The show, which stars Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, was the first of several sitcoms developed by Garry Marshall for Paramount Television.

The success of the 1968 film (adapted from the stage play), which starred Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar, catalyzed the production of the television show.

Marshall also disliked the practice; theater veteran Randall particularly resented the process of having to wait several seconds between punchlines to allot enough space for the laughter to be inserted.

The production team eventually experimented with omitting the laugh track for the first season's 21st episode, "Oscar's New Life" (laughter was subsequently added for syndication).

By the second season, ABC relented; the show was subsequently filmed with three cameras and performed like a stage play in front of a live studio audience, with laugh sweetening completed during post-production.

[4] Randall and Klugman both enjoyed the spontaneity that came with performing in front of a live audience; any missed or blown lines usually passed without stopping (they would be reshot during post-production).

In addition, it gave the show a distinct edge that had been lost during the first season (although the actors had to deliver lines more loudly, for they were on a larger sound stage, as opposed to a quiet studio with only minimal crew present).

"[6] During its five seasons on ABC, The Odd Couple was juggled several times around the network's programming schedule, never reaching the top 30 in the Nielsen ratings.

The Pigeon Sisters (Monica Evans as Cecily and Carole Shelley as Gwendolyn, reprising their roles from the Broadway stage play and the film) make four appearances during the first season.

The two other major supporting characters, Officer Murray Greshler and Myrna Turner, Oscar's secretary, are portrayed by Al Molinaro and Penny Marshall (Garry's sister), respectively.

Alice Ghostley plays Murray's wife Mimi Greshler in one episode of the first season, when Felix quickly outstays his welcome after moving out of Oscar's apartment.

Character actor Richard Stahl appears in nine episodes as, among other things, a florist, a pet-shop owner, a psychiatrist, a volunteer fireman and a non-denominational monk, never playing the same role twice.

Veteran character actor Herbie Faye appears in six episodes, including four in which he plays Harvey Faffner, the superintendent of Oscar and Felix's apartment building.

Oscar's mother Elizabeth Madison appears in two episodes, played once by Elvia Allman and once by Jane Dulo, both veteran actresses.

In one episode, noted tennis frenemies and real-life competitors Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King appear as themselves.

Neil Simon (the author of the play on which the series is based) makes an uncredited cameo appearance during the fifth season in "Two on the Aisle",[8] as does Bob Hope in "The Hollywood Story".

Other celebrities appearing as themselves include Edward Villella, Monty Hall, Richard Dawson, Wolfman Jack, David Steinberg, Hugh Hefner, Rodney Allen Rippy, John Simon, Bubba Smith, Deacon Jones, John Barbour, Allen Ludden and Betty White.

The end of the title sequence for the first three seasons shows the duo sitting on a park bench in front of the William Tecumseh Sherman Monument in Grand Army Plaza at West 58th Street and Fifth Avenue, where Oscar throws his lunch wrapper on the ground while Felix beckons him to pick it up.

ABC allegedly added the narration because it did not want the audience to speculate about a homosexual subtext, given the changing perceptions of masculinity at the time.

However, in an episode from the fifth season, titled "Our Fathers," Oscar remembers briefly meeting Felix when they were children, while their families were staying in the same hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

For the first three seasons, the closing credits consist of more of the duo's antics, such as Felix talking to a man repairing a street clock, and Oscar indiscreetly looking at a peep show.

";[10] in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Klugman and Randall reprised their Odd Couple characters in a series of commercials for Eagle Snacks, although in some of these spots, they called each other by their real names.

Minolta countered by hiring Randall, who was appearing on the NBC sitcom, Love, Sidney, to do a commercial for that company's copiers, in which he channeled his Felix Unger, mentioning that he "can change copy colors without getting that disgusting black powder all over my hands!".

In the film, Felix tries to help Oscar recover following surgery; he also becomes overly involved in his daughter Edna's upcoming wedding, much to her and Gloria's (Barbara Barrie) dismay.

Although authorized by Neil Simon (who received a "based on" credit), completely different characters were created: "Spiffy" (a fussy cat, voiced by Frank Nelson) and "Fleabag" (a sloppy dog, voiced by Paul Winchell), who live together in a house that is half rundown and messy and half pristine and tidy, along with a matching car.

[citation needed] In 1982, as a hedge against the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike, ABC aired an African-American version of The Odd Couple, starring Ron Glass as Felix and Demond Wilson as Oscar.

Also included as extras are Emmy Awards speeches, bloopers, TV interviews with the show's stars and a clip of The Odd Couple on Broadway.