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The Odd Couple: Season 01
Running Time: 30 min.

"Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?" This is question posed in the first episode of the first season of The Odd Couple--and though the answer is an emphatic "No!", mismatched roommates Felix Unger (Tony Randall) and Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman) will manage to remain friends, and under the same roof, for the next five years. Unlike the 1965 play and 1968 movie version, which began as Felix moved in with Oscar, the TV version finds the two divorced buddies already dwelling in the same New York apartment--which during Season One is a fairly exact replica of the set used in the the movie. In fact, the fifth episode, "The Breakup", is a virtual replay of the play and movie's third act--and one of the few times that the TV show and its antecedents bore any sort of a close resemblance beyond the basic characters, premise and theme music. Appearing during Season One only are Monica Evans and Carole Shelley, reprising their stage and screen roles as Felix and Oscar's toothsome neighbors, Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon; and Ryan McDonald as Oscar's accountant and poker-playing buddy Roy. Introduced this season in the episode "Lovers Don't Make Housecalls" is Joan Hotchkis as Oscar's girlfriend Dr. Nancy Cunningham, who will continue making sporadic appearances until the middle of Season Two. Other supporting players of note include a young Albert Brooks, a post-Addams Family John Astin, and child actor Clint Howard (Ron's brother). And in "Bunny is Missing Down by the Lake", Pamelyn Ferdin, later cast as Felix's daughter Edna, is seen in a different role. Finally, we are treated to the series' first flashback episode, "The Jury Story", which explains how compulsive slob Oscar and nitpicky neat-freak Felix became best friends in the first place. Throughout its first season, The Odd Couple was lensed in "movie" fashion, with a single camera on a Hollywood sound stage, and with a recorded laughtrack added in post-production. All this would change--for the better--when the series entered its second season in the fall of 1971. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Odd Couple: Season 01 Cast and Crew:

Jack Klugman - (Oscar Madison)

Tony Randall - (Felix Unger)

Production Credits:
Garry Marshall (Executive Producer)


The Odd Couple: Season 01 Episodes:
The Odd Couple: The Laundry Orgy
The Odd Couple: The Fight of the Felix
The Odd Couple: Felix Gets Sick
The Odd Couple: The Jury Story
The Odd Couple: The Breakup
The Odd Couple: Oscar's Ulcer
The Odd Couple: I Do, I Don't
The Odd Couple: Oscar the Model
The Odd Couple: The Big Brothers
The Odd Couple: It's All Over Now, Baby Bird
The Odd Couple: Felix is Missing
The Odd Couple: Scrooge Gets an Oscar
The Odd Couple: The Blackout
The Odd Couple: They Use Horseradish, Don't They?
The Odd Couple: The Hideaway
The Odd Couple: Lovers Don't Make House Calls
The Odd Couple: Engrave Trouble
The Odd Couple: Bunny is Missing Down By the Lake
The Odd Couple: You've Come a Long Way, Baby
The Odd Couple: A Taste of Money
The Odd Couple: Oscar's New Life
The Odd Couple: What Makes Felix Run
The Odd Couple: What Does a Naked Lady Say to You?
The Odd Couple: Trapped

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