S01.E03: The Birthday Party

[Rowsdower]

Like Felix, I'm afraid that I've lost hope.  I really wanted to like this series, so I've been trying to give it a chance, but it's showing no signs of finding its legs (Thomas Lennon's commendable effort notwithstanding).

 

The first two episodes were bland, but they seemed mostly harmless.  Tonight's was the first that I found actively objectionable.  The party storyline was painfully unoriginal.  The gratuitous Dwight Howard cameo was like something straight out of When the Whistle Blows (and lampshading the awkwardness didn't help much).  The bird gag, which was as cheap and unnecessary as sitcom material comes, may have been the last straw for me.

 

As Oscar would say, the writers need to step up their game.  But I'm not sure that I'm willing to wait for that to happen.

[NYGirl]

And I thought this episode was really funny.  I laughed out loud several times.  I love silly gags like the bird one.

[opus]

Felix had a parrot that died in the original series, albeit much less graphically, of course.

[Rick Kitchen]

I never wanted to watch this show, and I'm not, really, but it's on in the background.  The bird being killed was not funny.  What a horrible show.

[nicolin]

The first fifteen minutes of this show is all I have seen and all I will ever see. Such an unoriginal storyline, jokes you see coming a mile away and then the bird gag for which there are no words. I immediately changed the channel.

Edited March 6, 2015 by nicolin

[random chance]

I hate when writers kill animals for humor.  Or, "humor."

[chitowngirl]

I thought the bird flew away when they reversed the vacuum cleaner.

I find Matthew Perry's slurring s's very distracting.

[TheOtherOne]

Yeah, the bird didn't die. It was clearly flapping its wings outside the window as it flew away.

 

The show just isn't working though. I want it to be good...but it's not. It may be marginally better than "The Millers" was, but it's still a long way from good.

[Racj82]

As soon as saw the bird gag, I knew it would be an issue. I can't relate. Not an animal lover. I laughed hard. The show isn't bad but I don't need to keep up with it.

[Kromm]

This wasn't that bad, but I continue to wonder if they have to wake up Dave Foley with a cattle prod or something before each episode.  Not only do we not know what the hell he's doing there, I don't think he knows either.

 

The part with the old friend Jim was actually okay.  It's a shame they had bundle that up with the lame bird/vacuum joke.  That said, something similar to that bird gag has probably been on EVERY sitcom (so that's both good AND bad). 

 

I do think that again (like in Episode 2), Perry's delivery was at least better than in that pilot. 

 

{shrugs} There just may be no way to make this show seem fresh.  If the chemistry between any two characters was fantastic that might help, but so far while the chemistry isn't horrid, it's not that memorable either.  

[Dewey Decimate]

This show sucks. Sorry, Tom Lennon - gave it three strikes for you, but yer out. The skinny blonde's inexplicable desire of Oscar is one thing (purely a plot construct), but to make her character internally inconsistent is unbearable. She's impressed by his dedication to Felix and exhausted from jet lag, then awkwardly tries to seduce Oscar away from helping the very same friend when in need? Gah.

 

As soon as the bird was taken out of the cage (the gun shown), I assumed it would be flying out the window - of its own volition. I was pleasantly surprised when it was returned to the cage unharmed (with the door open? by the fastidious Felix??). Then it's sucked into and launched out of, feathers flying (which I highly, highly doubt it would survive in real life, regardless of the portrayal) and I was mortified. Series deleted.

 

(I keep typing "Feliz" instead of "Felix" and think, yeah, if only this show made me feel happy...)

[mstar1125]

Tom Lennon is the only redeemable part of this show. I want to like it, and I'll continue to watch because I enjoy the shows before and after it, but they really need to come up with some better episode ideas. Something about Matthew Perry's delivery is still off, the timing maybe? I've never seen any of the other incarnations of this show, is he trying to mimic the mannerisms of one of the earlier Oscars? Or maybe I'm expecting him to be "Chandler funny" when that isn't what this character calls for.  

 

 

The skinny blonde's inexplicable desire of Oscar is one thing (purely a plot construct), but to make her character internally inconsistent is unbearable. She's impressed by his dedication to Felix and exhausted from jet lag, then awkwardly tries to seduce Oscar away from helping the very same friend when in need? Gah.

