The Odd Couple
1970 - 1975
Oscar and Felix are two divorced men who find themselves sharing an apartment, even though they're complete opposites. Felix is an uptight neat freak who's allergic to everything, and Oscar is a laid back slob who lives to pick up chicks. Based on the play/movie by Neil Simon.
- Stars: Jack Klugman, Tony Randall
- Created by: Garry Marshall, Jerry Belson
- Tags: adaptation, roommates
Where to Watch :
Episode Tropes
Season 1
- Raging Bull*&@!: Episode 2, "The Fight of the Felix" (1970). When a hockey player slugs Oscar, Felix confronts him and challenges him to a boxing match.
- Inappropriate Violins: Episode 3, "Felix Gets Sick" (1970). While Oscar is on a date in a fancy restaurant, Felix shows up to give Oscar's date an emergency phone message that prompts her to leave immediately. As Felix and Oscar are sitting alone at the table, two violinists start playing romantic music.
- 12 Angry Men: Episode 4, "The Jury Story" (1970). Oscar and Felix tell the story of how they met while on jury duty.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters: Episode 9, "The Big Brothers" (1970). Felix signs up to be a Big Brother, but his Little Brother prefers Oscar.
- Who Brings a Dog to a Leg Funeral?: Episode 10, "It's All Over Now, Baby Bird" (1970). Felix's pet parrot, Albert, appears to have passed away, and Felix and Oscar don't know what to do with his body. When they try to bury Albert in Central Park, a police officer stops them and tells them to go to a pet cemetery, where the owner talks them into buying a deluxe funeral and burial package.
- A Christmas Carol: Episode 14, "Scrooge Gets an Oscar" (1970). Oscar hates Christmas because he and Blanche got married on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, Felix and the gang are planning a children's play for charity, and they think Oscar would make the perfect Scrooge, but he refuses to have anything to do with it. When Oscar falls asleep watching A Christmas Carol on TV, he has a nightmare where he really is Scrooge.
- Sad Singing Telegram: Episode 14, "Scrooge Gets an Oscar" (1970). Oscar's ex-wife, Blanche, sends him a singing telegram to remind him that his alimony payment is past due.
- Seen the Doctor: Episode 16, "Lovers Don't Make House Calls" (1971). Felix is sick, and his usual doctor isn't available, so an attractive female doctor substitutes for him, and Oscar falls for her right away. He wants to ask her out, but he can't get in touch with her, so he pretends to be sick and makes an appointment with her.
- Cherish the Cabin: Episode 18, "Bunny is Missing Down by the Lake" (1971). Oscar's co-worker has a cabin up the mountains that he's letting Oscar use for the weekend. When Felix gets upset because his ex-wife is seeing someone, Oscar insists he come to the cabin with him.
- Take Good Care of My Baby: Episode 19, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" (1971). After a photo shoot, Felix discovers a baby in his studio.
- Found Money: Episode 20, "A Taste of Money" (1971). Phillip, a boy in the building, suddenly seems to have a lot of money. At first, he tells Oscar and Felix he robbed a bank, but eventually he confesses that he found $2,000 in a trash can. So Oscar and Felix set out to find the money's rightful owners.
- I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 22, "What Makes Felix Run" (1971). Felix has a flashback to his childhood in which Tony Randall plays Felix's grandfather.
- Trapped: Episode 24, "Trapped" (1971). Oscar forgets about Gloria's women's group's Halloween party and has to find a costume at the last minute, so Felix suggests a suit of armor he saw in the basement of their apartment building. Before they leave for the party, Oscar, Felix, and Nancy go down to the basement to find the suit of armor and accidentally get locked in.
Season 2
- Lamaze Class: Episode 1, "Natural Childbirth" (1971). Oscar's pregnant niece is staying with him and Felix, and she insists on having her baby in a hotel room in the Bronx. When Oscar forbids her from having the baby her way, she disappears and turns up in a Lamaze class.
- Surprise Delivery: Episode 1, "Natural Childbirth" (1971). Oscar's pregnant niece suddenly goes into labor in his and Felix's apartment during a blizzard, and they can't get her to the hospital, so she has to give birth there.
- Little Black Book: Episode 2, "Felix's Wife's Boyfriend" (1971). Nancy's single brother is in town and looking for a date, so Oscar calls all the women in his little black book, but no one's available.
- Sneaking Around: Episode 2, "Felix's Wife's Boyfriend" (1971). Felix sneaks into Gloria's house to try to win her back from another man, and Oscar follows him there to stop him. When Gloria arrives home, they hide behind the bar while she has a conversation with her date.
