Two and a Half Men for me is as Peter says medicore at best I'd say it was tosh.
I will name a few sitcoms that have been imported to the UK that I feel had an excellent team of writers that kept the viewers coming back for more. Some might be classed as Comedy Drama. Boston Legal (one of the best US Comedy Drama's ever) Scrubs Friends Frasier Cheers All in the Family Roseanne had some very good high peaks. The Office And of course MASH There are many more that I cannot think of just yet but there is an awful lot of dross which doesn't deserve to be high rating winners. There was one series about 15 years ago made by HBO that was a little near the knuckle and it involved carnal activities of a young bachelor it had only one series but it was funny. I also think Cougar Town has potential. I will say that I think when the US writers come up with something and it's good - it is really good. But things like Will and Grace, Two and Half Men, Dharma and Greg and this new one Hot in Cleveland are truly poor examples of American Comedy. I do feel that sitcoms at their best nothing comes close to Fawlty Towers, probably The Office (UK version), and there are several that I will not name as they really are purely British that do not export well but truly are so funny that your ribs ache. It is such a shame that Sheen has come out of the closet as such an idiot but hey...if he had any sense his bank account will be quite full that he can put the bulk of it in a high interest account and sniff the interest! This never happened to the other fella. -----Original Message----- From: peter contarino <pcontar...@triad.rr.com> To: 'Adrian Cowdry' <jboh...@aol.com> CC: mopo-l@listserv.american.edu Sent: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 16:40 Subject: RE: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN I have to agree with Ade on this. I don’t tend to jump into threads but this guy is so annoying I feel the need to vent. First, with the world blowing up around us, I can’t fathom how this is newsworthy. It’s speaks poorly for the media and the public in general. Secondly, Two and a Half men is a really mediocre, low-brow show. Thirdly, I don’t know Sheen but he seems like a real scumbag and is marginally talented at best. I will depart with Ade on his comment that it is not up to US sitcom standards. I think it is completely on par with the absolute dreck that dominates the airwaves. I can scarcely think of a comedy that is any more interesting than the commercials funding them. There are several decent comedies on some of the pay channels but the Majors have set the bar so low that it is scarcely worth the trouble to watch. I feel better now… -peter From: MoPo List [mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU] On Behalf Of Adrian Cowdry Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 2:55 AM To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Subject: Re: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN Charlie Sheen has made a right charlie of himself. He was never the greatest actor...he was never the best comedian. Obviously he was in the right place at the right time and had a great formula with an exceptionally good team of writers that made him the focal point of a TV series that was mediacore at best. There I said it. Two and a Half Men was not fantastic. Better sitcoms have been produced in the US. This series was based, lets face it, loosely around Sheen's actual hell raising lifestyle. How this series could have garnered awards I cannot fathom. The acting was stilted, the comedy was transparent. It was not up to the standards of US sitcom writing. It would be nice if now the networks cast around and get down to something a lot better and classier. Sheen has killed his career, if he ever works in Hollywood again it will be a cold day in hell I suspect. I think the man was stupid to kill the Golden Goose but I do not think his brand of sitcom will be missed. I am sure that the writing team that backs Two and a Half Men will come up with a formula as good - hopefully better - and not be saddled with an over indulged actor to lead the troops. This never happened to the other fella. -----Original Message----- From: Kirby McDaniel <ki...@movieart.net> To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Sent: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 21:55 Subject: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/charlie-sheen-fired-from-two-and-a-half-men/?emc=na Kirby McDaniel MovieArt Original Film Posters P.O. Box 4419 Austin TX 78765-4419 512 479 6680 www.movieart.net mobile 512 589 5112 Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.