 

I don't understand the point of her either. They seem to be building a background and story arc for the brunette girl. The blond girl is just there as a sex object. 

[sinkwriter]

Matthew Perry seems to be rushing his lines. Last night when I watched the episode, I kept wondering if they have too much content to get through in an episode and so he feels the need to jump on each line like he has to hurry up and get it out. He doesn't take character pauses where I feel like one would be necessary (if a real person were responding). Instead it feels like he's rushing to get the joke line out. A lot of the rest is acted in an over the top manner. I know he can do better than that; I've seen him do amazing things with comedy. So I don't understand the hurry with his lines, the forcing of them.

 

I also struggle with liking his character. I don't know what years the original tv series with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall was on, I may have been too young, but I wonder: was Jack's Oscar this much of an asshole? Or was he just a slob in contrast to Tony's neat freak Felix?

 

Maybe what some have posted here in the other threads is how I'm feeling about the show -- I'm just not finding the humor in someone being a completely insensitive jerk to everyone around him, nor do I believe the blonde character would be into him, given his numerous offensive responses to her in regard to Felix, in regard to women, and so many other things. Her desire to sleep with him in this episode seemed like a 180 for her character. Are they jumping the gun and trying to get to it right away because they feel like the show isn't going to last?

[Rowsdower]

Tom Lennon is the only redeemable part of this show.

 

Agreed.  He's delivering a spot-on interpretation of the character, without imitating Jack Lemmon or Tony Randall.  It's frustrating to see him investing so much effort in a production that doesn't deserve his talents.

 

Something about Matthew Perry's delivery is still off, the timing maybe? I've never seen any of the other incarnations of this show, is he trying to mimic the mannerisms of one of the earlier Oscars? Or maybe I'm expecting him to be "Chandler funny" when that isn't what this character calls for.

 

Part of the problem is that he's barely playing the character at all.  I like Matthew Perry, but he miscast himself in this role.  The formula works when Felix is uptight and Oscar is easygoing, not when they's two different varieties of uptight.  And frankly, I'm not sure that Perry can pull off a non-uptight (or non-smarmy) character.  He's trying to be "Chandler funny," I think, because that's what he knows.

 

Someone like Mike O'Malley would be a better fit as Oscar.  Of course, CBS already did that show.  It was called Yes, Dear.  And while not an all-time classic, it was a whole lot better than this.

 

I don't know what years the original tv series with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall was on, I may have been too young, 

 

1970 to 1975.

 

but I wonder: was Jack's Oscar this much of an asshole? Or was he just a slob in contrast to Tony's neat freak Felix?

 

The latter.  For the most part, he was the straight man (messy, but otherwise a down-to-Earth everyman).

 

The new series sort of flips the script, making Felix the more relatable of the two title characters – not because he's been toned down, but because Oscar has been ramped up.  In some respects, it's closer to Two and a Half Men than it is to previous versions of The Odd Couple.

[sinkwriter]

 

1970 to 1975.

 

That explains it. I was familiar with the show and its concept but couldn't really remember watching it. I was born in summer of '72.  :)

 

 

In some respects, it's closer to Two and a Half Men than it is to previous versions of The Odd Couple.

 

Therein lies part of the problem for me. I didn't like the humor of Two and a Half Men. I find a lot of it pretty insulting.

 

And I think you've hit on the issue with Matthew in this role. He's not playing the character. In my eyes, he's just playing the jokes. Which is a whole other thing. 

[Rowsdower]

That explains it. I was familiar with the show and its concept but couldn't really remember watching it. I was born in summer of '72.  :)

 

I was born in 1980, but I viewed the series in reruns.

 

Therein lies part of the problem for me. I didn't like the humor of Two and a Half Men. I find a lot of it pretty insulting.

 

I enjoyed Two and a Half Men's earlier seasons and despised the later ones (wherein the program deteriorated into an endless parade of sex jokes delivered by a heavily Flanderized cast of characters), even before Charlie Sheen's departure and the bizarre retooling that followed.

