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''The Odd Couple'', formally titled onscreen ''Neil Simon's The Odd Couple'', is an American television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970, to March 7, 1975, on ABC. It stars Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, and was the first of several developed by Garry Marshall for Paramount Television. The show is based on the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon. Felix and Oscar are two divorced men. Felix is neat and tidy while Oscar is sloppy and casual. They share a Manhattan apartment, and their different lifestyles inevitably lead to conflicts and laughs. In 1997, the episodes "Password" and "The Fat Farm" were ranked #5 and #58, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The show received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Its fourth season, from 1973–74, remains the most recent nominee for a show that aired during a Friday time slot. == History == The success of the 1968 film version of the stage play of ''The Odd Couple'', which starred Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar, served as the catalyst to bringing the characters to television. The original casting considerations for the TV show included Mickey Rooney or Martin Balsam as Oscar and Dean Martin or Art Carney as Felix (Carney had originated the role on Broadway). Eventually Tony Randall (as Felix) and Jack Klugman (as Oscar) were hired. Both had starred in different productions of the play. Randall, who was hired first, had still wanted Mickey Rooney to play Oscar. The show's co-executive producer, Garry Marshall, had to lobby to get Klugman successfully hired. Once the casting was in place, the show's writers (Marshall, Jerry Belson, Jerry Paris, Harvey Miller, Bob Brunner, Mark Rothman and Lowell Ganz, among others) came up with a multitude of situations for Felix and Oscar to be in, while staying true to the soul of the play, which always reverted to the human tensions between the two that created the comic situations. The show premiered on ABC on Thursday, September 24, 1970, at 9:30 p.m. During the first season it was filmed using the single-camera method. The apartment set resembled the film version. A laugh track was used (to which Tony Randall objected). Thereafter, the show was filmed with three cameras and performed like a stage play in front of a studio audience. The apartment set was styled similarly, but rearranged to allow more of the apartment (especially the kitchen) to be seen by the studio audience while less important areas (like the hallway) were moved out of audience view. Throughout its run, ''The Odd Couple'' was juggled around ABC's programming schedule, as seen below (all times ET): *September 1970 to January 1971 – Thursday at 9:30 p.m. *January 1971 to June 1973 – Friday at 9:30 p.m. *June 1973 to January 1974 – Friday at 8:30 p.m. *January 1974 to September 1974 – Friday at 9:30 p.m. *September 1974 to January 1975 – Thursday at 8:00 p.m. *January 1975 to July 1975 – Friday at 9:30 p.m. The show struggled in the Nielsen ratings and was canceled at the end of every season. However, ABC renewed the show for each upcoming season because the ratings for the summer reruns were high. In the final first-run episode, "Felix Remarries", Felix finally wins Gloria back and they remarry as Oscar regains the freedom of living alone again. The final scene unfolds in this way, as the two say their goodbyes: :Felix: Your dinner's in the oven; turn it off in 20 minutes. () Oscar … what can I say? Five years ago you took me in: a broken man on the verge of … mental collapse. I leave here a cured human being. I owe it all to you. (toward apartment ) It's all yours buddy. I salute you. (waste basket onto floor ) :Oscar: Felix, you know how I'm gonna salute you? I'm gonna clean that up. :Felix: It has not been in vain. :(shake hands and Felix exits stage right through front door. After door closes … ) :Oscar: (his hand through the air ) I'm not gonna clean that up. (stage left to bedroom to audience laughter ) :(sneaks back in stage right and looks at floor ) :Felix: () I knew he wouldn't clean it up! (to pick up trash to audience applause ) (fade out) The 114 episodes went on to syndication and home video. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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