CBS Wants Charlie Sheen Back. Who's Winning Now?

Duh. Winning. Image from TV Squad

I'm still a bit vexed by the big news stories of the day. I'll likely still talk about Libya, Japan and the protests against GOP governors, but I just don't feel like it right now. And hey, this isn't a newspaper. I'm not pretending to have some sort of journalistic code. If there's news about Charlie Sheen, it doesn't matter if I talk about it. This is a blog, not the New York Times, right? So, when the buzz is that CBS wants to woo Sheen back to their network, I don't feel out of my depth to say something about it!


Charlie Sheen gave a whole new meaning to "scorched earth" in his trashing of just about everything to do with Two and a Half Men but himself. He napalmed Chuck Lorre, the creator of the show. He insulted Jon Cryer, his costar. He lambasted the show's wardrobe person by dissing his character's bowling shirts. He even trashed his own audience, pretty much saying that viewers would lap up anything he put in a bowl on the floor for them.

Charlie Sheen is also either a) crazy, b) drugged or c) both. And don't forget that his charming rogue act was great on a late 30s-early 40s "aging well" handsome man. But Charlie has--frankly--hit a wall. He's moved from sexy older guy to old guy. He looks gaunt and drawn. He's getting that ropey neck thing. He's got crazy eyes to rival Michele Bachmann. So even if all concerned managed to iron over the rough spots, I don't think they'll be ironing over Charlie's face. 

So with him, they've got a year or two left at best before it's all just looking sad. And without him, they've likely got. . .a year or two left at best before it's all just looking sad. They could pull a That '70s Show, and squeeze out a lackluster final season. They could do a Spin City (ironically, also with Sheen), and manage two more years. But is there any precedent for an eight-year-old sitcom to transform itself, and stay on the air years after a big cast change? How long can Alan Harper live on a fold-out sofa, regardless of who the costar is?

[Excerpt]

CBS Wants Charlie Sheen Back on 'Two and a Half Men' ... If He Makes Nice




If the prospect of 'Two and a Half Men' without Charlie Sheen seemed like a weird idea to you, then be assured that the folks at CBS were likely tying their stomachs in knots thinking about the same thing. . .

Read more at: TV Squad