audience was added to react to the mis-matched antics of Oscar and Felix.

The show really took off in popularity in the late 1970s when syndicated reruns aired on local stations. Channel 11, WPIX air four episodes a night. Two in early evening and two at 11PM. I watched them all, repeatedly. And watching them again now on dvd is, to quote a friend of mine "a sheer delight".
What makes the show so great? Well, Felix and Oscar are such great, unique characters - and because of that, so many later sitcom characters borrow freely from them. You can certain see traits of fastidious Felix in Sheldon from BIG BANG THEORY and Niles from FRASIER. Oscar's grouchy brashness has influenced a whole generation of cranky comedy curmudgeons, notable EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND's Frank Barone. While the show lacked continuity in so many instances (don't get me started!), the interplay between the two leads and excellent supporting players make this the best thing Garry Marshall has ever been part of. While the show "jumps the shark" with celebrity guests (Monty Hall, Howard Cosell, Paul Williams, etc.), it makes up for it with clever plots that incorporate the guest stars into the world of Felix and Oscar. Since Felix is a portrait photographer and Oscar is a sportswriter, it makes sense that they encounter these folks in New York City. Why not? I once rode in an elevator with Howard Cosell. He had big ears. AND I was a contestant on the most recent version of LET'S MAKE A DEAL! (Even though that happened in L.A. and Billy Bush-yuck!-was the host, but Monty was there. See photo below)But enough about me. While I was watching the classic PASSWORD episode recently, with guests Betty White and Allen Ludden, I wondered if any other MARY TYLER MOORE alumni ever appeared on THE ODD COUPLE. With a little research I discovered that in addition to Betty White ("Herself" on OC,"Sue Ann Nivens" on MTM), there was Bill Quinn ("Dr. Melnitz" on OC,"Dr. Walter Richards," Mary's dad on MTM), Penny Marshall ("Myrna Tuner" on OC, "Paula" on MTM), Barbara Colby ("Monique" the drunk bartender on OC, "Sherry" the hooker on MTM) and the late, great Brett Somers ("Blanche Madison" on OC and "Aunt Rose" on MTM). Not bad, considering the shows aired on different network during roughly the same period.

Both actors won Emmy Awards for their roles. Jack in 1971 and 1973, Tony in 1975 - after the show was cancelled. The duo reunited for a misguided 1993 CBS TV-movie called THE ODD COUPLE: TOGETHER AGAIN. I guess ABC's miserable MARY & RHODA reunion movie was payback. Jack and Tony had become best friends in real life, and after Tony's death in 2004, Jack wrote a memoir about their relationship, called Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship. The book has been hailed as a touching portrait of a professional partnership that, in the end, became deeply personal. The book includes over 50 photographs, many from Jack and Tony's private collections, and a DVD of never-seen-before outtakes from THE ODD COUPLE.

In the 1980s, THE ODD COUPLE was revived - with an an almost all African-American cast. Demond (SANFORD & SON) Wilson is Oscar and Ron (BARNEY MILLER) Glass is Felix. THE NEW ODD COUPLE could have been a descent show if they didn't decide to recycle scripts from the original series that were already considered classics by fans of the show. Ironically another black version of a Neil Simon play, BAREFOOT IN THE PARK only lasted 12 episodes on ABC in 1970, also airing on Thursday evenings. I'm holding out for a new version of THE SUNSHINE BOYS with James Earl Jones and Samuel L. Jackson.

And now it's 2015 - and THE ODD COUPLE is back on Thursday nights - this time on CBS. Will the third time be a charm?

Hollywood Liberals vs. Real Americans

If you believe the GOP (and by the results of last week's election - very few do)–there are two Americas: them & us. Basically it's the big city folk verses the country bumpkins. Wouldn't it be great if some TV network took a well-balanced in-depth look at this issue? It would require two big hours of prime-time to fairly cover such a broad range of topics. Viewers could choose a side and maybe by the end of the program, see what it would be like to walk in the other's shoes. Well, back in 1980 NBC already did this. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... the CITY VS. COUNTRY SHOWDOWN!
Yes, that's right, hosted by QUINCY himself, Jack Klugman - two teams of "celebrities" competed in stunts such as  country "chores" like chasing a greased pig, milking a cow, and throwing hay bales. Yee-haa! To balance things out, several "city" events like basketball, jump rope and "chicken fights" in a swimming pool were also mounted. How urban! This makes US AGAINST THE WORLD sound positively riveting.  The "City" team included Charlene (DALLAS) Tilton (I would have thunk she was country!), Larry (CHiPs) Wilcox, Bowzer from Sha Na Na, Linda (DYNASTY) Evans and Grant (EIGHT IS ENOUGH) Goodeve. The "Country" team featured Tanya (TNT) Tucker, Melissa (LITTLE HOUSE) Gilbert, Glen Campbell, Barbi (HEE HAW) Benton and Susan (GOLDENGIRL) Anton. More than 20 Hollywood Stars!!! Wow - what a trainwreck! I wish I had this on VHS - Does anybody out there have it??? This would make a great Thanksgiving viewing party.

MAD MEN gets it right

While watching last week's second season premiere of AMC's brilliant advertising soap opera MAD MEN (yes-just because it's well-written, well-acted and looks better than anything ever on TV, there's no denying that it's basically a soap), a subplot involving a television show that many of the characters were all watching at the same time really appealed to the TV geek in me.

The episode was set on Valentine's Day, 1962 and the program in question was A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MRS. JOHN F KENNEDY. I had never seen this documentary, only clips from it in other docs or movies set in the 1960s. I did recall that I had an old TV GUIDE with Jackie on the cover - promoting a CBS news special called THE WORLD OF JACQUELINE KENNEDY. Right away I thought that these were one and the same. This special aired on Friday, November 30, 1962 - the day after Thanksgiving. I thought to myself - Thanksgiving? Valentine's Day? Could MAD MEN have actually confused the two or made took artistic license with the date and title of the show for dramatic impact?

Well, as I delved further into my massive TV Guide collection, I realized that it was I who was wrong- A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MRS. JOHN F KENNEDY was in fact a different hour-long news show that aired on CBS and NBC simultaneously! (AMC's blog site claims that it aired on ABC as well, but according to my TV Guide ABC was airing NAKED CITY with guest Jack Klugman! Hmmm....). So, MAD MEN did their homework after all, which just makes me adore the show even more. The attention to detail in set design, props, wardrobe and hairstyle is a lesson for all those in the industry, raising the bar farther than any period piece TV ever imagined. It's a far cry from when LAVERNE & SHIRLEY moved into the 60s with their 80s style feathered hair!

Those wanting see the entire Jackie Kennedy tour can check it out at AMC's blog,which you can visit by clicking on the "MAD MEN gets it right" title above. I also believe it's available on demand on some digital cable services. I wonder how many networks will air A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE WITH MS. MICHELLE OBAMA on Valentine's Day 2010?