S01.E01: Pilot

[photo fox]

Oscar Madison reluctantly agrees to let Felix Unger, his uptight former college roommate, move in with him after both of their marriages fail.

[Primetimer]

The classic Neil Simon joint gets a revival for our modern age. Should you welcome it into your home?

Read the story

[Dirtybubble]

I hate, HATE, 2.5 Men but I love the Odd Couple movies/TV shows from yesteryear soooo I don't know. I'll give it a try for one night, it's only 30 minutes.

But, from what you've described, I am worried about how Felix is going to be portrayed. The "he behaves so feminine but he isn't gay, is he" shtick is sooo friggin' played out. I don't remember the Felix character being that flamboyant or obvious in previous renditions.

[Valny]

I loved the sitcom, it's one of my faves! hell, I own most of the dvds. So I was a bit apprehensive to say the least when I heard it's being rebooted because Randall and Klugman are iconic in those roles(to me anyway) so I don't like anyone to mess with them. That said, I will still give it a look out of curiosity.

[Kromm]

I don't remember the Felix character being that flamboyant or obvious in previous renditions.

Tony Randall played it pretty pseudo-gay.  Dressed in a full suit at times when it seemed ridiculous.  Wore a frilly apron while baking and cleaning things.  Had constant plotlines surrounding him being needy, overly emotional and naggy--the stereotypical "wife" things (I'm not saying all wives are like that, just that there's a major female stereotype based around it).

[NYGirl]

Ok..I actually enjoyed it!  And I was brought up with Klugman/Randall.  It was the same but different.  I think the role of Oscar is perfect for Matthew Perry.  I laughed a couple of times and I am looking forward to next week.

[SmithW6079]

That was a bunch of suck. Is this like three strikes for Matthew Perry for terrible shows?

Why'd they change the wives' names? Were "Gloria" and "Blanche" too old-fashioned? Because "Oscar" and "Felix" shriek modernity.

The ersatz Pigeon sisters were the best part of the show.

Edited February 20, 2015 by SmithW6079

[Branchop]

I'll give a few more. I felt they were not acting as much as saying lines. Knowing each of them can act, not sure if that is the direction or them not bring comfortable with one another. I often find Pilots have this "acting". I thought Leslie Bibb was great.

I think it has potential some of the lines were great - delivery was off. Hoping this works..

[lazylump]

I have never seen the original so I've got a blank slate.  I would watch it again since there's a gap of shows between The Big Bang Theory and something I can find at 9 pm.  It was okay, but I did  shut it off 10 min early to go shower to be ready for 2.5 men series finale (what can I say, curious to see how it ends).

 

I guess I'm trying to see why the 2 have been friends for so long.  They seem to have nothing in common, back in college Oscar was nice to Felix by saying "That guy's my ride/alright" but did they have anything in common.  I guess I'd have liked to see why they were friends for so long.  I'll give it more time to flesh out things and hopefully make Felix less stereotypically played gay but straight.

 

but anything with Dave Foley in it is a win for me.  I also like Lindsay Sloane (name may be wrong) but Big Red!  I like her too.  

Edited February 20, 2015 by lazylump

[Valny]

Just watched the pilot. In a word: nope.

I'll probably remind my dad to continue to watch though, he got some chuckles out of it.

But it was nice seeing the actress who played Birdbones from Playing House.

On a shallow note, did Matthew Perry do something to his teeth?

[Packerbrewerbadger]

I think I preferred The McCarthys.

[Endeavour]

I don't usually watch comedies but was curious. I used to watch the original series all the time. I didn't think this was terrible but it wasn't good either. I thought Thomas Lennon did a pretty good job and had some of the same mannerisms as Tony Randall. Matthew Perry seemed off and and his lines seemed forced. If I remember, I may watch a few more to see if it improves. It mostly made me want to see the original again.

[FormerMod-a1]

It wasn't great but I'll give it another try next week.  I'll see if they settle into their roles a bit more.  I agree with the "reading lines" vs acting for most the show, and especially for Matthew Perry.  I know he can do better.

