once a time-traveling cyborg with a
passion for knitting the other is a
sentient cactus who just wants to have
fun will they ever learn to work
together and get their independent
dog-walking business off the ground
probably not but damned if it doesn’t
make for entertaining television welcome
to watchmojo.com
types and story devices that won’t go
away
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content in this episode we’re
taking a look at the Odd Couple an
unlikely pairing of characters drawn
together by circumstance whose
fundamental and glaring differences
often serve as the foundation for humour
drama and interpersonal cuffs garage
meet a new partner to all there’s
nothing less compelling than watching
two people get along The Odd Couple
dynamic ensures that the two main
characters in a story will be in
constant conflict and keep things
interesting for the audience why because
they’re diametrically opposed archetypes
guaranteed to clash in most situations
and yet for all their differences and
despite the odds they often complement
each other in unexpected ways making
them a force to be reckoned with when
they finally get their acts together
Martin Riggs we’re going to make a great
team basically it’s Riggs and Murtaugh
of the Lethal Weapon franchise everybody
cop movie you’ve ever seen and the
foundation of most sitcoms involving
roommates my ringtone is let it go and
you know that to be threatened to beat
me every time it ring
well perhaps most common wherever
fictional law enforcement is concerned
this trope owes its popularity to a play
by the same name Neil Simon’s The Odd
Couple which made its Broadway debut in
1965 was subsequently adapted into a
film three separate television series
and even a short-lived cartoon
while all like we said popular while the
original Odd Couple put a recognizable
and fitting name to the dynamic this
interpersonal plot device can be traced
way back to the history of storytelling
the relationship between Sherlock Holmes
and dr. Watson is just one classic
example of this dynamic that predated
the term Odd Couple though the shoe
definitely fits he said I had a
therapist for the psychosomatic limp of
course you’ve got a therapist while
there have been countless iconic odd
couples due to its popularity and
overuse the trope is often seen as cheap
and an excuse for writing superficial
underdeveloped characters The Odd Couple
dynamic
is all about tension and conflict but
requires a fundamental chemistry between
the characters in order to work most of
the time these stories never evolved
beyond the point of a look how different
these guys are we give them a partner
yes that’s a good idea right they could
give them maybe a funny minority type
ring in the urban audience great I’ll
get the n-double-a-cp off my back
ignoring this subtle but crucial factor
some films have taken the odd part of
the Odd Couple trope to absurd extremes
from solving crime with your aging
mother in tow to being partnered with a
highly evolved but ultimately goofy
dinosaur just to name a few
dinosaur yes technically as these flicks
prove beyond a shadow of a doubt without
substance to back up all those wacky
hijinks this dynamic isn’t endearing
it’s annoying
all this time you’ve been telling me a
good cop uses a gun right so what are
you telling me now I was wrong your
brain use your brain but for every
botched on-screen odd couples we get a
true jet examples such as seven and the
first season of True detective a
reminders of just how effective this
trope could be when the characters are
properly developed okay what’s happening
means I’m bad at parties conflicting
personalities temperaments and
worldviews when forced into close
quarters can create a wonderfully tense
atmosphere that whether the characters
like it or not
incites personal growth self-reflection
and wildly insightful conversation I
don’t ever change man sadly this tropes
reputation is weighed down by countless
films and TV shows that employ it as a
shortcut to cheap laughs focusing on
contrived differences and taking them at
face value the 2016
Zootopia however is a prime example of
how the Odd Couple can be used to
dismantle and challenge stereotypes and
surface level differences if the world’s
only going to see a fox and shifty and
untrustworthy there’s no point in trying
to be anything else
Zootopia is the story of a female bunny
cop and a fox con men who have to work
together to solve a missing-persons case
while they’re clearly different on the
outside the conflict between them is
rooted in their characterization rather
than the stereotype associated with
these two furry architects fly bunny
an exploration of contemporary issues of
racial prejudice packaged as a kids
movie Zootopia proves that the odd
couple still has claws when applied with
Fritz just when I thought somebody
actually believed in me huh
probably best if you don’t have a
predator as a partner for better or
worse The Odd Couple isn’t going away
anytime soon from a screenwriting
standpoint it’s simply too functional
and useful of a trope ever abandoned
especially in a serialized format like a
sitcom where you need an exciting
incident to bring your characters
together and something to keep conflicts
coming week after week what better way
to satisfy these storytelling needs than
a pair of mismatched roommates or cups
how am I supposed to explain all of that
like most tropes The Odd Couple isn’t
inherently good or bad it’s a simple
framework on which characters and a
relationship are built the degree to
which they are developed all depends on
the right Shoshana story so what do you
think it’s The Odd Couple a tired old
trope or a classic dynamic that will
never get old and what are some of your
favorite examples of the odd cup Toni
Kukoc are Oh what am i yelling at you or
you’re a dog check out these other great
clips from watch mojo and subscribe for
new videos every day
