two-and-a-half-men-promotional-pic230Ashton Kutcher joining the cast of Two and a Half Men wasn't enough for CBS to dominate Monday night's top spot. Instead, the premiere episode of Dancing With The Stars sent ABC straight to the top.

Kutcher's debut on Men snagged 14.5 million viewers compared to DWTS' 21 million.

A few months back, CBS president Les Moonves had predicted "huge numbers" for the ninth season of the comedy, but unfortunately, his prediction fell short.

As for Ashton's performance on Men, he got mixed reviews. Variety gave Demi Moore's young hubby a thumbs up. As for how the show handled the death of Charlie Sheen's character, Variety said:

    "Despite having to do an enormous amount of business in a half-hour, the producers look to have handled an awkward situation about as well as they possibly could ... don't be surprised if "Men" manages to keep on humming."


TV Line, however, said the following:

    "Men wrestled with the hung-like-an-elephant in the room: Is there as much humor to be mined from a goofy, well-endowed billionaire as there was from a not-as-wealthy jingle writer who seemed to satisfy women just as easily? Early indicators suggest no."


Ouch! Guess time will tell.