B107-DES62
The Pitfalls Of J’Accuse!:
Plagiarism & The Art Of The
Smear
Copyright © by Dan Schneider, 6/28/03
A few days
ago I happened to check an old email address of mine. I do so once a month just
in case some emails of interest show up. Luckily there were a few that had been
spam-filtered but retained. Unfortunately they were barely legible as they had
been reduced to mainly that Wingding type font & only about a 1/3 of each
email’s text was readable. There were no addresses, either, so I could not
reply to any of the emails. While most was, indeed, spam, there were 2 bizarre
emails- possibly from the same person, & I do not know how recent they were.
Given their state I suspect they were filtered out for carrying some virus or
bot. 1 just had a heading re: my Gilligan’s Island/The Odd Couple
essay, but there was no text, & the 2nd was
definitely about The Odd Couple bit. From what I could gather, this individual
gave no name, save for pb & claimed I’d plagiarized my TOC essay
from the website of a woman named Jaclyn. Specifically it seemed to claim I
stole character descriptions & some other show info.
Now, given
Cosmoetica’s history of being attacked for its stances against all the BS in
the literary world it’s no surprise that this psychotic would try to send a
virus thinking I had stolen something from him/her(?). I have had a constant
barrage of threats- death threats, threats of being blackballed in the
publishing industry, legal threats, false claims of libel, slander, &
racism, etc. So, I guess, it’s no surprise that in their ever-increasingly
frustrating attempts to shut down the site that Cosmo’s enemies would now try
the despicable act of claiming I was a plagiarist. After all, I even have a home
page link to Plagiarist.com- there’s the proof! At least that’s what old pb
must be thinking since the claims I plagiarized my essay are ludicrous. To prove
so I will do a side-by-side analysis of the TOC portion of the essay & the
source I supposedly plagiarized.
I wrote the
essay in question back in late October-early November of last year, so- as of
this writing it’s about 9-10 months ago, so I have not faultless recollection
of all the sites I scoured for info- but for the GI portion of the essay I did
credit the 2 sites by Bob Denver & Dawn Wells, as well as the book by
Sherwood Schwartz. I did so in the body of the essay, when I mention whatever
was culled from whatever source because I prefer that direct link, rather than
the confusing & pretentious footnotes most writers use. As for the TOC
portion I scoured several search engines &- literally- 40-50 websites then
available which had info on the show. All- to my knowledge- were fansites, no
official sites by any of the actors, nor by the studio that produced the show.
Within the body of this portion of the essay I explicitly stated that I culled
show info from many fansites, & made no secret of the fact. So where the
plagiarism charge comes from I do not know. How can 1 plagiarize when 1 makes no
claims for originality?
Here’s the
word’s definition- which I took from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm
(I cite to avoid legal hassles from Merriam-Webster’s!):
Main Entry: pla·gia·rize
Pronunciation: 'plA-j&-"rIz also -jE-&-
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): -rized; -riz·ing
Etymology: plagiary
Date: 1716
transitive senses : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of
another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the
source
intransitive senses : to commit literary theft : present as
new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
By this, or
any other definition I am not guilty of plagiarism since the parts I copied
& pasted from a # of TOC fansites I readily admitted to, & those other
parts, which are my opinions alone, are clearly not plagiarized- & I’ll
prove it. So why would this pb character want to cause trouble & besmirch
me? Who knows? Probably I rejected some poems of theirs or criticized some
poetaster their bosom keeps warm. Whenever someone cannot fairly win an argument
they stoop to name-calling & foul play- see my recent tiff with pouty Jack
Foley. Or perhaps pb is jealous because I revealed insights in to
the show he/she did not get? Or perhaps pb is just a typical Internet loony tune
(that term is not copyrighted by Warner Bros.)! Another important point to note
is that facts or information is not plagiarizable, otherwise only the 1st
site that gave out information on any subject would be able to do so. It’s not
what you say, but how you say it that constitutes theft of product. & the
truth is that these dozens of TOC fansites literally had verbatim (or near it)
information- so why accuse me, unless there’s more to this agenda? & how
can I- not an expert in this particular field (merely a fan looking to
rhapsodize about a great TV show from his youth)- be expected to sort out which
website was the originator of the information- even were information
plagiarizable? & shouldn’t this internecine war between TOC wackos really
be fought amongst themselves- leaving a neophyte like me out of it? These facts
are the major reason I did not single out any particular TOC fansite since all
could make legitimate claims to being plagiarized by me- & each other! My
solution was to flat out credit the information from being from a # of TOC
fansites.
