In terms of compelling celebrity reality shows, Denise Richards thought she had a great story to tell. Her life seemed very complicated, what with her fights with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and their legal wrangling over their children, it seemed like a compelling product.
Umm...no, it wasn't.
Today, E! pulled the plug on Denise Richards It's Complicated, her attempt to keep up with the Kardashians and outdo the Hogans. The bottom line with Denise's show was that it really wasn't that complicated. It was dull.
Her family appeared as her supporting players, including her father who -- like his children -- is still mourning the loss of his wife, Denise's mom. Those moments in the show were sad, but a little went a long way.
Denise's getting in the middle of the employment issues with her assistants was hardly great TV, nor was watching Denise driving in Beverly Hills. And, yes, the ratings were declining week after week.
On Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen plays a vulgar playboy, a shallow guy who's more interested in booze, women and having a good time than being responsible and working hard. The role has earned him a couple of Emmy nominations and a lot of money. A lot of money. In fact, in a new poll from TV Guide, Charlie Sheen is the highest paid actor on TV, making $825,000 per episode; in a season of 23 shows, that comes out to nearly $20 million.
That's more than he could make in the movies, and unlike films, Charlie can keep on raking it in on Two and a Half Men for years. The show is a huge hit in syndication, so more episodes will simply mean more money down the road.
Right behind Charlie on the list is fellow CBS leading man, CSI's William Petersen. He's making $600,000 an episode. He's only doing ten episodes this season, but since he's also an executive producer on the series, he's probably making even more.
Don't get him wrong; Jon Cryer is thrilled to be nominated for an Emmy again. This is his third nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as Alan Harper, the sad sack, divorced brother of Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men. In 2006 and 2007, he lost to Jeremy Piven, Ari Gold on Entourage, and Jon Cryer is ticked off: "Laugh all you want, [he] is my nemesis. He's a force of nature."
If it's not Piven -- again! -- Jon has another nemesis lined up: "I think this time Neil Patrick Harris (Barney on How I Met Your Mother) will win."
Cryer is good natured about his chances and not seriously miffed. He's planning to bring his new wife, entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner. "When we heard the news, she was thrilled for a moment, then filled with dread as she started to worry about what she'll wear. But she'll be there with me -- or I'll be very lonely."
Charlie Sheen has married Wife #3. The 42 year old television star married real estate investor Brooke Mueller this past Friday night. The couple have been engaged since last summer.
Sheen has starred in several movies and is currently starring in the Nielsen top-10 rated show Two and a Half Men. "She's just easy, and loving, and smart, and if everybody was just as happy to see me when I walk through a door as her, my life would be perfect," he said soon after the couple got engaged.
He is currently involved in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife and soon-to-be-reality TV star of the E! show It's Complicated, Denise Richards. They got married in 2002 and divorced in 2006. Sheen was also briefly married to model Donna Peele in 1995.
All I can say is congratulations and best of luck to Sheen and Mueller. It's difficult to make marriages work, and even more difficult with Hollywood marriages.
The CSI/Two and a Half Men writers switch was a very clever promotion for CBS. Fortunately, the writers saw the opportunity to change places as more than just a publicity stunt. They really took the scripting seriously and came up with inventive episodes for each program. If this were a competition to see which team would deliver the better show, who would take on the task of writing winning TV in a genre not their own and succeed beyond expectations, the comedy scribes take the gold. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn's CSI was pure genius, and if it were up to me, CSI should submit it for an Emmy.
But first there was Two and a Half Men. In an episode called "Fish in a Drawer" (and if somebody could explain what that title means, I'd be most appreciative), the story picked up after Evelyn married Teddy. In the teleplay by CSI regular writers Evan Dunsky and Sarah Goldfinger, Charlie and Courtney check out of the reception for a little romp in his room upstairs only to find Teddy's dead bod on the bed. Talk about spoiling the mood. Teddy wasn't only a corpse, he was a corpse with his pants pulled down around his ankles and lipstick stains on his hoo-ha. The cops were called in, a detective who was a dead ringer for Marg Helgenberger -- played by redhead Jamie Rose -- had the vaguely Bondian name of Jagov, Sloane Jagov. Naturally, Charlie had to make a move on her. He couldn't keep his eyes off her cleavage.
The Two and a Half Men episode was written by the CSI staff and is titled "Fish in a Drawer," and I have no idea what that title means. Thursdays CSI episode was written by the Two and a Half Men staff and has a title that's a lot easier to understand: "Two and a Half Deaths." It's about the murder of a despised sitcom star (Chuck Lorre used to work for both Cybill Shepherd and Roseanne Barr - I'm just sayin').
