# Is "Two And Half Men" actually as bad as the 1st couple jokes make it out to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285 "2008-05-31T18:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/1 "2008-05-31T18:10:52Z")
I’ve only had it on long enough to hear the 1st couple jokes (or maybe they should be called “jokes”). Is the whole show that awful? Does it get less painfully bad as the plot of the show kicks in? From what little I’ve seen it could be on that bottom “as shitty as a sitcom can get” rung of the quality ladder (with lots of company). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/2 "2008-05-31T18:19:57Z")
The kid’s funny sometimes. Holland Taylor and Conchatta Ferrell get a lot of good lines. Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer are hopeless and trite. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/3 "2008-05-31T18:20:11Z")
I found the first series awful. Whatever is on Paramount comedy at the moment (series 2?) is much better… and watchable. It’s no frasier/Raymond though. ---
**Author:** ![iturntoyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e36b37/32.png) [@iturntoyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iturntoyou)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/4 "2008-05-31T20:35:59Z")
Every joke seems to revolve around flatulance and bowel movements. It’s especially bad because Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen have proven themselves to be good comedic actors. They are capable of much better work, the material is so weak, unless you like bathroom humor, and I haven’t since I was three. Then kid has no chemistry with the other actors and Cryer isn’t at all believeable as his father. I don’t fault Sheen or Cryer it’s the material that is hopeless ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/5 "2008-05-31T20:57:37Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Is the whole show that awful? [/QUOTE] Yes. I’ve found that if you don’t like the first few jokes, you probably won’t like the show. I gave that show so many chances but it’s the same lame, unfunny jokes over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/6 "2008-05-31T21:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] It’s no frasier/Raymond though. [/QUOTE] I find the show hilarious all the way through. **Raymond** sucked donkey dick. Everybody involved with that show should be shot, preferably after torture. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/7 "2008-05-31T21:38:42Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I find the show hilarious all the way through. **Raymond** sucked donkey dick. Everybody involved with that show should be shot, preferably after torture. [/QUOTE] Ner… I’m telling on you. Speaking ill of the dead (Peter Boyle) Edit: I liked Ray the first time round (doesn’t stand up well to being repeated like Frasier does) but my point was that both are/were award winning. But then apparently so is TaaHM. Edit2: I can think of very few sitcoms that _didn’t_ start off quite bad. IMO exceptions are: Fawlty Towers, My Family (Started out ok, went downhill fast), possibly Frasier (though it did look a bit flaky, amateurish as we learned about the characters) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/8 "2008-05-31T22:27:27Z")
We started watching a few weeks ago, at suppertime. The one-liners are starting to seem natural to the characters – we chuckle. Charlie’s cute, his brother is cute and pitiful, and the kid isn’t too obnoxious. I don’t like the laugh track – is it a track? Maybe not, because every single line doesn’t elicit laughter. I wish Jon Cryer would wear something besides polo/golf shirts though. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/9 "2008-05-31T23:25:28Z")
If you catch any of the reruns with [Kandi](http://www.tv.com/april-bowlby/person/331564/photos.html?tag=stars;more_img;7) , Cryer’s ditzy younger girlfriend, it won’t matter if the show is funny. Ohmigod, she’s ridiculously hot. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/10 "2008-06-01T00:41:21Z")
Yeah, it’s horrendous. Never liked Raymond either, FWIW. But 2 1/2 Men is way beyond that in suckitude… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/11 "2008-06-01T02:48:00Z")
I think it’s one of the funniest shows on TV. Granted, it’s not much of a stretch for Charlie Sheen to play himself, but it seems frightfully close to real life. The mom and the kid are hilarious, and Charlie and Jon Cryer make a good comedic pair. It’s bathroom humor, but I live in SoCal and am a dude, so me and most of my friends think it’s a riot. Plus there’s hot chicks. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/12 "2008-06-01T03:23:57Z")
My husband and I adore 2.5 Men. Of course, we loved Frasier, too. Not so much with the Raymond. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/13 "2008-06-01T07:47:29Z")
Love the show. Still somewhat amazed a lot of that humor gets by the censors. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/14 "2008-06-01T07:54:50Z")
I think the show is awful. It’s really hard for me to talk about it without saying something that will get me pitted. I doubt the sincerity of people who claim to like it, and I’m disappointed that enough people are watching this garbage to keep it on the air. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/15 "2008-06-01T08:26:30Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] I think the show is awful. It’s really hard for me to talk about it without saying something that will get me pitted. I doubt the sincerity of people who claim to like it, and I’m disappointed that enough people are watching this garbage to keep it on the air. [/QUOTE] Seconded. This is the kind of crap sitcom (like According To Jim) you think has died long ago, yet they manage to stay on the air for more than half a season. It’s completely paint-by-numbers. Baffling. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/16 "2008-06-01T09:06:17Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] Seconded. This is the kind of crap sitcom (like According To Jim) you think has died long ago, yet they manage to stay on the air for more than half a season. It’s completely paint-by-numbers. Baffling. [/QUOTE] Yes. And meanwhile sitcoms with character such as Lucky Louie get cancelled after the first season. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/17 "2008-06-01T09:21:49Z")
My husband loves this show. I find it to be on the level of junior high school locker room humor, on the rare occasions when it rises that high. The kid is obnoxious, rude, and thoroughly unfunny. The brothers - walking stereotypes. Their mother - ??? Stalkerish neighbor - that’s a one-show schtick that’s been dragged on way too long. The housekeeper - she’s occasionally funny, but often just a bad cartoon. I don’t understand the appeal, either, and the damned theme song turns too easily into an earworm. In fact, it got stuck in my head one night in the wee small hours… :eek: On the other hand, it’s a reprieve from the endless reruns of Law & Order in its infinite variations… ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/18 "2008-06-01T16:07:36Z")
It’s the only sitcom I DVR. I love the show. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/19 "2008-06-01T16:28:40Z")
Cryer can handle comedy well. I remember him in a series named _The Famous Teddy Z._ It only lasted one season, but was pretty good. Charlie Sheen is affable, attractive to women without being threatening to men, and doesn’t mind making fun of his history with prostitutes, but the writing is weak, and I seem to remember it having an offensive laugh track. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285/20 "2008-06-01T17:07:04Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] Seconded. This is the kind of crap sitcom (like According To Jim) you think has died long ago, yet they manage to stay on the air for more than half a season. It’s completely paint-by-numbers. Baffling. [/QUOTE] Exactly the way I feel about **Raymond**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-two-and-half-men-actually-as-bad-as-the-1st-couple-jokes-make-it-out-to-be/451285.md?page=2)