TVSquad

While he'll always be known to me as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, television audiences also know Jack Klugman from his 1976 to 1983 series Quincy, M.E. (The M.E. stands for "Medical Examiner," just so you know.) Well, he's now suing over lost profits from that television show (and not for the first time either).

A lesson that has long been learned in television negotiation is that you never take profit shares from the net of any show or movie. The magic of Hollywood accounting can have that piece of programming in debt for centuries. I think Gone With The Wind has yet to make a profit. If you are ever negotiating salary, make sure it's a percentage of the gross profits, not net.

Not that any of this wisdom helps Jack Klugman at the moment. Hopefully his case can bring to light some of the insidious accounting practices in the entertainment industry, but I'm not holding my breath.

Do you think when Neil Simon created the character of Felix Unger in The Odd Couple he knew that he was spawning a generation or two (maybe more) of Felix Unger wannabes? Today, over 40 years since Felix became part of our movie/TV collective conscience, there are lots of people and characters that bring to mind Tony Randall's alter ego.

It's Tony's Felix that I think is etched in our minds. He made Felix all he could be, and week in and week out -- opposite Jack Klugman's Oscar Madison -- he typified the ultimate neat freak, persnickety, hypochondriacally, impossible-to-live-with, supercilious know-it-all that made us cackle with laughter.

So, as I was watching TV -- an occupational requirement -- recently, it occurred to me that there are quite a few Felix Ungers on screen right now. Most are fictional, like Two and a Half Men's Alan Harper and, most obviously, Adrian Monk. But there are a couple of Felixes in real life on TV, too, like MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and ESPN's Mike Greenberg.

By my count, there are seven "Felix Ungers" currently on TV.

This is a very odd story, and not because it involves one-half of TV's most enjoyable sitcoms ever, The Odd Couple, but it's not about that show. It's about his other successful series. Jack Klugman has filed suit against NBC Universal over profits from Quincy, M.E. The oddity is that the show hasn't been in production for 25 years and this hasn't come up till now!

The first thing I noticed about this DVD is that on the back it says in fine print that the music has been altered for the release, and I got a little apprehensive after the whole WKRP In Cincinnati fiasco. But looking over the episodes I can't find any music replaced or any weird edits to the music that would then make a scene oddly edited. So I would buy this and not even worry about anything missing.

But there are a few things missing extras-wise, but we'll get to that in a minute. Overall, how is the second season set of The Odd Couple? Click on the link below for a look.

Here's an odd little tidbit I didn't know. The first season of The Odd Couple that was released earlier this year was not released by Paramount. It was actually released by Time-Life (they also did that cool Get Smart set). But now the first season is going to be released again.

Paramount has announced that they too will release the first season of the show on April 24. TVShowsonDVD says that the set will probably be the exact same set as the one released by Time-Life, but there's no official word on it yet.

I'm still waiting for season two to be released! As I've said before, the first season of the show is rather lackluster to me. It's not that funny, and it has a different apartment set and wasn't filmed in front of a live audience. The later seasons are much better, as I think any fan or even crew member on the show would tell you.

"On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife."

Happy Odd Couple Day! Today's the day Odd Couple fans can celebrate the 70s ABC sitcom. How to celebrate? Maybe if you're a really messy guy you can clean the entire apartment today. Vacuum all the rugs, scrub the shower, clean out the fridge and throw away all the old food. And if you're a really neat guy, maybe you can walk around in an old shirt, go one day without sweeping the kitchen floor, or drink beer and leave the cans on the coffee table.

The Odd Couple is one of the best sitcoms of all-time. Smart, well-written, great cast. Except for that odd first season where they had that different apartment and used more cameras and didn't have a studio audience. But after that it took off. Hey, is it even being shown anywhere nowadays? I'd love to watch it again.

[via TV Tattle]

Oh, I've been waiting for this. The first season of The Odd Couple, the Jack Klugman/Tony Randall comedy from the early 70s, will be released on DVD on August 14.

Sure, the first season isn't half as good as other seasons, but it's still quite entertaining. And look at the extras on this set: audio intros from Garry Marshall on each episode, Jack Klugman commentary on the classic "It's All Over Now, Baby Bird" episode, clips of Klugman and Randall on The Mike Douglas Show, a gag reel, footage of Klugman's Emmy Award win, and various promos.

And if you haven't bought it already, Klugman's autobiography, Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship, is well worth a read, and comes with a gag reel on DVD too.