CBS

Two And A Half Men is back after a summer-long debate over who the titular half is now referencing.  Despite the rampant Charlie Sheen gossip, which would harm most careers, I doubt this summer’s events will have any impact on the popularity or direction of this show.  With the exception of Jake’s noticeable physical differences, you could have slotted this episode in almost any season and it would hold up well.  And, if you like this show, that’s a good thing.  It’s as funny as ever and still unabashedly crude. Welcome back Harper men–and Berta.

With the resurgence of sitcoms the last few years, what strikes me is how a well-done physical joke can still crack me up.  Tonight’s opening scene with Alan struggling to turn off his knock-off Timex watch alarm was brilliantly done.  Okay, maybe it’s not brilliant, but it’s really funny and you can see why Jon Cryer receives so much praise for his comedic acting in this series.  Combine that with the sharp writing and being true to the show’s direction, this was a great episode.  Chuck Lorre even talks about it in his Vanity Card at the end of the show.  If you boil the storylines down, he describes the episode as involving, “Jake having a menage a trois while Charlie drinks himself to death and Alan gets caught banging Jake’s best friend’s drug-addled mom.”  There isn’t another show on TV right now that can do all that in a sitcom.

Courtney Thorne-Smith is returning as a guest-star and if you can’t place her face, it’s because you weren’t a regular viewer of According To Jim or Melrose Place (the original series).  Who would have bet on both stars of According To Jim being on TV again in so soon?

Also back as Herb was Ryan Stiles.  I’m not sure whether I like him because he’s one of the best improv guys I’ve ever seen or he’s funny on the show as well, but if you haven’t seen his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway, do yourself a favour and get your hands on a DVD.  You’ll be laughing every time he steps on the carpet.

It’ll be interesting to see if Tiffany and Joanne show up to reveal some humiliating reason for them to have been in Jake’s room twice, but I’d bet on that possibility.  Is was also great to see Berta back, brief as it may have been.

Spoonfuls (Thoughts in Smaller Portions):

1. Orgy Math
I love seeing great writing and the fact that they take a simple joke on Charlie knowing that it takes 6 people to constitute and orgy and make it work by naming each step was a great touch.

2. Alan is More Charlie Than Charlie.
The devious flip of the characters happens without much notice because Alan is still the butt of most jokes, but he seems to have been more of a player than Charlie the last year or so.

3. Actors Life Imitating Art
Charlie Sheen acting out after drinking? Charlie Harper does that. David Duchovney is addicted to sex as is his character in Californication.  Weird how that happens…

Did you watch the season opener of Two and A Half Men? What did you think?