Two and a Half Men

Think about what was occurring a year ago with regard to Two and a Half Men.

Charlie Sheen was out. Ashton Kutcher was in. The buzz surrounding the new configuration of the show was deafening.

How would they "dispose" of Charlie? What would Ashton's character be like?

So, with the 10th season of Two and a Half Men set to begin Thursday on CBS and CTV, what do we know now that we didn't know then?

Well, we actually knew this before, but it has been reiterated that the man who really holds this show together is Jon Cryer, who plays Alan Harper. Last weekend Cryer won the Emmy Award for outstanding male lead in a comedy.

No matter what you think of Two and a Half Men, Cryer's honour was really deserved. He was the constant on the show, the link between the Sheen and Kutcher eras.

These days Two and a Half Men has gone back to what it was before Charlie went nuts. It's a veteran sitcom that just keeps churning it out.

Two and a Half Men isn't for everyone, but it knows what it's doing for the audience it has. It's probably nearing the end of its run, but hey, we knew that before Charlie-gate.

Despite all of Sheen's whining and all of Kutcher's tweeting, it turns out the hero of this story is a real Cryer.

-- Bill Harris