# CBS pulls plug on Two and a Half Men
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 25, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534 "2011-02-25T02:45:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/61 "2011-02-25T19:25:25Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Chelsea. Or maybe the ballerina. But probably Chelsea.
At least the ballerina was hot…
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/62 "2011-02-25T19:31:24Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#):
>
> I love the fact that allegations of domestic violence didn’t bother his producers; holding a hooker hostage across the hall from his kids only rated a suspension; but when he insults _them_, they drop the hammer. Nice set of priorities.
Given what’s going on, I’m having a hard time finding the article, but a few months back one of the other networks (NBC maybe) publically asked for CBS to fire Charlie for these reasons. The CBS president defended him saying that (in addition to him not having an morality(?) clause) he’s never been late to work, he’s always known his lines and that basically, he’s perfectly professional on the set and what he does off stage is his own business. It almost seemed like the other network was just trying to get CBS to cancel the show in a ‘if we can’t have him neither can you’ way.
My guess is that this recent thing (which I haven’t heard yet) is being taken more along the lines of ‘now it’s personal.’
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/63 "2011-02-25T19:36:48Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#):
>
> I love the fact that allegations of domestic violence didn’t bother his producers; holding a hooker hostage across the hall from his kids only rated a suspension; but when he insults _them_, they drop the hammer. Nice set of priorities.
Shit just got real.
I’ll represent the masses - my husband and I found the show very funny. Yes, the toilet humour got laid on a little too thick at times, but we laughed out loud multiple times watching each episode.
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### Author:  [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/64 "2011-02-25T19:57:13Z")
Good ol’ Charlie has apparently just earlier today told one of the gossip sites (TMZ?) that HBO has offered him his very own sitcom, and will be paying him a cool $5 million PER EPISODE for his genius thespian skillz…
HBO responded that they don’t know what the fuck Charlie Sheen is talking about.
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### Author:  [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/65 "2011-02-25T20:19:50Z")
Gaddafi. Sheen. Cage match for the Crazy Crown.
You’d watch. You know you would.
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/66 "2011-02-25T21:55:31Z")
I’ve only seen enough episodes of T&aHM to know the basic relationships of the characters. I was grossed out by one of the three or so episodes I saw when Jon Cryer’s character learned that Charlie Sheen’s character had once made him a turd sandwich for lunch when they were kids- way too “Ewwww! That’s psychotic!” to be funny, so I’m surprised how many others were also turned off by potty humor and to learn there’s a lot more of it.
Since I don’t watch the show it won’t bother me if it’s cancelled except I love Holland Taylor and Conchata Ferrell for their other work and hate to see them out of work. Though I’m guessing they’ve socked a lot away.
Whatever happened to Emilio Estevez?
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### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/67 "2011-02-25T22:01:49Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#):
>
> [Cats Quote Charlie Sheen](http://mediumlarge.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/cats-quote-charlie-sheen/)
Awesome.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/68 "2011-02-25T22:10:18Z")
> [@Sampiro](#):
>
> Whatever happened to Emilio Estevez?
According to this [New York Times profile](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/business/23proto.html), he’s been working on his vineyard and writing and directing movies, most recently [The Way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_%28film%29), starring his father.
Edited to add that he seems much more together than his brother.
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### Author:  [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/69 "2011-02-25T22:12:06Z")
> [@Carl\_Corey](#):
>
> Gaddafi. Sheen. Cage match for the Crazy Crown.
>
> You’d watch. You know you would.
Is there ANY way both parties could loose?
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### Author:  [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/70 "2011-02-25T22:13:12Z")
Anybody else think it’d be worth watching if they tried to do a bunch of episodes _without Sheen_, even if only finish out the season order. Say send Charlie _Harper_ away to rehab. Yeah, the title would make even less sense, but I’d still like to see them try.
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### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/71 "2011-02-25T23:05:03Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> Anybody else think it’d be worth watching if they tried to do a bunch of episodes _without Sheen_, even if only finish out the season order. Say send Charlie _Harper_ away to rehab. Yeah, the title would make even less sense, but I’d still like to see them try.
I think that would be an interesting experiment. Sending Charlie out for a bender that lasted a couple months would probably work too. The show is getting long in the tooth, is expensive and might end up getting canceled anyways so why not give it a shot. If Sheen is still a mess come next Fall they probably will consider that I wager. It’d certainly generate some serious buzz and give them at least a short term ratings boost.
As for the people who don’t get the show…I’ll confess to being one of the fans of the show. I never really understood the hate for the show. It’s got a fantastic cast, especially the supporting roles, and it’s edgy. In the Disnification of the media these days and the rarity of a actual R-rated sexual comedy in theaters finding a show that unabashedly exploits sexual humor and trots out it’s fair share of T&A is a legitimate draw. It’s not Shakespeare but it’s unique. There’s probably 20 crappy sit-coms out there that feature a married couple or a group of them and all the jokes revolve around campy relationship drama. For those of us who aren’t married with kids this is utterly grating. I’ll miss the show and I’ll miss seeing some fake boobs on broadcast TV once in a while. Maybe I’m a pig, but damn it makes me giggle.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/72 "2011-02-25T23:29:03Z")
> [@Omniscient](#):
>
> I think that would be an interesting experiment. Sending Charlie out for a bender that lasted a couple months would probably work too. The show is getting long in the tooth, is expensive and might end up getting canceled anyways so why not give it a shot. If Sheen is still a mess come next Fall they probably will consider that I wager. It’d certainly generate some serious buzz and give them at least a short term ratings boost.
