Let the Three of Them Disappear

Do we really need Two and a Half Men?  With the implosion of Charlie Sheen, this was the perfect opportunity to let a poorly written show disappear from the scene.  CBS can certainly do better in terms of quality, but it appears the network was making a mint on the show and quality has nothing to do with ratings and money.  So the plan is for Ashton Kutcher to join the cast, which makes more sense than Hugh Grant.  In fact, I would not mind seeing Ashton in a new show since he has the likability to make a weekly comedy worth watching (remember That '70s Show?), yet I would prefer CBS found a new vehicle.  And how much will Ashton make as the replacement for "The Demented One"?  One estimate puts his take at about $1 million per episode, compared to Charlie's $2 million.  Ashton has little to lose here with his weak film career, and maybe the writing will actually improve with a new cast, but I still think its the viewers that lose in this arrangement since any network with half a brain could use this $1-2 million to create a better show that improves TV Land rather than simply filling airtime.  Of course, such networks are in short supply.

Update:  If you want to see the premiere of a new season of Two and a Half Men without Charlie, you can see it September 19th.  Also, later that night on Comedy Central you can see the roast of Charlie Sheen.  It will not be pretty.  According to the Daily Beast, here is Seth MacFarlane's (of Family Guy) opening lines:

Tonight on Two and a Half Men, they’re actually having Charlie’s pretend funeral, believe it or not. No need to switch over, though. Just wait a few months, you can probably see the real thing. I mean, we all know there’s a good chance Charlie will be dead soon, so I wrote an obituary. Charlie Sheen, who became a tabloid fixture due to his problems with drugs and alcohol, was found dead in his apartment. Actually, you know what? I kind of just copied Amy Winehouse’s obituary. I only had to change three things: the sex of the deceased, the location of the body, and the part that says a talent that will be missed.