Two and a Half Men: Half the show it used to be..

"Men men men men, manly men, oo hoo hoo, hoo hoo, oo.
"Men men men men, manly men men men!"

Two and a Half Men probably became my favourite comedy since the likes of Scrubs and Friends (of which I adore). The beautiful banter between Charlie Haper (/Sheen) and Alan Harper (Jon Cryer), along side the cute, but dimwitted son Jake (Angus T Jones) was a match made in comedy heaven. Two brothers, who are so different and love to hate each other (but deep down, hate the fact that they love each other), is a sibling rivalry that we can all relate to.

For those of you unaware with the TV programme, the younger brother Alan, is kicked out of his home after his ex wife Judith files for a divorce, and along with the alimony.. which is a running joke throughout the sitcom, and the dying trade of his chiropractic business, Alan becomes broke and muscles his way into staying with Charlie, who has become a successful jingle writer and lives in a beach home in Malibu. As Alan shares custody of Jake, the youngster comes and stays with the pair on weekends and the three get up to many shenanigans which do not please Judith.

The show was so beautifully set up and made so much sense (unlike the idiotic plot after the sacking of Charlie Sheen at the end of season 8). Even the subplots with minor characters were fantastic, with the common knowledge that Charlie and Alan are suppressed under the matriarchal tyranny of their mother, who often comes to visit them, as well as the dominant and aggressive Berta (Charlie's housekeeper who is the "alpha-dog" of the house.

I do understand that Charlie Sheen went through a messy period in his life, with drinking and drug problems (as well as ludicrous contract demands) and Chuck Lorre had no choice but to kill him off, yet wouldn't it be in everyone'e best interest if they had simply called it a day? At this point, Jones (Jake Harper), was no longer a child-actor, and had become one of the richest young stars in the TV business, surely new roles and pastures new would appeal to him, as he'd look for a new niche after growing up on this set. Also Jon Cryer, an established actor would find a new job in less time than it will take for me to finish this article. The loss of the main protagonist should have ended the show .... we learnt the mistakes after that infamous Scrubs last season when JD no longer featured, didn't we?

Ashton Kutcher is a fantastic actor, and deserved a role on one of America's most beloved TV sets, yet the way that he was introduced and the plot change made less sense than an academic underachiever trying to decipher Shakespeare. Walden, a young adult who had sold shares to Microsoft in his youth and had come under a huge sum of money, decided to buy the Malibu beach house, and invites Alan (who is a well known nester) to stay with him in order to help get himself settled. Tell me, if you had just bought a house.. would you invite the previous tenant (who you don't even know) to live with you in order to help get yourself settled? Of course you wouldn't.

As I loved the show, I gave the post-Sheen era a chance, and found it mildly amusing, but after the loss of Charlie Sheen, the show has lost all of it's pizazz. The lady's man is no longer around .. the character that all male viewers wanted to be, and every single viewer adored. I honestly believe it would be in everyone's best interest if the show was to be cancelled, as the plot development has taken the show down a completely different route.. maybe they should have converted it into a spin-off.. change the name.. let "Two and  Half Men" always be these three cheeky chappys.  >>>>

2 Broke Girls: A review

This is my first ever review, and I am no TV Connoisseur .. but here goes!

I usually find myself sat in the study with the television on (probably why I never really excelled at school), and the channel that is normally always on is E4. I am a big fan of American Comedy sitcoms, and I probably always will be. The first series of the 2012 show "2 Broke Girls" has now finished on CBS, so I felt (without giving away any spoilers), I would review the show, perhaps as a tip off for the UK viewers who may be unaware of this show. 

As a TV show goes, the plot of this programme is incredibly simple.. a fairy princess from the whitest of white collar backgrounds, Caroline Channing, is forced to find her way in the Brooklyn borough of New York after her father is imprisoned for partaking in a Ponzi Scheme (fraud). She finds work in a retro diner, and meets Max Black, a true ladette from a dysfunctional background that has lived, what seems to be obviously a polar opposite lifestyle of Caroline. After a rocky start, the two begin to bond and Max invites Caroline (and her horse!) to stay with her in her apartment (terrible US Comedy cliché eh?). 

