The Odd Couple (franchise)

The Odd Couple is a play written by Neil Simon about a pair of roommates with opposite personalities: neat freak Felix Ungar and messy layabout Oscar Madison. It was adapted into a film released in 1968 which had a sequel titled The Odd Couple II released in 1998, and two television series, the first running from 1970 to 1975 and the second running from 2015 to 2017. Additional related television series are The Oddball Couple in 1975 and The New Odd Couple from 1982 to 1983.

The franchise has been referenced multiple times in The Simpsons.

References to The Odd Couple in The Simpsons

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 3 49 "Lisa the Greek" Troy McClure promotes his new TV show Handle with Care, where he plays a retired cop who lives with a retired criminal, calling it "the original Odd Couple". 5 101 "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" When Homer and Principal Skinner have to share a hotel room, Skinner is shown picking up a cigar with the end of an umbrella, referencing the opening sequence of the 1970 TV series. Skinner then comments that they're like the original Odd Couple with Homer as the messy one, but Homer tells him to shut up before he can finish his sentence. 10 219 "Make Room for Lisa" After Lisa's bedroom is replaced with machinery, Homer asks her what her favorite movie is. Although she says The Little Mermaid, Homer assumes it's The Odd Couple and tells her she will be sharing a "comically mismatched" room with Bart. Homer then sings the film's theme song. 18 386 "The Haw-Hawed Couple" Punned in the title. 18 399 "24 Minutes" The ringtone heard on Jimbo's phone is the theme to The Odd Couple. 26 553 "Clown in the Dumps" A version of The Odd Couple starring Mr. Teeny as Oscar and David Hyde Pierce as Felix is shown being watched by the original play's creator Neil Simon. 27 575 "Every Man's Dream" The Itchy & Scratchy short seen in this episode, "Remember the Alimony", is based on The Odd Couple film. Itchy is based on Oscar, Scratchy is based on Felix and the Pigeon sisters are literal versions of the film's namesakes. 30 640 "Bart's Not Dead" The cover of a Christian film titled The God Couple, a pun of The Odd Couple, is seen in the episode. 30 647 "Krusty the Clown" Among the TV shows mentioned on the scrolling list is The Odd Couple.

Common cast and crew

Picture Name Role in The Odd Couple Role on The Simpsons Jack Lemmon Played Felix in the 1968 film and the 1998 sequel. Voiced Frank Ormand in "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson". Garry Marshall Created the 1970 TV series and The New Odd Couple TV series. Voiced Larry Kidkill in "Eight Misbehavin'" and Sheldon Leavitt in "Homer the Father". Penny Marshall Played Myrna in the 1970 TV series. Voiced Lucille Botzcowski in "Some Enchanted Evening". Frank Welker Provided miscellaneous voices in The Oddball Couple. Voice of Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II and several other animals. Christine Baranski Played Thelma in The Odd Couple II. Voiced herself in "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire". Thomas Lennon Played Felix in the 2015 TV series. Wrote the comic story The Pygmy Elixir. Matthew Perry Created the 2015 series and played Oscar. Voiced the Ultrahouse 3000's "Matthew Perry" option in "Treehouse of Horror XII".

External links

• The Odd Couple at Wikipedia

Cultural references

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