Drama
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Captain Pike finally gets his time in the Star Trek spotlight, but his story is one filled with tragedy and foreboding.
We’ve seen some strange pairings in our day: Churchill and Stalin, Nixon and Elvis, Julie Andrews and Lady Gaga. But few are as odd as that of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, two recent divorcees now sharing an apartment in New York City.
Technically, it’s Oscar’s apartment. You can tell because of the lingering stench of cigars, pepperoni pizza and sweaty hockey jerseys that’s seeped into the walls. A sports radio talk show host, Oscar adheres to the adage of “letting it all hang out,” extending that maxim even to dirty underwear on the living room floor.
‘Course, ever since Felix moved in, said underwear has been safely corralled in Oscar’s laundry hamper. Felix can’t abide mess—somewhat ironic given the wreck his own life is at the moment. But since he can’t do much about that right now, he’s determined to clean up everything he can. And that includes his old pal Oscar—whether Oscar wants him to or not.
CBS’ The Odd Couple is an update of the classic 1965 Neil Simon Broadway play, a subsequent 1968 movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and the 1970-75 television show on ABC. The original program propelled both Tony Randall and Jack Klugman to stardom and earned them both Emmys.
This reboot is perhaps not shooting for Emmys as much as filling an empty slot in the schedule. While it features a bona fide star in Friends alum Matthew Perry, it feels more like recently departed sitcom Two and a Half Men (which was also allegedly inspired by the original Odd Couple) than its half-century-old namesakes.
Granted, it’s not nearly as crass as Two and a Half Men—at least early on. Still, we’ve seen a lot of television envelope-pushing since the 1970s, and what would send audiences from 1975 into a congressman-writing frenzy feels pretty standard today. Allusions to sex are common. And Felix’s sexuality is now fully fair game. The language is filthy enough to warrant us dumping it in Oscar’s rumored hamper right along with the underwear. Oscar, Felix and everyone else who stops by drink wine and beer.
Life lessons lurking in their NYC war zone? Well, Felix and Oscar are both smarting from their divorces, and each has something to offer the other: Felix could stand to mellow out a little, and Oscar could use a little discipline and honesty in his life. And we learn right away in the pilot that all the sex and bad behavior we hear about covers up deeper problems. Felix accuses Oscar of “marinating in sex and booze and filth because he can’t admit how much he misses his wife,” which is true.
But for those who remember the old Odd Couple fondly, this new iteration is still bound to be more irritation than inspiration.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
A heartbroken Felix arrives at Oscar’s apartment in need of a friend. Oscar promises to be that friend—at least until Felix starts to get on his nerves.
Oscar hopes to start a relationship with a pretty neighbor and is excited when he learns that all she can emotionally accept right now is “sex.” There’s a reference to porn. Double entendres evoke Oscar’s privates and sexual intercourse. He mentions that when his wife divorced him, he threw a two-day party and woke up wrapped in bubble wrap from which a stripper had to “unpack” him, one bubble at a time. A newly divorced woman named Emily says her husband turned out to be homosexual (and spent an anniversary making out with another man). Oscar’s friends speculate about Felix’s sexual persuasion, and one is disappointed to hear he’s not gay: Having a gay friend would make him feel more “evolved.”
A guy insults his wife behind her back. We hear a crack about bulimia. Felix talks about Oscar urinating in the shower. Oscar sets a coffee cup on Felix’s crotch. People drink wine and beer, and Teddy holds a cigar. They say “a–,” “h—” and “d–n” (two or three times each), and misuse God’s name. Felix uses his initials “FU,” triggering jokes about what they might stand for.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
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