Guest: Peter K Ackerman - Son of Elinor Donahue and Harry Ackerman

In this episode we review an original "pre-production" script for S5E13  The Bigger They Are.  Among the topics covered are 1) how John Byner's casting, which was clearly not known at the time of this draft, changed several key elements of the script, 2) the difference in motivations for Felix and Oscar in the script vs. the finished episode, 3) what distinguishes catsup vs. ketchup [will make sense if you listen to the episode], and 4) some key scenes in the script not in the episode and vice verse.  If you want to see a pdf of the actual script please email us at [email protected] and ask for the dropbox link  

This week we are joined by one of television's best comedy writers Dave Mandel (SNL, Seinfeld, Veep) to discuss an unproduced episode of The Odd Couple for which we have obtained an official script from 1973.  It is a Thanksgiving episode and would have been for the 4th season to air in November 1973.    We start by discussing Dave's history with The Odd Couple and how it influenced his TV writing. We then get into the script itself and -- spoiler - it  is not very good so we discuss in depth why it doesn't work and how it maybe could have become a workable episode. We also start going into it line by line but that is too painful ultimately so we summarize the last few acts.  We also discuss why The Odd Couple had no traditional holiday episodes after S1 like so many of its fellow sitcoms did during the 1970s. If you want to get a dropbox link to the script to read it for yourself please email us at [email protected]

In this episode we welcome Adam Klugman to talk about his father’s legendary career in depth – for more than two hours.  Among the many topics we cover are:  Jack’s childhood in Philadelphia and a shocking story about his mother; how he discovered acting; his early working days in theater and live television; The Twilight Zone; performing in The Odd Couple the play; of course playing Oscar on the series; Adam’s two appearances on the show; Quincy; Jack’s marriage to Brett Somers; her role on The Match Game; Jack’s throat cancer and his final days.  Adam was a delightful guest and storyteller with great vocal impressions of many of the people involved in Jack’s life.  We hope the fans find this a great celebration of Jack Klugman’s life and career.

In this episode we analyze the differences in “final” scripts vs the filmed episode for Win One For Felix and Oscar In Love.  The script for Win One For Felix is called Little League Football and is lacking four pages so we spend less time on this one.  Also, it is not dramatically different than the filmed episode but it is missing the emotional motivations behind Felix’s actions as we discuss. The script for Oscar In Love, here called Oscar Remarries, is quite different from the filmed episode in many ways – narrative flow, story devices, motivations for actions and the lack of Speed’s reappearance.  We get a little lost as we try to break down the differences but ultimately get back on track. If you want access to all the PDFs for the scripts we have acquired please email us at [email protected] and ask for the dropbox link.

We welcome back Marty Nadler to discuss his TV writing career after The Odd Couple including his work on Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Chico & The Man, The Last Resort (not a well-known show), and Perfect Strangers.  Marty shares some get great inside stories about such topics as 1) ABC wanting to rename Happy Days "Fonzie's Happy Days", 2) the toxic environment of Laverne & Shirley, 3) his theory on Freddie Prinze's tragic, early death, 4) a very funny story about the late, great Richard Lewis, 5) and the original casting of Perfect Strangers.   Marty also worked on nine Garry Marshall movies including Pretty Woman which we only briefly touched on as there was just not enough time.  

In this episode we interview TV writer Marty Nadler who worked for Garry Marshall for 40 years. As one of his first jobs Marty punched up scripts and wrote jokes for S5 of The Odd Couple.  Marty discusses the process of how Odd Couple scripts were written; a few specific classic bits he remembers witnessing; interacting with some of the show’s famous guest stars and other insider knowledge from someone who was there!

We are honored and delighted to welcome Heather Randall to the podcast.  Heather was married to Tony Randall from 1995 until his passing in 2004 and they had two children together.  Heather shares many stories passed down by Tony and those she lived through regarding: his early life in Tulsa, Oklahoma, career beginnings on stage and radio, becoming a star on Broadway and movies, The Odd Couple of course, The Tony Randall Show, Sidney Shorr TV Movie, Love Sydney his work establishing The National Actors Theatre where he and Heather met and his appearances on David Letterman.  We also learn about Tony as a person off-camera + Heather's early life and work, both professional and philanthropic.  Please join us for this 2 hour discussion about Tony Randall from the person who knows it best .  

This week we welcome a special guest – Peter K Ackerman who is the son of Elinor Donahue and legendary TV producer Harry Ackerman.  He has written a new book called Mom, Dad, Me and Classic TV about their lives and his experiences growing up as the son of two TV legends. It is available wherever books are sold including here on Amazon We discuss his father’s career helping to create I Love Lucy, producing Bewitched, and also his passion for collecting.  We also review his Mom’s extensive career on such shows as Father Knows Best, Star Trek, Get A Life and, of course, as Miriam Welby on The Odd Couple.  Peter also shares his experiences working in TV and how he transitioned into a very different vocation. Join us for this fun, two-hour discussion that covers many different aspects of TV history as Peter’s parents touched so many different programs.

In this episode we discuss the differences between original production scripts for Felix The Horseplayer (known as The Stung on the script) and Two On The Aisle.  Both scripts feature known-but-never-seen characters who are referenced during the series that are supposed to make actual on-camera appearances but were written out before the episodes were filmed.  There are some other significant scene differences between script and episode which we believe are changes that made the show better.   If you would like to get PDFs of any of the scripts we have reviewed please email us at [email protected] and ask for the dropbox link.  

In this episode we review two early drafts of these classic episodes and how different they are from the actual filmed episodes.  Among the topics covered are: 1) Whether or not the most famous line from The Odd Couple about assuming is in the script for Court. 2) The fact that the script for Court is structured as a flashback and how so many of the classic gags from the episode are missing while other scenes we have never seen before are included. 3) The set-up for Furniture is very different as it starts in the furniture store that was Felix's client.  4) How the clock was described in Furniture. 5) The very different tags in both episodes.