[Mama No Life]

Yes, it was very stilted.  All four of the men on the show can act, seriously act, so there's no excuse for the fact that they all looked scared and like they were at a community college class.   I kept thinking, that joke's not funny, but then I realized it would have made me laugh if it had been said correctly.  I love MP, and I enjoyed Go On and Sunset, so I'll give it another shot, but it'll have to really improve quickly.

 

I just can't live in a world where Kudrow, LeBlanc and Cox have successful shows and Perry does not. :(

[random chance]

That was the weirdest pilot I have seen in a very long time.  It was like the entire cast received some horrible news just prior to taping and they were bravely trying to carry on anyway. 

[Clockwork Banana]

It has been a while since I have seen such egregious acting.  I was never a particular Perry fan - he was my least favourite on Friends - but I would have assumed that over the years he would have learned a bit about his craft. Apparently not.  I cringed through the few scenes I watched.  The over-emoting and exaggerated 'acting' felt like I was watching an improv skit.  It was quite dreadful.   

[Actionmage]

The ersatz Pigeon sisters were the best part of the show.

 

I agree. They were appropriately fun. I liked that apartment, though!  And the wall!   I am a wife who wouldn't mind sharing the wall; that got an 'aw!' of envy from me.

 

I'll probably watch the next one, just to see if there is a bit more comfort among the cast.

[Iguana]

Given the cast, I went into this hoping like hell it would be a worthwhile show. But oh god this was just not funny. The line readings were flat, almost monotone, like they were reading them phonetically and had no idea what the words actually meant. The punchlines for the jokes could be seen coming a mile away and were dusty old tropes like older guy hitting on hot chicks and real men don't eat quiche/gazpacho. The laugh track was working way too hard to try and sell the jokes, such as they were, and was just an irritant. I think I smiled maybe twice during the whole show and not even a laugh or chuckle once. Damn, I'm disappointed. This should have been so much better.

[marketdoctor]

I liked it; I laughed a lot (even the cheap "Felix Unger" initials joke).  It was a little exposition-heavy, but pilots will have that, and I liked the whole cast, so I have high hopes that it'll settle down just a tad and get even funnier.

[chaifan]

I changed channels after five minutes (maybe not even that long). Matthew Perry was just awful. I agree with the other comments about his stilted "acting". And I'm a Matthew Perry fan - I think he had great comedic timing on Friends. I had hopes for this show, but I've given up.

[mstar1125]

The first thing I thought when they showed Oscar's apartment was that it was almost an exact replica of Barney's apartment on HIMYM (except for the kitchen). Anyone know if they recycled the old HIMYM set?

 

My second thought was "Chandler has gotten old."

 

I laughed several times, but I've never seen the original. I, too, felt like the lines themselves were funny (mostly) but not being delivered correctly. Especially by Matthew Perry and his two friends, I thought Thomas Lennon did a great job. I just watched a clip of Matthew Perry on Letterman explaining that the part of the pilot I found the funniest ('We're out of cornflakes - F.U., "Remember to pick up your socks - F.U.") was a joke from the original show, which is disappointing, as it suggests the writers of this reboot aren't capable of coming up with something funnier. I suppose they elevated the joke and brought it into 2015 by having Felix add the notes to the ticker. 

 

I'll probably tune in next week, because changing the channel after BBT is more effort than I'm willing to exert after 8pm on a Thursday night. 

[Amy]

I really, really wanted to like this!   I just re-watched the entire run of Friends since it became available on Netflix, and Chandler has always been my favorite.   So, by extension, I have been a big Matthew Perry fan.  To the extent that I recorded every one of his talk show appearances this week.   (They don't recognize him in China!  It was fun until he wanted something!  I never realized how much celebrities repeat the same anecdotes!)  And I've watched all of his post-Friends vehicles.   And mostly liked them, tbh.      So, anyway, yeah, I'm in the tank for Matthew Perry. 

 

There was just something off about his performance in this.     He is a better actor than he was in this pilot.  I am hopeful that it was just pilot nerves.  I feel like he's putting a lot of pressure on himself to make this successful after the previous failed shows, so he was trying too hard.     I just want to give him a hug and tell him to relax.   I might be too invested in this! 

