Odd Couple - Television Tropes & Idioms

Mr Neat/Tidy/Law-Abiding/By-The-Book forced to work/live with Mr Messy/Slob/Zany/Risk-Taker/Plays-By-His-Own-Rules. Despite the name, they're usually not actually a couple.

The couple might be cops.

The original Odd Couple were The Odd Couple, a Sit Com based on a movie based on a play of the same title, about two divorcees, Neat Freak Felix Unger and his Trash Of The Titans friend Oscar Madison, having to live together.

If it's not the two main characters, it's an Odd Friendship.

Examples

Anime

Nana and Hachi (who is also really named Nana) from Nana.
Part of the premise of Futari Wa Pretty Cure; the two unlikely partners are a sports-loving tomboy and a brainy class rep.
Bleach has a whole lot of these. Blood Knight Kenpachi Zaraki and cute little Yachiru, perennial slacker Kyoraku Shunsui and duty-bound Ise Nanao. Byakuya Kuchiki (cold, Aloof Big Brother) and Renji Abarai (extremely emotional)
- There's also Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and Chojiro Sakisabe (Yamamoto enjoys Japanese culture but dislikes European, and holds Japanese tea sessions for his squad while Chojiro is obsessed with European culture and dislikes Japanese to the point of growing his own tea leaves), but both traits are only described in the data books, and thus only really show up in omake.
- Complete Monster Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Extreme Doormat Nemu Kurotsuchi.
  - Which is a rare justified version, as Mayuri created her to be like that
The Akatsuki team of Hidan (religious, detests money-grubbing people) and Kakuzu (money-grubbing, detests religious people) from Naruto works here too. The only reason they are together is because both have problems with killing their partners, and both are nigh-immortal.
On Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru (another cold, Aloof Big Brother) has a murderous contempt for humanity yet he allows Rin, a sweet, loveable human girl to accompany him with no objections and treats her as a daughter.
The stern, mature Yomi and goofy, brash, hyperactive Tomo on Azumanga Daioh.
Country Mouse Arika Yumemiya and strait-laced #1-ranked student Nina Wang in Mai-Otome. Can also be applied to Arika and snobby Rebellious Princess Mashiro Blan de Windbloom.
Yuno and Miyako from Hidamari Sketch have very different personalities, which doesn't prevent them from being very close. Miyako's often energetic efforts to show her feelings for Yuno are especially endearing at times.
The "Beast Princess" Seness Giat and Yamato Nadeshiko Eirote Borchard in Scrapped Princess.
Toradora: Ryuuji and Taiga. He's tall, gentle, is an expert at housekeeping, likes to cook, and generally does his best to avoid conflict—unfortunately, the hereditary angry glare he got from his father makes everyone think Ryuuji's going to kill them, or worse. She's short, brutish, never bothers cleaning up after herself, burns salads, and has the temperament of a raging tiger—unfortunately, her pretty face and delicate figure makes strangers think she's just a cute little girl.
Light Yagami and L in Death Note. Light is a mass-murderer who kills criminals in order to make a 'better world' with himself as God. L is the detective who's trying to catch him. And they were HANDCUFFED TOGETHER for several episodes/chapters! Not to mention that Light is neatly dressed and charismatic, while L is a sloppy Bunny Ears Lawyer lacking social graces.
Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile is a perfectionist neat-freak who prefers good manners, yet he spends much of his time with Nodame, who is eccentric, ill-mannered, chaotic and an immense slob.
Kanade (serious, somewhat Tsundere) and Yukino (ditzy) from Candy Boy. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the two are more alike than they initially appeared.
Two Contractors of Darker Than Black, November 11 and April have this dynamic, especially in the dub. He is cool and kind of fastidious (at least in respect to smoking) and always wears a suit. She is a Bottle Fairy who dresses like a party girl and has dyed hair. They kill people.

Comic Books

Saintly jack-of-all-trades journalist meets choleric, eccentric alcoholic - who could this possibly be? Tintin and his Captain, of course.
Cable and Deadpool - One: a muscle-bound, angsty psychic mutant from the future trying to make the world a better place. His buddy: a fourth-wall-breaking motormouth mercenary who is made of cancer and loves pop-culture riffs. They Fight Crime, sort of. Occasional Ho Yay.
Sehven and Leeka in Feather. Sehv is the last dragon slayer. Leeka is the last full blooded dragon. You can see where the conflict comes from.

Film

Virgil Tibbs (black and Northern) and Bill Gillespie (redneck) in In The Heat Of The Night.
The movie Turner & Hooch (1989) with Tom Hanks as the obsessive Neat Freak bachelor cop Scott Turner having to share his pristine apartment with... Hooch, a large slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux he-dog, the only witness in a murder case.
Ken and Ray in In Bruges, Ken being the warmhearted, wiser man and Ray being the impertinent, non-PC young one. Ken likes Bruges for the scenery; Ray hates it for being so boring.

