Customer Reviews

The Odd Couple - The Second Season

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was fearful when i read that the episodes have been tampered with due to musical sequences. DO NOT WORRY! The episodes are AS COMPLETE as when they first ran on network television back in 70- 71 season. They are hilarious as ever. Worth every cent. Took a long time to see this show on dvd, and well worth the wait. Although there are no xtras on the disc. IT doesn't matter, we have all the xtras we need on season 1. Buy them both, you won't regret it. PERFECT PICTURE and SOUND! BRAVO PARAMOUNT!

Season Two (1971)
1 Natural Childbirth (17-Sep-1971)
2 Felix's Wife's Boyfriend (24-Sep-1971)
3 Hospital Mates (1-Oct-1971)
4 Sleepwalker (8-Oct-1971)
5 A Grave for Felix (15-Oct-1971)
6 Murray the Fink (29-Oct-1971)
7 Does Your Mother Know You're Out(5-Nov-71)
8 The Fat Farm (12-Nov-1971)
9 The Odd Couple Meet Their Host 19-Nov-71)
10 Win One for Felix (3-Dec-1971)
11 Never Having to Say I Do(10-Dec-71)
12 Surprise, Surprise! (17-Dec-1971)
13 Felix the Calypso Singer (24-Dec-1971)
14 And Leave the Greyhound to Us?(31-Dec-71)
15 Security Arms (7-Jan-1972)
16 Speak for Yourself (14-Jan-1972)
17 You Saved My Life (21-Jan-1972)
18 Where's Grandpa (28-Jan-1972)
19 Partner's Investment (4-Feb-1972)
20 Good, Bad Boy (11-Feb-1972)
21 A Night to Dismember (18-Feb-1972)
22 Oscar's Promotion (25-Feb-1972)
23 Psychic, Shmycic (3-Mar-1972)

Part of popular culture; fastidious Felix and the slouch Oscar...Tony (real first name Leonard, just like his son's name on the show) Randall & Jack Klugman starring. The second season of The Odd Couple is the first with a completely new set. (The first season, utilized a set not much different, if at all, from the film version of The Odd Couple starring Walter Matthau & Jack Lemmon.)I'm sure opinion varies as to whether one prefers this period of the show, with the new slicker, brighter (seemingly more vibrant---technically speaking) modern set, versus the original set. But both versions (so to speak) are enjoyable, of course. So enjoy, as the Odd Couple is most assuredly a classic sitcom with most memorable characters and able writing. Cheers

Of course The Odd Couple is a terriffic sitcom, and the live studio audience setup (which was used from season two onward) makes the dynamics of the comedy even better than in season one. Great actors, great scripts... what else does a sitcom really need?

I've been recording these episodes off TV onto VHS, Super VHS and DVD-RAM for almost 20 years in search of the highest-possible picture quality, and I have never seen the show look or sound as good as it does here. The uncut episodes also yield footage I've never seen. The film transfer is absolutely gorgeous- deep blacks, clean whites, good shadow detail, rich colors, and very fine film grain. I've been watching this upsampled by my blu-ray player to 1080i on a Sony 46" LCD monitor, and even when viewed this large I can find no significant flaws. There are no extras in this set, but frankly I don't care. CBS/Paramount has done an absolutely beautiful job bringing this classic show into the digital age and there are plenty of extras on the season one set if you want them. Highly recommended.

The Odd Couple is my favorite sit-com of all time. And the DVD release of Season 1 was pretty much perfect. Season 2 is where The Odd Couple really hit its stride, and I (and I believe most fans) greatly prefer Seasons 2-5, which were filmed before a live audience.

Unfortunately it's been reported that the packaging for Season 2 of The Odd Couple warns of music alterations. The company that's releasing this (Paramount) has received huge criticism from fans of Happy Days for the music cuts to the DVD sets of that show (also from Odd Couple producer Garry Marshall). This season includes the episode where Felix's opera group puts on Rigoletto, so fear the worst, and I know that I won't pre-order until I see some reviews after the release. I haven't seen this show in decades but I recall that Felix sang frequently in the show's "live" years, so if the pattern from Happy Days is followed, there's a good chance there will be some true damage to this brilliant show. I dread seeing what they'll do in later seasons: Will the episodes with Felix and the Sophisticados get hacked to bits? What about "Happy and Peppy and Bursting with Love"? Or the Paul Williams episode (with Felix's Beatles quote, which will also be in jeopardy)? Or "Laugh, Clown, Laugh"? The music is key to those episodes.

Five stars for The Odd Couple, but altered content definitely diminshes this set.

Despite what has been reported I have so far found one episode where music was changed. The episode "Speak For Yourself" tells about how Felix & Gloria met and how Felix proposed to Gloria. As originally broadcast the song "Just One More Chance" was central to this episode as it is Felix and Gloria's song. On the DVD except for a few notes at the beginning of the episode it has been replaced by a generic instrumental song. When Felix has Oscar propose for him he puts on a record of "Their Song" but once again the generic instrumental is heard. This is really disturbing because this song was central to the episode and it was changed on the DVD. So far all the episodes I have watched have been unedited but there has been music replaced.

