The Odd Couple may not have delivered the ratings in its five-season run, but episode after episode, it dependably delivered the laughs, thanks to the chemistry between stars Jack Klugman and Tony Randall as two divorced men who are the best of friends but the worst of roommates. These 22 episodes from the 1974-75 final season feature a handful of standouts, including “Our Fathers,” in which Klugman and Randall portray their characters' fathers in Roaring ‘20s Chicago. Brett Somers, who played Oscar's dread ex-wife, is missed this season, but there are plenty of familiar faces and star cameos. Paul Williams, Howard Cosell, opera singer Martina Arroyo, Richard Dawson, Bob Hope, and—trivia alert—Rodney Allen Rippy all appear as themselves, while Roy Clark, oddly enough, doesn't play Roy Clark in “The Roy Clark Show.” And in “The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in Vain,” that's Rob Reiner as “Sheld'n,” the boyfriend of Oscar's steadfast secretary Myrna, played to nasal perfection by Reiner's then-wife Penny Marshall. Like Seinfeld, The Odd Couple is inextricably bound to New York, as in “The Subway Story,” which finds Felix determined to prove to Oscar that all New Yorkers aren't rude. And “Two on the Aisle” features a better-late-than-never cameo by Odd Couple playwright Neil Simon. Finally, “Felix Remarries” takes The Odd Couple to a satisfying conclusion, bringing down the curtain on one of TV's great comedy teams. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)
The Odd Couple: The Final Season
Paramount, 3 discs, 562 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 February 16, 2009
The Odd Couple: The Final Season
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