Anyone have a full list of Odd Couple music substitutions and editing? (1 Viewer)

[Michael Rogers]

Just wondering if an Odd Couple expert put together a full list of what is changed and eliminated on the 5 season sets?

 

[FanCollector]

These are the cuts and changes of which I am aware. I don't have the broadcast sequence with me now, so these are in production order.

Season 2:
Speak for Yourself--Several instances of "Just One More Chance" are changed to an uptempo tune I don't recognize.

Season 3:
The Murray Who Came To Dinner--Oscar and Felix both sing a few bars of "I Got The Sun in the Morning" in Oscar's room, and then Oscar reprises it when he walks in on Murray's drawing lesson.

The Odd Monks-- In telling about his day, after Felix mentions cloud-watching, he starts to sing "Look For the Silver Lining" and everyone disappears to play Sugar Cube Craps.

I'm Dying of Unger--When Felix first plans to go out to the store, he opens the cabin door and begins to sing "Indian Love Call" to the birds and animals. Inserts of the animals' bemused reactions are edited in.

The Odd Couples--When Felix asks Oscar to take care of his fern, he suggests singing to it, mentioning that it likes "Peg O' My Heart". Of course, Felix begins singing the song. Later, when Oscar, Blanche and Oscar's mother come home from the restaurant, they hear Felix singing "Peg O' My Heart" in the bathroom to the plant. Oscar's mother says, "Maybe it's the radio," and Blanche responds, "If it is, it's an old one." Oscar, looking stricken, says, "And burglars don't sing." He disappears down the hallway, and Felix's singing is interrupted by the sound of him being choked.

Oscar's Birthday--I must confess my ignorance this time. When Mrs. Langley is introduced at the party, she does a tap dance to a song Murray plucks on the ukulele and sings. I don't recognize the song, and the tapping drowns out Al Molinaro's singing. Maybe someone else knows what song it is. While he sings, Mrs. Langley keeps tapping and won't stop, even as Felix keeps trying to push her aside.

I Gotta Be Me--During the role reversal scene, Oscar talls Murray and Miriam to swirl the wine in their mouths until it tastes like furniture polish, and while they do so, he begins singing "Cocktails for Two". The joke is paid off at the very end of the show, when Felix admits Oscar was dead on about him, except that he, Felix, is a better singer. As he hangs up his coat in the closet, he starts to sing "Cocktails for Two" and Oscar slams the door on him.

The Ides of April--After Oscar apologizes to Felix for getting angry at him and asks for his help with the tax forms, Felix says no one can stay mad at him and that the old "Felix-Oscar team" is together again. He starts to sing "Friendship", and at the end of each line, Oscar tries to ask a tax question, but Felix keeps singing.

The Odyssey Couple--When Felix offers to set Oscar up with a girl, he tells him that the girl will enter, Oscar will take one look and sing...and then he launches into a powerful chorus of "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life". Oscar asks if he couldn't just say hello.

Season 4:
Gloria Moves In--When Felix arrives at the hotel, depressed, and interrupts the poker game, he decides it really is over between them. After saying Oscar may not have noticed it, but he used to sing the blues for Gloria ("I noticed, I noticed," says Oscar), Felix sits down and stars to sing "One For My Baby". The rest of the players, starting with Roger and proceeding clockwise, join in until the end of the chorus, when Oscar explodes and tells them to stop "the musicale".

Last Tango in Newark--Paying off the joke about Oscar's bad behavior at the ballet, when Oscar comes to bother Felix at Villella's dance class, he doesn't realize who Villella is. Felix tells him and, attempting to act casual, Oscar starts singing "Dance, Ballerina, Dance" under his breath, at which point Villella recognizes him.

That Was No Lady--When Felix comes home from his date with Melanie, we hear him from the hall, singing "Cheek to Cheek". He continues singing it as he comes in, adding some Astaire-esque dance moves on the steps to the front door. This song is why Oscar guesses that he ran into Ginger Rogers.

The Odd Holiday--When Felix, Gloria and Blanche are waiting for Oscar so they can leave, Felix taps his newspaper annoyingly and sings "Gotta get going, gotta get going, what are we gonna do? We're on our way to somewhere, the three of us and Oscar" to the tune of "Cuanto Le Gusta". It is very annoying, which is the setup of the joke which is not edited out...Felix stopping Gloria's minimal tapping by saying, "That's very annoying, sweetheart." Later in the show, when Felix awakens Oscar and Blanche at the crack of dawn, he does so by singing the "Day-O" opening of "The Banana Boat Song".

