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)

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.

Half & Half has definitely improved over the first season. It's a worthy show that never fails to bring out the funny. Rachel True is an excellent actress and next to Valarie Pettiford is one of my favorites on the show. I for one happen to like her 'eclectic' look. Remember the phrase...'We are not a monolith'. In other words, not every black person thinks and acts the same. If we all did that, life would be boring and I suppose some of you wouldn't have anything to b!tch about! I'm very happy it's made it to a second season. They did have a potential 'jump the shark' moment introducing a pregnancy but so far it's been handled very well.

I look forward to many more laughs from the entire cast, who clearly have great chemistry together.

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.

I remember Mona, Dee, and Spencer being boring. I did not remember how completely entertaining the rest of the regular characters are.

Tina is the absolute funniest character. Adam is great to watch as well.

Phyllis and Big Dee are comedic gold.

So many guests are too funny. It is so ironic to watch them shine next to the bland yet endearing Dee, Mona, and Spencer.

I appreciate sitcoms like this, especially the rare ones that exist nowadays. Now, let's get rid of laugh tracks.