CBS’ new take on The Odd Couple premieres tonight at 8:30, interestingly, on the same night the last CBS attempt at remaking The Odd Couple is ending.
Sure, Two and a Half Men wasn’t a direct copy of the classic Felix and Oscar story, but without Felix and Oscar, we may not have ever had Alan and Charlie (or Walden).
Unfortunately, Two and a Half Men also had something The Odd Couple didn’t: It felt like something we hadn’t seen before. The cast of the new series – including Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon, and Yvette Nicole Brown – don’t feel miscast in any way, but there seems to be a zing or a twist lacking, and instead, The Odd Couple comes off more as generic than anything else. It’s not offensive, but it’s also not exciting.
Hopefully, this is a course that will be corrected in the coming weeks, as there have been other shows that weren’t huge hits right out of the gate. But, in this day and age where TV audiences aren’t patient – and a lot of people will be sampling tonight – I admit, with the new Odd Couple I was hoping for something more. (I did, however, laugh when it was pointed out what Felix Unger’s initials are – something I never caught before, for whatever reason)
What does the new Odd Couple need? I’m really not sure. I know that it can be a disaster when a formula is messed around with too much, but as things stand, I don’t feel anything special out of it, and with the talent involved here, there really should be something special.
I’ll check in again, but for now, I’m not really feeling it. Maybe my heart’s still with the original TV series take, where Jack Klugman and Tony Randall were these huge icons bringing us comedy like I’d imagine TV audiences had not seen yet in the 70’s… but today’s audience has seen it. I will be really happy if they redo the title sequence though, not gonna lie. But a great opening sequence is only half the battle.
The Odd Couple premieres tonight on CBS.