You're in the Army, Mrs. Madison--No cuts, but a replacement. When Blanche arrives at the barracks in the last scene, Murray plays "I Love You Truly" on his harmonica and Felix sings it, romantically. The DVD replaces the song. When the chorus ends, Murray asks if Felix knows "Hold That Tiger" and begins to play it.

Felix Directs--When Phil Russell tells Oscar he wants him to be in the movie, and Oscar says he is as crazy as Felix, Phil Russell offers him money (I think $500) and Oscar sings, "I'm gonna be in pictures" to the tune of "You Oughta Be in Pictures".

The Songwriters--The very beginning of the episode has a few seconds of Jaye P. Morgan singing something I didn't recognize off screen, but the DVD begins right after that, as they enter the dressing room. Later, she sings a bit of "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", which is also missing.

The Exorcists--Replacement. When Dr. Clove finishes the consultation in his office, he sits down at the harpsichord and proceeds to play "one of my favorites, and I hope it's one of yours": "Peg O' My Heart". The musical joke is that it is a very up-tempo, jazzy version, played on a creepy harpsichord. The music actually continues over the scene transition to the apartment. On the DVD, "Peg O' My Heart" is replaced by something generic.

Moonlighter--Here's one someone else may have to help with. I have never seen any song in this show, but another poster mentioned Oscar singing something when he is alone in the studio. If he did, it is cut from the DVD, as well as all the syndicated versions I have seen.

The Flying Felix--When Oscar turns the living room into an airplane, Flight Attendant Myrna comes out singing, "I'm Myrna, fly me...in the big blue sky, I'm Myrna, fly me..." from the airline commercial of the time period. Later, "for our German passengers, she sings "Ich Myrna, flug mir..."

The Insomniacs--Amidst the desperate measures, Oscar, Murray and Myrna take to get Felix to fall asleep, they sing a three-part harmony version of "Dream" (the Johnny Mercer song) to Felix while he rocks gently in a rocking chair. It almost works, too, until they finish and Murray yells at the top of his voice, "One more time!" The entire scene is edited out.

A Different Drummer--The episode opens with Felix and his band doing "My Blue Heaven". The DVD just skips right past it to the studio audience applause. Later, when Felix is tricking Oscar into being a drummer and Oscar taps the glass with his silverware, Felix says it makes him want to dance and starts singing "I Got Rhythm", culminating in an impressive flying heel click. Not musical, but cut for some reason...When Felix is telling Monty Hall that people like music and he should have them on the show instead of his comedian uncle, he adds that it's Oscar's band and "Sticks" Madison has a great beat. Murray then says, "I used to walk a great beat" and Felix asks Monty if he would rather have rotten jokes like that or hear a band, at which point Murray looks crestfallen. I forget exactly where the DVD cuts, but at least the end of that exchange is missing.

Season 5:
Two on the Aisle--When Felix is walking out of Oscar's office, having been told his reviewing career is over, he starts singing "Give My Regards to Broadway" before having his light bulb idea.

The Frog--When Leonard wakes up on the morning of the contest and comes out, asking Max to jump to him, Oscar tries to get Felix to tell him what happened, believing the frog will not jump to him. Felix says he believes in faith and the power of positive thinking, and then starts singing "I Believe" directly to Max, who finally jumps. The look on Oscar's face as Felix begins singing is very funny.

Our Fathers--Barbara Rhoades is singing "Who's Your Little Who-zis" at the beginning of the flashback in the speakeasy. The beginning of the song is cut, and then as she and Klugman have their dialogue about the gum, the chorus girls' continuation of the song is replaced. Later, the Big Boss, played by opera star Giorgio Tozzi sings a few very off-key bars of "Ol' Man River". Get it? Opera star?

Strike Up the Band...Or Else--The very worst cuts of all, in my view. When Oscar is promising Billy Joe the countriest music he has ever heard, there is a quick cut to The Sophisticadoes doing an appropriately sophisticated rendition of "Cocktails for Two". At the end of the episode, when Billy Joe wants to sing a number with the band, he chooses a song his Grandpa Zeb taught him when he was just a little shaver, camping under the Texas stars. Yup. "Cocktails for Two". The DVD ends before Billy Joe takes the microphone.

The Subway Story--After the puppies are born, the next scene begins with Felix singing "Give My Regards to Broadway", accompanied by Scatman Crothers. The DVD skips to the train pulling into Times Square.

The Rent Strike--After Felix leaves his office, Lovelace tells his plants that Felix is a nut...and then invites the plants to join him as he waters them and sings "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head".

