The Sixth Season

Two and a Half Men is a television situational comedy (sitcom) about a carefree, womanizing bachelor whose life is turned upside down when his neurotic bother and son move in. The series first aired in 2003 and was widely received by audiences, as well as critics. The show's success comes from an excellent rounded cast, witty dialogue, and all-around goofy storylines. What it boils down to is that Two and a Half Men is a fun-filled sitcom with nonstop laughs. For more details about the show, please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, season three, season four, and season five.

Season six is a busy season for Charlie, Alan, and Jake. There are several new developments, which include Charlie trying out a monogamous relationship again, Alan getting too involved with Judith and Herb, Jake and Evelyn bonding, and more. Along the way, there are plenty of laughs, as the cast continues to work very well together. The show also has excellent writing and plotlines that keep the content fresh, despite revisiting many of the same old jokes and character intricacies. Overall, fans will not be disappointed with season six.

The season begins with the episode "Taterhead Is Our Love Child", which marks a new era for Charlie -- he starts to think about people other than himself. In this episode, he runs into an old girlfriend. She has a kid named Chuck who is the spitting image of Charlie. Charlie contemplates the effectiveness of condoms, as well as having his own child. It is a fun way to start the season with lots of goofiness coming from the main characters. "A Jock Strap In Hell" is another episode that highlights Charlie's growth and maturity as a human being. Back in season two, Charlie dated Jake's 5th grade teacher Miss Pasternak. Unfortunately, after he dumped her, she went a little crazy. In a very awkward, yet comical moment, Charlie, Alan, and Jake run into her at the local drug store. Her life is a mess and she has gone from teacher to stripper. Charlie feels guilt and helps her regain part of her life back. Of course, the situation blows up on everyone. The end result is a riot!

Despite Charlie's attempts to become a better person, he still hits a few kinks in the journey. One of them is Alan's receptionist Melissa (Kelly Stables) in "The Flavin' and the Mavin'". He wins her over, but ends their relationship after a passionate weekend. Of course, it does not turn out well for Alan. Melissa comes back later in "Thank God for Scoliosis" as Alan's love interest. They hit it off, but her weed smoking mother complicates things. Going back to Charlie, he makes a huge breakthrough in the romance department. "Pinocchio's Mouth" introduces Chelsea (Jennifer Taylor), who has an on and off relationship with Charlie. They fight over trivial issues that only would bother Charlie. As the season progresses, Chelsea becomes more permanent and she slowly tames the wild beast.

Another big season development for the Harpers involves Judith and Herb. The married couple has a rocky patch in "It's Always Nazi Week" and they patch things up in "Best H.O. Money Can Buy". In the first episode, she kicks him out of the house when he takes some bad advice from Charlie. It is a fun development, as Herb tries to become like Charlie. Meanwhile, Judith fears being alone the rest of her life and puts the moves on Alan. Out of this situation, a sticky mess is made involving Judith, Alan, and Herb. It will be interesting to see what comes of it in season six.

As for the rest of the season, there are a lot of fun things happening for the cast. Some highlights include "Smelled The Ham, He Got Excited", Evelyn makes a generous offer and the Harper boys pound their heads to find out why, "The Mooch At The Boo", Alan is caught in his mom's shoes (and dress) and Jake falls for the neighbor girl whose overprotective father Jerome (Michael Clarke Duncan) is a former NFL player, "The Devil's Lube", Charlie contemplates death after his friend dies and almost makes a dramatic life changing decision, "David Copperfield Slipped Me a Roofie", Alan turns forty and no one really seems to care, "The Two Finger Rule", Charlie, Alan, Herb, and Jerome hang out at the house--it is a real funfest, and "Above Exalted Cyclops", Chelsea introduces Rose to the Harper boys.

Overall, Two and a Half Men's sixth season is an absolute riot. The series continues to dazzle and amaze with nonstop comedy. The show has many strong qualities from its writing, characters, and plotlines. I really enjoyed this season, as much as I have past seasons. While there are a lot of reoccurring jokes about Charlie's womanizing, Alan's cheapness, Jake's stupidity, and other such things, they do not get old. The show always incorporates new situations that allow the characters to development and keep the content fresh. In particular, the plotlines involving Charlie-Chelsea and Alan-Judith-Herb were especially good and had numerous comical events. In the end, season six is highly recommended.

