“The Odd Monks”, S3E5, is our topic for this episode of 1049 Park Avenue.  Felix and Oscar go to a monastery to escape work pressures but end up in trouble with the monks.  We quote from Garry Marshall and Jack Klugman who both discuss this episode in their memoirs – in fact Gary Marshall says it is his favorite.  We also discuss the terrible hair of Brother Lou, reading before bed, the speed at which dough can rise, the song that was cut from the DVD and the bizarre tag scene.

While “The Pen Is Mightier Than The Pencil” is the next episode that we would cover sequentially on 1049 Park Avenue, it was the one we covered in our first podcast because we wanted to start with a mutual favorite.  We are reposting our first episode here for you fellow obsessive compulsives who need things in order with a special bonus segment in which we discuss an interview with Elinor Donahue regarding her role as Miriam since this is her first prominent appearance, even if it is her 2nd episode.  

This week we analyze S3E3 "The Princess" in which Oscar falls in love with royalty.  We discuss the resume of guest star Jean Simmons (who is not Gene Simmons), the lushness of this episode, the drama of this episode and the fact another TV series based on a Neil Simon play was on the ABC Fall schedule during The Odd Couple's first season.

Howard Cosell joins the boys for S2E2 "Big Mouth".  Cosell plays himself of course and he is a pitchman for an ad campaign Felix is working on but Oscar insults him and then Felix insults him.  They have to apologize so Felix can keep his job.  We discuss Cosell's rise to fame, the odd addition of a boy scout character, the random little lines that dot this episode and the hilarious "play-by-play" coverage Felix gives as Oscar.

In this extra long episode we analyze the 19 out of 24 S1 episodes that we can watch on streaming and address the 5 we could not watch (we don't own the DVD of S1 because we don't like S1).  Each episode gets 2-7 minutes of our attention as some are too painful to discuss while others have some noteworthy moments.  

We have come to the end of S2 with our coverage of "Psychic, Shmychic", the second season finale.  Our topics include the careers of The Amazing Criswelll and Bernie Kopell, and the popularity of ESP in 1972.

S2E22 - "Oscar's Promotion" - Oscar is assigned to be the editor of a new sports supplement at his newspaper and his first assigned is a Chinese v USA exhibition wrestling match.  And he needs a photographer!

We discuss guest star Jack Soo, the state of Chinese-US relations & the time and the specific event that triggered this episode, and the fact that China's best wrestler is aged 55 according to this episode.

We divert from our normal format this week and cover four episodes of the show from S2 that we think are not very good.  We call then "Oddballs" and we give each one about 20 minutes of time to discuss why we don't like them but also the funny moments that do exist (plus a clip).  The episodes are "Natural Childbirth", "A Grave For Felix, "Does Your Mother Know You're Out Rigoletto" and "Where's Grandpa".

This week we cover S2E21 "A Night To Dismember" -- a Rashomon-style episode depicting the New Year's Eve episode that led to Oscar and Blanche's divorce.   Among the details we discuss are 1) the timeline inconsistencies this episode create 2) the origin and use of Rashomon in pop culture 3) Ted's search for the restaurant depicted in the opening scene and 4)guest star Joan Van Ark