So, here’s
what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna literally reprint my TOC portion of the essay
with the claimed plagiarized texts run directly under them, with each page they
were taken from cited. The website by a Jaclyn has this URL: http://odd_couple.tripod.com.
This seems to be, according to most search engines, 1 of the 4 or 5 most popular
TOC fansites, & I do recall it was 1 of the 7 or 8 main sites I used after
trolling through 40-50 ancillary sites. Again, these sites all give nearly the
same information, & the actual opinions expressed on Jaclyn’s site, &
the others, are not anything like those I expressed. My original essay (http://www.cosmoetica.com/B79-DES41.htm#The%20Odd%20Couple)
is indented, as is the text from the Jaclyn TOC site is italicized,
& my interpolated comments in bold red!
Read on, with intelligence & an open mind:
The Odd Couple
Now, on to the other neglected classic- whereas GI was Absurdism’s tv treasure, The Odd Couple was its modern sophisticated turning point, debuting on 9/24/70 & ending 7/4/75. I started watching it during the 2nd season of its network run, but have seen all the episodes many a time in reruns. TOC was 1 of the 1st- if not the 1st- sitcoms to effectively rely on its own internal mythos to sustain laughs. 1 need not be aware of the tenor of the times to enjoy it, & it was not wholly dependent on the absurdism of GI, nor the slapstick of I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners, nor be attuned to the political climate of the day- like The Monkees or Get Smart. It was crisp smart dialogue between the 2 main characters that drove this show. TOC was an early example of the sophisticated, well-written, character-driven sitcoms that dominated the 1970s. But it was an anomaly in that while it was transcendent of its era while still being relevant- dealing with issues like the generation gap, singles’ sex lives, working class people & their problems, aging, loneliness, & divorce in a very adult & funny manner. Were the show to debut nowadays it would undoubtedly be laced with snide sexual innuendos & relentless gay jokes. It was also- like MASH, which followed 2 years later- 1 of the early successful tv sitcoms based on material from another medium, in its case the Broadway play & film. Critically acclaimed during its network run, the show did not receive its due of popular recognition until syndication. A few years ago the sitcom Seinfeld was lauded, on its ending, for being a show that did not indulge in the faux warmth & moralism of many post-1980s sitcoms- despite its relentless steals from The Abbott & Costello Show of ½ a century before. TOC used much of that same zeitgeist decades before Seinfeld, yet its characters were truly likable, although only to their audience- neither Oscar nor Felix ever learned to appreciate each other’s good qualities- at least they never let it show to each other. There were no end-of-show soulful talks, no forced hugs or speechifying- just the eternal conflict between slob & priss. Even in the last episode, after Felix leaves, Oscar does not wax poetic about his pal- he just joys in his freedom from the neat freak.
There
is nothing so far that is even remotely like another’s writing.
As with GI, however, the basic
setup of the show was reiterated in the show’s opening for the 1st
few seasons. This is an important point to recall because TOC is noted for being
1 of those shows that had many ‘continuity errors’ from show to show. Yet,
if the opening monologue’s set up is to be taken as a fresh entrée in to the
TOC universe, then it does not really matter about the inconsistencies. Here’s
the basic intro (narrated by William Woodson), which went through some minor
modifications through the years:
On
November 13th, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of
residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right,
but he also knew that someday he would return to her. With nowhere else to go,
he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime
earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can
two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?
This was accompanied by Neal Hefti’s trademark jazzy theme song, & its distinctive piano opening. Hefti had become hot in the tv score biz when a few years earlier his theme to the Batman tv series became a radio hit.
TOC was never a Top 10 hit in the
way of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or the powerhouse All In The Family,
but it was a consistent Top 40 show, despite bouncing around the ABC schedule.
During its 5 year run the show aired in 6 different slots! Here’s a breakdown
via EST: From September, 1970 to January, 1971, it aired on Thursday nights at
9:30. From January, 1971 to June, 1973, it aired on Friday nights at 9:30. From
June, 1973 to January, 1974, it aired on Friday nights at 8:30. From January,
1974 to September, 1974, it aired on Friday nights at 9:30. From September, 1974
to January, 1975, it aired on Thursday nights at 8:00. From January, 1975 to
July, 1975, it aired on Friday nights at 9:30.
