Posted Jul 27, 2012 @ 2:20 AM
Despite its flaws, I am also enjoying this show way more than I expected to.
My original reaction to Charlie Sheen and Selma Blair as a pairing was "wha?" but they have surprisingly good chemistry and good comic timing with each other. I know that if the show continues, they'll eventually get them together, or have one of them fall for the other or some such, but I hope they hold off for as long as possible. I like the therapist/sex buddy thing they have, and I like the character of Kate -- nice to see a female character on this kind of sitcom who enjoys casual sex without being portrayed as an idiot, a tramp or somehow morally deficient (though plenty of others on the show seem to fit that description).
Today's was the first episode I started to warm to some of the members of the therapy group. Or at least, I think the chick and the gay guy (too many characters, I can't remember any of their names) are good actors and may end up having more depth than just the single-joke schticks they had in episode one. Old guy and timid guy I'm less sure about. Old guy has more potential for a slightly more fleshed out character, though.
If it were me, I'd thin the herd by ditching the ex wife (I like Shawnee Smith a lot, but I really don't think her character adds anything; Kate already works as his sounding board and they don't have any real conflict), the daughter (I could otherwise see where there'd be room for tension there, or to show another side to Charlie, but she always seems like an afterthought, both to the him as a character and to the writers), the neighbor and the prison stuff (which seems to be back next week), and just keep it Charlie, Kate, the group and his shag of the week. That's enough for at least three storylines per episode.