 

Loved Thomas Lennon and Lindsey Sloane.   Will be continuing to watch for the rest of the season.    I am really hoping that the "Felix acts gay!"  stuff gets toned down, and that the women get to be real people.   But, honestly, I'm in for the season because a night with Matthew Perry on my tv (even slovenly Matthew Perry) is a good night.   And also, we've been promised Lauren Graham, and I am as much in the tank for her as I am for Matthew Perry.  

[Kromm]

A pilot is really too early to damn a whole series, especially one that we know is such a strong concept (since... you know... it's worked before, and with a number of entirely different casts, so we can't even say "it only worked because of actor X, Y and Z).

 

That said, there were a few distinct issues that popped up almost instantly.

 

1.) It's a dumb "initial impression" thing, but I hate hate hate when remakes or sequel series telegraph "modernizing" via theme songs that are speeded up with nonsense extraneous extra instrumentation (in this case, just horribly done jazz riffs). HATE IT.  If you want to redo the song, fine, but damn... you better get it right.  This one didn't.  And honestly, having Felix play the theme on the cello?  Jeez guys.  You can do better.

 

2.) I love Tom Lennon.  But I was slightly off on his Felix the moment (early on) where he full bore adapted the sinus honking.  Now to be fair, I seem to recall that even Tony Randall took the honking straight from Jack Lemmon. So maybe the problem was just that it was almost the first thing we saw/heard of his Felix, within 2 minutes of meeting him I mean.  I dunno.  I don't want, or expect, Felix to be reinvented, but I'd like to see Lennon-Felix have some unique quirks.

 

3.) As a few have said, the delivery was just flat on this.  The good news?  That in a pilot, flat delivery is one of the WORST thing to judge a show long-term on.  It's the easiest to fix.  If it's still like this 4-5 episodes in, start worrying.  What's more important is the quality of the jokes behind the delivery.  Give that only till Episode 3.

 

4.) Dave Foley is love.  The show gets an instant Plus 10 because he's there. Shame he wasn't given more to do. I DO wish though that Oscar's friends had some of the old names. Roy? Teddy? Come on.  While I wasn't going to react simply to a few names being changed, thinking about it made me realize the problem.  They're de-Jewing everything.  "Blanche"?  "Murray"? "Myrna"?  What do those names all have in common?  Then add in the other staple of NY naming... the Italians.  "Vinnie" appears to be gone too.  Now to be clear there WAS a friend named Roy on the original show.  Who appeared on LESS episodes than any of the other friend characters.  And also in the play and in the movie. I just hope we get our Murray, our Speed, our Vinnie, etc. in later episodes, since the female roles have clearly all been totally.... changed.

 

5.) One big moment of hope was the bit with Felix feverishly using the lint brush on himself.  That was great.

 

6.) The neighbor girls actually DO kind of work, despite not being named Myrna and Miriam.  Not that Leslie Bibb looks anything like a Myrna, but Lindsay Sloane certainly could pass for a Miriam.

 

It's not hopeless.  Just sloppy.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Kromm

[random chance]

The good news?  That in a pilot, flat delivery is one of the WORST thing to judge a show long-term on.  It's the easiest to fix.  If it's still like this 4-5 episodes in, start worrying.

If they even get 4-5 episodes, since anymore they yank shows off the air practically during the commercial if they aren't getting the ratings. Although I guess BBT artificial-life-support ratings might keep it going longer.

Anyway I am really enjoying reading the dead-on descriptions of what was wrong with this show, to the point where I'm willing to watch it again just for that. 

 

Yvette Nicole Brown was selling the hell out of this show on Twitter last night.  I felt just terrible for her.

[Cementhead]

The laugh track KILLED it for me.  This show was on my 'one to watch for' radar and I tuned in excited to give it a go but because none of the sit-coms that I watch have a laugh track and because it isn't 1998, it did not even remotely occur to me that this show would have one.  Shame.  Good Luck to them all.  I hope this one sticks for Matthew Perry.  I liked Mr. Sunshine just fine. 

