Half & Half

This is the story of two half-sisters establishing a friendship for the first time in their lives. Mona, the older sister, grew up resenting DeeDee because their father had left her mother, remarried, become wealthy and raised DeeDee in a much more affluent lifestyle than Mona's. It really surprised me, watching the first few episodes then, when none of the characters turned out to be what I expected. The virtuous, hardworking Mona turned out to be judgmental and aloof, while the spoiled DeeDee was sweetly eager-to-please and savvy. The cast is excellent (both mothers are hilarious) and I like the developing friendship so far. It's not important, but I also love the opening theme. My only complaint is that the ratio of genuine laughs is fairly low; that's usually easier to fix than other potential problems.

Like every TV series it takes a year or two for a show to hit it's stride like Girlfriends did. I admit that in the beginning this series was a little choppy but, anytime you get to see Rachel True and Essence Atkins on TV it is a treat. I think they play Rachel a little too clownish and her Frankenstein boots every episode are too much. Hopefully this show will get another year to mature because it has a good premise, it just needs a little time to mature.

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 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.

"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)