Charlie Harper is a successful and respected advertising career-man living out a luxurious, sun-soaked lifestyle in Malibu. Times have been good for Charlie up until recently with women falling at his feet, a tranquil beach house and a shiny new Mercedes in the garage, until his brother Alan and Alan's son Jake crash into his life. Uptight, geeky Alan has divorced his neurotic wife, Judith and lost his home, leaving them no choice but to move in with Charlie...

Two and a Half Men is an American sitcom that started in 2003 and is currently (as of May 2008) in its fifth season. Before reviewing this DVD I hadn't seen a single episode, and was not overly sure what to expect.

Sadly, when I started watching this I thought my lowest expectations had been met. The gags seemed to be cheap, and strictly aimed at a lowbrow demographic. However, over the course of the 24 episodes on this four disc collection, the show actually started to grow on me. While not the greatest thing on TV, the jokes get better as the series goes on, and the characters get more and more likable as the episodes progress.

Charlie Sheen is what obviously sold this show to the network, and it's interesting to see that he does have pretty good comic timing. The kid, who I assume was a cute little thing when the show started, has probably got another year or two before the writers are going to have to change his character a little.

There was also something about the actor playing Alan that was familiar - but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I recognised him... kind of, but his name (Jon Cryer) rang no bells. It was only after a quick Internet search that I realised that it was the same actor who played Phil Dale (Duckie) in 1986 Pretty in Pink. He's hardly aged at all.

The titles of the episodes mean very little, being obscure lines that one of the cast has uttered in that episode. Highlights in Season Three include:

Principal Gallagher's Lesbian Lover: Jake gets suspended from school after being caught drawing a picture of a girl in his class who has larger than average breasts. Having to go to the school to sort things out, Alan asks Charlie to man the phones over at his chiropractic office. When Alan comes back, Charlie has somehow accidentally turned it into a brothel.

Sleep Tight, Puddin' Pop: After Rose organises her own surprise birthday party at Charlie's house, one thing leads to another and the next day Charlie wakes up in bed with Rose. When Rose's father turns up on Charlie's doorstep demanding to know how serious his relationship is with Rose, Charlie realises he's backed in a corner. Thankfully Evelyn, Charlie's mother, shows up just in the nick of time, and when she and Rose's dad lock eyes it's love at first sight. This episode is made all the more amusing because of the fact that Martin Sheen plays Rose's dad.

That Voodoo That I Do Do: When Charlie spots a girl he fancies in a coffee shop, he's not disheartened when she shoots him down. Instead he stalks her and discovers that she's a ballet teacher. In order to get closer to the girl, Charlie tricks Jake into taking ballet lessons. Soon Jake has a crush on his teacher, and Charlie starts to wonder if she's impervious to his charms.

Madame and Her Special Friend: Jake finds God. After panicking about an upcoming test, he sends money to a televangelist to make his teacher sick. Alan has problems of his own after he's seduced by one of Charlie's elderly neighbours. She's promised to fund a new chiropractic building, but is Alan really prepared to sleep with her? This episode stars Cloris Leachman, who has been in just about every TV show made in America.

Santa's Village of the Damned: Alan starts dating a woman called Sandy who seems a little too good to be true. She's his cooking teacher from a new night class he's taking. However, it soon becomes apparent that she's a few sandwiches short of a picnic. It doesn't take long for her to start running the house, but the men aren't complaining - as long as she keeps cooking those fattening desserts, they're happy.

Golly Moses, She's A Muffin: Charlie's ex, and very young, girlfriend Kandi has been dating Alan for some time. But, when she seems to be having problems paying her rent, Alan asks her to move in with him. It's three weeks before Charlie notices, and points out to Alan that no women are allowed to live in the flat. Alan employs Kandi in his practice, but the two soon realise they can't work together. After having a falling out, Kandi makes friends with Alan's ex-wife, who invites her to move in with her.

Arguments for the Quickie: Mia is back in town with her dance troupe. She talks with Charlie, explaining to him that she wants to have their child, but doesn't want to have sex in order to become pregnant. Charlie tries to argue for a quickie (which should do the trick) but when Mia declines, he realises that he doesn't want to lose her and has a proposition for her.

There are no extras at all on these discs, but then at £25 who is going to moan about that?

If you haven't seen this show before, then it's worth a look. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, nor is it cerebral in any way. But, it's entertaining enough.

6

Nick Smithson