While Charlie Sheen‘s previous “Sheen’s Korner” webisodes would have made Wayne and Garth blush, he is clearly trying to step up his bile-filled game.
The actor’s fourth message Tuesday night was 16 minutes of solo, vicious attacks performed while inhaling two cigarettes. But this message came the closest to actually having television production values.
Here’s how:
1. The opening montage: Sheen featured clips from his favorite movies: Jaws, Apocalypse Now and A Few Good Men. While it’s unlikely he sought the proper permission to use portions of these films, it did show an attempt to give the show an opening.
2. No goofy sidekicks: Sheen said in a previous video that he was going to be better solo. He was certainly more effective. Staring into the camera with laser intensity, he was intent on dealing out verbal blows without interruption. It worked.
Related Stories
3. Sheen’s appearance: In past videos, the actor has looked haggard or basement casual at best. On Monday night, Sheen combed his hair, sat behind a desk and put on glasses that gave the air of intelligence. He wore a casual Cincinnati Reds shirt, but he pulled off a look that approached semi-professionalism (if you could see past the words). In his own twisted, Tiger Blood-spewing way, he seemed to be striving to address the nation (or at least 50,000 webviewers).
3. There was a script! Sheen decided not to ramble aimlessly, as he has in the past, and actually prepare words. In fact, he appeared to be reading from a teleprompter through much of the broadcast. It made for a highly effective, dark message. No angry word was left behind.
4. The closing: Sheen ended with music, helicopter sounds, a bizarre image of himself and the words “Death to the Trolls.” Pretty high school-like, but it was an ending. Sure there were mishaps in the end. His cameraman accidentally cut back to the actual Sheen still sitting at the desk, and there was the sound of one person applauding in the background. But he seemed to have finally listened to his own “plan better” message for the first time.
The results were obvious. On Saturday, Sheen’s numbers started well above 100,000 and dwindled well below as he goofed off with his pals. Sheen started as just abou 50,000 on Monday and the numbers steadily rose. Tasteless, awful viewing. But he is getting effective at it.