Charlie on a bender would work better than Charlie in rehab. On the show, Charlie’s drinking hasn’t caused him any problems – at least not the kind of problems that drinkers in real life have. He might get drunk and marry a Vegas hooker, but he’s never had a DUI, and his drinking hasn’t affected his work or his relationships. We always see him drinking but we rarely see him drunk, and when we do, he’s funny or pitiable, not mean or nasty.
The writers haven’t quite done PSA’s but they’ve shown Charlie taking a taxi home from the bar, he almost always uses condoms, and he doesn’t knowingly sleep with married women. And his womanizing doesn’t hurt the women – he has a standard pickup line but he doesn’t make promises that he knows he won’t keep. He’s been shot down almost as often as he succeeds.
I think the show jumped the shark with Chelsea. There was nothing about the character or her relationship with Charlie to make us believe that Charlie would change his behavior, but the writers insisted on going there. None of it was believable.
Something else about the show I’ve noticed is that I never see any real chemistry between Charlie and his women. The exception was Denise Richards – imagine that. 🙂
Charlie had his most believable relationship with Herb’s sister, a bright and witty woman who didn’t want a relationship with him. I liked her.
This is my husband’s favorite show. We watch an hour of repeats, Monday through Saturday. We say the lines along with the characters and can identify the episode in the first few minutes. “Is this the Brooke Shields one?” “Oh good, this is the one with Emilio Estevez and he dies, and James Earl Jones gives the eulogy at Charlie’s imaginary funeral!”
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/73 "2011-02-25T23:29:36Z")
> [@Omniscient](#):
>
> As for the people who don’t get the show…I’ll confess to being one of the fans of the show. I never really understood the hate for the show. It’s got a fantastic cast, especially the supporting roles, and it’s edgy. In the Disnification of the media these days and the rarity of a actual R-rated sexual comedy in theaters finding a show that unabashedly exploits sexual humor and trots out it’s fair share of T&A is a legitimate draw. It’s not Shakespeare but it’s unique. There’s probably 20 crappy sit-coms out there that feature a married couple or a group of them and all the jokes revolve around campy relationship drama. For those of us who aren’t married with kids this is utterly grating. I’ll miss the show and I’ll miss seeing some fake boobs on broadcast TV once in a while. Maybe I’m a pig, but damn it makes me giggle.
I’m a big fan of this show, but I sure understand why people might not like it’s constant raunch. It’s funny, but it is the polar opposite of the Cosby show: not family values friendly.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/74 "2011-02-25T23:32:32Z")
Can we have a season of episodes where Charlie is off to rehab/locked up and the Court appoints a conservator to look after his assets. Conservator moves in and tries to fit in to the house because it is in Malibu, so why not. Conservator is slightly loopey and crooked and played by Michael J. Fox.
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### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/75 "2011-02-25T23:39:29Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> I’m a big fan of this show, but I sure understand why people might not like it’s constant raunch. It’s funny, but it is the polar opposite of the Cosby show: not family values friendly.
Yeah, I phrased that badly. I understand why people would dislike the show. However most of the people who dislike it say things like “how could anyone like this show?”, and that is the part that’s baffling. It’s lewd, sexy and shameless. Are people really surprised that there’s a market for that, especially in today’s media where it’s far and few between? And even if you dislike the content you have to admit that it’s very well produced and acted relative to most sit-coms these days.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/76 "2011-02-25T23:50:02Z")
How about Jon Cryer’s ex leaves her current husband, Ryan Stiles, and moves to Milan or something. Then Charlie dies in a car crash. Stiles and his baby daughter have to move in with Cryer and his son. Rename the show, _Three Men and a Baby_.
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### Author:  [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/77 "2011-02-25T23:58:49Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#):
>
> Good ol’ Charlie has apparently just earlier today told one of the gossip sites (TMZ?) that HBO has offered him his very own sitcom, and will be paying him a cool $5 million PER EPISODE for his genius thespian skillz…
>
> HBO responded that they don’t know what the fuck Charlie Sheen is talking about.
Maybe the offer was from the Home Builders Organization, not Home Box Office. 😃
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/78 "2011-02-26T00:04:24Z")
We too are to be counted as fans of the show, at least until the Chelsea point. It’s more R-rated than most R-rated movies these days. Send Charlie off on a bender, then have him eaten by wolverines. Alan can collect his royalty checks for awhile, then have to scramble to keep the house when those stop arriving. Gets us 2 more seasons at least.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/79 "2011-02-26T02:06:48Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#):
>
> I have an idea: replace Sheen with Ted McGinley.
While you’re at it, why not go whole hog and see what Robbie Rist is up to these days.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbs-pulls-plug-on-two-and-a-half-men/572534/80 "2011-02-26T03:32:58Z")
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