The Good
This is legitimately one of the best shows on television.
The Bad
No commentary tracks from any of the actors or creators.
Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen) lives on the beach, doesn’t work much, and sleeps around with many beautiful women. His brother Alan (Jon Cryer) is bounced out of his home by his wife and only gets to see his son Jake (Angus T. Jones) on the weekends. In the “Pilot” episode we come to understand how he takes up residence in Charlie’s house. As you can guess these two guys often see their lives clashing with young Jake left to decide who he would most rather be like. Helping and not helping the boys along is their quick witted mother (Holland Taylor), and there are other characters who make their way through Charlie’s house. Making this show work is its mix of snappy writing, strong characterizations and easy going comedy that seems to push the limits of what is and isn’t acceptable on television.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Filling up this 4 disc set are 24 episodes that feature a lot of laughs that surprisingly wear well over multiple viewings. As you can guess Charlie’s life is constantly coming into collisions with Alan’s life, and the fact that Charlie makes no effort to temper his sexual lifestyle and almost puts it on display for Jake is where much of the humor seems to reside. This is clearly showcased in the episode, “Last Thing You Want is to Wind Up With a Hump,” in which both Alan and Charlie realize what a chick factory Jake’s soccer games are. “Phase One, Complete” has Charlie doubting the viability of his new girlfriend when everyone else seems to think she’s alright. Lastly, “No Sniffing, No Wowing” sees Charlie getting more than he bargained for when he hits on Alan’s divorce attorney.
Features
Gag Reel
Giving us the usual litany of actors messing up lines, nobody does it quite in the way that Charlie Sheen does. There is something about the way this actor has matured over the years that it really seems like comedy is something he gets. It was fun seeing Cryer, Jones and everyone else blow their lines, but for a real treat you should check out the scenes where Charlie Sheen makes Teri Hatcher crack up.
Two Adults, One Kid, No Grown-Ups
Backstage Tour with Angus T. Jones
Since Angus T. Jones is doing this set tour it comes off like a Disney “behind the scenes” piece. Jones points out what is fake, how the shows are shot, what his favorite props are and how the flowing ocean is added to the show to give off the look of Charlie’s beachfront apartment. All in all there isn’t anything that incredible revealed here but if you like Jones you should find this piece charming.
Video
Widescreen Version. Presented in a “matted” widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original television exhibition. Enhanced for widescreen TVs. This show looked strongly compressed on DVD, even though there wasn’t anything that was that special about its look. Shot in the typical three camera way, there wasn’t anything about these softly lit episodes that really jumped out at me. At the same time, Warner Bros. has done a fine job with the color tones and I was impressed with how everything was presented.
Audio
Dolby Digital. English: Dolby Surround Stereo. Portugues: Dolby Surround Stereo. As this show offers quick witted banter and a lot of hold for the punchline jokes, good sound is paramount in order to bring all of this off. All four of these DVDs have this and I was excited to find that the volume hold up the same way across the discs. Like the look of this release, the sound isn’t anything special but it was nice not to have to turn up my TV set too loud or to have to keep adjusting things.
Package
The three men are showcased on the front of this minimal, dark red slipcase cover. The back of this cover gives us another promo shot of this main cast, as well as a few images from the episodes in this set. Warner Bros. gives us a small description of this show, a Special Features listing, a cast list and technical specs. The four discs come stored in one piece of pull out artwork that features more shots from the cast. There is also a booklet giving us a cast list, more pictures, episode listings, descriptions, airdates and where to find the special features.
Final Word
Of all the current sitcoms on television, Two and a Half Men is clearly my favorite. Call it enjoying seeing 80s stars Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen make good in the 21st Century, call it enjoying the writing and overall acting, heck, call it anything you want, this show is funny and it reminds me of why I loved sitcoms in the first place. Two and a Half Men doesn’t have an agenda and that’s precisely why it works. In not trying to be anything other than a solid piece of entertainment, this show makes itself stand out in its richness. It really tries to honestly look at men in Charlie’s and Alan’s age bracket as it tries to understand why they are how they are and why they do what they do. It is done with such a frankness and honesty that it makes this show work because we’re not forced to believe anything that is too outlandish.
If you are planning on only buying one sitcom for your DVD collection, you could do a heck of lot worse than purchasing Two and a Half Men: The Complete First Season.
Two and a Half Men was released .