[designing1]

I don't understand why Perry, in particular, was playing to the rafters. Was it his lack of familiarity in doing a joke-joke-joke comedy (as opposed to a situational comedy, like Go On, which I enjoyed) without a live audience? He's a better actor than the pilot would indicate, and a solid argument could be made that he was reading lines (loudly, because...loud is funnier?) rather than acting. To relate it back to Friends, it's what I always hated about Jessica Hecht's performance as Carol's wife; more often than not I felt she was yelling her lines at me instead of creating a relatable character with subtleties. As Chandler, Perry could say more with just a look than a lot of actors could with lines of dialogue -- where's that actor?

 

I'll give this another shot since I love Perry and would like to see him have a successful show again, but I'm not hopeful. Even if it improves, for me, the joke-joke-joke form of comedy is horribly dated and just not funny. For as many jokes as Friends had, there were also plenty of moments that made the characters seem like real people, and I think that was key to the show's longevity. The Lemmon/Matthau and Randall/Klugman versions of The Odd Couple had those moments as well. I hope the 'hit hard and constantly' vibe of the pilot gets taken down a notch or twelve.

[scootypuffjr]

I liked it more than I had anticipated after getting through the first few minutes - there was some good stuff and I actually laughed out loud a few times, but the laugh track was way too obnoxious and distracting. Very sitcom-y. I'll watch it again and hope they tone down the laugh track just a bit in the future. Matthew Perry is appealing and I wish him success, but I do wish "Go On" was still on instead! I really liked that show, but apparently there weren't enough of us who did. Perhaps they'll have better luck this time but based on the opinions posted here, things don't look hopeful.

Edited February 20, 2015 by scootypuffjr

[FineWashables]

I love Matthew Perry and I'm the only one in America who liked the two shows he had that were cancelled.  I really like Thomas Lennon and I can see him as Felix.  So I'm really confused as to why this show just lay there, lifeless.  The only funny lines were the ones recycled from the original show -- the FU jokes, for example.  I'll give it another try but this was just flat and there was nothing really to hook into.  The basic Odd Couple storyline and this cast deserve better.  Whatever went wrong, I hope they fix it fast.

[Dewey Decimate]

Holy shit. I don't watch many network sitcoms, but my love of Thomas Lennon put this one on my DVR. What the fuckery was with that laugh track? It reminded me why I don't watch any comedies with one - so freaking artificial, and ruins the timing of jokes. Why was Matthew Perry shouting from a teleprompter? And what the fuck did he do to his face? I know he's had some rough addiction problems, but damn, that looks uncomfortable. Dave Foley - what the fuck happened to him? He looked totally normal on IASIP as the school principal (granted, a little paunchier and older, but that happens to us all); was that really so long ago? It looks like he borrowed hair dye from TWD's Abraham and then jumped into a deep fryer. Gah, gah gah - I wanted to rinse out my brain after watching this show. I feel somewhat bad picking on the appearances of these guys, but in hi-def it's shoved into our faces, and having the neighbor girls be SO outrageously NOT wrinkled and aged... guess I just don't want to be so blatantly reminded of the severe imbalance in how each gender gets judged on aesthetics.

 

I will try to give it another ep just because of TL, but watching a show with mouth agape is not a good sign.

[FineWashables]

Yeah, agreed, that laugh track was way too loud and played way too randomly.  If a laugh track kicks in for a punchline, it's annoying, but it's infuriating when someone walks into a room and says something like "hi" and the laugh track screams with hilarity.  I get totally distracted with "what are they laughing about?" and "did I miss something?"

[iMonrey]

I love the cast but the pilot simply wasn't funny enough. I don't think I even cracked a smile once, until the very end where the girl showed up with Oscar's mail. And that was only a mildly amused chuckle. The whole thing fell flat for me, but I'll give it a few more weeks. Pilots aren't always that great. The pilot for Friends wasn't really all that great either.

 

But boy, does Matthew Perry need a hit because at this point he's 0 for 3 post-Friends. Ratings were good for this premier but we'll see if they stay there.

