Two and a Half Men

Most TV sitcoms have similar characteristics. They are usually episodic, involve little to no character growth, and contain mini-resolutions in each episode. The episodic structure contributes to the minimal character growth and the presence of the mini-resolutions because the episode, in order to be episodic, has to be nearly the same situation at the beginning as it is at the end. This means that the characters can't grow a lot, because if they did, then the episode wouldn't be the same at the beginning as it is at the end. It also means that the episodes problems have to be resolved before the episode ends, giving them their mini-resolutions.

Two and a Half Men is no exception. This sitcom is episodic, there is not much character growth during each episode, and each episode contains a mini-resolution. Like most sitcoms, Two and a Half Men is about a family of related characters, a man, Charlie, his brother, Alan, and Alan's son, Jake, who all live together. The show is episodic; it usually begins and ends with Charlie and Alan living under the same roof, even though most episodes involve Alan trying to move out. There is the occasional episode where Alan decides to live with a new girlfriend, but by the end of the episode, something has happened to cause Alan to move back in with Charlie. Most recently it was because he burned his girlfriend's house to the ground. The show is filmed in front of a live studio audience, which is an aspect of some but not all sitcoms. The mini-resolutions contained in each episode almost always have to do with a girlfriend of Charlie's or Alan's, and occasionally it takes one or two episodes to sort out, but most of the time it is resolved by the end of the episode. Keeping with its episodic structure, the show's characters do not change much, except for the change over time (for example, Jake has grown older by seven years since the show started, but his character still struggles with school and eats a lot, just like in the first episodes). The show could be used as a model for the sitcom structure, as it contains and mirrors man of the aspects of the standard sitcom.