Two and a Half Men
| Two and a Half Men | |
|---|---|
| File:Twohalf.PNG The cast of Two and a Half Men | |
| Created by | Chuck Lorre Lee Aronsohn |
| Starring | Charlie Sheen Jon Cryer Angus T. Jones Marin Hinkle Holland Taylor Melanie Lynskey Conchata Ferrell April Bowlby |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 96 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 min. approx. |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 22, 2003 – present |
Two and a Half Men is an Emmy-nominated television sitcom centered around a freewheeling bachelor, Charlie, whose carefree lifestyle is interrupted when his newly separated brother, Alan, moves in, along with Alan's son Jake. Charlie and his nephew form an "unsuspecting bond" with each other. Two and a Half Men won the 2004 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Comedy Series, the 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy, and was the highest rated sitcom of the 2005-2006 season on American television.
As of May 16, 2007, Two and a Half Men was renewed for a fifth season.
Cast and characters
- Charlie Sheen, as Charlie Harper, a hedonistic, never married jingle-writer
- Jon Cryer, as Alan Jerome Harper, Charlie's twice-divorced Chiropractor brother
- Angus T. Jones, as Jacob David "Jake" Harper, Alan's son
- Marin Hinkle, as Judith, Alan's ex-wife
- Holland Taylor, as Evelyn Harper, Charlie and Alan's mother
- Melanie Lynskey, as their neighbor Rose, a sometime stalker of Charlie (starring Season 1, recurring through Season 4, written-out in Season 4)
- Conchata Ferrell, as their housekeeper Berta (recurring previously)
- April Bowlby, as Kandi, Alan's young second ex-wife (starring Season 3 Episode 13, recurring both before and after)
Only Sheen, Cryer, and Jones have appeared (and been credited) in every episode. Guest stars so far have included Emmanuelle Vaugier as Mia, Ryan Stiles (who starred with both Sheen and Cryer in Hot Shots!) as Dr. Melnick, Jane Lynch as the therapist, Jeri Ryan as Sherry, Martin Sheen as Rose's father, Denise Richards as Lisa, Richard Lewis as Stan, Teri Hatcher as Liz, Judy Greer as Myra, Heather Locklear as Laura Lane. Also, Sean Penn, Elvis Costello, Harry Dean Stanton and Steven Tyler all appeared as themselves, among other guests.
Synopsis
Charlie is a successful and affluent bachelor in his mid-thirties who has a career writing advertisement jingles. Charlie resides in a large ocean front home in Malibu, California and is portrayed as a chauvinist womanizer. The plot begins when his uptight brother Alan becomes divorced from his wife Judith (whom he thinks may be a lesbian), loses his house to her and has to move in with his brother. His 10-year-old son Jake often stays for weekends and at other times.
Rose is Charlie's zany neighbor and female stalker. We learn Rose had a one-night-stand with Charlie shortly before the show started and keeps entering his house through the patio in the most inopportune moments, expressing her ambition of obtaining Charlie, and often serving as a good albeit crazy friend and advisor. Although obviously troubled herself, Rose has stated a few times that she has a Master's degree in psychology. In various episodes it is insinuated that Rose is very slowly orchestrating a psychological plan to win Charlie back. Early in the series she's heard to say (to herself) "Phase one, complete", after revealing to Charlie her excessive wealth.
In one episode, Rose's father, Harvey, (played by Charlie Sheen's real-life father Martin Sheen), asks Charlie of his intentions with his daughter after an apparent second one-night-stand between the two. Harvey then meets Charlie's and Alan's mother and has an affair with her, stalking her and popping in just like his daughter does. We then learn from Harvey's mother that "that's what happens when you marry a first cousin," explaining Rose's family's dementia soon after Rose revealing the one-night-stand was not real; they only woke up together.
Another important recurring character is Berta, the sarcastic cleaning lady with an acid tongue.
Alan and Charlie's mother, Evelyn (played by Holland Taylor) is a hip, wealthy, early-sixties, many-times-divorced, slightly slutty, controlling mother of the brothers. Charlie and Alan attribute their life's problems to the dark manipulative force their mother manages to exert upon them even now, adding to the caustic humor of the show in the situations when depicting their vain attempts to escape her.
Another recurring theme in the show is the conflict of personalities between the two diametrically opposed siblings, the relaxed, good-life, woman-catching, commitment-phobic Charlie and the uptight self-conscious nerdy Alan. Alan can sometimes appear to be jealous of Charlie's lifestyle, and can sometimes try to stop Charlie's decisions. This also provides opportunities for comedy in the show, with Alan, having admitted defeat, saying comments such as 'it's like talking to a horny chimp', or 'it's like trying to talk Shakespeare to a Hershey bar'
DVD Releases
Seasons 1 and 2 have been released in Europe and Australasia. Warner Bros. has announced Season 1 in North America, for a September 11th release date. [1]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 24 | September 11 2007 | September 12 2005 | February 15 2006 |
| Season 2 | 24 | TBA | August 28 2006 | September 6 2006 |
| Season 3 | 24 | TBA | TBA | |
| Season 4 | 24 | TBA | TBA |
Program information
The show was co-created by executive producers Chuck Lorre (who previously co-created Dharma & Greg) and Lee Aronsohn.
The show debuted on Monday, September 22, 2003, at 9:30 p.m., ET/PT. In its third season, starting September 2005, it moved to Mondays at 9:00 p.m. (taking Everybody Loves Raymond's time slot).
In 2010 FX Network will have the rights to Two And A Half Men for reruns.
