[IrishBrigade]

‘he improved on Walter Matthau’s version of Oscar Madison...’

probably; I thought he hammed it up a little, but a TV series requires a little more effort, so that’s to be expected...but the series really missed the mark with Tony Randall as Jack Lemmon’s character...

Lemmon was, in my humble opinion, one of the finest actors of recent times; as witness ‘Days of Wine and Roses...’

[Dr. Sivana]

but the series really missed the mark with Tony Randall as Jack Lemmon’s character...

Tony Randall might have moved the character away from Neil Simon's version, which empahasized the OCD/nrurotic side, and not quite so much the neatnik side. The opera buff business was Randall's invention. However, I think Klugman and Randall had great chemistry, clearly irritating each other but caring deeply for each other anyway.