passion for knitting the other is a
sentient cactus who just wants to have
fun will they ever learn to work
together and get their independent
dog-walking business off the ground
probably not but damned if it doesn’t
make for entertaining television welcome
to watchmojo.com
types and story devices that won’t go
away
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content in this episode we’re
taking a look at the Odd Couple an
unlikely pairing of characters drawn
together by circumstance whose
fundamental and glaring differences
often serve as the foundation for humour
drama and interpersonal cuffs garage
meet a new partner to all there’s
nothing less compelling than watching
two people get along The Odd Couple
dynamic ensures that the two main
characters in a story will be in
constant conflict and keep things
interesting for the audience why because
they’re diametrically opposed archetypes
guaranteed to clash in most situations
and yet for all their differences and
despite the odds they often complement
each other in unexpected ways making
them a force to be reckoned with when
they finally get their acts together
Martin Riggs we’re going to make a great
team basically it’s Riggs and Murtaugh
of the Lethal Weapon franchise everybody
cop movie you’ve ever seen and the
foundation of most sitcoms involving
roommates my ringtone is let it go and
you know that to be threatened to beat
me every time it ring
well perhaps most common wherever
fictional law enforcement is concerned
this trope owes its popularity to a play
by the same name Neil Simon’s The Odd
Couple which made its Broadway debut in
1965 was subsequently adapted into a
film three separate television series
and even a short-lived cartoon
while all like we said popular while the
original Odd Couple put a recognizable
and fitting name to the dynamic this
interpersonal plot device can be traced
way back to the history of storytelling
the relationship between Sherlock Holmes
and dr. Watson is just one classic
example of this dynamic that predated
the term Odd Couple though the shoe
definitely fits he said I had a
therapist for the psychosomatic limp of
course you’ve got a therapist while
there have been countless iconic odd
couples due to its popularity and
overuse the trope is often seen as cheap
and an excuse for writing superficial
underdeveloped characters The Odd Couple
dynamic
is all about tension and conflict but
requires a fundamental chemistry between
the characters in order to work most of
the time these stories never evolved
beyond the point of a look how different
these guys are we give them a partner
yes that’s a good idea right they could
give them maybe a funny minority type
ring in the urban audience great I’ll
get the n-double-a-cp off my back
ignoring this subtle but crucial factor
some films have taken the odd part of
the Odd Couple trope to absurd extremes
from solving crime with your aging
mother in tow to being partnered with a
highly evolved but ultimately goofy
dinosaur just to name a few
dinosaur yes technically as these flicks
prove beyond a shadow of a doubt without
substance to back up all those wacky
hijinks this dynamic isn’t endearing
it’s annoying
all this time you’ve been telling me a
good cop uses a gun right so what are
you telling me now I was wrong your
brain use your brain but for every
botched on-screen odd couples we get a
true jet examples such as seven and the
first season of True detective a
reminders of just how effective this
trope could be when the characters are
properly developed okay what’s happening
means I’m bad at parties conflicting
personalities temperaments and
worldviews when forced into close
quarters can create a wonderfully tense
atmosphere that whether the characters
like it or not
incites personal growth self-reflection
and wildly insightful conversation I
don’t ever change man sadly this tropes
reputation is weighed down by countless
films and TV shows that employ it as a
shortcut to cheap laughs focusing on
contrived differences and taking them at
face value the 2016
Zootopia however is a prime example of
how the Odd Couple can be used to
dismantle and challenge stereotypes and
surface level differences if the world’s
only going to see a fox and shifty and
untrustworthy there’s no point in trying
to be anything else
Zootopia is the story of a female bunny
cop and a fox con men who have to work
together to solve a missing-persons case
while they’re clearly different on the
outside the conflict between them is
rooted in their characterization rather
than the stereotype associated with
these two furry architects fly bunny
an exploration of contemporary issues of
racial prejudice packaged as a kids
movie Zootopia proves that the odd
couple still has claws when applied with
Fritz just when I thought somebody
actually believed in me huh
probably best if you don’t have a
predator as a partner for better or
worse The Odd Couple isn’t going away
anytime soon from a screenwriting
standpoint it’s simply too functional
and useful of a trope ever abandoned
especially in a serialized format like a
sitcom where you need an exciting
incident to bring your characters
together and something to keep conflicts
coming week after week what better way
to satisfy these storytelling needs than
a pair of mismatched roommates or cups
how am I supposed to explain all of that
like most tropes The Odd Couple isn’t
inherently good or bad it’s a simple
framework on which characters and a
relationship are built the degree to
which they are developed all depends on
the right Shoshana story so what do you
think it’s The Odd Couple a tired old
trope or a classic dynamic that will
never get old and what are some of your
favorite examples of the odd cup Toni
Kukoc are Oh what am i yelling at you or
you’re a dog check out these other great
clips from watch mojo and subscribe for
new videos every day
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