Note: This article contains spoilers regarding Season 9 of Two and a Half Men.
Everyone can relax now. The first episode of Season 9 has aired, and Two and a Half Men is the same show, with or without Charlie Sheen.
The build-up for Two and a Half Men was so hyped that even commercial breaks during the lead-in show, How I Met Your Mother, continuously reminded the T.V. viewer that Two and a Half Men was only xx minutes away, so stay tuned.
So when Season 9 of Two and a Half Men debuted on Monday, Sept. 19th, 2011, one quickly finds that the character, Walden Schmidt – played by Ashton Kutcher – is different, yet very much the same as Charlie Sheen’s character, Charlie Harper.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Charlie Harper was characterized by being a hedonistic batchelor, who also happened to be a womanizing alcoholic – which was very evident in every episode. So characteristic, that the premiere episode of Season 9 began at the funeral home with a room full of women that Charlie had slept with.
It is funny to note that it does not take Charlie’s brother, Alan Harper, very long to get over the death of his brother, and to welcome the rich Walden Schmidt into the Malibu beach house of his deceased brother, with open arms. That is, with the understanding that Walden will pay off the mortgage, of course.
Alan Harper then takes Walden to a bar, where they meet two women, and bring them back to the beach house. Walden then hooks up with these two women, after going upstairs with them, and leaves Alan alone downstairs. At this point in the show, the viewer learns that Walden Schmidt will be hooking up with just as many women as Charlie Harper did – therefore solidifying the fact that Two and a Half Men is a show with a formula, and Ashton Kutcher easily fits into the void left by Charlie Sheen.
One drawback to the introduction of Ashton Kutcher, is that his character (Walden) comes on the scene as someone attempting suicide because he can’t handle the breakup with his wife. He references that she has labeled him as “emotionally immature” because he attempted to commit suicide, and jokes that he will try again in his hotel room if left unattended. As a matter of opinion, such joking is distasteful, because there are real people that deal with depression, and suicide should not be made light of in such a joking manner.
So, if television viewers that have any curiosity about the revamped Two and a Half Men, they can rest assured – the show has not radically changed in any way – it still has no moral reservations to portray women as sex objects, with the underlying message that it is okay to indulge on alcohol to wash away the problems of the world.
Sources:
Two and a Half Men entry. Wikipedia.org.