Half & Half

"Half & Half" is not groundbreaking, built on a standard sit-com foundation of "mismatched partners", but considering its initial lack of promise, it does a good job of staying afloat, even offering the occasional bit of unexpected hilarity. Rachel True ("CB4"), who plays lead character Mona, is a refreshing switch from the women of "Girlfriends", the show's whiny lead-in. Another noteworthy surprise is Mona's gay receptionist, partially because his brand of flamboyance is much more sympathetic than the usual snooty fops that sit-com writers like to parade around to incorporate a few played-out one-liners, but also because his delivery is on-point, and he serves as a good diversion from just how conventional this show can be at times. Chico Benymon, as the thus-far platonic buddy Spencer, is also talented and amiable, although I believe he is not as integral a player now as he may become if this show can endure its sophomore season. On the plot front, the show has been hesitant to address anything that will last longer than 22 minutes, but we have watched Mona land an A&R job (her star artist, in-the-closet R&B teen idol Dante, continues to be mentioned in dialog although the actor who played him, Merlin Santana, was tragically murdered shortly after appearing in just one episode), and most recently, we've learned that Spencer is looking at Mona in a new light, probably as a result of being picked up for another season. All in all, only time will tell if this show can tweak all the right things and stay put, or if it will dive into UPN oblivion, but here's hoping the writers stray from convention a little more often.

(Note from the future: The show did dive into oblivion, right along with UPN, as it was not picked up for the transition to the CW network. -Patrick, Oct. 2, 2006)

There was nothing I disliked about this show except the ending. I have re watched it all on Netflix and the ending is so frustrating. I know the show was cancelling but can we get a YouTube video or something to end the cliffhanger, I mean it could be as simple as a script reading. It's been fourteen years so I think it's high time the viewers get answers.

I relate to Mona's character I am going through similar things in my life and it seems I too I have run some of the good men away and keep the one I should have ran away. I know people who really act like big DeeDee full of the drama and think you crazy when you stare too long at them because they go too far sometimes. If we will be honest with ourselves we can see a little of Lil DeeDee in people we know and even love always in somebody else's business and chances are if you don't know someone you are the one. I just hate they didn't take the time to at least finish the show and then cancel it. Like in life everything doesn't end like it suppose to or how you think it is suppose to, but i thank God for Jesus who gives me a better chance of end my story not on a cliff hanger but with an happy ending.

When I first starting watching this series,I thought that it was going to be another of those over the wall sitcoms where mostly the unexpected always occurs,but I dead wrong about this show in the least! First off,it is a mixture of Sister,Sister,mixed in with various point of other shows just for good measure. Here you have two girls who are half-sisters who for the first time develop a good friendship with each other,even though they come from two different families. Mona is the opposite of her sister DeeDee who is spoiled,rich and gets anything she wants while both girls have the same father(who is never around,but cheats anyway)while on the same frame have two different mothers from mixed marriages. First off,this is a great show with some heavy-hitters here for added support like actors Essence Atkins(of Sister,Sister,and The Smart Guy),Telma Hopkins(of Tony Orlando & Dawn, Gimme A Break!, and Family Matters)Obba Wutannde,and also Valerie Pettiford. I don't know about actress Rachel True,but she is a good actress,but looks like a hippie chic,part Spice Girl,and part Freddie Brooks from A Different World,and lets hope that they give her a makeover.........please????

NOTE: The series premiered in September of 2002,and to make a long story short,the network UPN cancelled it in December of 2002,a day prior to New Year's Eve due to some very low ratings. Hopefully,this series will show up somewhere along the lines on a different timeslot since it wasn't a bad series anyway.

When will american sitcoms finally get decent writers or invest a little more talent into their productions? I caught this show purely by accident and thought that the set up was a good one for a comedy and liked both Rachel True and Essence Atkins in it as the two half sisters. What I didn't find as appealing is the fact there are so many opportunities for real comedy here and both girls are so available and open for it, and yet where are the writers? Constantly the laughs are not there because they're not writing them in! It is the most confounding thing and the most irritating to to watch a comedy that has the potential to go places, only to see them go nowhere. Must we wait 10 years each time for the next Cosby Show, Cheers or Friends? Are there really that few writers out there that can actually put pen to paper and make something funny come out of it? I hope for the sake of the show and the cast (who deserve better material) that the producers come to their senses and start whipping the storylines into something a little more witty.