 

A few days ago, I commented to someone that the new version of The Odd Couple at least managed to minimize its reliance on risqué humor (by today's standards).  So naturally, this week's episode put a stop to that.

[iMonrey]

 

I don't know what years the original tv series with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall was on, I may have been too young, but I wonder: was Jack's Oscar this much of an asshole?

 

I would argue that Jack Klugman's Oscar was far worse and that Matthew Perry's version is rather Oscar-light in comparison to both the Neil Simon film and the 1970s TV series. In both previous incarnations Oscar was far more hostile towards Felix and more antagonized by him. Which is what always made the show so unpleasant for me to watch. This version seems to want to inject more "feel good" buddy vibes into itself. Maybe that's why the show is coming across so bland, there's no bite to it.

 

 

[Rowsdower]

I would argue that Jack Klugman's Oscar was far worse and that Matthew Perry's version is rather Oscar-light in comparison to both the Neil Simon film and the 1970s TV series. In both previous incarnations Oscar was far more hostile towards Felix and more antagonized by him.

 

I disagree with the "more hostile" description.  Those versions of Oscar were more exasperated, largely because they actually played off of Felix's eccentricities (as opposed to Matthew Perry's attempts to drive the humor with snark, almost as though he doesn't know what show he's in).

 

I haven't seen the original stage play, but my understanding is that the new TV pilot incorporated a single joke therefrom (updated to involve an electronic ticker instead of paper notes, but essentially the same).  This line easily generated the most laughter from the studio audience (and the only laughter from me).  So far, that scene is the one instance in which this series has come close to capturing the classic Felix/Oscar dynamic (and even then, Oscar still seemed more like Chandler Bing).

 

Certainly, Oscar's messiness – the character's signature trait – has been toned down in this remake (and was barely even evident in episodes 2 and 3).  I don't consider that a fatal flaw (as there's only so much comedy to be mined from such a setup, and the pilot's relevant scenes established that these writers aren't up to the task), but it further distances Perry from the character he's supposed to be playing and the source material in which said character originated.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Rowsdower

[FormerMod-a1]

I am liking this more each episode, but I agree that Matthew Perry and/or Oscar seem to be the weak link.  It's not that I see Chandler or expect Chandler, I loved Go On and didn't see Chandler in that character.  However, I am not seeing Oscar either.  I agree that he doesn't seem like a fully formed character, more like an actor reading lines.  I like MP, and aside from this I am enjoying the show, so I hope between the writing for Oscar and the acting that he settles into the role better.

[jelaine]

I did like the scene at the roller rink.  It really felt like Oscar was a real character instead of horndog joke machine.  I think they could make this work if they focused on 1) characters instead of jokes and 2) the friendship between Felix and Oscar.  Yeah, they are about as opposite as you can get, but I'm willing to buy them as friends if they'd just give me something to work with.

[BW Manilowe]

This show must be working, on some level, with a lot of people. The (not-yet-final, non-adjusted) ratings for this episode were:

12.4 Million Viewers

3.0 in the (Coveted) 18-49 Demo

10 Share of the Audience

And they were *up* from last week's ep.

Figures available through multiple sources which report Nielsen ratings.

Edited March 6, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[opus]

This show must be working, on some level, with a lot of people. The (not-yet-final, non-adjusted) ratings for this episode were:

12.4 Million Viewers

3.0 in the (Coveted) 18-49 Demo

10 Share of the Audience

And they were *up* from last week's ep.

Figures available through multiple sources which report Nielsen ratings.

It has a strong lead-in, which still matters.

[Pete Martell]

All I keep thinking is if this is the first Matthew Perry show since Friends to get a second season, how much of Perry is going to die inside.

[Rowsdower]

All I keep thinking is if this is the first Matthew Perry show since Friends to get a second season, how much of Perry is going to die inside.

 

Given that this is a pet project that he pitched on and off for years, such a reaction seems unlikely.

[Pete Martell]

I thought that too, but everything about his work here seems like phoning in and odd misery. I can't imagine this was his first or second or third or fourth or fifth choice.

[DeLurker]

The only cast members working for me are Felix and Dani/Yvette Nicole Brown but the problems are both with the acting and the writing.

