Unless you have been living under a rock for the last several weeks, you have undoubtedly been following with varying levels of interest the saga surrounding Charlie Sheen (and his family, his “goddesses”, CBS and the canceled show). Side note: yesterday, I watched a Saturday Night Live rerun from 2001 – ten years ago. Mr. Sheen hosted the show, and the opening monologue THEN could have just as easily been done in 2011; by that I mean, it was a very open account of his penchant for illegal substances, hookers and the ultimate party lifestyle. The only difference? Then (2001), he spoke in a self-deprecating manner. Today, he comes across as defiant in his attempt to be bigger than life. Who knew that a human could have a tiger’s blood?
What I mean by that last statement is when he speaks in 2011, his main topic is that of “winning”. He was quoted recently as saying “every day is just filled with wins” and “the only thing I’m addicted to is right now is winning.”
Now, exactly what he’s trying to win – his old job back, a new job, more money, title of Greatest Partier of All-Time – isn’t clear. One thing is very clear: he is definitely trying to humiliate his old show, his old show’s creator, and CBS because he thinks he’s owed money from the show being canceled. That is, the show being canceled while he was off on benders. Wait, not everyone can get paid for leaving town and wrecking hotels while on the job? Who knew.
Depending on your point of view, perhaps to some extent he is winning in boosting his rock star status, his social media following, his average media interviews per week ratio – all at the expense of CBS’ reputation and in the process pissing off Chuck Lorre (creator of Two and a Half Men).
As someone who isn’t one to back down from competition, I have an idea for Mr. Lorre to have the ultimate “win”. Write a new show called Charlie’s World.
The toughest part about the new show would be who to cast as the protagonist, in this case, the person named “Charlie”. But from the last four weeks of real life, couldn’t you produce a compelling sitcom – or drama – that lasts a season if not multiple seasons? Each 30-minute episode would be must-see TV. Of course, it would be loosely based off the events of Mr. Sheen’s life the last several months. I’m not a sitcom writer, so I wouldn’t be any good at suggesting specific story lines – but I have to think that with the right protagonist combined with hookers, drugs, goddesses, Las Vegas, trashed New York hotel rooms, idiotic people who have the desire to videotape police seizing custody of children, Hollywood mansions, and major network interviews at all hours of the day could make for some compelling TV. If not for CBS, maybe for HBO.
If devised properly, can you imagine the marketing of this new show leading up to the first episode? The viewership of the first episode? Mr. Lorre could use all the attention Charlie Sheen has brought upon himself to the new show’s advantage. It would be the ultimate “win”, the ultimate turn-the-tables moment. To use an analogy: remember the episode in Seinfeld when Jerry gets heckled while doing stand-up, and the following day goes to the heckler’s place of business and starts verbally booing her?
I mentioned this idea to a friend of mine who wears a legal hat, and he pointed out that it was interesting but would have to be crafted carefully to avoid slander and to too closely resemble the real-life person it is loosely based on. My response was that the title of the proposed show, Charlie’s World, could always be written as a show seen through the lens of the show’s creator (whose name is Charles) – not “necessarily” about Mr. Sheen.
I realize this is semantic…but isn’t it fun to think about? If I were Mr. Lorre, given all the bad publicity Mr. Sheen has laid upon him and the network, I’d want to fight back at least a little. I think a show about the show (that we’ve all been witnessing the last few months) is just the solution. I’d love the chance to market THAT show.
The only question is: what actor would play the protagonist?
Mr. Lorre and Mr. Moonves: Send me an email and I will give you the address of where to send royalty checks.