Guess who’s Odd Couple’s new Oscar?
Ottawa-raised Perry stars in latest reboot of much-loved 1970s hit show
The Odd Couple Debuts Thursday, Feb. 19 on CTV/CBS
In TV, there’s no greater way to find programming ideas than to follow the three Rs: Reboot, remake and recycle.
And 2015 seems a prime time to play the imitation game — new versions of All in the Family, The X-Files, Bewitched, The Greatest American Hero, Married ... With Children and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father are all in the works.
On Thursday, another new show inspired by an old show debuts. Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon star in The Odd Couple, based on the 1970s series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, which in turn was based on the 1965 Neil Simon play starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. (Numerous other versions, including an allfemale one, have also mined the premise.)
Perry pulls double duty on the series, acting as an executive producer and starring as the slob of the twosome, recently divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison.
Perry’s Oscar works from home in his underwear, has a wall covered in televisions and employs an assistant played by Yvette Nicole Brown of Community.
As if hammering home his inherent slovenliness, Oscar sniffs an old hoagie sandwich he finds in his apartment, bites it and tosses the remainder on a nearby chair, cueing “ewwws!” and giggles from the over-enthusiastic audience.
Indeed, as Felix remarks, he’s “so lazy his idea of multitasking is peeing in the shower.”
There’s an underlying sense of frustration about Oscar, and Friends fans will recognize the deadpan delivery, sarcasm and occasional wild gesturing of Perry’s character Chandler Bing.
It’s fitting, since The Odd Couple is Perry’s first headlining TV project since Friends that goes for a broadly comedic, three-camera format. (May you rest in peace, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mr. Sunshine and Go On.)
Lennon’s persnickety Felix, on the other hand, cooks vegan food, does yoga and plays cello.
No, he’s not gay, as Oscar’s friends assume, seemingly unaware of the narrow stereotype they’re employing. Lennon commits to the character, mugging with aplomb and even striking a gravity-defying pose near the episode’s end.
Lennon and Perry have an easy chemistry — the two starred together in the 2009 film 17 Again, after all — and it counteracts some of the heavier-landing lines, like one describing Oscar’s messy apartment: “Wow, so this is where the garbage chute goes.”
In fact, the best line in the pilot is taken from the original play and involves Felix’s initials: F.U. (Perry acknowledged as much in a recent appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.)
The Odd Couple isn’t the type of boundary-pushing programming that defines the current Golden Era of TV, but it does find a good comedic rhythm.
The show is also a good fit for CBS, since it borrows a lot of the mismatched-pair humour of the network’s 2 Broke Girls, now in its fourth season. Plus, CBS has had a lot of luck with reboots — Hawaii Five-0 is a consistent ratings grabber, as is the Sherlock Holmes-inspired drama Elementary.
There’s enough here that fans of the 1970s series will be intrigued by this updated Odd Couple, with its familiar jaunty theme song and retro-infused opening graphics.
The Kids in the Hall alumnus Dave Foley, in the rinse cycle now that Canadian sitcom Spun Out is on hiatus, also makes an appearance.
The Odd Couple could find an even keel in future episodes, and CBS is likely to give it an ample shot since the network’s Two and a Half Men and The Mentalist are signing off for good this week.
But even if it doesn’t succeed, there’s always another classic TV show waiting for an enterprising network executive to try, try it again.