 

Everyone keeps commenting about a laugh track but I assume they filmed this in front of a live audience. I know they maybe augment the laughter sometimes but I don't think there are any sitcoms that flat-out use laugh tracks without any kind of studio audience present during filming. Not anymore, anyway.

[One Tough Cookie]

Sorry, Tom Lennon cannot touch the frill on Tony Randall's apron. And Matthew Perry?  He's no Oscar Madison--he sleep walked thru the episode.

 

This was just a big ball of NO.  no. No. No.

[SmithW6079]

It was a little exposition-heavy, but pilots will have that,

 

Normally, I would agree, but not when there's been a Broadway show, a movie, a previously successful TV show, and a not-successful TV remake to have set up the concept and the characters.

 

Except for the sisters and the assistant (but, really, sassy black assistant? That's original), I thought the other actors were uniformly horrible. Matthew Perry should have played Felix, because he basically was Felix in "Friends." Heck, if they'd brought in Matt LeBlanc as Oscar, it would have been a lot funnier.  

 

Oh, the one thing I did find funny? Chandler, sorry...Felix, sorry...Oscar setting the coffee cup on fake-Felix's crotch during the latter's yoga pose.

 

6.) The neighbor girls actually DO kind of work, despite not being named Myrna and Miriam.  Not that Leslie Bibb looks anything like a Myrna, but Lindsay Sloane certainly could pass for a Miriam.

 

My impression was that the sisters were supposed to be the Pigeon sisters -- Cecily and Gwendolyn -- whom Oscar and Felix date in the first season of the show. Myrna was Oscar's assistant (here, the sassy black chick), and Miriam was Felix's steady girlfriend in later seasons of the show.

 

 

[designing1]

 

Everyone keeps commenting about a laugh track but I assume they filmed this in front of a live audience. I know they maybe augment the laughter sometimes but I don't think there are any sitcoms that flat-out use laugh tracks without any kind of studio audience present during filming. Not anymore, anyway.

 

I could have sworn I heard Perry say in an interview that this was filmed without an audience, and the incredibly canned sound of the laughter in the pilot did nothing to make me believe otherwise. But according to this interview with Lennon, you are correct. An excerpt:

 

"The Odd Couple" is shot like a traditional network sitcom, with a few cameras and a laugh track. How does it feel to physically go into the world as an actor?

We actually do shoot every Tuesday night in front of a live audience, so there's a rather large live audience every week. Am I saying they don't sweeten the show? I'm sure they do; they sweeten all shows in the world, but at least I feel like most of the laughs are completely sincere.

Edited February 20, 2015 by designing1

[DeLurker]

 

Oh, the one thing I did find funny? Chandler, sorry...Felix, sorry...Oscar setting the coffee cup on fake-Felix's crotch during the latter's yoga pose.

I think that is part of the problem - Perry has to try to define any new character from such a well known one.

 

I think it has potential even though the pilot has flaws.  I'll give it a shot and hope for the best.

[SmithW6079]

I think that is part of the problem - Perry has to try to define any new character from such a well known one.

 

I think plenty of actors have done that. Maybe it's just that they're better at their craft than he is.

[Blakeston]

I have no problem believing that there was a live audience - because the people who are in charge of laugh tracks usually have far more restraint than we saw here.

 

This audience was desperate to laugh at anything (was it the same bunch of people they use for The Big Bang Theory?), and it was just horrible.

 

The raucous laughter that accompanied Matthew Perry looking at the sandwich, followed by the "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" when he bit into it, was the low point, as far as I'm concerned.

Edited February 21, 2015 by Blakeston

[auntjess]

 

They're de-Jewing everything.  "Blanche"?  "Murray"? "Myrna"?  What do those names all have in common?  Then add in the other staple of NY naming... the Italians.  "Vinnie" appears to be gone too.  Now to be clear there WAS a friend named Roy on the original show.  Who appeared on LESS episodes than any of the other friend characters.  And also in the play and in the movie. I just hope we get our Murray, our Speed, our Vinnie, etc. in later episodes, since the female roles have clearly all been totally.... changed.