- Under the Knife: Episode 3, "Hospital Mates" (1971). Felix is afraid to get an operation on his deviated septum, but when Oscar accidentally severs his Achilles tendon and has to have surgery too, Felix feels better with his best friend in the hospital with him.
- Misspent Money: Episode 5, "A Grave for Felix" (1971). Felix has to rush off to a photo shoot on the day he's supposed to make a deposit on his cemetery plot, so he gives Oscar the money to deposit for him, but Oscar gets a hot tip on a horse race and bets the money instead, thinking he'll win the money back (he doesn't).
- See You in Court: Episode 6, "Murray the Fink" (1971). Murray wants to prove he's a good cop, so he arrests the whole gang for playing poker. Oscar contests the charges in court, but Felix wants to support Murray, so he argues against Oscar.
- Learn While You Sleep: Episode 7, "Does Your Mother Know You're Out, Rigoletto?" (1971). When opera-singer Richard Fredericks breaks his leg playing baseball with Oscar, Felix makes Oscar lip sync to Rigoletto while Richard sings. To help Oscar learn his lines, Felix plays a tape of Rigoletto in Oscar's bedroom while he's asleep. He claims this method has been "proven scientifically with rats."
- Fatty: Episode 8, "Fat Farm" (1971). Felix keeps prodding Oscar about being out of shape, and he insists Oscar join him for a stay at his "health farm," where they're both put on ridiculously strict diets and excessive exercise regimens.
- Big Mouth: Episode 9, "The Odd Couple Meet Their Host" (1971). Felix helps Oscar get on the David Steinberg Show, and Oscar is so nervous he can barely speak. He only loosens up when he starts talking about Felix. Soon he has the audience in stitches at all of Felix's annoying habits.
- Sham Wedding: Episode 11, "Being Divorced is Never Having to Say I Do" (1971). Oscar's ex-wife, Blanche, is getting re-married, but she seems less than enthused about her husband-to-be. After some prodding, she confesses to Felix that she doesn't really love her fiancé and is marrying him because she just wants to be married, so Felix is determined to stop the wedding.
- Vacation from Hell: Episode 13, "Felix, the Calypso Singer" (1971). Nancy gets an emergency call and can't go on vacation with Oscar, so he invites Felix. When they arrive on the tropical island, Nancy manages to get away after all, and Oscar spends the week ignoring Felix.
- We Were Robbed: Episode 15, "Security Arms" (1972). Oscar and Felix's apartment gets robbed, prompting Felix to look for a more secure place to live.
- Security Arms: Episode 15, "Security Arms" (1972). After their apartment gets robbed, Felix insists that he and Oscar move to a building that's so secure that no one can get in or out of their apartment.
- You Saved My Life: Episode 17, "You Saved My Life" (1972). When Felix tries to clean the outside of a window and ends up hanging from it, Oscar saves his life, and Felix worships the ground he walks on so much that Felix gets annoyed.
- I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 18, "Where's Grandpa?" (1972). Tony Randall plays Felix's grandfather, who comes to stay with Oscar while Felix is on vacation.
- Jumper: Episode 18, "Where's Grandpa?" (1972). Felix's grandfather is devastated because his wife left him, and he goes out on the ledge of the building to jump but gets scared and freezes instead.
- Two Sides of the Story: Episode 21, "A Night to Dismember" (1972). Oscar and Blanche recall the night they decided to get divorced in two completely different ways. Then Felix tells his version, and they realize it was all his fault.
- Suddenly Psychic: Episode 23, "Psychic, Shmychic" (1972). Felix starts making predictions that come true, and Oscar convinces him he's psychic.
Season 3
- Electric Dreams: Episode 1, "Gloria, Hallelujah" (1972). Myrna tells Oscar about a computer dating service she's been using, and he decides to try it.
- Going My Way: Episode 5, "The Odd Monks" (1972). Oscar and Felix decide to become monks to get away from the stresses of their daily lives.
- Don't Speak: Episode 5, "The Odd Monks" (1972). After joining a monastery, Oscar and Felix have to remain silent for 24 hours as penance for gambling and finking respectively.
- Cherish the Cabin: Episode 6, "I'm Dying of Unger" (1972).Oscar is having trouble getting started writing his book, so Murray suggests he spend some time in his cabin in the woods.
