For the first time since Ashton Kutcher slid into the lead role, last week’s “Two and a Half Men” excelled on creative grounds. The chemistry between Kutcher and Cryer seemed to have come full circle, and an extended opening built around masturbation, erectile dysfunction medication and porn was a sign that all the confidence of the Charlie Sheen version.
This week’s episode was nowhere near as funny, although it did re-introduce Jane Lynch’s brilliant therapist character. More importantly, it parlayed the quality of last week’s episode into the show’s first ratings gain of the season.
“Men” finally reversed its downward trend, scoring a healthy 5.5 adults 18-49 rating with 15.3 million viewers. Up in both key metrics, “Men” looks to have finally stabilized.
Of course “Men” can still drop–it is tough to maintain fall levels deep into the spring, and it is not as if the show has become so great that it won’t lose any viewers in the coming weeks. But for a show that needed to prove it could survive without its main attraction, a reversal of a declining trend is definitely a welcome sign.
