TWO AND A HALF MEN US Television sitcom about two adult brothers-one a swinging single, the other a neurotic divorced father. Ongoing since 2003. CBS Television. USA.

In this age of lowered expectations for situation comedy in America, it’s not surprising that a fairly predictable comedy about two adult brothers –one a swinging single, the other a neurotic divorced father—has become an unqualified hit. "Two And A Half Men" proves you don’t have to be original or groundbreaking to get laughs. You just have to be pretty good.

Actually, there’s a lot to admire about "Two And A Half Men," starting with the lead actors—Charlie Sheen as womanising commercial jingle writer Charlie Harper, and Jon Cryer as his more conservative, nerdy chiropractor sibling Alan Harper. (The “Half” of the title refers to Alan’s young son Jake, played by newcomer Angus T. Jones.)

The premise is simple: Alan comes to live with Charlie at his Malibu, California home when his marriage to wife Judith (Marin Hinkle) ends; both share custody of Jake. (In the first season, Judith said she wanted out because she was a lesbian; apparently, the same-sex phase was “experimental,” and she resumed dating men in subsequent episodes.) But having Alan and Jake under his roof is not Charlie’s idea of paradise; he’s perfectly happy playing the field, dating women and having them spend the night (or two) for physical but meaningless companionship. To Charlie, the team of morose Alan and young Jake can cramp a playboy’s style. Of course, Charlie has other crosses to bear, including the brothers’ oversexed yet distant mother Evelyn, winningly played by Emmy-winner Holland Taylor; and the wonderfully funny Conchata Ferrell as his sarcastic housekeeper Bertha.

The plot of two completely different people living together is certainly not new on television—think "The Odd Couple; Laverne & Shirley; Perfect Strangers" and a number of others. But sitcoms featuring adult brothers have been rare until recent years. Robert Barone was certainly aware that he was second banana in his own family—after all, the title of the show was "Everybody Loves Raymond." And no matter what he did, Robert found himself playing understudy to his more popular brother. Niles Crane was certainly more comfortable in his own skin than Robert Romano; he was a success in his own right. But Frasier's younger brother had his issues—jealousy over Frasier’s radio career, for one. The winning performances of Ray Romano and Brad Garrett on 'Raymond' kept viewers watching, as did Kelsey Grammer’s interaction with David Hyde-Pierce on the dearly-departed "Frasier." And the same goes for “Two and a Half Men.”

Sheen and Cryer have a fine chemistry on "Two And A Half Men" that more than makes up for occasional rough spots in the scripts. Maybe that’s because both actors have seen their share of success and setbacks in show business. Charlie Sheen, the son of former "West Wing" star Martin Sheen, had a pretty fair movie record (including some flops) but his personal life was the stuff of tabloids. Sheen’s public image began to change in the fall of 2000, when he replaced the beloved Michael J. Fox as the lead actor on "Spin City." Paired with the fetching Heather Locklear, Sheen won over critics and helped the show survive for two additional seasons. (He also cleaned up his personal act, settling down and marrying actress Denise Richards in 2002; the two divorced several years later amid a much-publicized fight over custody of their children). It was Sheen’s performance on "Spin City" that led "Two And A Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre to make Sheen his first choice to play Charlie.

Fans of John Hughes’ teen comedies of the 1980’s know Jon Cryer’s famous character of “Duckie” in the Molly Ringwald film "Pretty In Pink." But Cryer’s luck wasn’t so good with situation comedies—whether it was the well done but short-lived "The Famous Teddy Z"; the buddy comedy "Partners"; or the mediocre "The Trouble With Normal." To add insult to injury, Cryer was up for a role in a sitcom tentatively titled "Six of One" but his audition tape didn’t reach the network in time. As a result, he lost the part of Chandler Bing to Matthew Perry in the show, which was renamed "Friends." But talent wins out, and "Two And A Half Men" has finally given Cryer a television showcase that has lasted beyond one season.

Television producer Chuck Lorre had his experience with divorced moms and diva actresses as producer of such shows as "Grace Under Fire," "Cybil," "Roseanne" and "Dharma & Greg." But let Lorre’s words explain the creation of "Two And A Half Men", thanks to “vanity” cards that are briefly seen at the end of each episode—a tradition he began with "Dharma & Greg":

"When ‘Dharma’ was cancelled my heart was broken. Over the next few years my efforts to mend it by creating a new show led to an even deeper emotional nadir when I noticed that I had somehow become the author of a seemingly endless succession of failed pilots and pilot scripts¼. But I was indomitable. I kept writing... and failing... and ambling. And then (in 2002), my good friend and favorite cross-to-bear, Lee Aronsohn, told me he needed to write something fairly quickly in order to keep his Writer's Guild health insurance. Everyone -- friends, agents, execs – told me not to get involved. They assured me that I was too big, too successful, for such a partnership. You see where this is going. Lee and I wrote ‘Two and a Half Men.’"

