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This week we are joined by one of television's best comedy writers Dave Mandel (SNL, Seinfeld, Veep) to discuss an unproduced episode of The Odd Couple for which we have obtained an official script from 1973. It is a Thanksgiving episode and would have been for the 4th season to air in November 1973.
We start by discussing Dave's history with The Odd Couple and how it influenced his TV writing.
We then get into the script itself and -- spoiler - it is not very good so we discuss in depth why it doesn't work and how it maybe could have become a workable episode.
We also start going into it line by line but that is too painful ultimately so we summarize the last few acts.
We also discuss why The Odd Couple had no traditional holiday episodes after S1 like so many of its fellow sitcoms did during the 1970s.
If you want to get a dropbox link to the script to read it for yourself please email us at [email protected]
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In this episode we welcome Adam Klugman to talk about his father’s legendary career in depth – for more than two hours. Among the many topics we cover are: Jack’s childhood in Philadelphia and a shocking story about his mother; how he discovered acting; his early working days in theater and live television; The Twilight Zone; performing in The Odd Couple the play; of course playing Oscar on the series; Adam’s two appearances on the show; Quincy; Jack’s marriage to Brett Somers; her role on The Match Game; Jack’s throat cancer and his final days. Adam was a delightful guest and storyteller with great vocal impressions of many of the people involved in Jack’s life. We hope the fans find this a great celebration of Jack Klugman’s life and career.
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In this episode we analyze the differences in “final” scripts vs the filmed episode for Win One For Felix and Oscar In Love.
The script for Win One For Felix is called Little League Football and is lacking four pages so we spend less time on this one. Also, it is not dramatically different than the filmed episode but it is missing the emotional motivations behind Felix’s actions as we discuss.
The script for Oscar In Love, here called Oscar Remarries, is quite different from the filmed episode in many ways – narrative flow, story devices, motivations for actions and the lack of Speed’s reappearance. We get a little lost as we try to break down the differences but ultimately get back on track.
If you want access to all the PDFs for the scripts we have acquired please email us at [email protected] and ask for the dropbox link.
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We welcome back Marty Nadler to discuss his TV writing career after The Odd Couple including his work on Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Chico & The Man, The Last Resort (not a well-known show), and Perfect Strangers. Marty shares some get great inside stories about such topics as 1) ABC wanting to rename Happy Days "Fonzie's Happy Days", 2) the toxic environment of Laverne & Shirley, 3) his theory on Freddie Prinze's tragic, early death, 4) a very funny story about the late, great Richard Lewis, 5) and the original casting of Perfect Strangers. Marty also worked on nine Garry Marshall movies including Pretty Woman which we only briefly touched on as there was just not enough time.
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In this episode we interview TV writer Marty Nadler who worked for Garry Marshall for 40 years. As one of his first jobs Marty punched up scripts and wrote jokes for S5 of The Odd Couple. Marty discusses the process of how Odd Couple scripts were written; a few specific classic bits he remembers witnessing; interacting with some of the show’s famous guest stars and other insider knowledge from someone who was there!
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We are honored and delighted to welcome Heather Randall to the podcast. Heather was married to Tony Randall from 1995 until his passing in 2004 and they had two children together. Heather shares many stories passed down by Tony and those she lived through regarding: his early life in Tulsa, Oklahoma, career beginnings on stage and radio, becoming a star on Broadway and movies, The Odd Couple of course, The Tony Randall Show, Sidney Shorr TV Movie, Love Sydney his work establishing The National Actors Theatre where he and Heather met and his appearances on David Letterman. We also learn about Tony as a person off-camera + Heather's early life and work, both professional and philanthropic. Please join us for this 2 hour discussion about Tony Randall from the person who knows it best .
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This week we welcome a special guest – Peter K Ackerman who is the son of Elinor Donahue and legendary TV producer Harry Ackerman. He has written a new book called Mom, Dad, Me and Classic TV about their lives and his experiences growing up as the son of two TV legends. It is available wherever books are sold including here on Amazon
We discuss his father’s career helping to create I Love Lucy, producing Bewitched, and also his passion for collecting. We also review his Mom’s extensive career on such shows as Father Knows Best, Star Trek, Get A Life and, of course, as Miriam Welby on The Odd Couple. Peter also shares his experiences working in TV and how he transitioned into a very different vocation.
Join us for this fun, two-hour discussion that covers many different aspects of TV history as Peter’s parents touched so many different programs.
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In this episode we discuss the differences between original production scripts for Felix The Horseplayer (known as The Stung on the script) and Two On The Aisle.