Felix Remarries--The ongoing plumbing problem pays off just before the break leading into the tag of the show. When the wedding is over and Felix really is remarried, Oscar puts down the buckets, says "I'm free" and squeezes Murray's face. The DVD cuts off there, but actually, he begins singing "Singing' in the Rain" and dancing as joyously as anyone ever has.

Two Men on a Hoarse--Again, just before the tag, Felix talks about the miracle of their friendship, and how they should be grateful for it. He then starts to sing "Together" (from Gypsy). The visual joke is that (remember they are both tied to chairs) at the end of each line, Felix moves his chair closer to Oscar's and Oscar moves his chair farther away. The moves are done in rhythm with the song, and it's funny when you see it, although it doesn't read funny here.

Your Mother Wears Army Boots--The last scene ever filmed is the tag of this show, in which Martina Arroyo sings "For Once in My Life" to Felix, Oscar, Murray, Howard Cosell, Jack Carter and Roone Arledge.



OK, that's my list. If I missed any, I hope someone will add them in.

 

[pitchman]

It looks like season 4 is the worst offender then? At least in terms of the number of cuts...

 

[DeWilson]

This is just insane! Haven't they heard of "Fair Use"?

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Wow, that is some list. I've been pretty familiar with the cuts myself. I am a big fan and bought all the DVDs anyway... but it's a shame so much is cut. I still have gone on record as saying that the shows still remain enjoyable and I don't regret buying them, when you also consider they're still more complete than they were when they aired in syndication (other scenes were then edited on TV).

I think I counted about 30 episodes listed above, and if you consider that there are 114 episodes of THE ODD COUPLE, then it's a relatively small amount of shows which are missing music things.

Still unfortunate, though.

 

[David Rain]

None of those songs are in the public domain ?

 

[FanCollector]

I started a thread on that very topic. As far as I could tell, the following songs ARE in the public domain:

"Give My Regards to Broadway"
"Peg O' My Heart"
"Look For the Silver Lining"
"Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life"
"I Love You Truly"
"Tiger Rag"

Adding it up, the six songs would have spared seven episodes from cuts. In the other thread, some people brought up the point that arrangements of public domain songs may not be free, which is a good point, but if you compare the cut songs to the songs left alone, that does not seem to have been a problem on this show.

 

[Matt Hough]

I'm greatly appreciative to find all of the cuts listed in one spot. Thank you, Lee, for going to the trouble of providing us fans of the show with this valuable information.

 

[FanCollector]

My pleasure. I have gotten many answers here myself, so I was happy to be able to provide one.

 

[franklinlange]

Season 2 music substitution- In Good, Bad Boy, the scene when Edna dances with Felix, Moon River is playing in the background, but in the DVD's, a generic tune is playing instead.

 

[BobO'Link]

Commercial use of copywrited material is not considered "Fair Use" under copywrite law:

U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use
U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Law: Chapter 1

 

[FrancisP]

I don't understand the cut at the end of "Strike Up the Band...Or Else". At the beginning of the show, Felix and his band was doing the very same song that was cut out at the end. If there is a rights issue then why wouldn't it be completely cut out?

 

[FanCollector]

I was insufficiently clear. "Cocktails For Two" was cut in both spots. The Sophisticados' version was cut, as well, with the scene beginning after the song ends.

 

[alovera1]

anyone know if the Region 2 German dvd's for season 2 3 4 5 are uncut ?

 

[FanCollector]

anyone know if the Region 2 German dvd's for season 2 3 4 5 are uncut ?

I got the Season 3 set to test them out. The general answer is no; the music edits are mostly the same. Somehow, though, the ending of I Gotta Be Me slipped by them, as Felix is allowed to sing "Cocktails for Two" before Oscar pushes him into the closet. Everything else was missing, as in the American DVDs.

 

[Jack P]

It's truly disgusting the level of slipshod cuts that were made to this show that ruined the *comedy* in so many spots. To me, the moment when Pernell Roberts abruptly out of left-field starts to sing "Cocktails For Two" and the look on Felix's face is one of the funniest in the show's entire run. If that episode had been left alone, I might have actually endured the rest of the senseless slaughter, but that one was just the final straw.

 

[FanCollector]

It's truly disgusting the level of slipshod cuts that were made to this show that ruined the *comedy* in so many spots. To me, the moment when Pernell Roberts abruptly out of left-field starts to sing "Cocktails For Two" and the look on Felix's face is one of the funniest in the show's entire run. If that episode had been left alone, I might have actually endured the rest of the senseless slaughter, but that one was just the final straw.

It's possible that one is fixed on the German set, as the one song restored in the third season set was "Cocktails for Two." Somehow I doubt it though...