Well, it looks like Lady Gaga won’t be making her big screen debut courtesy of “The Muppets” after all. The film, which debuted November 23 and has earned $42 million  so far, entered theaters sans an appearance from her Ladyship.

Another pop superstar who didn’t survive the final cut is Katy Perry, whose spoof of her song “I Kissed a Girl” was also deleted.

No offense to Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. “The Muppets” clocked in at an epic three hours before director James Bobin pared it down to a more a reasonable 98 minutes.

Oh, well, better luck next time.

Toronto zoo officials find themselves between a rock and a hard place, according to an article in The Week. On the one hand, gay rights supporters think that the zoo’s gay African penguin couple, Buddy and Pedro, should be allowed to do whatever comes naturally. Some even went so far as to call zoo officials homophobic for wanting to separate them.

But the zoo officials want to help perpetuate the endangered species. They would be perfectly willing to let Buddy and Pedro continue their love fest, if they could just get the males to digress long enough to impregnate one of the female African penguins showing more than a passing interest in the pair.

Although other “homosexual” penguins, such as the Central Park Zoo’s chinstrap penguins Roy and Silo, eventually parted ways (Silo dumped Roy in favor of female chinstrap Scrappy) there’s no guarantee that the same thing will happen with Buddy and Pedro.

A similar incident took place at the San Francisco Zoo when longtime lovers — and parents — Harry and Pepper split. Harry dumped Pepper and took up with Linda, a widowed penguin with a penchant for causing trouble, according to an article on Queerty.com.

Until mating season ends, Toronto zoo officials will remain hopeful that either Buddy or Pedro will change his mind and mate with one of the besotted females.

If you’re Joel Osteen or T.D. Jakes, professing your love for Jesus over and over is expected. But when you’re the quarterback for an NFL football team, like Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow, it might seem unusual. But does that make it wrong? We don’t think so, but for some people, like former Broncos QB Jake “The Snake” Plummer (2003-2006), Tebow’s open professions of love for Christ every chance he gets — particularly when he’s in front of a microphone and/or camera — are beginning to wear his patience thin.

In an interview with XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix, Ariz. November 21, Plummer said,”I think he’s a winner and I respect that about him. I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ, then I think I’ll like him a little better. I don’t hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff.”

Such a statement begs the question, if Tebow was cursing and trash talking instead, would people find him more or less offensive?

Jazz in the United States dates back to the late 1800s.  A combination of music from the African-American community with that of European immigrants, jazz has evolved a great deal.  It comes in many forms, from ragtime to bop, be-bop, swing, fusion and many others.  But is it still thriving … particularly in Pittsburgh?

“Jazz in Pittsburgh has, is, and will always thrive due to the nature of the city,” said jazz trumpeter, Sean Jones in an interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier in 2010.  ”The city has a certain fight to it that most cities don’t have. There’s a blistering pride in the city that fuels folks’ fires.  We have never been second to anyone.  From sports, to technology, to the arts, Pittsburgh has always produced individuals who are at the forefront of their professions.  This type of spirit energizes the jazz scene, which continues to produce wonderful new talent.  From the venues, to the artists, to the audiences, Pittsburgh’s jazz scene is alive and well, offering jazz seven nights a week!”

Jones, who is also an associate professor of jazz studies at Duquesne University, sees no indication that Pittsburgh’s jazz scene is waning.  On the contrary, he believes that venues like the Cabaret, the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, the August Wilson Center and clubs like Little E’s offer both local and national musicians an almost endless supply of opportunities to perform for audiences that are at once ethnically and generationally diverse.

“Jazz is truly the greatest representation of America, and my audiences prove that,” said Jones, who is married to Pittsburgh native and artistic director of the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy Greer Reed Jones.

There are some who might think the future of jazz, not only in Pittsburgh, but in the United States in general, could become all but obsolete thanks to the growing popularity of modern music genres like hip-hop and rap.  Jones, who recorded his first album “Eternal Journey” in 2004, when he was only 24, thinks it’s unlikely that jazz will become obsolete, though he does feel that more young people should be introduced to it.