Important to note is that the tv
show slowly evolved away from the play’s & movie’s premises. Especially
after the 2nd season started filming in front of a live audience.
I’ll address some of the differences in the separate TOC universes later. But,
now, a bit of the characters that made TOC such a great show.
All
readily available info online. But now we come to the character descriptions I
supposedly stole. All the character descriptions by Jaclyn are found at http://odd_couple.tripod.com/character.html.
Felix Unger
Felix (Tony Randall) is a commercial photographer [portraits a specialty is his business’s catchphrase] who is also an anal retentive neat freak. He lives for cleanliness- this is what kyboshed his marriage. He’s also a hypochondriac whose unstable temperament often leads him to start ‘honking’ his nose when he’s upset. He also has spinal problems, & would probably be seeing both a therapist & a chiropractor in today’s world. But this was the 1960s era. His catchphrase, used to rebuke his pal, is “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar”. He also loves the opera, & fine cuisine. These are characteristics not in Neil Simon’s original characterization, but molded to suit TR’s wishes.
Felix is a commercial photographer (portraits a specialty) and a neurotic neat freak. He can always be counted on to constantly clean the apartment, often to Oscar's dismay. Felix seems to be able to drive anybody crazy just by living with them (including not only Oscar, but also Gloria, Murray, Vinnie, and the Pigeon Sisters). He is a hypochondriac who always has a stash of vitamins and medications nearby. Whenever he gets upset, his sinuses clog up, and he starts "honking." And when Felix gets really upset, his back is liable to go out. Felix loves going to the opera, and is a connoisseur of fine wines.
Okay,
let’s look at the pieces. Some vague similarities- but then we’re talking
about the same character. But the sentence structure is dissimilar, & I am
much more in tune with the sociopolitical than Jaclyn is. I mention the actor
who played Felix, how his habits led him to his divorce, his catchphrase, &
how Tony Randall changed the character from the original play’s version.
Jaclyn merely mentions Felix is in to vitamins & medications- a redundant
point since we both call him a hypochondriac. Clearly this is not plagiarism. My
characterization, & writing, is not nearly as generic as Jaclyn’s. pb is
not doing so well, is he/she?
Oscar (Jack Klugman) is a sportswriter for the New York Herald (a fictive tabloid). He is the archetypal sloppy male. He is also well-known in the fictive New York- as this allowed for TOC to bring in celebrity guest stars on the premise that Oscar hobnobbed with them. TOC made better use of these cameos than any show I can think of. Among the invited were football star Deacon Jones (in a memorable episode where he & Oscar filmed a shaving cream commercial), Howard Cosell, Bobby Riggs & Billie Jean King (in the memorable Felix in Bondage episode), David Steinberg (the Little Orphan Annie song- recall?), Dick Cavett, Monty Hall, & Rob Reiner- as his then-wife Penny Marshall’s (the Myrna Turner character) love interest. Oscar loves cigars, horse racing, gambling of all sorts, & just tossing off his clothes wherever. These latter traits were also molded to fit JK’s own persona.
Oscar is a sports columnist for the New York Herald, which makes him a semi-celebrity, and has allowed him to appear on tv with such celebrities as Howard Cosell, David Steinberg, Dick Cavett, and Monty Hall. When Felix's wife Gloria threw him out of the house, he invited Felix to stay in his apartment - a decision he has regretted ever since. Oscar is a slob, and likes being that way. Felix can't stand the sight of his bedroom, because the regular decor includes clothes all over the floor and on his bed, food that is several days old, and cigar butts. He is often seen with a blue baseball cap on his head and a cigar in his mouth. He loves to bet on horseraces, which has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion, when he bet using money that belonged to other people (like Felix).
As with the Felix description alot of the same things are covered. But, I never mention Felix’s ex-wife, I talk alot more of guest stars, & with more depth, mention specific episodes, &- again- my writing is flat-out better prose. 0 for 2 for pb.
Murray (Al Molinaro- later Al in Happy Days) is an obese, balding, & dumb Jewish NYC flatfoot. He is the butt of good-natured jokes by the others, often for his large schnozz. Originally he was just 1 of the boys’ poker pals, but he gained in prominence & was featured in several episodes, especially 1 memorable courtroom episode where he tried to arrest the boys for their weekly poker game, despite his own participation.