Max loves to bake, and Caroline (using her Wall Street business credentials), pushes Max into the idea of starting up a new company, however as the two girls are "broke", they go through the whole series, trying to make money, in order to start up this business.. ergo.. hilarity ensues... they have a target goal, can they reach it?

The show has been reviewed by some critics as being offensive, and taking digs at various subcultural groups and races, however the producer (Michael King, well known for Sex and the City), defends the style as multicultural. You can read more about this here http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2012/may/02/2-broke-girls-racist-baffling ... 

The style of comedy is witty, with a lot of one liners and sarcasm, but yet has that terrible sense of awkwardness that some people cringe at. I however, find the lines perfectly delivered by Kat Dennings (Max Black) in particular, and the stereotypical nature of the Chinese diner owner Han (played by Matthew Moy (right)) and Earl, the African American cashier (Garrett Morris (left)), to be so obviously cliché, that it is funny.

This programme is the kind of one that you need to get into, you cannot watch snippets of an episode and find yourself crying with laughter, but you start to feel a sense of empathy with the two girls over the journey they take throughout the first season. I do not see the show lasting more than around three or four seasons, yet I hope it does last for some time.

                       3.5/5 

Gaming isn't a sin!

Throughout my life I have been a video games / console connoisseur. I have played MMORPGs on the internet, childhood beauties such as Pokémon on the game boy, Mario-marvels on the Nintendo and so on. I have always been a middle of the row student, mainly getting Bs et al in my exams/coursework and my parents always said that I had “wasted my time”, on these “stupid games”. Perhaps your parents have said this to you also, I have decided to step away from the sports world and attempt to argue the Holy Grail of parenting excuses. There are a number of aspects which can help develop a person through the art of gaming and I shall discuss them ..right now!

1.)    Competition – The majority of video games (mostly on consoles), be that FIFA, Call of Duty, etc not only allow you a fun time, but lay down a challenge, be that outwitting the computer/story mode, or taking on your fellow gamers online. The satisfaction of winning gives you a perk and the anger/frustration of losing gives you that drive to do better next time.

2.)    Community – Ever since my first online game, back in the days of Runescape during Primary School, I made a conscious effort to talk to people and make friends over certain games. You cannot go outside and talk to somebody from the other side of the globe, however I have developed a good rapport with a number of people over the globe… and as a budding sociologist, understanding different cultures can be achieved in this way.. be that understanding that my German friends cannot take sarcasm and also understanding whatever happens.. you will never beat an Asian person at levelling up on an MMORPG.

3.)    Typing – This may sound preposterous, but I feel that computer games helped my ability to type over 80 words a minute more than anything I have done in my life. Whilst I was in Year 4 of Primary School, I was introduced to the infamous “Multi-player monkey you cannot get off your back” named Runescape. I would sit on my computer and fail to find keys and I would rant, saying that “THE X KEY ISN’T ON THIS KEYBOARD!” .. until someone showed me. Playing this game for as long as I am ashamed to have played for, helped me develop very quick typing skills.

4.)    Imagination – My parents would always say to me that time spent on video games can be spent “reading a book” or playing outside, and I will not deny, the many books I have read have really helped my imagination to blossom, but the challenges and aspects of video games, right there on the screen can help you think more.. which leads onto my final aspect..

5.)    Challenges – Anyone who takes an IQ test of some kind will find many puzzles and such like events, and the art of playing video games can help stimulate cognitive processes, which can help increase your IQ .. take a look here -http://kotaku.com/5457590/us-navy-video-games-improve-brains-fluid-intelligence

I am not condoning a ridiculous amount of game playing here, I would like anyone who reads this, not to use it as an excuse to be on their games 24/7 .. I feel I did not balance gaming with other hobbies enough, and I would take this time to remind you that everything should be taken in moderation. I hope you enjoyed this blog just as much as my sports ones..