“I believe that on a national level, people tend to listen to more popular music because it’s what they are exposed to,” said the Ohio native.  ”People typically won’t like anything until someone tells them to like it.  It’s social conditioning.  This is why it’s important to expose our youth to the music, not by beating it over their heads, but by simply playing it, taking them to jazz concerts, having jazz musicians in the schools, etc.  Most folks tend to follow, so it’s important that people who are in leadership positions take it upon themselves to create a culture that elevates our society’s musical consciousness.”

The Courier’s own Genea Webb revisited the subject in 2011, in the first article of the newspaper’s The Plight of Jazz  series, with decidedly different responses from jazz saxophonist Nathan Davis and fusion drummer Billy Cobham.

It would be interesting to hear what music lovers think is the plight of jazz. If disco can make a comeback, jazz can, too.

People will protest almost anything these days and that includes magazine covers.

In an unprecedented show of support, Ryan Gosling fans took to the streets of Manhattan to protest People Magazine’s selection of Bradley Cooper as their choice for Sexiest Man Alive in 2011.

Fans of the 31-year-old London, Ontario native “organized a Thursday afternoon protest in front of People magazine’s offices at the Time-Life building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, N.Y. Photos posted on the protest’s event page showed several dozen participants (both men and women) waving signs and cardboard cut-outs of Gosling’s face,” according to MSN’s WonderWall.

Besides starring in the movies “Drive” and “The Ides of March,” Gosling also starred in “Crazy, Stupid Love” in 2011. In “Crazy, Stupid Love,” which hit theaters in July, he got shirtless and put his deliciously ripped torso on display.

The question is:  Will this protest, which includes the signing of a petition to have Cooper replaced by Gosling on People’s cover bear the desired fruit? Given what it costs to produce a print magazine these days, I’d say it’s unlikely. But … you never know.

Jazz was born in the United States. It appears to be dying here as well, or becoming a shadow of its former self. But saxophonist Todd Ledbetter and others of his ilk, such as Harold Rayford and Vernard Johnson among others, have given jazz a not so new partner that could revive it.

According to Terrence Richburg, “The origins of gospel jazz are as familiar as any other form of musical expression. Just as the separate styles gospel and jazz were born out of the deep emotional experiences endured and overcome by our fore-parents and ancestors, gospel jazz has always been around — just not recognized as such.”

A married father of three, Ledbetter didn’t start out playing gospel jazz. From elementary school and on into college, he played jazz and other types of music. While attending the University of Pittsburgh where he was the drum major of the marching band, Ledbetter had an epiphany and felt inspired to pair his jazz background with his gospel roots.

“I just had this desire to bring the two musics together … at a time before gospel jazz was really even recognized, and I’ve been working on it ever since,” said Ledbetter in an interview from his home in Washington, D.C. “I’ve played a lot of other kinds of music. I’ve played straight-ahead jazz. I’ve played R&B, just a lot of different kinds of music. I really think it gives a rich texture to what I do, because all of those musical experiences have combined and come out in what I do now.”

Ledbetter, who has played alongside such jazz greats as Grover Washington, Jr and fellow Pittsburgher Stanley Turrentine, was introduced to the saxophone as a fourth grader at Thaddeus Stevens elementary school. The students were told that they could choose two instruments to play. Ledbetter chose the saxophone and the clarinet. In the end, the saxophone won out, and he officially started playing in fifth grade. His introduction to jazz came when his father took him to a jazz workshop hosted by the Homewood-Brushton branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. A regular church goer, he started playing saxophone for his church at fourteen.

In the early ’90s, he switched from playing the alto sax to first the tenor, and then explored the soprano sax. Today, he plays soprano, having sold his beloved tenor at a time when money was scarce. The tenor is his favorite because “it has such a range to it and is so expressive.” He hopes to replace the one he sold and start playing tenor again in the near future.

