That crunching noise you heard earlier this week was the latest TV star biting the hand that feeds him. Angus T. Jones -- the "Half" in "Two and a Half Men" -- went off on a rant against the sitcom that pays him $300,000 an episode, labeling it filth and urging viewers to stop watching.
No worries, Angus. We stopped watching long ago.
As for your tantrum (for which you later sort of apologized), it's small potatoes compared with former co-star Charlie Sheen's epic rant against the sitcom's creator, Chuck Lorre.
Now you're both part of a TV club that seems to forget it makes a jillion more dollars than viewers, doing a job that requires spending half the day in an air-conditioned trailer and being forced to eat catered meals.
Here are some other favorite members:
Robert Reed, "The Brady Bunch" (1974): Keen followers of this timeless sitcom may have noticed that Mike Brady never appeared in the series finale. That's because the classically trained actor had finally had enough of being involved in a series that often revolved around prom dates and sibling rivalry. He spent most of the show's run complaining about the show's silliness. Maybe the producers should have stuck to their original choice to play the father: Gene Hackman.
Suzanne Somers, "Three's Company" (1981): She may have played dumb for a living, but Somers thought she was being smart when she demanded a raise -- a 500 percent raise. When she didn't get her way, she started skipping rehearsals and alienated her co-stars. Producers eventually fired her. Maybe a few hours a day with a Thighmaster would have cooled her down.
Jessica Biel, "7th Heaven" (2000): This Ely native was anything but Minnesota Nice when, at age 17, she posed topless for Gear magazine, a blatant attempt to get out of her contract with the family-friendly series. Eight years later, Biel admitted she had made a mistake and did her penance by starring in "Valentine's Day."