Both men based the show on their own experiences with divorce and dating. And Lorre made this promise to viewers:

“We will do no ‘very special’ episodes. Nobody's having a baby. No one's getting married. Someone is getting divorced. Our characters are flawed, yet smart. The kid is, and will remain, a real kid. There will be no bachelor auctions. No one's getting stranded in a cabin or stuck in an elevator. There will be no dream sequences, talent shows, or fantasies.”

What began as an act of kindness paid off in a big way. Slotted after “Raymond” on CBS’ Monday night lineup in the fall of 2003, the show began building an audience and soared into the top ten during the summer of 2004. In its second season, "Two And A Half Men" occasionally captured more viewers than “Raymond.” When “Raymond” finally called it quits in 2005, "Two And A Half Men" inherited the coveted Monday at 9:00 time slot where such CBS classics as "I Love Lucy;" "The Danny Thomas Show;" "The Andy Griffith Show;" "M*A*S*H" and "Murphy Brown" had thrived since 1951. Pretty good company indeed. And “Men” has lived up to CBS’ expectations, at a time when situation comedies have mostly fallen out of favor with viewers, it is the only sitcom on any U.S. network that lands in the top 20 programmes week after week.

But "Two And A Half Men's" content is heavily laced with sex and occasionally bumps into what CBS censors consider acceptable for broadcast viewing. Despite airing at 9:00 PM, considered the “post family hour” timeslot in the US, the conservative watchdog group “Parents Television Council” gave it a “red” rating (for adults only):

“The (language) content...is not appropriate for children of any age....Far worse than the frequent use of foul language, is the constant barrage of sexual scenes and jokes. Charlie’s character is incredibly promiscuous and his behaviour is depicted as funny when he uses women for sex without maintaining any meaningful relationships with them. Some outrageous scenes have included Charlie in bed with three women at once, Charlie dating a woman who puts some kind of hex on him to harm his manhood, constant references to Alan’s (sexual) habits, and Alan having sex with an elderly woman for gifts and money. Other sexual humour is often at the expense of young Jake, including double entendres...spoken in his presence, scenes where he narrowly misses seeing Charlie with a half-naked date, and his artwork reflecting the things he “learns” living with Charlie. In one episode Jake gets in trouble for creating artwork about a fellow classmate named Barbara, who he nicknamed “Boobera.” There are countless jokes involving (sexual organs and sexual practices), and lying to women to sleep with them, as well. As a result, sexual content for this series is rated red. Violence is not a problem for this show.”

Following a rather raunchy Season Four episode. Lorre flashed one of his infamous “vanity cards” to address both his critics and the good folks at his network:

“This week, as a little bonus for all my loyal vanity card readers, I thought I'd give an inside look into the making of "Two and a Half Men" by telling you about a joke CBS insisted we cut from the final scene in tonight's show. The scene, as I'm sure you remember, involved Charlie finding Alan, post-coital, tied to his bed, and wearing nothing but a bustier and red nylons. The offending line in the scene was what we in the comedy biz refer to as a "callback" since it references a line that was said earlier in the episode (in this case two lines, the first being when Alan's date implies that she hopes to spend the night with him by coyly saying "I brought a toothbrush with me," and the second, when Alan tells Charlie that "that lady in there brought a toothbrush with her because I have a p---s and a job!"). Now before I tell you the joke which was cut, it's important to point out that I'm not doing this to make a point about censorship. In this particular case we never felt unfairly edited. The excised joke was, without question, in terrible taste and we didn't even try to defend it. But we did think it was funny. In any case, here it is: In the original, uncensored final scene, Charlie nonchalantly exits the bedroom without untying his hapless brother. Alan reacts with astonishment and calls out, "Charlie?... Charlie?! This isn't funny! Come back!... At least take out the toothbrush!" When we shot this version our studio audience laughed loud and long. Our CBS censor's head exploded, injuring several writers standing nearby.”

And that’s one thing you have to admire about Lorre and his stewardship: He’s out to make a funny comedy, not a show beloved by critics or a small but vocal group of regular viewers. Once more, let’s flash to the “vanity card” of co-creator Chuck Lorre and his take after “Men’s” first successful season, as he thanked viewers for watching:

“It's hard to grasp the idea that roughly sixteen million people watch each episode. But, according to the statistics, that is the astonishingly large audience we're getting every week. The fact that much larger audiences turn out to watch derivative, soulless singers being humiliated by a panel of unqualified (judges on “American Idol”) or a bunch of pathetic shmucks jumping around like spider monkeys on crack to get a make-believe job with a goofy-haired guy on the brink of bankruptcy (Donald Trump on “The Apprentice”) does not lessen my profound gratitude."

At a time when crime dramas and reality shows are succeeding, it’s nice to see comedy is far from dead on U.S. television. "Two And A Half Men" is not the second coming of the sitcom, but it can really make you laugh. And that’s more than some of its competitors are doing these days.