Monday Catch-Up: "HIMYM," "Two and a Half Men"

You're in Cleveland. Where's Kid Leo?

Before I talk about the comedies, a brief note about Chuck Lorre's title card at the end of "Men." Usually full of tiny type, this one simply said "United We Stand." Good move, great way to remind viewers (well, at least the detail-obsessed ones) that these shows come from writers, and their issue hasn't gone away.

And so to the laughs …

Very good night for both comedies.

"How I Met Your Mother" offered up a fine take on relationships. The spiraling of annoyance from Ted's new girlfriend into the other characters, and the way it took us away from Marshall's password worries and then neatly back to them — it all worked. Also liked the broken-glass sound.

But here's the problem: Are we going to watch the next new episode and wait for Ted to correct Robin, or for Robin to say "literally" or for Barney's high voice?

As good as "HIMYM" was, though, it did not have me as thoroughly amused as "Men." Charlie Waffles, indeed. And believe me, I have not forgotten the Raffi years at my house. Or Sharon, Lois & Bram, for that matter. I would at times make mix tapes — we're going back a few years, folks — with songs that the boys would like but that would not make me nauseous, as an alternative to the kid-targeted stuff.

So I probably would have killed for a Charlie Waffles CD — before the parental impulse began saying, "Oh, that's not really appropriate for a little one, is it?"

Then I might have just gotten it for myself.

If the "Men" episode had a problem, it was that the parts that did not involve Charlie Waffles songs weren't as good as the scenes that did. Still good, but just not as insanely fun.