Besides Washington and Turrentine, other saxophonists who have influenced Ledbetter’s music are John Coltrane, Billy Harper and the aforementioned Johnson. As for non-jazz, non-saxophonist influences, he credits Donny Hathaway with having a heavy influence on the way he “phrases and voices things on the saxophone.”

Although his decision to play gospel jazz had nothing to do with increasing jazz’s reach, Ledbetter said that he did recognize that his particular type of music, which is all instrumental, could take him places that other forms of gospel music can’t. “While someone might never, ever listen to Kirk Franklin or Shirley Caesar or any of the traditional gospel artists, he might hear what I do, might like jazz and might connect with that. I believe the holy spirit of God resides in the music that I play.”

Stellar Award nominee Ledbetter released his debut CD “Meditations: Hymns in the Key of Jazz” in July 2007. After getting feedback from friends and colleagues at the Independent Gospel Artists Alliance Conference, he re-did the packaging, remastered the audio and released the compilation of one original song of his own plus a collection of covered hymns and spirituals in November 2010. His second CD, which is scheduled for release in the fall of 2012, will comprise all original songs composed by Ledbetter and his producer. He promotes himself through not only his website, but also his Twitter (@TLed) and Facebook (facebook.com/tledonsax) pages.

Jazz isn’t dead yet, and by bringing jazz to church, Ledbetter, Rayford, Johnson and others can expose people of all ages and backgrounds to a style of music that is 100 per cent American and 100 per cent worth saving. If it fortifies their souls in the process, even better.

It’s no surprise that TLC (The Learning Channel) would be the network to create a reality TV show that lets people get a more realistic look at what it’s like to be a Muslim living in the United States.

Muslims aren’t new to the US. Long before Denzel Washington ever starred in “Malcolm X,” African-Americans throughout the country had Muslims — or Mooz-lims — as neighbors, classmates and friends. My memories of them are that they were well mannered, well dressed and soft spoken. What changed after September 11, 2001 was not Muslims, only our perception of them.

But back in the days of Malcolm X, a lot of Muslims we met looked out of African-American faces. Today, we see Muslims from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. But the ones who TLC focuses on are those who bear Middle Eastern or North African features. They are the ones who many Americans have come to fear.

“All-American Muslim” debuted on November 13 at 10 pm and received close to two million viewers. Among others, it follows the Aoudes, a young couple expecting their first child and the Amen family as they plan a wedding for Shadia and her non-Muslim fianceé who actually opted to convert to Islam, a decision that did not sit well with his Christian mother.

Perhaps if people see that Muslims have the same hopes, dreams and anxieties as everyone else in the United States, they will stop assuming that everyone who practices the Islamic faith is an inherently evil terrorist laying in wait for just the right opportunity to annihilate us all.

Earlier this week Brett Ratner resigned from his producers post for the Academy Awards. A day later his colleague Eddie Murphy dropped out as host of the Oscars awards show, which will air on Feb. 26, 2012.

Ratner, who directed Murphy, along with Ben Stiller, in the movie “Tower Heist” stepped down as the Oscars producer when he was criticized for using gay slur during a Q&A at a screening of the film, which opened in theaters on November 4.

“[Ratner] did the right thing for the Academy and for himself,” said Academy president, Tom Sherak in a press release on the Oscars website. “Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable. We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent.”

Murphy’s departure leaves Oscars executives in a bind as they must now find someone new to host the struggling show. Why has one of Hollywood’s biggest nights out been struggling in the ratings? Maybe because awards shows, in general, are pretty dull. Hugh Jackman’s turn as host gave the show a nice boost, but Anne Hathaway and James Franco didn’t fare so well when they took the stage together in February 2011.

Maybe if the show were less pomp and circumstance in its presentation and more consistently lighthearted and fun, it would attract the kinds of audiences that tune in to watch awards shows like the MTV Movie Awards. They could start by cutting the length of the acceptance speeches down to 15 seconds and filling in the extra time with Saturday Night Live type parodies of nominated films — which may have been done before — or having more live groups perform songs from nominated scores … or something like that. Make it interactive, if they haven’t already.

