If so, why didn’t you tell me? Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Dharma and Greg) does them. This is one of my favorites.
Is Lorre the only one who does them?
I don’t get all the hate for Two and a Half Men. Sure, it’s got Charlie Sheen, potty humor, bimbos, sexual double entendres, and it’s never topical, but I think it’s funny as hell. The characters stay in character with occasional bursts of self-knowledge. There’ve been some excellent guest stars – Martin Sheen, Cloris Leachman, Orson Bean, Robert Wagner, Bono, Steve Tyler, Sean Penn – and some of the recurring characters are hysterical – Rose the stalker, the wonderful Jane Lynch as Charlie’s therapist, Ryan Stiles as Judith’s husband. The kid (Angus Jones) is my favorite TV kid and as a teenager, he’s just pissy enough to be realistic.
I didn’t warm to it for a long time, but after sitting through a couple repeats for lack of anything else to watch at the end of a long day, it grew on me.
An episode from last season could be a teaching moment for parents of teens. Jake was reluctant to go to a party. Charlie asked him why. Jake told Charlie that his girlfriend “knew more” than he did. Charlie assumed that Jake wanted makeout hints but then he realized that Jake was uncomfortable about the whole sex thing, and instead of ragging on the kid for not seizing the opportunity to get some, he said “Let’s stay home and order a pizza”, and that’s what they did. Charlie managed to do that without making Jake feel like a dork.
And the show is a mine of zingers, especially from Conchata Ferrell as the housekeeper.
I just always figured people didn’t like it in the same way that no one seems to love Everybody Loves Raymond or King of Queens or countless other bland sitcoms. (I myself have to profess a love for the most saccharine filled TV show of all time–Full House. I know, I know…I’m sick.)
Before the credits, or after? 'Cause I don’t think anyone’s ever shown full screen credits for quite a few years now. It’s always a half screen while the station runs ads for other crappy shows on the other side. Do the vanity plates show up in season DVDs?
We loveTwo and a Half Men. It gets Tivoed every week, and there are back-to-back episodes every weeknight at 7pm. It’s funny, dirty, and they get away with lines I never thought I’d hear in prime time.
According to Wikipedia, “vanity card” is simply another name for “production logo”. Most production companies flash their company logo. Chuck Lorre posts an essay that you either need to freeze-frame or go to his website to read. A few times the card has been censored by CBS, in which case the on-air card says something like “You know what to do” (i.e., go to the website to read the actual card). An episode of The Big Bang Theory once included a geeky joke, so he used the vanity card to explain it.
As for Two And A Half Men, I like it. It’s funny, although it is vulgar. And the contrast between Charlie’s endless success (first as a jingle writer and then as a children’s entertainer) and Alan’s endless failures is amusing.
After the credits. First run network shows still show the credits full screen - it’s only shows in syndication runs on TBS & such stations that shrink the credits.
And it’s more like a quarter of a second than 2 seconds. No way you can read more than a word or 2 before it goes away.
I don’t know if I’d call 2.5 Men “bland”, but I wouldn’t call it edgy either. They never get political or tackle the big issues (unless impotence is a big issue). But there’s no saccharine either. A rare hug will be followed by a wedgie.
I think I get what you mean though. There’s a comfort level in watching a show where you know what to expect from the characters. I get enough intensity from shows like The Wire and Breaking Bad.
Did you guys know that the actress who plays Rose is from New Zealand? She shows no trace of an accent.
One favorite line:
Alan to dumber than a box of hair girlfriend Kandi who has a toothache: “When was the last time you saw a dentist?”
Kandi: “I don’t know, Alan. I see people all the time but they don’t tell me what they do!”
ETA thanks to everyone for explaining the vanity card thing.
Jenna Elfman to Jon Cryer after he’s given her a massage and cooked her a delicious meal : *If you had a TV on your forehead and could breath through your ears you’d be perfect.
*
Yup. I love knowing that if a really awesome car that a main character is attached to is introduced, we know it’s going to get destroyed horribly. Or that everything will be wrapped up in the end.
While I wouldn’t say I like 2 1/2 Men, I’m constantly amazed at the stuff they get away with. Good god is the show vulgar.
I remember one episode I watched where Alan interrupts the beginnings of a five-way ( :eek: ) between Charlie, an 18 year old college freshman, two women in their 20s and a prostitute.
There are vanity cards on practically every TV show- you’ve probably seen a lot of them. The term refers to a production company logo that represents the producer of the series rather than the studio. In most cases it’s just a still image or a simple animation. Lorre is probably the only person who does something clever with them.
I think the show can be funny, although the lines do become predictable at times. I just wish they wouldn’t show it until late- it clearly crosses the line at some points, and I don’t want my ten-year-old son to watch it. They also show Family Guy early, which bothers me. I want to wait for a special mother-and-son moment to tell him what a hooker or a rimjob is, not have to explain them in the context of a tv show.
Not hardly. Battlestar: Galactica came up with a different, two second animation of the two producers killing and/or maiming each other for nearly every episode. Heck, your own cite points out that Mary Tyler Moore’s production company, MTM, would tailor their card to the show (although not to the episode) by putting various props on the kitten relevant to whichever show it was attached to.
Lots of other shows have used the card for various gags, although I’m blanking on specifics at the moment.
Joss Whedon would change his Mutant Enemy logo at the end of various shows to make a joke. For example, at the end of “Once More With Feeling”, the monster sang the “Grr Arrgh”
(1) I don’t really watch sitcoms on prime time any more, I actively hate most of them. So, I’m not a viewer of “typical sitcoms.”
(2) Therefore, I never watch 2.5 in prime time, but I do catch it sometimes on syndication. It makes me laugh. What more could you want?
(3) Same with Everybody Loves Raymond, mentioned upthread as “bland.” It’s not wild but it can be very, very funny. There are eps I’ve seen easily 6 or 7 times by now and they STILL crack me up. With both shows, if you had different / less talented actors, might not be so funny. But they are and it is.
(4) As for the vanity cards … speaking of ELR, they did a different card for each show as well. The name of the production company was Where’s Lunch, and at the end of each show the name was shown with a different plate of food being placed on a table. Everybody Loves Raymond (TV Series 1996–2005) - Crazy credits - IMDb
