Charlie Sheen,
Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones essayed the title roles in the CBS sitcom
Two and a Half Men. The swinging-bachelor lifestyle of commercial-jingle composer -- and chronic gambler -- Charlie Harper (Sheen) was sorely disrupted when his Malibu beach house was invaded by his uptight brother, Alan (Cryer), and Alan's ten-year-old son, Jake (Jones). Given the childish hedonism of Charlie and the domestic immaturity of the soon-to-be-divorced Alan, young Jake turned out to be the true "grown-up" in the Harper household. Also seen from time to time were
Marin Hinkle as Alan's ex-wife Judith (who may or may not have been gay);
Melanie Lynskey as Charlie's erstwhile lover and next-door neighbor Rose; and
Holland Taylor (replacing the pilot episode's
Blythe Danner) as Charlie and Alan's control-freak mother, Evelyn. Created by Lee Aronsohn and Chuck Lorre,
Two and a Half Men opened to excellent ratings on September 22, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide