1049 Park Avenue: An Odd Couple Podcast

Deacon Jones guest stars in S3E8 as Felix gets to direct a shaving commercial.  We discuss Jones' NFL career, the appearances of Herbie Faye as the 1049 super, the real-life Press Box Steakhouse and the fact Felix should have had a career directing TV ads after this episode. 

Oscar's mother comes to visit but she doesn't know Oscar is divorced in S3E7 "The Odd Couples".  We cover such topics as: Eddie and Debbie (and Tammy); the fact that the actress who played Oscar's mother later played Murray's wife along with some of her odd performance choices; and the inconsistencies in how long Oscar has been divorced and where exactly Blanche lives.  

Felix and Oscar go to Murray's cabin so Oscar can work on his book in our analysis of S3E6 "I'm Dying of Unger".  We discuss Dorothy Parker and her quotes, Garry Marshall's notes on this episode from his memoir, and another instance where Tony Randall singing was edited out of the DVD for rights purposes.

“The Odd Monks”, S3E5, is our topic for this episode of 1049 Park Avenue.  Felix and Oscar go to a monastery to escape work pressures but end up in trouble with the monks.  We quote from Garry Marshall and Jack Klugman who both discuss this episode in their memoirs – in fact Gary Marshall says it is his favorite.  We also discuss the terrible hair of Brother Lou, reading before bed, the speed at which dough can rise, the song that was cut from the DVD and the bizarre tag scene.

While “The Pen Is Mightier Than The Pencil” is the next episode that we would cover sequentially on 1049 Park Avenue, it was the one we covered in our first podcast because we wanted to start with a mutual favorite.  We are reposting our first episode here for you fellow obsessive compulsives who need things in order with a special bonus segment in which we discuss an interview with Elinor Donahue regarding her role as Miriam since this is her first prominent appearance, even if it is her 2^nd episode.  

This week we analyze S3E3 "The Princess" in which Oscar falls in love with royalty.  We discuss the resume of guest star Jean Simmons (who is not Gene Simmons), the lushness of this episode, the drama of this episode and the fact another TV series based on a Neil Simon play was on the ABC Fall schedule during The Odd Couple's first season.

Howard Cosell joins the boys for S2E2 "Big Mouth".  Cosell plays himself of course and he is a pitchman for an ad campaign Felix is working on but Oscar insults him and then Felix insults him.  They have to apologize so Felix can keep his job.  We discuss Cosell's rise to fame, the odd addition of a boy scout character, the random little lines that dot this episode and the hilarious "play-by-play" coverage Felix gives as Oscar.

We start a new year with a new season of The Odd Couple - S3E1 “Gloria Hallelujah”.  Among the topics we cover are the history of computer dating, Elinor Donahue’s resume, the odd dynamic of the Felix / Miriam relationship and the perfectly-crafted scene when Oscar is filling out his dating form.

In this extra long episode we analyze the 19 out of 24 S1 episodes that we can watch on streaming and address the 5 we could not watch (we don't own the DVD of S1 because we don't like S1).  Each episode gets 2-7 minutes of our attention as some are too painful to discuss while others have some noteworthy moments.  

We have come to the end of S2 with our coverage of "Psychic, Shmychic", the second season finale.  Our topics include the careers of The Amazing Criswelll and Bernie Kopell, and the popularity of ESP in 1972.