- Stranded: Episode 6, "I'm Dying of Unger" (1972). Oscar and Felix get stranded in Murray's cabin in the woods with no supplies, and the local store has been closed for decades.
- Lie for Me: Episode 7, "The Odd Couples" (1972). Oscar's mom is coming to visit, and Oscar reveals to Felix that he never told her he and Blanche were divorced, and he told her that Felix and Gloria got re-married. While his mom is staying in their apartment, Oscar insists they all pretend that both couples are still together to spare her the stress.
- Unwanted Surprise Party: Episode 10, "Oscar's Birthday" (1972). Felix plans a surprise birthday party for Oscar, even though Oscar explicitly tells him he hates surprise parties.
- This is Your Life: Episode 10, "Oscar's Birthday" (1972). Felix calls Oscar's mother to get information about Oscar's past so he can put on a This is Your Life show for his birthday.
- Role Reversal: Episode 15, "I Gotta Be Me" (1973). Oscar and Felix can't stop arguing, so they go to group therapy, and the doctor suggests they try role reversal. They spend a whole dinner party pretending to be each other.
- Tax Audit: Episode 16, "The Ides of April" (1973). Felix is flustered when he's summoned to the local IRS office to discuss his tax return, and he accidentally tells the agent about how sloppily Oscar files his taxes, which leads to Oscar being audited.
- Little Black Book: Episode 19, "My Strife in Court" (1973). Oscar has four tickets to a Broadway show. He invites Felix and Miriam to go with him, but he still has to find a date, so he calls some numbers in his little black book.
- Ticket Scalping: Episode 19, "My Strife in Court" (1973). When Felix tries to ask a woman to be Oscar's date to a play, the woman thinks he's trying to scalp a ticket and gets him and Oscar arrested.
- False Arrest: Episode 19, "My Strife in Court" (1973). Oscar and Felix are arrested for ticket scalping when Felix tries to invite a woman to be Oscar's date for a play.
- See You in Court: Episode 19, "My Strife in Court" (1973). When Oscar and Felix are falsely arrested for ticket scalping, Felix insists on representing them at the hearing, and his courtroom theatrics almost make them lose their case.
- Game Show: Episode 20, "Let's Make a Deal" (1973). After Oscar accidentally burns Felix's bed, Oscar talks to his friend, Monty Hall, to try to get him and Felix on Let's Make a Deal so they can win enough money to replace it, but Monty says he's not allowed to have his friends on the show, so Oscar and Felix sneak into the audience in a horse costume.
- My Big Fat Greek Episode: Episode 21, "The Odyssey Couple" (1973). When Oscar's mother prods him about finding "a nice girl," Oscar lies and tells her he has a girlfriend, so he has to scramble to find a date. Felix offers to set him up with a Greek woman named Helen, but first Oscar has to get to know her entire family.
- Mi Casa Es Su Casa: Episode 23, "The Murray Who Came to Dinner" (1973). Murray's wife throws him out, and Felix insists he stay with him and Oscar, even though Murray is happy to stay at a hotel instead.
Season 4
- Billy Elliot: Episode 2, "Last Tango in Newark" (1973). Oscar's muscles are stiff and cramped from playing football, so Felix convinces him to take a ballet appreciation class with him to get in shape.
- Vacation from Hell: Episode 5, "The Odd Holiday" (1973). Felix and Oscar tell Murray the story of the time they went on vacation together with their wives. The trip was such a disaster that it led to Felix and Gloria's divorce.
- Between Friends: Episode 6, "The New Car" (1973). Oscar wins a car in a radio trivia contest, but since Felix gave him the answers, they agree to share it.
- Accidental Porno: Episode 9, "Felix Directs" (1973). Felix wants to make a movie about Oscar, and Oscar introduces him to a filmmaker friend of his, who wants to combine it with a movie he's making about a "Swedish stewardess." They start shooting the film at Oscar and Felix's apartment, and it quickly becomes evident that it's a porno.
- Maid to Order: Episode 11, "Maid for Each Other" (1973). Oscar's ulcer has taken a turn for the worse, so his doctor recommends he spend some time at home and hire someone to handle the cooking and cleaning for him, so Felix hires a maid who's a stern taskmaster.
- Séance: Episode 12, "The Exorcists" (1973). Felix has been hearing strange noises at night, and he thinks the air conditioner in their apartment is haunted by the ghost of its former tenant. He holds a séance with Murray, Miriam, and Myrna to try to cast the ghost out.