Update. The Episode "Good Bad Boy" also has music changed. At the end of the show Felix dances with his daughter. As originally broadcast they dance to the song "Moon River". On the DVD generic music is heard instead.

While the box has the edit and music replacement warning, don't panic. I'm in the process of reviewing The Odd Couple Season 2 for Insidepulse. Every episode is between 25 minutes and 20 to 35 seconds. We're not being given slashed episode. In the Odd Couple Meet Their Host, Felix belts out all the themes to the old radio shows. Rigetto has all the opera tunes and the popular tune at the end. This is not WKRP as far as I can tell. If you want the show - please buy it.

Reviewers have already mentioned that the songs used in the episodes are intact in this series, so I won't mention it again. Oops, I just did.

Anyhoo, the transfer quality is top notch. After watching this series for so many years on Channel 11 in New York and occasionally on TV Land, it's wonderful to see the rich vibrant colors of the 70's on the dvd. My senses are so alive! Example, watching the "Golden Earrings" episode last night, I noticed for the first time how beautiful the greyhound was. What a nice doggie!

Also, even the hardest of hardcore OC fans will find scenes they never saw before. All the scenes WPIX, TV Land, and syndication edited out are back in. Each edited scene is like a wonderful little nugget of discovery as you watch these episodes again.

Gratzi! Mille Gratzi Paramount! It took you long enough, but hopefully sales will show that the demand for this DVD series is a long time coming.

A one camera setup was used in the first season of The Odd Couple, and the look of the episodes shot inside the New York apartment set was tight, almost claustrophobic at times. Stars Tony Randall and Jack Klugman felt the setup cramped their style and retarded their creativity. For the second season, the program was filmed on an entirely new set, before a live audience, using three cameras. As a result, The Odd Couple was a wide open look and feel, with smooth transitional shots now possible. It is a huge improvement, and the two stars display new energy in their performances, taking their comedy to a higher and more physical level. In one episode, Oscar is showing Felix how to play football, and a nimble Randall leapfrogs over Klugman while he is down in a football stance. Another time Felix does a headstand, then kips up on a desk, finishing with flurry of pushups in an impressive display of physical fitness. Oscar isn't as physically active, but when properly motivated, you can find him running around the living room exercising a greyhound.

While much activity is still centered around apartment life, the boys get out and about town too. The circle of characters really opens up to more than just the boys over for a poker game. With Felix's ex-wife Gloria (Janice Hansen), and Oscar's ex-wife Blanche (Brett Sommers), both being featured prominently in various episodes. Dr. Nancy Cunningham (Joan Hotchkis) is Oscar's steady girlfriend, and Al Molinaro is back as Murray the cop. For this season, Pamlyn Ferdin is Felix's daughter Edna, and Penny Marshall makes her first appearance as Oscar's Secretary Myrna.

Notable guest stars include Pat Morita, John Fiedler, Joan Van Ark, Vito Scotti, and Hal Smith. The eclectic parade of celebrity guest stars that would become an Odd Couple trademark begins with the likes of opera singer Richard Fredericks, and comedian David Steinberg.

Highlights include `The Fat Farm', where the guys head to a retreat to lose weight, `Security Arms', where they move into a high-security building, and `Partner's Investment' which features Felix and Oscar toiling in a Japanese restaurant.

This is a great season, rich with diversity and expansive character development. There is a lot going on. The plots have moved beyond early clichés, like Felix's bad back going out, and Oscar's frequent threats to kick Felix out on the street. From here, the stage is set for even better things to come. The only downside is that unlike the Season One set, which had a bonus disc and various commentary tracks, Season Two has absolutely no extras.

The First season has a few gems but it was in Season 2 that The Odd Couple really took off. These episodes are absolute classics and I'm loving every minute of it. The fat farm scene has had me in stitches since the 70's. "Are you gonna eat your desert". There are so many memorable lines in these episodes. Couldn't be happier that this is finally available on DVD.

First of all I have to say thank you Paramount for not taking too long to realize that The Odd Couple was worthy of being released on dvd from their original studio, and you did not take forever to release Season 2!!!

Needless to say these episodes were like candy and I ate up every last one in less than a week!!! My all-time favorites were Fat Farm, A night to dismember ( a very funny guest appearance by Joan Van Ark), The Greyhound Golden Earrings, and Security Arms. The chemistry was pure magic the way Oscar would play off of the insanity of Felix. Oh, and how could I forget to mention the episode Hospital Mates.

I loved this show so much that I would even sit through the opening before every episode, because it cracks me up the way the narrator would talk and see Felix's face as he's being thrown out the door, only to turn back and have his wife's hand sticking out to give him a frying pan! REQUESTING THAT HE NEVER RETURN!!! Well, I hope us diehard fans won't have to wait in vain for Season 3!!!