Literature

Isaac Asimov's "Robot Detective" novels, where the couple is an intelligent robot detective and a robot-hating human policeman. They Fight Crime.
Conventional, polite nice guy John Watson and eccentric, sarcastic junkie Sherlock Holmes, who were originally forced to live together because neither of them could afford the Baker Street flat on his own, make this trope Older Than Radio.
Deconstructed in John Dies At The End, with the relationship between John and Dave. For most of the book, Dave is seen as pretty normal, with John being the weirdo. However, as the book progresses, we discover that John is Dave's only friend, and the reason Dave still hangs around with him is because he's a codependent sociopath, and John's the 'normal' one.
Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens are, in theory, about as different as it's possible to get: they met in the Garden of Eden, where Aziraphale was the angel at the eastern gate and Crowley was the snake. (They've both since been demoted.) Having worked opposite each other on Earth for countless centuries, they've realised that they have more in common with each other than they think and become best friends, still nominally working for good and evil but not interfering with each other's projects and occasionally having lunch together. Aziraphale is the neat, picky one while Crowley is wilder and always wears sunglasses.
In The Westing Game, the sixteen main characters are paired with each other in order to solve a mystery. Most of the pairs seemingly have nothing in common with each other.
Skulduggery Pleasant and Stephanie Edgeley.
Con Men Pettersson & Bendel, from the novel of the same name. Pettersson is a dashing but rather naive homeless man whom most people take to straight away; Bendel is a scrawny illegal immigrant and financial genius who must have a Charisma score of about -10.
Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, to an extent. While they do fit the bill of nutty-goofball and sophistication-incarnate, respectively, their living situation is due to a professional, master-servant relationship. Naturally...

Live Action TV

Michael and Joey from My Two Dads.
Larry and Balki from Perfect Strangers.
Scully and Mulder from The X Files (at least until Scully began to believe)
Hot-tempered and caring Doyle and cool Bodie from The Professionals
Logical, scientific Brennan and intuitive, religious Booth from Bones
Full House had an Odd Trio.
Francisco (Newcomer) and Sikes (who doesn't like Newcomers) in both the movie and the television version of Alien Nation.
When the producers of what would eventually become Mythbusters first approached Jamie Hyneman re: hosting the show, he objected on the grounds that he is...not exactly an extrovert ("Do you even have moods?" "No."). He suggested importing a much more outgoing colleague, Adam Savage, as co-host. The result has developed into one of the funniest, most charismatic Odd Couple pairings going.
- They more or less intentionally created a Double Act/ Comedy Duo/ Manzai, which given how often it shows up on this list, is probably a sub-trope.
DI Sam Tyler and DCI Gene Hunt in Life On Mars are, respectively, an uptight, by-the-book, and slightly crazy cop trained in the modern and forensics-heavy methods of policing, and a reckless, bastardly, and semi-alcoholic cop trained in the 1970s Cowboy Cop method of breaking down doors and having people arrested for cattle-rustling because he needed an excuse to get them off the streets. At one point in the show, they beat each other up in a hospital room and the camera cuts to them sitting down together having a smoke and talking about their job. No one found anything interesting about this at all.
Clark Kent and Lex Luthor from Smallville.
Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.
The Mighty Boosh revolves around the relationship between Vince Noir (super-trendy, cheerful, fey social butterfly with big eyes) and Howard Moon (anxious, introverted, masculine jazz aficionado with small eyes). Vince is often mistaken for Howard's wife, and Howard is often mistaken for Vince's father or geography teacher. The Odd Couple dynamic has an additional level to it, as it mirrors the real-life dynamic between actors Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt.
Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo from Rome, with Vorenus as the uptight, honourable, stoic, by-the-book guy (with occasional cold-blooded murderous rage), and Pullo as the cheerfully hedonistic thug who never thinks beyond the next fight or fuck. Played with in that over the course of the series, Vorenus gets broken down into a crazed nihilist while Pullo matures into a thoughtful, responsible, father and leader.
Sam and Dean Winchester.
Angel and Spike in the fifth season of Angel.
The Naked Trucker and T-Bones:
Trucker: "...That's why I do the drivin'-"
T-Bones: "And I do the drinkin'."
Trucker: "You do the talkin'."
T-Bones: "And you do the thinkin'."
Keen Eddie: Deceptively scruffy American detective, Eddie Arlette, is deep, noble, sensitive, protective, brave, a hopeless romantic, and honest, while his foppish partner, British inspector Monty Pippin, is shallow, selfish, callous, immature, craven, hedonistic, and a compulsive liar. Despite this, the two are fast friends and generally get along swimmingly.
- Notably, this dynamic plays around with what would have been expected of the Odd Couple. According to stereotype, the British character would be reserved and by-the-book, and the American would be a brash Cowboy Cop. This is true of them to an extent, but as noted, their personalities are actually more like the opposite (Eddie is a Chivalrous Pervert while Monty is a Casanova who frequents Swinger clubs).
Vince and Errol from 15 Storeys High. Vince is a mildly eccentric misanthrope (not to the extent of being wacky, but he gets his decorating ideas from pornographic magazines), whereas Errol is naive, trusting, freindly and helpful.
Mark and Jeremy from Peep Show are a classic example.
Averted by Bottom: Richie and Eddie are forever playing catch with the Idiot Ball; there's always one stupid guy and one angry guy, but which is which is never constant, even within a single episode or a single scene.

