My Top 10 Favorite TV Shows: #10!

Who can ever forget the classic opening to this series? Back in the day when opening credits defined a television series and pulled you in week to week, "The Odd Couple" had one of the best. Indeed, the theme music came straight from the movie of the same name. But, still, nothing made me smile more than the initial strains of the Neal Hefti-penned score.

Oddly enough, I didn't watch "The Odd Couple" when it was first run on ABC. And, despite its five year tenure, neither did a lot of other people. Perennially low rated, the show limped along primarily because ABC had nothing else but test patterns to fill their Friday nights. But, then, almost miraculously, WPIX Channel 11 in NY bought the reruns and began to air it every night at 11PM.

I was hooked. And so were a lot of other people.

Rarely does a TV show based on a hit motion picture actually surpass the original. "The Odd Couple" did just that. When somebody mentions Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, the image that is immediately conjured is that of Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, not the movie's stars Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Tony and Jack took the roles and ran rings around them. Even more amazing, Randall took the semingly thankless role of Felix and made it a comic icon in a concept where Oscar would normally get all the truly comedic moments. I understand that Randall and Klugman would regularly rewrite the scripts down on the soundstage. Now, as a writer, I can tell you that it is super-annoying when actors start to fuss with the words you wrote on a page. Just read the lines as they were put on the page. The words are in that precise order for a reason. But, having seen what wound up on the screen with "The Odd Couple," who can argue successfully against Tony and Jack's intervention?

There are more memorable moments and scenes from "The Odd Couple" than there ever were in other allegedly groundbreaking comedies like "Seinfeld" and "Friends." When actors truly connect with words and characters, there is magic that you cannot experience anyplace else. Just look at this clip from what I would call one of the five best scenes ever written for a TV situation comedy. I once saw this screened on a flight to NY and the laughter around the cabin, even through my headphones, was deafening. Felix and Oscar are appearing on "Password." Enough said.

There is one other episode where the "boys" appear on "Let's Make a Deal" as contestants dressed as a horse. The moment where Tony Randall, hidden by the horse's head, inquires about the availability of bedroom furniture as a prize. No other line ever on TV has cracked me up more than this throwaway moment of a rather incongruous line. That's what good acting can do to good writing. In turn, both elements become great.

I've written previously of spending some time interviewing Tony Randall on the telephone. He was sheer class and a consummate professional. You can see that in every frame of "The Odd Couple."

I certainly would have let him change lines I had written any day.

Dinner last night: Hollywood Bowl Hot Dog.