Nielsen Ratings
2004-2005 Season: #11
2005-2006 Season: #17
2006-2007 Season: #19
SEASON 4 NIELSEN RATINGS BY EPISODE
International Broadcasters
| Country | Alternate title/Translation | TV Network(s) | Series Premiere | Weekly Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
CBS Television | September 22 2003 | Mondays 9:00pm ET | |
 Canada |
CH Television | September 22 2003 | Mondays 9:00pm ET | |
 Argentina |
Warner Channel | |||
 Australia |
Nine Network | |||
 Austria |
ORF | Saturdays 6:30pm | ||
 Belgium |
Kanaal Twee | |||
 Brazil |
Warner Channel | January 5 2004 | Tuesdays 8:30pm | |
 Bulgaria |
Двама мъже и половина | bTV and Fox life | ||
 Chile |
Dos Hombres y medio | Warner Channel and RedTV | Monday To Friday 13:30 (RedTV) | |
 Costa Rica |
Warner Channel | |||
 Croatia |
Dva i pol muškarca ("Two and a Half Men") |
HRT2 | ||
 Denmark |
Two and a Half Men | TV3/3+ | ||
 Finland |
Miehenpuolikkaat | MTV3 | September 1 2005 | |
 France |
Mon oncle Charlie ("My uncle Charlie") |
Canal Jimmy | February 1 2005 | |
 Germany |
Mein cooler Onkel Charlie ("My cool uncle Charlie") during Season 1, then "Two and a half men" |
Pro 7 | March 12 2005 | Saturdays 1:30pm CET |
 Greece |
Alpha TV | |||
 Guatemala |
Warner Channel | |||
 India |
Star World | Thursday 10:30pm IST | ||
 Indonesia |
Jak-TV | |||
 Ireland |
TG4 and Paramount Comedy | |||
 Iceland |
Tveir og hálfur maður | Stöð 2 | ||
 Israel |
yesSTARS (until 2007) yes stars 3 (2007 - ) |
Sundays at 10:00pm (GMT +2) | ||
 Italy |
Due uomini e mezzo | Rai Due | ||
 Malaysia |
Ntv7 and Star World | NTV7: Wednesdays 11.45pm | ||
 Mexico |
Warner Channel XHGC-TV | Tuesday 08:30pm Monday to Friday 18:00pm | ||
 Netherlands |
Veronica | March 4 2005 | ||
 New Zealand |
TV2 | Wednesday 8:00pm | ||
 Norway |
TV3 | March 18 2004 | ||
 Pakistan |
Super Comedy | |||
 Paraguay |
Warner Channel | |||
 Peru |
Warner Channel | |||
 Philippines |
Studio 23, Star World, and Jack TV | |||
 Poland |
Dwóch i pół | TVN Siedem | ||
 Portugal |
Dois Homens e Meio | RTP 1 and RTP 2 | ||
 Romania |
Doi barbati si jumatate | PRO TV | ||
 Slovenia |
Dva moža in pol | Kanal A | October 27 2005 | |
 Serbia |
Dva i po čoveka ("Two and a Half Men") |
RTV Pink | ||
 Singapore |
Channel 5 | |||
 Slovakia |
Dva a pol chlapa | Markiza | ||
 South Africa |
M-Net and SABC 3 (Note: M-Net is one season ahead) |
|||
 Spain |
Dos hombres y medio ("Two and a Half Men") |
TVE2 | ||
 Sri Lanka |
MTV Channel 1 | |||
 Sweden |
2 1/2 män | TV6 | February 6 2004 | Mondays 09.00 - 09.55pm |
 Switzerland |
Mein cooler Onkel Charlie ("My cool uncle Charlie") |
SF2 | ||
 Thailand |
True Series and Star World | |||
 Turkey |
CNBC-e | September 13 2004 | Mondays 8:30pm | |
 Ukraine |
Два з половиною чоловіки ("Two and a Half Men") |
1+1 | ||
 United Kingdom |
Paramount Comedy (First run on Pay TV) and Five (Re-runs on terrestrial TV) |
July 5 2004 | ||
 Uruguay |
Warner Channel | |||
 Venezuela |
Warner Channel |
Trivia
- One episode centers on a website called www.charlieharpersucks.com; as of 2007 this site still exists.
- In the Family Guy episode "North by North Quahog" (the first episode of Family Guy that aired after Fox renewed it), this show is on the family TV, with a more literal take on its title: it shows the Harper brothers screaming in horror as another man, who is cut in half, pleads, "Help me!"
- Each episode's title comes from a line of dialogue from that episode; for example, "Go Get Mommy's Bra". In at least one case the scene containing the referenced line was cut before the show actually aired.
- At the end of each episode, a message appeared on the screen for a brief moment, so that it is readable only to those who record the program (using a VCR or DVR, for example) and pause it. These "vanity cards" were written by producer and show co-creator Chuck Lorre, and express his personal views on a variety of subjects. A complete archive of his vanity cards is available at Chuck Lorre Productions. The vanity cards were first seen at the end of episodes of Dharma & Greg, also a Chuck Lorre Production.
- Alan Harper occasionally claims to be Matthew Broderick in order to get preferential treatment in certain situations. He has even apologized (as Broderick) for not making a sequel to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Since Charlie Sheen, Charlie Harper's portrayer had also starred in the movie, it is ambiguous as to whether (in the show's continuity) it was in fact Harper who appeared in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or Charlie Sheen and Charlie Harper coexist as two separate individuals. The latter technique has been seen in other media, such as the television show The Nanny where Fran Drescher and Fran Fine are two unique people who happen to share a similar appearance. This technique was also used as a major plot device in the recent blockbuster Ocean's Twelve, where Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts) impersonates Julia Roberts.
See also
External links
