"The Odd Couple" Pilot (TV Episode 2015) Poster

(TV Series)

(2015)

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6/10
A solid start
studioAT26 August 2017
After three slightly off centre shows (Studio 60, Mr Sunshine, Go On) didn't get beyond their first series, Matthew Perry in his own words decided to "give audiences what they want" and therefore tried to return to TV again in this re-imagining of Neil Simon's classic play 'The Odd Couple'.

This pilot is good fun, though the first few scenes are a bit laboured. There was lots of negative comments about Perry's performance at the time, but I thought he was good here as sloppy Oscar (perhaps people expected him to be Felix who is closer to 'Chandler'), though hugely outshone by Thomas Lennon as Felix.

There's some nice usage of classic lines from the original play, and although the supporting cast don't get much of a look in (though it's always lovely to see Lindsay Sloane)this pilot at least displayed that the show had potential.
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1/10
Just a lot of joke spewing
salduccis25 February 2015
Matthew seemed too eager and excited to spit out each and every line in a loud, excited fashion... With no pauses or normal intonation.... Just didn't seem natural. I get it is a sitcom, but the characters have to t least be believable as people. There just wasn't conversation, just one liners. Very forced and fast paced. In real life, people respond after hearing and processing what someone said. The actors seemed like amateurs, just spewing their lines as fast as the another completes one. I am hopeful as a Matthew Perry fan, but he needs to "be" the character and really believe he talking to the other characters. I was very distracted by the poor acting and writing that I missed an overall story line. The writings need to vamp up the comedy to a more global level and not just entertain wit a bunch of over-acted one liners. Think deeper, and you can create great humor.
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1/10
Lame humor, annoying sitcom cliches.
travinitrav15 January 2021
Show is best viewed as a demonstration of tv sitcom laziness. The jokes are simple as is the plot. The characters are all annoying caricatures. Pilot episode doesnt have the heart or soul of the original series or movie. Good actors given bad lines just means a bad production. They cant save it. And the laugh track does not help anything. Both of the leads have been in much better television. Its sad they ended up here.
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5/10
Been There Done That
eti5520 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This latest version of Neil Simon's classic isn't ALL bad. Matthew Perry is OK portraying Oscar as kind of a Chandler/Oscar hybrid (there's some Chandler in pretty much everything he does, alas), and Thomas Lennon does a credible Felix, playing everyone's favorite neat freak pretty close to Tony Randall's rendition. That's one problem..he's TOO close to Randall (including the bad sinuses). Reboots are most interesting when they do something DIFFERENT with the characters. Otherwise, you get what you get here: an idea that's been done before and done better. There are a couple of new angles, but it's pretty much the same premise. Oscar's a slob living by himself after getting kicked out by his wife, his college friend Felix shows up at his door after his wife throws him out, the two are polar opposites, etc. etc. Instead of being a sportswriter, Oscar is a sports/talk host, which actually makes sense. We also get introduced to Oscar's co workers, friends and neighbors, which is also a bit awkward..there were too many characters introduced too soon. The writing is so-so..a few jokes hit the mark, but most fall flat. When you put it all together, everything just seems forced..like everyone involved is trying too hard. If things don't measurably improve, don't expect this show to last more than half a season.
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