In the first
season, Murray was just one of Oscar and Felix's poker buddies, but he gained
more prominence after the first season, when the other side characters were
eliminated. Murray is a New York City cop, and is seldom seen out of uniform on
the show. His large nose is often the focus of many jokes. Murray has often
walked off his beat to play a hand of poker or just hang out at Oscar's
apartment.
Again,
I mention the actor’s name, a specific episode, his later career, that he’s
a Jew, & aside from the character’s name & the word prominence
there is nothing remotely similar about these descriptions- stylewise.
Myrna (Penny Marshall) is Oscar's plain Jane secretary at the New York Herald. She is a minor character whose traits include a grating & nasal Bronx accent, & the worst laugh in tv history- excepting for Welcome Back, Kotter’s Arnold Horshack.
Myrna is Oscar's secretary at the New York Herald. She always refers to Oscar and Felix as "Mr. Madison" and "Mr. Unger." She quit her job in episode 93, when she married her boyfriend, Sheldn.
I
describe the character & make no reference to an episode, as well as name
the actress. This is getting silly now.
Miriam (Elinor Donahue) is Felix's sometimes girlfriend & neighbor in their apartment house. Her character was never really developed & was dropped from later episodes. An interesting point of humorous debate revolves around the fact that ED’s character’s father in Father Knows Best was played by Robert Young, who later starred in the 1960s & 70s teledrama Marcus Welby, M.D. Was ED’s TOC character also the daughter of that doctor? The show never makes clear whether this was a coincidence or running in-joke.
Miriam lives
upstairs from Oscar and Felix, and is Felix's semi-steady girlfriend during the
latter half of the series. (I say "semi-steady" because Felix dated
other women in some later episodes.) She often goes with Felix to the opera, and
seems better able to put up with Felix's neuroses than Oscar.
Note how my description is more in-depth & details a point of TV
trivia- 1 that I thought of as a child & which a few other sites touch on,
but which Jaclyn’s site makes no mention of.
Nancy (Joan Hotchkis) was Oscar’s girlfriend early in the series- her high point being the classic ‘Hocaloma’ episode where the trio vacation in the Caribbean. As with Miriam, little was made of her character & she & Oscar split up.
When Felix got
sick and called a doctor, he and Oscar were surprised when this attractive woman
doctor made the house call. Oscar asked her out, and she and Oscar dated during
the first and second seasons.
Again,
I mention the actress & describe a classic episode.
Holdovers from the play & film, this duo of wacky British sisters never made it past the 1st season. Gwendolyn & Cecily Pigeon (Carol Shelly & Monica Evans) met Oscar when the three of them were stuck in an elevator- in the original play. They live upstairs from the boys & they all double dated a few times; yet both sisters prefer Felix.
Gwendolyn and Cecily Pigeon met Oscar when the three of them were stuck in an elevator together (according to the movie). These two British sisters live upstairs from Oscar and Felix, and the four of them double dated a few times during the first season. Both of them are very sympathetic toward Felix, and are always ready to defend him against Oscar in an argument.
This
description of mine actually contains a little less info- save that I mention
the actresses’ names!
Gloria (Janis Hansen) is Felix's gorgeous ex-wife (a former Playboy bunny). He has never gotten over her & none of his female companions ever matches up to her. She divorced him over his neuroses, although she still loves him. In the last episode she takes him back.
Gloria is Felix's ex-wife, whom he spends almost the whole series pining over. Gloria divorced him on the grounds of pestiness, and even though it's clear that she still has feelings for him, she can't stand living with him. He was always insanely jealous, and unwittingly made her feel inadequate, by re-cooking her meals, and telling her how to set the table and do the laundry.
Not
even remotely similar stylewise.
Played by JK’s real life ex-wife Brett Somers, Blanche is Oscar's ex-wife, & lives in California. Some classic episodes revolve around her & Oscar. Although they love each other (Oscar once interrupts her re-marriage even though it means Oscar’s dreaded alimony payments- in which he is always late on- would end) they know they are not right for each other. In another memorable episode Blanche sends Oscar a hilarious singing telegram threatening to jail him if he doesn’t pay his alimony on time. Blanche was probably the most well-developed female character on the show, owing, in large part, no doubt, to the real life chemistry between Brett Somers & JK.
Blanche is
Oscar's ex-wife, who lives in California, and only makes a few appearances on
the show. Oscar is always hoping that Blanche will get married so that he will
stop having to make alimony payments, which he is forever behind in. (Once,
Blanche sent him a singing telegram threatening to get him sent to jail if he
didn't pay up.) Unlike Felix and Gloria, these two clearly have no desire to get
back together.