Both scripts feature known-but-never-seen characters who are referenced during the series that are supposed to make actual on-camera appearances but were written out before the episodes were filmed.
There are some other significant scene differences between script and episode which we believe are changes that made the show better.
If you would like to get PDFs of any of the scripts we have reviewed please email us at [email protected] and ask for the dropbox link.
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In this episode we review two early drafts of these classic episodes and how different they are from the actual filmed episodes. Among the topics covered are:
1) Whether or not the most famous line from The Odd Couple about assuming is in the script for Court.
2) The fact that the script for Court is structured as a flashback and how so many of the classic gags from the episode are missing while other scenes we have never seen before are included.
3) The set-up for Furniture is very different as it starts in the furniture store that was Felix's client.
4) How the clock was described in Furniture.
5) The very different tags in both episodes.
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This week we discuss scripts for two more episodes of The Odd Couple - this time from S3 - The Odd Monks and The Ides of April - and the differences between what's on the page and what's on the air. In a major piece of revelation we find out what was said in the missing Louis Guss scene at the IRS in the Ides of April. We also find out how The Odd Monks could have been very different as the script contains the name of a different actor playing Brother Ralph - not Richard Stahl. These are biggies!
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In this episode we discuss the differences between "Revised Final Scripts" for the two S2 episodes "Security Arms" and "You Saved My life" and the actual released episodes. If you want access to PDFs of the scripts please email us at [email protected].
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We celebrate Felix Unger Day with a new podcast previewing an exciting new project that will fuel some more episodes of 1049 Park Avenue. Take a listen to find out more details!
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In this episode we start looking at the four series Jack and Tony did after The Odd Couple - Quincy, The Tony Randall Show, Love, Sydney and You Again?. This is part one where we cover only Quincy. The next episode will cover the three sitcoms.
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This episode covers Jack Klugman and Tony Randall's TV appearances as themselves - on talk shows, in ads, on Dean Martin roast, and in song.
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In this episode our subjects are:
1) The 1993 reunion movie featuring Jack and Tony. We cover the behind-the-scenes talent that was and was not involved with the project; who was and was not in front of the camera; the quality of the writing (or lack of it); and how it performed in the ratings.
2) The 2015-2017 CBS reboot starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon. Topics include how this fits into the other CBS sitcoms of the era; the differences in characters vs. the original series; how Matthew Perry was the driving force behind its existence; and two episodes that made headlines - both for negative reasons.
3) The 1975 short-lived cartoon The Oddball Couple. We discuss the few similarities to the Odd Couple concept and the acclaimed voices and animators involved with the production.
We also play the variations of the theme from each production.
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We start the episode intending to discuss both the 1982/83 New Odd Couple (“NOC”) AND the 1993 Odd Couple reunion TV-movie but end up speaking so long about New Odd Couple we decide on the fly to hold the movie for another episode. Before we start I surprise Garrett with an item I bought on eBay – the full PDF can be seen here
Odd Couple Program
Regarding NOC we 1) provide our overall opinion on the series 2) discuss the cast 3) analyze the TV ratings situation for the time 4) review why the show is made up of recycled scripts from the original series and the impact that decision had 5) discuss individual episodes 6) focus on the most annoying part of the series involving their names 7) play clips comparing and contrasting scenes from the original series that are duplicated in NOC 8) play clips of Garry Marshall, Mark Rothman and story editor Winifred Hervey who discuss various difficulties behind the scenes.
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This week we delve into the world of The Odd Couple centering around the plays and the movies, some of which were made before the TV show and some of which came after. We discuss the origins of the play and how that turned into the movie; our thoughts on the film; the updated versions of the play that Neil Simon wrote later in his career and the unnecessary film sequel. We play dialogue from the movie that was re-used in the series and the Neal Hefti theme WITH lyrics.
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This week Ted and Garrett stop talking so much and let two other Odd Couple fans discuss the show with them. First up: James Bradley discusses his love of S1 and explains why there is a group of fans who enjoy it passionately. Second is Lee Spilberg who has helped the podcast with lots of information especially regarding all of the music cuts. These are two separate interviews.
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This week, Ted and Garrett hand out The Murray Awards for various "best of" categories regarding The Odd Couple. Examples include - Best Use Of Honking, Best Scene Where Felix Gets Mad at Oscar (and vice verse), Best Performance by a Male Celebrity Playing Themself, and many others. Yes, we could have just called it "The Oscars", but we have been using Murray as a metric since early on the podcast so we stuck with it.
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