I wouldn’t miss the Oscars when I was child … or the Emmys or the Grammys or the People’s Choice Awards. Now, my eyes glaze over at the mention of them. But as the crème de la crème of awards shows, the Oscars’ execs have to find a way to make the Academy Awards show worth watching again … for audiences of all ages.

Some foreign films, like the Japanese versions of “The Ring,” “The Grudge,” and “The Uninvited” need to be remade in order to make them palatable for Western audiences. But the original version of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” an adaptation of the first story in Stieg Larsson’s “The Millennium Trilogy,” didn’t seem like it fell into that category. Even with subtitles, the original Swedish version should have posed no problem for the average American, British or other native English-speaking audience. It’s essentially a murder mystery. It has all the usual intrigue and plot twists that moviegoers would find in any other film of its ilk.

The Columbia Pictures version is set for release on December 26, 2011. It stars Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander.

On a personal note, the Western Lisbeth is much scarier looking than the Swedish version, and the tattoo is nowhere near as cool. Watch the latest trailer below.

Congratulations to Project Runway Season 9 winner Anya Ayoung-Chee!

What’s ironic about Trinidad-native Ayoung-Chee’s win is the fact that had the show stayed true to form, she never would have competed.

When the top four contestants, Viktor Luna, Joshua McKinley, Kimberly Goldson and Ayoung-Chee (in that order) were chosen to present their mini collections to prepare for showing at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, everyone knew that Luna and McKinley were in and presumed that Goldson and Ayoung-Chee would compete for the coveted third spot. Well, Ayoung-Chee, who had only started sewing four months before trying out for the competition, so impressed the judges that they decided to allow all four contestants to present their collections at Fashion Week instead of the usual three.

At the end of the night,  judges Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum and guest judge L’Wren Scott eliminated first Goldson, then Luna, then McKinley, leaving Ayoung-Chee the winner of the $100,000 prize to start her own line.  Ayoung-Chee also won an additional $10,000 for being chosen as the fan favorite. Add that to the $20,000 she won in a previous runway challenge for a total of $130,000.

In an interview with MyLifetime.com, she revealed her plans to use half of her $10,000 fan favorite prize money to “set up a microfinance loan program for young creatives in Trinidad and Tobago.” The other half she intends to donate to Anthony Ryan’s Rock One Campaign, which was founded by former competitor turned good friend Anthony Ryan Auld. Fans of the show will recall that Auld gave her $10 to buy fabric when she lost her own spending allowance during a shopping trip at Mood. Ayoung-Chee went on to win the challenge using muslin and the fabric she bought with Auld’s $10 gift.

Going into the final challenge, Luna seemed like the clear winner. But he drastically reduced his chances of winning when he presented at Fashion Week what Nina Garcia called “two separate collections.” Half of his designs comprised peek-a-boo dresses and blouses while the other half had prints inspired by his trip back home to Mexico and his love for New York City. The most surprising change was the elimination of a gray strapless dress, which he presented as part of his mini collection, that the judges adored.

Given how fabulous Ayoung-Chee’s island inspired collection was, Luna might still have ultimately lost, but he could have given her more of a run for her money if he had stayed true to his original vision.

“H8R”, the CW’s new fall offering and lead-in for “America’s Next Top Model All Stars,”  is no more. Poor ratings caused the network to pull the plug. On the show’s last air date, Oct. 5, its ratings had dropped, in the 18-49 demographic, to 0.4. Reruns of “Ringer” will take its place.

It’s possible that what hurt the show most was the idea itself. Haters are everywhere. Everyone has to deal with at least one every day. Most celebrities have more lovers than haters in their orbits, so why should they care if one or two people here and there hate on them? More important, why should they care enough to want to go out of their way to change any one hater’s mind?