Theater

Nicky and Rod from Avenue Q. Their dynamic is very similar to the original Odd Couple...and thus to Sesame Street's Bert & Ernie (mentioned above) on whose personalities they were more directly based.

Radio

Subverted - or something - by satirists Bob & Ray, who were almost exact opposites as per this trope (slight, precise and soft-spoken vs. burly, extroverted and baritone) but could intuit each other's thoughts to the point where they could turn a chance word or phrase into a full-blown comedy skit without skipping a beat. Their character types did tend to reflect their personalities...except that big burly Ray ended up playing all the females.

Role Playing Games

The Shadowrun rulebooks mention a Trideo show very popular in the Cyber Punk world, a remake of The Odd Couple with a student hermetic magician in the role of Felix Unger and a student shaman in the role of his sloppy flatmate Madison.

Video Games

Attempted justification in Snatcher, where Gillian's partner, Metal, is a Robot Buddy specifically designed to have a contrasting but complimentary personality to him, to help provide a different perspective and help him concentrate on his duties.
Caim and the dragon in Drakengard. Caim hates all dragons because a dragon killed his parents, and the dragon hates all of humanity.
Rico from Killzone is a Helghast-hating jerk and Hakha is a half-Helghast Deadpan Snarker. Much of the fun comes from watching these two talk to each other.
In Riviera: The Promised Land, Fia and Lina are roommates. Fia is quiet, wise, intelligent, a good homemaker and cautious. Lina is outgoing, emotional, klutzy, messy and constantly runs head-first into danger.

Web Comics

The Pits comic strips, by John Cook (artist of Sev Trek and the other Sev cartoons), has Neat Freak Herman suffering from two annoying sloppy bachelor flatmates: dumb womanizing Lance and the messy slacker Wayne, a textbook Trash Of The Titans example. Things get worse when Herman gets a girlfriend.
Casey And Andy.

Western Animation

The Simpsons spoofed the genre (and the fact that buddy shows often have forced puns as titles) when Troy MacClure announced his new show, "Handle with Care" (in which a retired cop ("Jack Handle") and a retired criminal live together) and declared "We're the original Odd Couple!"
Pinky And The Brain.
In Justice League, Green Lantern and Flash. Lampshaded once when after a fight, John uses his ring to tie up the group of villains and delivers the "Guess that's a wrap" line. After receiving stares from his teammates, he apologizes for the lame pun and states that he's been spending a lot of time with Flash.
Boisterous evil genius Jumba and meek, kindly scholar Pleakely on Lilo And Stitch.
Ren And Stimpy
Shoehorned into Sonic the Hedgehog for one of the eleven-minute Antoine episodes when Antoine is forced to live with Sonic, who becomes conspicuously more of a comedic sociopath. The episode is actually called "The Odd Couple".
Mr. Persnickety and Mr. Messy from The Mr Men Show.
The Imp and his flatmate, Bob.
Stewie and Brian Griffin in Family Guy. Pretty much self evident.

Other

Gap has Tom and David, although Tom is only played this way from David's perspective.
Part of the initial success of Monday Night Football in the early '70s was due to ABC's broadcast booth having one of these in Howard Cosell and Don Meredith.
Another ESPN pairing: Mike and Mike in the Morning. Mike Greenberg is a small, nerdy, germ-phobic, metrosexual neat freak, and cohost Mike Golic is a big, loud, ex-jock, man's man.
Subverted somewhat with ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and ANY of his puppet partners, particularly Peanut and Walter. "Peanut" has pointed out several times that Jeff is essentially talking to himself. ("You're arguing with yourself AND LOSING!") In other words, Jeff Dunham is his own odd couple.
Although used often in the Im A Marvel And Im ADC series in regards to the numerous characters used and the vast variety in personalities, the concept was taken to its most hilarious extreme in which Deadpool gets the crazy idea that he should be in a sitcom with none other than Rorschach.
- "I smell a sitcom!"

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