The idea came from Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, who approached CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn about switching teams for one episode of each series. The plot involves the murder of a famous Hollywood comedienne/sitcom diva who is difficult on the set of her show, and Lorre is quick to point out that it's NOT based on Cybill Shepherd, who he worked with on her show (*cough cough wink wink*). The video shows the behind the scenes goings on as the shows meet in the writers room and plan her Las Vegas demise.
We told you a while back about the plan to have the writing staffs of CSI and Two and a Half Men swap places for one episode. Looks like that plan is going forward. Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre even has the plot for the CSI episode: he's going to kill Roseanne Barr or Cybill Shepherd.
OK, they won't be on the show, but Lorre's plot revolves around the killing of a "sitcom diva." Lorre worked for several years on both Roseanne and Cybill (he created the latter), and both shows were notorious for behind the scenes friction and firings and chaos. And who does Lorre want to have play the sitcom diva? Shepherd's costar Christine Baranski, who didn't exactly get along with the star of the show (or vice versa).
Now the only question is: who will the killer be? (Second question: what plot will the CSI writers come up with for Two and a Half Men?)
After 15 consecutive days of Mohammed (TV shows) coming to the mountain (the Beverly Hilton hotel), today the mountain (actually, the TCA membership) went to Mohammed. Two bus loads of TV critics boarded vehicles to hit five sound stages and the offices of TMZ.com.
First up was The Closer at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. Kyra Sedgwick and other cast members of the TNT drama mixed and mingled on the show's squad room set. Most reporters hovered around Sedgwick to inquire about her Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, the show's new season and husband Kevin Bacon.
It's that time of year again, when we find out how much more TV celebs make than you and I do. But this year is a huge surprise. The highest paid star on television right now is Carson Daly!
Just kidding.
Actually, it's Oprah Winfrey again, with $260 million. She wins every year. The second place celeb, American Idol's Simon Cowell, doesn't even come close, with a paltry $45 million. One thing I don't understand is, where are late night hosts like David Letterman and Jay Leno? I know they make more than some of these people but they're not on the list.
And you'll never guess who #5 is (though I'm not sure the math makes sense). The list after the jump!
It may sound a little bit like a headline from The Onion, but it's actually in the works, according to CSI producer Carol Mendelsohn.
Speaking at a Banff event in Canada earlier this week, Mendelsohn said she got a call from Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, who suggested the switch. I'm not sure if it would be permanent, but it's something they could do for an episode or two. CSI will also go on location to San Francisco this season, and next season might go to London.
Maybe the Two and a Half Men writers can have Grissom sleep with a different woman every night, and maybe even hire a wisecracking kid to help with a murder investigation. He can be a prodigy who doesn't do well in school but is a genius at forensics.
Monday nights at 9 has become one of the major time slots on the networks these days. On NBC you have the megahit Heroes. Over on CBS there's the comedy smash Two and a Half Men, and FOX has 24. What do you watch?
The Los Angeles Times has a piece about the battle for viewers in the time slot, and they say that over 45 million people are watching the three shows at that time. The paper wonders if one of the networks will blink next season and move one of the shows to let it breathe a little bit. Though no one is planning that as of yet.
In terms of compelling celebrity reality shows, Denise Richards thought she had a great story to tell. Her life seemed very complicated, what with her fights with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and their legal wrangling over their children, it seemed like a compelling product. 
On Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen plays a vulgar playboy, a shallow guy who's more interested in booze, women and having a good time than being responsible and working hard. The role has earned him a couple of Emmy nominations and a lot of money. A lot of money. In fact, in 
Don't get him wrong; Jon Cryer is thrilled to be nominated for an Emmy again. This is his third nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as Alan Harper, the sad sack, divorced brother of Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men. In 2006 and 2007, he lost to Jeremy Piven, Ari Gold on Entourage, and 
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After 15 consecutive days of Mohammed (TV shows) coming to the mountain (the Beverly Hilton hotel), today the mountain (actually, the TCA membership) went to Mohammed. Two bus loads of TV critics boarded vehicles to hit five sound stages and the offices of TMZ.com.
It's that time of year again, when we find out how much more TV celebs make than you and I do. But this year is a huge surprise. The highest paid star on television right now is Carson Daly!
It may sound a little bit like a headline from The Onion, but it's actually 
Monday nights at 9 has become one of the major time slots on the networks these days. On NBC you have the megahit Heroes. Over on CBS there's the comedy smash Two and a Half Men, and FOX has 24. What do you watch?
Giveaways reminder: Office, Eli Stone, Supernatural, South Park
Giveaway Thursday: Tickets to the New York Television Festival ... all of it!
I miss the media-friendly John McCain - VIDEOS
