The premiere episode for the ninth season of “Two And A Half Men,” television’s most popular comedy, was much anticipated. Ashton Kutcher’s debut on the CBS sitcom drew in 28.7 million viewers on Monday. The show proved it could go on without Charlie Sheen, who beautifully played Charlie Harper, a humorous womanizing multi-millionaire.
The episode started with Alan Harper giving a eulogy at Charlie’s funeral. The crowd consisted of Charlie’s family and previous girlfriends who did not show any remorse.
Charlie’s tragic death was finally revealed. After Rose (neighbor) caught him cheating with another women, he fell off of a train platform while at the train station with her. Because Alan can’t pay the mortage on the house, it is up for sale.
Deeply saddened by the loss of his brother, Alan decides to scatter Charlie’s ashes on the beach.
Alan is startled by seeing a drenched stranger out the window and drops the vase all over the floor. The man is Walden Schmidt (Kutcher), an internet billionaire who’s been dumped by his wife and has tried to commit suicide but decided not to because the water was too cold. After a night on the town with Alan, Walden decides to buy the house.
Kutcher has a comical presence, but I am reluctant to say that he will bring the audience to their knees in laughter like Sheen did. Just the mere fact that they had to show Walden naked multiple times leaves the an impression that the producers feel that Kutcher can’t deliver purely with jokes.
There were mixed reviews and it’s too early to see if Kutcher has a “winning,” fan base on “Two and a Half Men.”