The bird joke didn't bother me and it got a groan-chuckle.

[SmithW6079]

The bird gag was the only time I laughed, because it was a sight gag, the bird was not harmed, and besides, caged birds are dirty, filthy things.

Chandler Madison is just not working for me. I think I would watch Felix, the brunette Pigeon sister and the friends, but not Oscar Bing.

[AstaCharles]

And I thought this episode was really funny.  I laughed out loud several times.  I love silly gags like the bird one.

I enjoyed it too. The part where I laughed at the bird joke was Dave Foley's bit " Hope is gone". It was a great delivery. I also laughed when Perry fell at the rink.

[karenc3]

I thought this episode had some good moments.   It is beginning to remind me more of Fraiser than the Odd Couple, and I know it has some of the same writers.  I think there was even a bird scene in Frasier. 

[Kromm]

I thought this episode had some good moments.   It is beginning to remind me more of Fraiser than the Odd Couple, and I know it has some of the same writers.  I think there was even a bird scene in Frasier.

A search shows they had an episode called "To Kill A Talking Bird". Hmmm. Sounds like they like Bird humor, those Frasier writers.

Ah... I just saw a clip of it. A bird lands on Niles' head and there's a whole bunch of humor over how to get the bird OFF his head.I'd embed the clip here, but it's a full episode (a no-no) and it's also ridiculously sped up (obviously so that YouTube won't detect it and delete it). But here's a still.

 

[Ailianna]

Niles actually had that bird as a pet and it was in several episodes, though none as prominently as this one.

[random chance]

They killed off the bird in the episode where Niles is trying to get back in his condo board's good graces. I think it was called To Kill a Talking Bird. The Frasier writers did other animal abuse humor too - I remember I quit watching it for awhile after they had Frasier talk about being mad enough to put a kitten through a fan or something like that. (It disturbed me enough that I don't want to remember or look up the exact quote.)

[henrysmom]

I wanted to like this show.  I really did.  But it just isn't working for me.

 

For me the biggest problem is I just don't see any friendship between Oscar and Felix.  Why on earth are these two guys living together?  Has Felix no other friends?  Can't he afford a place on his own?  It just makes no sense that he is living with a guy who really doesn't seem to like him all that much.  I know in the commentaries of the 1960s version, Jack Klugman talked about that and he said he would often specifically ask for a scene where it showed that version of Oscar and Felix did have a bond, which made Oscar and Felix's friendship believable, even if they were clearly exasperated with each other at times.  And Klugman and Randall really had chemistry, something Lennon and Perry just don't have.  I love them both individually, but together they just don't gel.

 

Like others, I was a little perplexed about Casey's behavior in this episode.  So she is SO impressed that Oscar is throwing this party for his friend, them takes him away from the party about ten seconds after Felix arrives?  And the next time we see them they are in bed, even though she's never seemed to be more than idly interested in Oscar before?  Just clumsy plot devices.

 

The bird?  Just sick.  I don't think the bird lived--I just saw loose feathers in the air, not a flapping bird.  It didn't strike me as funny at all.  

 

I think the biggest problem with the show is that so much is tossed into an episode that nothing or nobody is given time to be funny. In this episode, we have a bunch of plots going on.  Oscar and Casey's romance.  The surprise party.  Felix's love of vacuums. The vacuum sucking up the bird. Emily's crush on Felix.  Felix's love for his ex-wife.  The skating rink story.  If they'd tossed the Casey stuff out at least the focus would have been on the party.  As the episode stands it is more like ten little mini episodes, not one coherent episode.

 

And then the abundance of characters.  Two stars and five really, really good supporting actors.  Well, I'm not too impressed by the Casey character but that kind of role is thankless so the actress is doing what she can with it.  But I think the show might work better if Dave Foley was given more time to show off what he can do.  Ditto Yvette Nicole Brown, Lindsay Sloane, and Wendell Pierce.  I'm kind of thinking of how Dave Foley's News Radio worked.  So many supporting characters on that show, but they streamlined their appearances so sometimes Vicki Lewis had a bigger part, sometimes Stephen Root did. Maybe if this show did something similar, showcasing Brown in one episode, Foley in another, it might be funnier.

