TMC
03-10-2023, 09:54 PM
https://www.looper.com/1224128/short-lived-tv-remakes-you-totally-forgot-about/
The New Odd Couple
"The Odd Couple" may have the oddest history on this list, and the greatest number of remakes, too. Originally a play by Neil Simon, it became a movie in 1968 starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and an iconic TV sitcom starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman two years later. In 2015, it was remade with Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon, and ran for three seasons. In between all that was a doomed 1982 remake with Ron Glass and Demond Wilson.
Like every other version of the story, "The New Odd Couple" opens on Felix and Oscar, a pair of best friends who move in together. The only problem is that they are polar opposites: Felix is an uptight, fastidious fussbudget, while Oscar is an unkempt, slovenly layabout. Always driving each other crazy, Felix and Oscar get into classic sitcom scrapes, from romantic and comic misadventures to dubious misunderstandings.
It's all pretty standard stuff, a timeless sitcom about two awkwardly mismatched roommates, but the pairing of Glass and Wilson lacked the chemistry of the other pairings in the franchise. Toss in an ill-timed Hollywood writer's strike that hit while the show was in production the year before, and it was a recipe for disaster. After just 18 episodes, the show concluded and never returned.
The New Odd Couple
"The Odd Couple" may have the oddest history on this list, and the greatest number of remakes, too. Originally a play by Neil Simon, it became a movie in 1968 starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and an iconic TV sitcom starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman two years later. In 2015, it was remade with Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon, and ran for three seasons. In between all that was a doomed 1982 remake with Ron Glass and Demond Wilson.
Like every other version of the story, "The New Odd Couple" opens on Felix and Oscar, a pair of best friends who move in together. The only problem is that they are polar opposites: Felix is an uptight, fastidious fussbudget, while Oscar is an unkempt, slovenly layabout. Always driving each other crazy, Felix and Oscar get into classic sitcom scrapes, from romantic and comic misadventures to dubious misunderstandings.
It's all pretty standard stuff, a timeless sitcom about two awkwardly mismatched roommates, but the pairing of Glass and Wilson lacked the chemistry of the other pairings in the franchise. Toss in an ill-timed Hollywood writer's strike that hit while the show was in production the year before, and it was a recipe for disaster. After just 18 episodes, the show concluded and never returned.