Review of Two and a Half Men Episode 1 with Ashton Kutcher, Verdict Still Out?

On Monday Night, September 19, 2011 the long awaited first episode of Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher aired on CBS television. Kutcher will be replacing Charlie Sheen in the popular sitcom. Before the show started I could see no chance of the show being anywhere near as successful as it was with Charlie Sheen. Kutcher simply is not Charlie Sheen and in order for the show to be a success he cannot replace Sheen; but must be a different type of character. If he tries to be Charlie the show may flop. It will be a true test of Kutcher's acting skills to seamlessly blend into the show without it seeming awkward.

Well, the show came on and CBS did a good job of exactly what I expected. Kutcher is not playing the part of Charlie, he is playing a rich, naive, broken hearted man who has broken up with his girl. Kind of by accident, he has taken over Charlie's room and is already having more than his share of women and romance (to put it discretely) . Alan is left without a woman. What's new? At the end of the episode, Kutcher announces he wants to buy Alan's, formerly Charlie's, house. It would appear that Kutcher is going to become a great friend to Alan. It is also apparent that he will usually get the girls and Alan will be left empty handed. Kucher is very uninhibited in the first show which is adding a silly new dimension to the television show.

The first show seemed to be quite a success and it appears that the show has great potential with Kutcher. Right now, I believe the jury is still out as to whether or not the show will be as successful as before; but if the first episode was any indication, CBS will still have a hit on its hands, even without Charlie Sheen.
 

Other links of interest:

Review of Two and a Half Men Episode 1 (part two) with Ashton Kutcher, Verdict Still Out.