I think when you've got an Oscar sans NY accent, you've lost the show.

And I certainly thought there was a laugh track.

If you get that METV, the original Odd Couple is on tonight and each Friday at 10:30 ET.

The Felix guy looked like Tony Randall, and was better than the Oscar guy.

The original Oscar character wouldn't have become sentimental as this one did.

I may give it another time or two, but...

 

[Rosemadder]

I must be one of the few who really liked the episode--but I'm old.  Having watched the original series, I don't recall the FU in the early years, but I suffer from CRS (can't remember shit).

[tomsca67]

The FU joke is from Neil Simon's original play; it got a big laugh on Broadway in 1965. ABC wouldn't let them do it on the old show because it was too dirty for TV in those days. 

[Kromm]

Sorry, Tom Lennon cannot touch the frill on Tony Randall's apron. 

That's okay.  Randall couldn't touch Jack Lemmon's!  

I think plenty of actors have done that. Maybe it's just that they're better at their craft than he is.

Perry was good when he played a heavy on The Good Wife.  That should have given him a hint about his best career direction, to distinguish himself apart from Friends.

[BW Manilowe]

The Exec Producers (Garry Marshall [who was also involved with the Klugman/Randall version but I'm not sure about the Demond Wilson/Ron Glass version] & Robert [bob] Daily) & stars (Matthew Perry & Thomas Lennon) talk to The Hollywood Reporter about the show.

http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/odd-couple-matthew-perry-thomas-774785

Towards the end, they mention the Pilot (the 1 that aired last night) was a 2nd version of the Pilot. A different actress originally played Oscar's Assistant (who was played by Actress/Director Penny Marshall--aka Garry Marshall's sister--in the Klugman/Randall version).

They then recast the Assistant part with Yvette Nicole Brown (who left Community because she needed shorter working hours [& apparently has them here] due to health problems--I think--with a family member; she's apparently their caregiver) & then they reshot the Pilot with her, which we saw last night.

[stormy]

Overall I didn't think this episode was bad.

But there were two annoying factors for me.  The either bad laugh track or over-the-top audience laughing at everything and the constant doorbell ringing.

Loved seeing former Sabrina The Teenage Witch gal pal, Valerie, Lindsey Sloane.  She's cute in this role. 

[auntjess]

 

Perry: One of the things that was important to me in playing Oscar — because he's kind of a scoundrel and he's a womanizer and drinks and gambles — [is] where the heart comes, he kind of longs for his ex, and misses that relationship a little bit. Lauren and I have been friends for 10 years, and have a great chemistry together. People liked seeing us together. I liked the element of Oscar missing that relationship and wishing he could have it again, and not being able to.

The above quote it from the interview BW Manilowe linked to.

This explains a lot of what was wrong with the show.  It may be Perry, but it isn't any Oscar Madison I've ever seen.

[Ailianna]

Marshall: No laugh track — it's all [audience laughter] live. It's part of the spirit of the show.

Over-enthusiastic audience. No canned laughter.

[BW Manilowe]

The above quote it from the interview BW Manilowe linked to.

This explains a lot of what was wrong with the show. It may be Perry, but it isn't any Oscar Madison I've ever seen.

I thought I remembered Jack Klugman's Oscar as being at least something of a drinker (weren't there a few Oscar hangovers used for comic effect, back in the day?) & a gambler (betting on horses/other sports betting, at least--plus he does play Poker, which isn't exactly "not-gambling" since most Casinos do have Poker rooms). And, while I wouldn't exactly call it "womanizing", I seem to remember Klugman's Oscar noticing at least most of the pretty women who were in his vicinity. Maybe I'm wrong. But if I'm not, I kinda get what Matthew's talking about here.

[henrysmom]

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the pilot. I wouldn't say it was the best 30 minutes of television I've ever seen but it certainly wasn't the worst either.

Random thoughts. I like that they tweaked the characters a bit. If they'd simply redone the old pilot I would have been disappointed. I have the dvds of the old show and Klugman and Randall can't be replaced so I'm glad they went with an Oscar who is hung up on his ex wife and made some other changes. Maybe it'll take this show to some interesting places. And the old show did it's best to move away from the play and the movie. This new version should too.