Episode Guide

1. Taterhead Is Our Love Child: Charlie's old flame has an eight year old who looks just like Charlie. Let's see, they dated about nine years ago...
2. Pie Hole, Herb: An unpaid $38 loan leads to Alan snuggling with Judith and Charlie chugging margaritas with Herb
3. Damn You, Eggs Benedict: Charlie tries cooking, Jake tries beer and Alan tries seeing two women at the same time.
4. The Flavin' And The Mavin': Charlie starts dating Alan's sweet, pretty, trusting receptionist. Yeah, this is going to work.
5. A Jock Strap In Hell: After Charlie dumped her, Jake's 5th grade teacher went from schoolmarm to stripper. Now Charlie tries to make amends.
6. It's Always Nazi Week: The man that got away. When her marriage to Herb goes phhft, Judith wants hubby #1 back.
7. Best H.O. Money Can Buy: Six weeks after her tumultuous flings with both Alan and Herb, Judith has big, big news.
8. Pinocchio's Mouth: Primitive man. Charlie spends a night at Chelsea's sans a goose-down pillow, quilted toilet paper and other comforts of his own home.
9. The Mooch At The Boo: Jake disappears with a cute girl whose very worried dad is a very large ex-NFL star nicknamed Mad Dog.
10. He Smelled The Ham, He Got Excited: Evelyn offers to pay for Jake's college (yay, says Alan) and a car to take him there (yay, says Jake).
11. The Devil's Lube: The death a friend sends Charlie into a gift-giving, Rose-proposing frenzy before his own time is up.
12. Thank God For Scoliosis: "I crossed that line in the '70s when I was cleaning house for Mr. Telly Savalas." Berta empathizes with Alan's workplace romance.
13. I Think You Offended Don: Sure that Judith's upcoming blessed event is half his doing, Alan "helps" Herb prepare the nursery.
14. David Copperfield Slipped Me A Roofie: Happy Birthday, Alan -- and goodbye. Alan has a surprise for everyone on this 40th. He moves out.
15. I'd Like To Start With The Cat: Sugar blues. When Celsea dumps him, a morose Charlie finds comfort in high-glucose comfort food.
16. She'll Still Be Dead At Halftime: Good news: Chelsea's back early from a trip. Bad news: Charlie has a drunken blonde in his bed.
17. The "Ocu" Or The "Pado": Charlie finally says "I love you" to Chelsea. She says "That's so sweet. Thank You". Uh-oh.
18. My Son's Enormous Head: Red nose, ratty hair, no makeup. Charlie plays nurse when Chelsea comes down with the flu.
19. The Two Finger Rule: After Charlie, Alan, Herb and Jerome share an evening steeped in booze and self-pity, Charlie vows to win Chelsea back.
20. Hello, I Am Alan Cousteau: Guess who Chelsea's new bff is. Evelyn. Evelyn? But it turns out Charlie isn't the only one with mother issues.
21. Above Exalted Cyclops: Chelsea has a great idea: she and Charlie should double date with Alan and Chelsea's friend. Who just happens to be Rose.
22. Sir Lancelot's Litter Box: I love you, go away. When Chelsea suggest it's time for her to move in, Charlie wonders if it's time for him to move on.
23. Good Morning Mrs. Butterworth: Art museums, farmers markets, French films. To share all the girl stuff Charlie hates, Chelsea gets a new pal: Alan.
24. Baseball Was Better With Steroids: Mia's back, Melissa's back and Alan's back in the hospital where Jake was born, coaching Judith through childbirth.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.85:1 ratio widescreen format. The presentation is in a matted format, which is indicated to preserve the original aspect ratio of widescreen television exhibition. The picture quality for this transfer is pretty solid. There are some evident compression artifacts, but nothing too apparent.

Audio:
The audio is presented in English and Portuguese 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. It sounds good with dialogue easy to hear and no noticeable audio distortions. There are subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese.

Extras:

• Two and a Half Men: Growing Up Harper (13:35): is an interview featurette with Angus T. Jones, Charlie Sheen, Chuck Lorre, Lee Aronsohn, Jon Cryer, Holland Taylor, Marin Hinkle, and Conchata Ferrell. The topic of discussion is Angus T. Jones and his character Jake. They discuss him, his role on the show, how his character has progressed over the years, new interests, and other related issues.
• The Women of Two and a Half Men (15:45): is a featurette with Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones, Chuck Lorre, Lee Aronsohn, Conchata Ferrell, Holland Taylor, and Marin Hinkle. They focus on female cast members and their characters. The series would not be what it is without the female cast members. They bring a special side to the Two and a Half Men humor not found within their male counterparts. They highlight some of the supporting characters from season six, but spend most of the time on the main cast.
• Gag Reel (7:21): is a series of goofs caught up tape during filming. While the gag reel has a few good laughs, the actual show is funnier.

Final Thoughts:
Two and a Half Men is a hilarious television series and season six is does not fail to provide laughs at every corner. Season six continues to build off of many of the same jokes and jabs as past seasons, but the writing and the plotlines keep the content fresh, new, and exciting. Fans and newcomers alike will appreciate every episode and storyline, from Charlie going overboard with women to Alan getting too involved with Judith and Herb. It is highly recommended.