Top 10 Two and a Half Men Running Gags

After making Alan's life miserable, Judith marries pediatrician Herb Melnick, a man who remains constantly under her thumb. Stuck in an unhappy marriage, Herb tries to live vicariously through Alan and Charlie, but has to skirt around Judith to do so. Having bonded with Alan over their mutual disdain with how Judith treats them, Herb is shown preferring Alan's company to his own wife's. Unfortunately, years of being a pushover takes its toll and Herb becomes a lonely man who pines for a happier life but is too afraid to make it happen. He even goes so far as to try to bribe Alan with some potential luxurious amenities to keep him around. Sad though they might be, Herb's efforts to escape Judith are undeniably good for a laugh.

Blaming her for all his issues, Charlie clearly takes pleasure in seeing his mother suffer—within reason. For her part, Evelyn's refusal to be motherly towards Charlie only makes matters worse. The only occasions Charlie enjoys his mother's company is when he sees a chance to antagonize her, or when her malicious nature works to his advantage. His mother issues are a source of comedy even when she’s not around, as Charlie's therapy sessions usually result in uncomfortable breakthroughs. To be fair, Alan also has moments where Evelyn isn't his favorite person in the world—not that she really cares.

The one thing that every character on this show seemingly has in common is their tendency to make their flatulence known. This brand of potty humor might be considered cheap laughs, but they’re generally well timed enough to be amusing. It also highlights the characters' inherently unclassy nature. And this isn’t limited to the core cast—just about every recurring character has their moment to let one rip over the course of the series. On occasion, the flatulence gag even plays a part in an episode's story, but the main purpose of all this gas is to support one of Jake's recurring gags.

Despite him getting older, Jake's intelligence seemingly dropped every season. Initially just a lazy little boy, Jake ends up being apparently absolutely clueless with no hint of common sense. This is most evident during conversations between Jake and a member of his family, who can't fathom all the silly things he says. This ranges from him suffering in studies at school to missing obvious hints when someone is interested in him. Jake's slow wittedness frequently gets on everyone's nerves, and he doesn't even pick up on this either. Things reach their peak when he gets fooled into enlisting in the army, but not even this wake up call can take the edge off his trademark dimness.

Always with a drink in hand, Charlie's moments of inebriation are too many to count. Unlike his suave attitude when sober, drunk Charlie becomes a whiny manchild who lets out his frustrations in extremely loud ways. His drunken state also takes away Charlie's usual fast talking skills, leaving him more like his nephew in terms of intellect. Charlie's hangover becomes the perfect set-up for a joke, leading to moments of dry humor where he tries to piece together his antics from the previous night. This state has its benefits too, as the only time Charlie seemingly genuinely bonds with Alan is when they're drunk beyond their wits.

The greatest lie Alan ever told was that he could live without the Malibu beach house. Having moved in during the pilot episode, he remained there right until the end of the series. That being said, Charlie's numerous swipes at his expense did make Alan move out on a few occasions—only for his younger brother to move right back in soon after. This practice doesn't stop after Walden buys the house, with his and Alan's arguments prompting the latter to leave. And yet, circumstances work out in such a way that Alan returns to the beach house as always. It also underlines Alan’s complete inability to live on his own, which stems from his stingy and rather spoiled nature.

No matter how much food he's given Jake always wants more. He’s something of a bottomless pit. His laziness is only made worse by his love for food, which (quite frankly) reaches ridiculous heights. This doesn't get any better as he grows up either, with Jake retaining his habit of being a messy eater well into his teens. While he's generally known to have a laid-back attitude, the lack of food is one of the few things that can awaken Jake's temper. Another running gag involves Charlie intentionally snagging Jake's food, having little respect for his nephew's appetite and loving an opportunity to engage in childish banter. Getting possessive about food might just be a Harper family trait.

Charlie didn’t know it at the time, but he made the mistake of a lifetime by getting involved with Rose. A stalker with no sense of boundaries, Rose sticks around the beach house for years out of her unrequited and uncomfortably possessive love for Charlie. Initially a relatively harmless dynamic, Rose's obsession with Charlie gets out of control as she frequently manipulates him into falling for her, even pretending to marry another man to make him jealous. Although Charlie is usually quick to get wise to her act, Rose's skill as a manipulator is not to be underestimated. Later in the show, she winds up extending her ‘talents’ to Walden as well.

Everyone in the Harper family knows not to mess with Berta, who works when she wants and rarely fulfills the housekeeper job description. Ever at the ready with a scathing remark, Berta is a constant source of amusement. She’s got a pocketful of quips for any situation, but the most reliable gag sees Berta appear at the end of a humorous situation and refuse to clean up - when that's clearly not the main issue. Rather than ponder over the weirdness of a given moment, Berta's only concern is that she not be left with the mess created. This gag can also take darkly funny turns, such as when Berta had little compassion to show for Charlie's supposed ashes.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Alan’s Cowardly Behavior
Because Even Alan’s Own Reflection Thinks He’s a Wimp

Alan & Walden Acting Like a Couple
Because There’s No Need for FanFiction Where These Two Are Involved

Charlie Making Fun of Alan
Because This Sibling Rivalry Is Pretty One-Sided

Charlie’s Playboy Lifestyle
Because This Is the Kind of Dilemma Only Charlie Can Have

Alan rarely gets treated with much respect. Then again, he doesn’t do a whole lot to change that. Given the opportunity, Alan has no problem mooching off anyone willing to put up with him. When left to his own devices, Alan tries cutting any corners he can to avoid paying for something, and there's no exception to this habit. He once successfully pulled off a ponzi scheme - against his own family! Belittling Alan for his stingy behavior is one of Charlie's favorite things to do, as he regularly comes up with new ways to make fun of his bro. On many occasions, Alan's inherently cheap personality leads to extremely embarrassing incidents - though they don’t seem to embarrass him enough to alter his ways.