Nice to meet you, Walden Schmidt!
Ashton Kutcher made his long-awaited debut on CBS' Two and a Half Men Monday, just as Charlie Sheen's Charlie Harper kicked the bucket.
Killed off the series after "slipping" on a Metro platform (conveniently after his lover/stalker Rose caught him with another woman — read between the lines!), Sheen's character was remembered in a funeral ceremony on the premiere before Kutcher made his appearance.
Featured as Internet billionaire Walden Schmidt, Kutcher quickly made friends with Jon Cryer's Alan Harper, setting the pace for the season's storyline.
Though Monday's premiere delivered Two and a Half Men's biggest audience ever — 27.76 million viewers — TV critics were mixed on Kutcher's debut.
"Kutcher brings a softness as well as a sense of rude health…to a series that could often be brittle and sour, misanthropic and misogynistic, and temperamentally middle-aged," writes Robert Lloyd of The Los Angeles Times. TV Guide's Mickey O'Connor summed up the premiere more succinctly: "Did I miss Charlie Sheen's presence? No. Did I enjoy what Ashton Kutcher brought to the table? Sure. Will I watch again? Meh."
Will you continue to watch Kutcher? Grade the actor's first appearance in our poll, and leave your thoughts on the episode in the comments section.
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