This is the closest thing to being a similar description, but
again, I go in to more detail & we are describing the traits of a minor
character, who has only several ‘moments’ on the show! Information- again-
is not copyrightable!
Speed, Vinny, & Roy
This trio was prominent in season 1, but rarely showed up after that, as the poker angle decreased. Speed (Garry Wahlberg) is an even worse gambler than Oscar, & is ashamed that his real name is Homer Deegan. Vinny Barella (Larry Gelman) is a plump bespectacled little nebbish with little personality, while Roy (Ryan McDonald) is Oscar’s bespectacled accountant & also rather bland.
Speed is one
of Oscar and Felix's poker buddies, and the most compulsive gambler of the
group. In "Murray the Fink" (31) we find out that his real name is
Homer Deegan.
Vinnie Barella
is another of the poker buddies, and a rather mild-mannered person.
Roy is yet another poker buddy, and he is also Oscar's accountant.
This is the most obvious place where our descriptions differ- even to the spelling of Vinny’s name, since I lump the trio together, & make no mention of a specific episode.
Edna is Felix’s daughter, played 1st by Pamelyn Ferdin (the redhead) who later voiced the Charlotte’s Web film & many other cartoons. The role later was portrayed Doney Oatman (the blond), after puberty struck. A noted episode had Edna falling for 1970s musical schlockmeister Paul Williams. The character at 1st disdained Oscar, but as she grew up, rebelled against Felix & saw Oscar as really cool.
Edna is Felix's daughter, played by two actresses, first by Pamelyn Ferdin (the brunette) and then by Doney Oatman (the blond). In the first two episodes she appeared in, Edna didn't seem to care much for her "Uncle Oscar," and was a bit like her father. She shuddered at the sight of Oscar's room and exclaimed, "How can you live like this?!" She even used Felix's phrase "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar." In her later episodes, she regarded Oscar with a sense of awe and amusement, and seemed to think he was much cooler than her father.
Leonard is Felix's son, & Edna’s little brother. He was played by Willie Aames (of later Eight Is Enough & Charles In Charge infamy), & then by Leif Garrett (of even worse late 1970s pinup teenybopper infamy). His character was never developed as much as Edna’s was.
Leonard is Felix's son, played first by Willie Aames, and then by Leif Garrett. He likes playing sports, and Oscar is the coach of his football team. While Leonard isn't much like his father, he did honk in one episode when he was upset.
As
with the other descriptions, some vague similarities, but I throw in a lot more
personal observations that Jaclyn probably wasn’t even aware of.
Now that
we’ve got the basics down, let me briefly run down some of the major reasons
the show has endured- the arguments over the show’s relation to the play &
film, & some of the continuity errors I mentioned previously. 1st,
the show vs, the play & film.
Both the movie & the
show were based on the play, produced by different folk, & as such, should
be seen as interpretations of the original play- not dependent upon it or each
other. The movie & play were written by Neil Simon & almost solely under
his aegis. The tv show was producer Garry Marshall’s baby- he bought the
rights from Simon. Thus, as in Baz Luhrman’s recent filmic retake on Romeo
& Juliet, fidelity is not needed. The following points are culled from a # of online TOC fan sites, &
given in no particular order nor importance:
In
the original essay I did not use the larger font, but I here do to emphasize
that I clearly stated that the points below were not mine, but taken from some
other sites- of which Jaclyn’s was 1. Again, I have no way of knowing which
site originated this information- & again, info is not plagiarizable to
begin with!
***In the film Felix is a tv
newswriter; in the tv series he’s a commercial photographer.
*** In the film Felix spells his last name Ungar; in the series it is Unger.
***In a later telefilm Felix’s daughter is Hannah; in the series it’s Edna.
*** In the film Oscar has 2 kids; in the series he has none.
***In the film Felix’s wife is Frances; in the series it’s Gloria. Blanche
is Oscar’s ex in both film & series.
***In the film Felix’s wife throws him out in July; in the series he was
tossed on November 13.
***In the film Felix’s brother lives in Buffalo & is a doctor; in the
series his brother lives in Buffalo, but runs a bubble gum company.
***At the end of the film Oscar throws Felix out of his apartment; in the show
Felix is still living there.