As others said I was shocked at Dave Foley's appearance. I loved him on News Radio and didn't recognize him until about five minutes into his bit here.

The laugh track, real or fake, definitely needs to be toned down. I probably would have liked the show more if it wasn't for the howls of laughter at the slightest jokes.

Overall I'll give the show a shot.

[Kromm]

I thought I remembered Jack Klugman's Oscar as being at least something of a drinker (weren't there a few Oscar hangovers used for comic effect, back in the day?) & a gambler (betting on horses/other sports betting, at least--plus he does play Poker, which isn't exactly "not-gambling" since most Casinos do have Poker rooms). And, while I wouldn't exactly call it "womanizing", I seem to remember Klugman's Oscar noticing at least most of the pretty women who were in his vicinity. Maybe I'm wrong. But if I'm not, I kinda get what Matthew's talking about here.

Yeah, sorry to rain on AUNTJESS's parade, but at least overall Perry's character sketch of Oscar isn't that far off.  A little bit, but not totally. At least as Matthau played him, he's a drinker in that 60s (when the play ran) kind of way, where he's a "drunk" more than an alcoholic.  Again, something the TV show backed off of simply because it wasn't maintainable in the following decade, when adapted to TV of the time.  And he's DEFINITELY a gambler.  That's been a core part of the character.

 

Given that we probably don't want to see an outright copy of Matthau or Klugman, the differences are certainly permissible.  Perry, while we may joke about him becoming soft and doughy, is still a more conventionally handsome guy than either Matthau or Klugman, so the change to make him a womanizer makes sense.  The bit about him and his ex-wife?  I think the previous TV show may have at least implied it, even if they did ultimately have Oscar move on.

 

I mean if we're gonna get hung up on "changes", why indict the minor changes here more than the ones between the movie and the first TV show?  In the movie, remember that it starts with Felix trying to commit suicide.  Now it's been a long time since I saw the pilot of the first series, but I'm darn sure they ditched that.  Also, in the movie and play Oscar had kids and the TV show decided to eliminate them.  Are we hung up on those differences?  Probably not.

Edited February 21, 2015 by Kromm

[BW Manilowe]

Yeah, sorry to rain on AUNTJESS's parade, but at least overall Perry's character sketch of Oscar isn't that far off. A little bit, but not totally. At least as Matthau played him, he's a drinker in that 60s (when the play ran) kind of way, where he's a "drunk" more than an alcoholic. Again, something the TV show backed off of simply because it wasn't maintainable in the following decade, when adapted to TV of the time. And he's DEFINITELY a gambler. That's been a core part of the character.

Given that we probably don't want to see an outright copy of Matthau or Klugman, the differences are certainly permissible. Perry, while we may joke about him becoming soft and doughy, is still a more conventionally handsome guy than either Matthau or Klugman, so the change to make him a womanizer makes sense. The bit about him and his ex-wife? I think the previous TV show may have at least implied it, even if they did ultimately have Oscar move on.

I mean if we're gonna get hung up on "changes", why indict the minor changes here more than the ones between the movie and the first TV show? In the movie, remember that it starts with Felix trying to commit suicide. Now it's been a long time since I saw the pilot of the first series, but I'm darn sure they ditched that. Also, in the movie and play Oscar had kids and the TV show decided to eliminate them. Are we hung up on those differences? Probably not.

Commenting on the bolded part of the quote. Not for nothing but, while I wouldn't necessarily say he was "hung up on her", in real life Jack Klugman always seemed to be really close to, & friendly with, his ex-wife--actress Brett Somers, who's probably best-known as a Match Game panelist in the '70's but who (as I remember) also played Klugman's Oscar's ex, Blanche, on the original OC--even after at least he moved on to other relationships (& I don't think he stayed close just 'cause they had kids together). But I doubt Matthew modeled that aspect of his Oscar after that.

[auntjess]

I should have narrowed down what I quoted.
I meant I never had the feeling that he longed for Blanche, and missed her all that much.