- Moonlighting: Episode 14, "The Moonlighter" (1974). When Felix gives Oscar money to get Yankees season tickets for his big client, Oscar loses it on a horse instead. To pay Felix back, Oscar works the night shift as a short-order cook at a greasy spoon, and it leaves him constantly exhausted.
- I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 15, "Cleanliness is Next to Impossible" (1974). Jack Klugman plays Oscar's father in a flashback with his son, Adam Klugman, playing young Oscar.
- Fear of Flying: Episode 16, "The Flying Felix" (1974). All of a sudden Felix is afraid to get on an airplane, and Oscar makes it his mission to help him get over his fear so he can get to a big photography job.
- Insomnia: Episode 20, "The Insomniacs" (1974). Felix can't sleep, and his insomnia is keeping Oscar awake.
- Neighborhood Watch: Episode 21, "New York's Oddest" (1974). Felix is upset by the apparent indifference of New Yorkers to people in danger, and Oscar agrees after he gets mugged, so they join the NYPD's "civilian patrol" to help keep the city safe.
Season 5
- My Fair Lady: Episode 1, "The Rain in Spain" (1974). Felix coaches Myrna in acting more ladylike in a misguided attempt to help her win back the man she loves, but he really loves her the way she is.
- Replacement Pet: Episode 3, "The Frog" (1974). Oscar and Felix think they lost Felix's son's trained frog ahead of a frog jumping contest, so they go to a pet store to get a replacement, but the replacement frog won't jump, so they end up knee-deep in a bog trying to catch one.
- The Hollywood Story: Episode 4, "The Hollywood Story" (1974). Oscar is going to LA to shoot a cameo in a movie, and Crazy Rhoda Zimmerman backs out of the trip at the last minute, so he reluctantly brings Felix with him.
- Dog Gone Blues: Episode 5, "The Dog Story" (1974). Felix steals a famous dog from its abusive owner. When the owner finds out, he takes Felix and Oscar to court to get his dog back.
- See You in Court: Episode 5, "The Dog Story" (1974). Felix steals a famous dog because his owner mistreats him, and Oscar helps him cover it up. When they get caught, Oscar pleads guilty and gets a fine, but Felix insists on going to trial and representing himself.
- Election: Episode 7, "The Odd Candidate" (1974). After Oscar writes an article condemning a city councilman who wants to tear down playgrounds, Felix gets Oscar nominated to run against him.
- I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 10, "Our Fathers" (1974). Jack Klugman and Tony Randall play Oscar's and Felix's fathers in a flashback story about how they happened to meet in Chicago during prohibition.
- Family Man: Episode 12, "Oscar in Love" (1974). Oscar dates a woman with two kids, and he and the kids get very attached to each other, but his relationship with their mom isn't quite as strong.
- Weird Wedding Venue: Episode 12, "Oscar in Love" (1974). Oscar is about to get married in his fiancé's apartment, but they both change their minds at the last minute.
- Awkward Awards: Episode 13, "The Bigger They Are" (1974). Felix wins a "Dink" award from the "Association for the Advancement of Commercials and Advertising" for a commercial he shot for a weight loss product, but he declines to accept it because he won it under false pretenses.
- Wanna Bet?: Episode 16, "Felix, the Horse Player" (1975). Oscar has a connection at the racetrack who gives him tips on winning horses. He and Felix start betting and make a bundle, but when Oscar's connection quits to become a jockey, they make one last bet and lose it all.
- Landlord from Hell: Episode 17, "The Landlord from Hell" (1975). Felix gets the tenants of the building together to protest the manager's lackluster attitude toward making repairs, and when he learns that the manager intends to raise the rent, he joins the others in a Landlord from Hell.
- Under the Knife: Episode 18, "Two Men on a Hoarse" (1975). Oscar refuses to have an important operation on his throat to save his voice, so Felix has to talk him into it.
- When I'm 64: Season 5, episode 20, "Old Flames Never Die" (1975). Felix finds out an old classmate of his is now a grandmother, and it makes him feel old, so he has a fantasy about him and Oscar as old men in the distant future.
- Weird Wedding Venue: Episode 22, "Felix Remarries" (1975). Felix and Gloria get remarried in Felix and Oscar's apartment. The roof starts leaking during the ceremony, but they continue the wedding anyway.
Character Tropes
- Unseen Character: "Crazy" Rhoda Zimmerman
- Fake Hugh Heffner: Beau Buffingham - Played by John Astin in season 1, episode 21, "Oscar's New Life" (1971).