Edited March 9, 2015 by henrysmom

[AstaCharles]

For me the biggest problem is I just don't see any friendship between Oscar and Felix.  Why on earth are these two guys living together?  Has Felix no other friends?  Can't he afford a place on his own?  It just makes no sense that he is living with a guy who really doesn't seem to like him all that much.

From what I got out of it, I don't think Felix makes a lot of money as a food photographer. I mean they could write it as he's so fussy that he's hard to work with. I've worked with artists who could churn stuff out and others who would take forever to finish one assignment. As for the friendship, I think he looked up to Oscar in college. I think in the pilot he mentioned Oscar looking out for him back then. That's what I get out of their relationship in this version.

[karenc3]

 

For me the biggest problem is I just don't see any friendship between Oscar and Felix.  Why on earth are these two guys living together?  Has Felix no other friends?  Can't he afford a place on his own?  It just makes no sense that he is living with a guy who really doesn't seem to like him all that much.

 

NYC apartments are very expensive, though.  So I could see him not being able to get his own apartment with the divorce impending, and if Oscar lived near where he worked, and just happened to have a room, he would live there, but this isn't spelled out on the show.  I agree, it seems like they hadn't been friends in years, because I don't think Oscar's newer friends knew him.   

[henrysmom]

I think my point was that I just don't buy Oscar and Felix as friends.  Which kind of interferes with the premise of the show, since why on earth would two people who seem to have no connection, no liking of each other, no shared interests or hobbies live together?  As roommates, sure, to save money or whatever.  But the premise of the show is that they are friends.  And I just don't see that they have any connection at all, except for whatever the script says.  

 

Compare it to the relationship between Chandler and Joey on Friends.  Two guys with nothing in common really, but there was something there, some chemistry between the actors which made the characters seem believable as friends and not just two guys who happened to live together.  I just don't see that between Oscar and Felix.

 

And to bring up the first version of the show, there was a chemistry between Klugman and Randall that was present from the first scene of the first episode.  And that was what made that show work.  Quite frankly, when I revisited the first show on DVD recently I was amazed at how lackluster most of the episodes were.  What carried it was the chemistry between Klugman and Randall.  

 

That is really why I don't have much hope for this version.  It has a lot going for it--the supporting cast is great, much better than the original version--but if the relationship between the two leads isn't strong I don't see it succeeding.

[karenc3]

I agree that they have to spend more time developing the relationship between Oscar and Felix in this version. I think they did have a bit the last show though. 

 

Is it saying something that instead of Oscar in that last sentence I almost said Chandler?  

[SmithW6079]

Is it saying something that instead of Oscar in that last sentence I almost said Chandler?

 

That's all I see when I watch Matthew Perry. And besides, he already did "The Odd Couple," but back then he was Felix (Chandler) to Joey's Oscar on "Friends."

[AstaCharles]

I think there are parts of Chandler that are closer to Oscar : the snark and the misery , and last week was the first time I saw a glimpse of Matthau because I thought Matthau's Oscar was mean. While the Lennon/Perry combo is working for me , I think the rest of the cast needs work. I'm not crazy about the sisters and the assistant is a bit bland. Nothing wrong with actress but I just kept thinking if they had to have one of them crushing on Felix , they could have made it the assistant since there's a reason for her to be around and we wouldn't to have to keep running into the sisters. And they gotta keep Foley.

ETA: forgot to add that I think Joey had Felix's enthusiasm and his touchy emotional behavior, I think that man turned to goo quite often on the show

Edited March 12, 2015 by AstaCharles

[karenc3]

I think there are parts of Chandler that are closer to Oscar : the snark and the misery , and last week was the first time I saw a glimpse of Matthau because I thought Matthau's Oscar was mean. 

ETA: forgot to add that I think Joey had Felix's enthusiasm and his touchy emotional behavior, I think that man turned to goo quite often on the show

 

I agree about the snark and misery being closer to Chandler, I never thought of Chandler as that much of a Felix like character.  But neither of them had the obsessive cleanliness or messiness like Oscar and Felix did at least in the original version.