Rank: 3/5
Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon, who played best friends Oscar and Felix in the first season of “The Odd Couple,” team up once more for another season of oddball jokes and adventures.
Before the end of the first season, the series was renewed for a second with 13 episodes, which premiered April 7. The show is part of CBS’ Thursday night lineup.
This is the sixth screen production based on Neil Simon’s 1965 play of the same name and serves as a reboot of the original TV series, which premiered in 1970.
Oscar and Felix, both divorcees, share an apartment and attempt to get along, despite their differences. Their lifestyles are often incompatible, leading to the two requirements of a sitcom — conflict and comedy.
In the first episode, the duo finds a new hobby in eavesdropping. The couple living above them, Frank and Linda, constantly bicker over their marital troubles. These disagreements serve as entertainment for the odd couple throughout the duration of the episode.
They even go as far as preparing snacks and signature cocktails for the ever-frequent showings of what they’ve dubbed the “Frank and Linda Show.”
Felix runs into Linda in their building’s laundry room and hoping to remedy the couple’s issues, offers her some advice. Comparing relationships to laundry, he imparts wisdom— and many metaphors— on an unsuspecting Linda, without revealing his eavesdropping.
Linda, however, misinterprets his advice and tells Frank she’s leaving him. Rather than putting their marriage back together, Felix ends up tearing them apart.
Oscar, hoping to reverse Felix’s meddling, meets Frank in the building’s gym. Like Felix, he offers his own advice. Using gym metaphors, he compares spouses to spotters and without revealing his snooping, seems to urge Frank to reconsider his mangled relationship with Linda.
Frank and Linda agree to work things out but the odd couple’s plan backfires as Frank and Linda soon come to the realization that they’ve been spied on and manipulated.
The show, while entertaining, is a cookie cutter sitcom. The problems are over exaggerated, the jokes are cheesy and the characters are too dramatic.
However, Perry and Lennon have clear chemistry, which makes the show’s predictable jokes easier to tolerate. The supporting cast is also strong, made up of Yvette Nicole Brown, Lindsay Sloane and Wendell Pierce— Oscar’s assistant, Felix’s girlfriend and Oscar’s agent, respectively.
The season two premiere had 7.63 million viewers, which bodes well for the remainder of the season, despite its monotonous and clichéd qualities.