Amber Tamblyn And The Rest Of The Two And A Half Men Cast
Before we get to the focal points of New And A Half Men, let's focus on what used to be the supporting and the recurring casts. We haven't seen much of Amber Tamblyn's character of Jenny Harper, but what we've seen so far has been acceptable, so much so that she was upgraded to main cast status after one episode and that she is being given storylines straight off the bat (Aly Michalka has just been hired in a recurring role as her love interest). This is mostly due to two reasons: 1) Amber Tamblyn is a great actress who you can tell is just having fun being an on-screen drunken she-Charlie. 2) The writers can write Charlie Harper really well. That's what made the first eight seasons so enjoyable. That is also why they brought Kathy Bates in as Charlie's ghost in season 9 (which won her an Emmy for Best Guest Actress In A Comedy Series in 2012). In the good ol' days,we were gifted with what Conchata Farrell (Berta) described as "Two and a half men, three bitches and a psycho." The three bitches in question were ex-wife of Alan Harper, Judith (played by Marin Hinkle), alcoholic mother with a bias towards everyone who isn't Alan (played expertly by Holland Taylor), and the hilarious housekeeper Berta (Conchata Farrell). In the first few seasons they were joined by the "psycho" Rose (Melanie Lynskey), who harboured a rather sizable crush on Charlie. After the first two seasons, Rose became a recurring but still present character, and continues to appear in every season, although as each season passes, Rose's role diminishes. As of late, it seems that the writers aren't entirely sure what to do with the character, only having her come back out of some kind of sympathetic obligation. Numerous plot threads seem to arise with her, but none of them actually go anywhere. It seems to be "hey, let's make her the investor of--Never mind, it's no good", or "let's have her teach someone how to stalk--No. No good. Forget it." If it's not her career that's taken a nosedive, it most certainly is her character. Holland Taylor is an incredibly talented actress, who somehow resorts to films and shows far below her station, such as this or spy Kids 2 and 3, when she should be featured in more roles like the one she had in The Truman Show. Thankfully, her one woman play got her out of all but one episode of season 10, and unlike Judith's role, her's at least had enough screentime to deem it one worth of main billing. However, she is slated to appear in more episodes this season (which doesn't mean much, as she has already appeared twice, so that could be implied as if she has already filmed all of her scenes for this year).
Berta is played by the also hilarious and brilliant Conchata Farrell, who maintains her usual quota of appearances, which involves appearing in all but usually four or five episodes, cleaning in the background before spouting a one-liner or two before leaving again. She is essentially the Statler and Waldorf of the show. Rose isn't the only character to diminish in time, Judith, the never pleased ex-wife seems to have her own troubles keeping a role. Probably because Hinkle found something better to do, that something being another show by the name of Deception. Hinkle appears to have been stereotyped by this role, as on Deception she also plays the role of an estranged wife. It doesn't really matter though, as it was cancelled after eleven episodes anyway. As she was starring in another show, Judith was dropped from the storyline almost altogether, with her appearing in another Jake-like cameo (that being getting paid a ridiculous amount of money and a main cast credit for very little screen time), with a running total of ten seconds screen time during the entirety of season 10 (which was basically a throwaway gag at the end of an episode). Her new husband, Herb (played by the brilliant Ryan Stiles) appeared in four episodes that season in a much more interesting story arc, which just goes to show that it is the supporting cast that helped make the show so great at one point. For example, one of my favourite episodes of the show just involved Charlie, Alan, Ryan Stiles' Herb, guest star Michael Clarke Duncan and the surprisingly underrated character of Gordon (played by J.D. Walsh) just sit around in the Harper's lounge and have a hilarious conversation. There is a similar episode and situation the memory of which escapes me, but the fond memory of the former stopped me writing this article for four minutes while I watched the hilarity ensue. Here's the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk-TdlgPt6I The supporting cast is mostly absent in recent years, and good characters who remain can be counted on one hand. The aforementioned Michael Clarke Duncan and Gordon are gone, as are other classics such as Jane Lynch's Dr. Linda Freedman or Russell the Pharmacist (played by Roseanne's Martin Mull). The characters who remain, such as Lyndsey and Eldridge McElroy, are no longer enjoyable and new characters such as Walden's ex-wife Bridget, Zoey or Miley Cyrus' brief stint as Missi, are downright unlikable and have absolutely no redeemable qualities whatsoever. Today, the only truly good characters are Herb (who is only enjoyable due to Ryan Stiles' comedic talents, which are much more prevalent on the recently revived Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Billy Stanhope (played by superb comedian Patton Oswalt, who miraculously manages to appear in every recent show ever in at least a cameo role) and Kate (Brooke D'Orsay), who we'll talk about next...