For some reason, I ended up on CBS last night and sat through Two and a Half Men. I had seen this show once or twice, a long time ago, and didn’t even realize it was still on the air. After wasting half an hour of my evening, I remained baffled as to why this show is 1) on the air and 2) even moderately successful. I’m not sure I’ve ever sat through a half hour of such complete shit in my life. Apparently I’ve been lucky, or have been hiding under a rock.
Basic premise of the show: Younger adult brother Alan is divorced and apparently unable to afford living on his own (the evil ex-wife got everything, you know). He lives with the older brother, Charlie, and Alan’s son Jake frequently stays there as well. Alan and Charlie have an antagonistic relationship with their mother and, I’m guessing, all women.
Last night was the Christmas episode for the year. The entire thing revolved primarily around Jake. Jake is fifteen and has his first real girlfriend. The first time we see him in the episode, he’s standing on the deck, watching a volleyball game being played on the beach. Enter Uncle Charlie, who sees a girl wave and smile at Jake and encourages him to go talk to her. Jake says no, he’s got a girlfriend.
To which Charlie basically says, “So? She’s out of town for the holidays, so it’s okay to tap that.”
Jake, being a hormonal teenaged boy, doesn’t take much persuading, and Uncle Charlie is renowned for being a womanizer. Charlie is proud of the kid and announces it to everyone else at the party, as Jake and the volleyball girl go off to her hotel. The mother agrees that Jake should take the opportunity to cheat on his girlfriend, because it’s just an “out of town strange”. This apparently makes it not count as actual infidelity. It’s a chance that shouldn’t be overlooked. WHAT?
Alan, at least, as the father, is horrified that Charlie has influenced his son this way, but is rather impotent at trying to do anything about it. He does eventually manage to get Jake on the phone and tell him to get back, but it’s emphasized his primary motivation is he wants Jake around family (such that it is) for the holidays.
So once Alan accomplishes this, there comes the knock on the door. It’s the girlfriend and her mother, there to drop off a gift for Jake before they officially leave town. Jake and the volleyball girl, of course, return before good old Uncle Charlie can get the girlfriend out of the house. Uh oh! Cue the canned audience laughter. Oh, the hilarity!
The girlfriend instantly dumps Jake, and volleyball girl is appalled Jake had a girlfriend and still picked her up. Jake, rather than own up to his own part in the mess, blames Uncle Charlie completely. Now he’s miserable and his life is ruined, because he didn’t have brains enough not to realize before he got caught that what he was doing was not okay by American social standards.
What troubles me about this show, if this episode is anything to go by, and I think it is pretty indicative, is that it’s reinforcing truly horrible “norms” for behavior by men. No one would look at this show and seriously think these characters are to be emulated, I know that. But the damage is still being done. It’s a this is how guys are and isn’t it so funny! and a wink wink nudge nudge boys will be boys kind of destructiveness one would think would be obvious, but judging from the ratings and the fact this show has been on the air for nearly seven years – I guess the line between appalling and amusing is far more blurred than I think it is.
And I didn’t even mention the geriatric, wheelchair-bound random old man the mother brought along, who spent the evening making crass remarks and hitting on the housekeeper with an air of good old boy charm (aka entitlement).
Ugh. Just ugh. We have write-in campaigns to save shows, why can’t we have a write-in campaign to cancel this horrible, horrible, horrible piece of excrement? Should we compile a list of the worst offenders?
No, that would get out of hand really fast. 
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Sadly, this isn’t funny just to older people. Among people who believe that women are equal now and feminists are angry, this is a “funny because it’s true” show about men. I’ve watched it with some (ages 14-24), and had to tolerate comments about the younger brother being a victim of his ex-wife, and not an odious person in his own right.
Cate(Quote) (Reply)
As someone who has the misfortune to live under the same roof as a fan of the show, I completely agree. Two and a Half Dickheads is utter shit, albeit shit that’s broadcast seven times a week where I live.
Stargazer(Quote) (Reply)
I’m afraid that TAAHM isn’t just moderately successful, it has consistently been among the top-rated sitcoms on TV.
Patrick(Quote) (Reply)
I found this site due to a googling of the quote “out of town strange.” I do like this show, and many classmates of mine do too, and I think one reason people like this show is because it’s not a model of perfect behavior for men like so many family sitcoms, which makes it appalling to some and amusing to others.
I actually agree with everything (except taking it off the air) you’ve said – it indeed reinforces terrible principles and shows a poor depiction of women (even Charlie’s intelligent girlfriends are treated as objects), but somehow I’m able to suspend the dire implications of what Charlie & co. do and enjoy the show. I suppose I am turning off my brain, but TAAHM is a guilty pleasure for me.
Amber(Quote) (Reply)
This articulated really well the reasons why I never cared for this show (but couldn’t quite put my finger on).
Years ago, in 1994, I was a 22-year-old counselor at a Girl Scout Camp in the southern Sierras. My group of 24 9-11 year old girls and I were on the rafting company’s shuttle bus that was taking us from the rafting trip take-out back to their parking lot. When we got on, we sat in front of a group of men who had a boy with them who appeared to be about 13. The men all elbowed the boy and said something like, “Wow, it’s your lucky day, a whole bus full of girls!” He was at that age where he was mortified to have adults even mentioning that he might be interested in girls. But whatever, I let it go. The adult men continued their discussion with the boy, and it quickly progressed into “what kind do you prefer?” They started making comments about specific girls in the group, saying things like, “that one has long legs, do you go for leggy women?” I finally turned around and said, “Look, the girls in this group are between 9 and 11 years old. It is really not appropriate at all for you to be making physical comments about their appearance.” The men looked at me like I must have something up my butt, and then proceeded to loudly discuss their experiences with various drugs, in front of the girls, just to get my goat I guess. I remember mostly just feeling sorry for their son, who had looked embarrassed throughout the whole thing.
Anyway, the first time I saw “Two and A Half Men,” I remember thinking the same thing. I felt sorry for a boy who grew up in that kind of environment (even though of course Jake is a fictional character). Still, it’s sad that we’re sending those messages to teenage boys, who often end up becoming confused and embarrassed, and who then end up wondering why they have problems with women.
Calirodan(Quote) (Reply)
I have gotten men like that to go fuck off someplace else by loudly talking about their appearance in what I call “frat boy” terms. The problem is: you couldn’t do that in front of girls that age.
If anyone’s curious, just think of the most uncharitable things you’ve ever heard men or boys say about women’s bodily “imperfections” (according to them), get into extremely picky mode, and start tearing down the harassing male. Include not just remarks about his deficient appearance, but also about how you wouldn’t touch an uggo like that after a dozen beers because being so unattractive, he can’t possibly have enough experience in bed to be any good.
Generally, harassers just cannot stand having it dished back, so they move away.
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
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