***In the film the boys have dated the Pigeon sisters regularly, but in the
series opening episode they appear to be dating them for the 1st
time. But this is SOP in tv shows made from films, as the 1st
episodes often recap the film’s basic premises.
***In the film only Oscar is divorced, Felix is merely separated; in the series
both men are divorcees.
***Both the film & series inspired later sequels which were totally at odds
with the others’ universes- with factoids too diverse to digress in to. The
point, though, is that there were clearly 2 TOC mythos’s going.
Now, here is the text from a page (http://odd_couple.tripod.com/nitpick.html)
of Jaclyn’s that has similar points. Of course there are similarities! & I
do not deny hers was 1 of 6 or 7 major sites that regurged many of the same
factoids. I credited the sites as a group BUT specifically refrained from
stating where the info was gleaned from for fear of being accused of
favoritism. Yet, again- INFORMATION IS NOT PLAGIARIZABLE ANYWAY! This point must
be pounded in to the mind!
1. In
"The Jury Story" (4) Oscar and Felix tell the Pigeon sisters how they
met on a jury seven years before, which would have been 1963. But in "Oscar
the Model" (8) Felix says that he has known Oscar for 15 years, which would
have been since 1955. Then in the show opening for the second season, a narrator
says that the two were "childhood friends."* In
"Speak for Yourself" (40) Oscar tells Murray that he met Felix in the
early 1950s.
*In some of the later show openings, the word "childhood" was removed
from the narrator's speech.
2. "This
is the Army, Mrs. Madison" (77) is a flashback to when Oscar and Felix were
in the army together. Also, in "Fat Farm," Oscar mentions being in the
army with Felix. In "The Odd Couple Meet Their Host" (35) Oscar
mentions an award Felix won in the army in World War II, implying that he knew
Felix then. But in "The Roy Clark Show" (109) an old army buddy of
Oscar's comes to visit. If Felix was in the army with Oscar, he should have
known the army buddy too. And in "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" (113) Felix
tells Oscar that he knew Richard Dawson in the army. If Oscar was in the army
with Felix, he should have known Richard Dawson too. Also, "Let's Make a
Deal" (67) implies that Oscar and Felix were not in the army together.
"Partner's Investment" (43) also implies this.
3. In
"Laugh, Clown, Laugh" (113), Felix tells Oscar that he was stationed
in England while in the army, and later in Greenland. But a flashback in
"Partner's Investment" (43) shows him in Guadacanal. In another
episode, Felix mentions being at Anzio. And in yet another episode, Felix
mentions having picked up girls in occupied France. Either it's an
inconsistency, or Felix did a heck of a lot of traveling while in the army!
Also, "This is the Army, Mrs. Madison" (77) shows both Oscar and Felix
in Abnerville, Connecticut when they were in the army. In another episode, it is
mentioned that Oscar was in Okinawa in the army.
4. In "I
Do, I Don't" (7) Oscar says that Blanche scheduled their wedding at the
same time as a baseball game that he wanted to see. In "Scrooge Gets an
Oscar" (12) Vinnie says (and Oscar confirms) says that the two of them were
married on Christmas day. In "This is the Army, Mrs. Madison" (77) a
flashback takes us back to when Oscar and Blanche were married while he was in
the army. If the wedding took place during a ball game, it is not mentioned, and
it certainly does not seem to be Christmas day.
5. In
"The Odd Couples" (54) Oscar and Blanche are looking at their wedding
photo, and Oscar remarks that he never returned the tuxedo. But in "This is
the Army, Mrs. Madison" (77) we see that because Oscar married Blanche
while he was in the army, he wore his army uniform at the ceremony, not a
tuxedo. Also, Oscar had get back to camp in time for inspection, and rushed off
before any pictures were taken. So Blanche had her picture taken with Felix, as
a gag.
6. In
"The Odd Couples" (54) we find out that Oscar never told his mother
that he and Blanche were divorced. But in "The Oddyssey Couple" (68)
Oscar mentions that his mother has been bugging him to get a new girlfriend ever
since the day he became divorced.
7. In
"Vocal Girl Makes Good" (87) Oscar celebrates his 40th birthday, which
would mean that he was born in 1933. But in "Our Fathers" (102) a
flashback shows us that Oscar and Felix were both children during prohibition
(which was from 1919 to 1933) which meant that both of them were born sometime
during the 1920s. Also, Oscar couldn't have known Felix in World War II
["The Odd Couple Meet their Host" (35)] if he was born in 1933 because
he would have been too young to be in the army. And according to the script of
the original play, Oscar was 43. So, if he was 43 at the start of the series, he
should have been 46 in "Vocal Girl Makes Good." (Note: Jack Klugman
was born in 1922, making him 51 during "Vocal Girl Makes Good.")
8. In
"The Insomniacs" (90) Felix tells Myrna that he can't take sleeping
pills because they don't work on him. But in "The Ides of April" (63)
he takes a sleeping pill, and it seems to work fine.
9. In
"This is the Army, Mrs. Madison (77) Felix tells Oscar that he was allergic
to stuffed animals as a kid, so he never had any. But in "The
Insomniacs" (90) Felix tries to overcome his insomnia by sleeping with a
teddy bear that he'd had as a kid. (Of course, since he had kept the teddy bear
in its original cellophane wrapping, his allergies wouldn't have mattered, but
it doesn't negate the fact that Felix said that he hadn't had any stuffed
animals.)
10. In
"The Subway Story" (100) Oscar says that he has lived in New York City
all his life. But in "Oscar's Birthday" (57) he says that he was born
in Philadelphia, and then in "Our Fathers" (102) a flashback shows us
that both Felix and Oscar lived in Chicago when they were children. (Of course,
since Felix was the one telling the story in the flashback, it could be possible
that Oscar just didn't remember having lived in Chicago when he was very young.)
11. According
to the original play, Oscar was the first of the two to get divorced (he had
been divorced for 6 months). While Oscar, Murray, Vinnie, Speed and Roy were
playing poker, Felix came to the apartment, having just been thrown out by his
wife, and not knowing where else to go. This is even mentioned by Murray in
"Gloria Moves In" (71), and by Vinnie in "Where's Grandpa?"
(42). But in "The Odd Holiday" (75) a flashback tells about a vacation
that Oscar and Felix went on with their wives, during which Gloria told Felix
that she wanted a divorce. This contradicts the entire premise of the play in
which Oscar, who was already divorced, invited Felix to stay with him, because
he couldn't stand living alone. (How could Oscar have invited Felix to live with
him if he was still married to Blanche?!)
12. In "I
Do, I Don't" (7) Felix tells Oscar that he has never been a best man
before. But in "This is the Army, Mrs. Madison" (77) we see through a
flashback that Felix was the best man at Oscar and Blanche's wedding.
13. In
"Speak For Yourself" (40) a flashback from the early 1950s shows Oscar
introducing Felix to Gloria. But in "Gloria, Hallelujah" (48) Oscar
says that he has known Gloria for 10 years (which would be since the early
1960s).
14. In
"Bunny is Missing Down by the Lake" (18) Felix says that his first
paying photography job was for his high school, and later he started
photographing for junior colleges, which is how he met Gloria. But in
"Speak For Yourself" (40) a flashback shows us that Oscar introduced
him to Gloria.
15. In
"The Odd Couples" (54) Felix mentions that Oscar has been divorced for
3 years, which would be 1969. In "The Ides of April" (63) Felix
mentions that Oscar has been paying alimony for 8 years, which means that he was
divorced around 1964 or 1965. In "Cleanliness is Next to Impossible"
(85) Oscar says that he has been divorced for 8 years, which by that time would
be 1966. In "The Bigger They are" (105) Oscar still says that he was
divorced 8 years ago, which would be 1967. So, while the writers were consistent
in saying that Oscar had been divorced for 8 years, they forgot that what was 8
years in 1972 was 10 years in 1974, and 11 years in 1975.
16. "The
First Baby" (56) is a flashback to when Gloria was pregnant with her and
Felix's first child. Oscar is still single, so it seems that Felix was the first
of the two to get married. "This is the Army, Mrs. Madison" (77) is a
flashback to when Oscar and Felix were in the army, and Oscar married Blanche.
Gloria is not seen or mentioned in this episode (Blanche is seen saying goodbye
to Oscar as he and Felix leave for the army, but Gloria isn't there), implying
that Oscar was the first to get married.
17. In the two
flashback episodes just mentioned, we see Felix introducing Murray to Oscar for
the first time - in both episodes. Since both episodes contradict each other,
there's no way to tell which one was supposed to have happened first, but if #56
happened first, then Oscar would have already known Murray in #77, and vice
versa.
18. The layout of Oscar and Felix's apartment is different in the first season than in the lat