Reality TV stars are a little different. They’re regular people who go from obscurity to fame almost over night, whereas most entertainers — including athletes — have either gradually emerged into the limelight or have been there a long time and are used to coping with the uglier side of stardom.

Another reason “H8R” could have suffered is because it seemed to feature more reality TV stars than — dare I say it — actual celebrities. Some people don’t think of reality TV stars as celebrities and may not watch shows, such as “Jersey Shore” or “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” But even reality TV stars have more supporters than detractors, so the question remains: Why should they care about a few stray haters?

There are myriad reasons why “H8R” didn’t succeed. More than likely, it failed because the average person doesn’t want to spend his Wednesday evenings listening to someone whose hatred for another person is based entirely on misinformation. The show missed a great opportunity with Jake Pavelka. If they could have found someone who hated him because of the way he treated Vienna Girardi when they had their dramatic televised breakup, how he addressed that would have made the show a lot more interesting. It was a real issue that real people took sides on. And it would have given a good guy a fair chance to explain his bad behavior.

Anyway, thank God Mario Lopez is still sitting pretty — pun intended — with his day job on “Extra!”

If you’ve ever watched a soap opera, you know that characters get killed off and replaced all the time. You also know how hard it is to accept someone new in the place where a favorite character or favorite actor once stood. Ashton Kutcher, who stepped in to fill the void left by Charlie Sheen after Sheen was fired from “Two and a Half Men,” is facing that kind of resistance.

That resistance has manifested in the form of reduced ratings. Once number one, “Two and a Half Men” came in third, for the first time this season, in Nielsen’s weekly ratings; however, it’s still television’s number one comedy offering. So, Sheen fans shouldn’t expect Kutcher to start singing his swan song any time soon. It’s the height of football season, after all. Eyeballs that were once glued to “Two and a Half Men” are likely glued to NBC’s “Monday Night Football.”

Fans of “Two and a Half Men” probably love it no matter what, as long as the writing remains good and consistent with what it was before Sheen’s departure. Never a true fan of the show myself, I’ve only seen a few episodes with Sheen and one with Kutcher. While one episode of a show isn’t enough to go on, Walden Schmidt is a lot like Kelso, the character Kutcher played on “That 70s Show.” Where Kelso was intellectually challenged, Walden is socially challenged — probably because he never grew up. I like  the immature Walden much more than the boorish Charlie Harper. But let’s face it, “Two and a Half Men” was clearly written to appeal to a male audience. “What does a woman know?”

Lower ratings or not, it’s still too soon to tell if Kutcher and the rest of the cast of “Two and a Half Men” have anything to worry about. If they do, chances are Charlie Harper could find himself resurrected in much the same way that soap opera characters are when the actors who portray them are rehired.

What? It could happen.

That’s the question Mario Lopez hopes to answer each week on the CW’s new “reality” television show, “H8R,” which airs on Wednesday’s at 8 p.m. EST. The show premiered on Sept. 14 with “Jersey Shore’s” Nicole “Snooki” Pilozzi and “The Bachelor’s” Jake Pavelka in the hot seat.

On the show, ordinary people who hate certain celebrities or television personalities explain why they hate said celebrity or TV personality during what they think is an interview for a different reality TV show. The hated celebs listen to what the haters have to say, speak in their own defense, then go and confront their haters and try to win them over.

The premiere episode opened with Pilozzi’s hater saying he hated her because she’s not really Italian. For those who don’t know, Pilozzi was born in Santiago, Chile.  An Italian-American couple adopted her when she was six months old. The hater also called her a “drunken slut.” Long story short, Pilozzi confronted her hater, won him over and all was right with the world once more. Pavelka didn’t do so well.

Pavelka was sent home by Jillian Harris on “The Bachelorette,” but went on to find what he thought was true love with Vienna Girardi when he took his turn as “The Bachelor.” Alas, it was not meant to be. Girardi and Pavelka broke up on national television and most female viewers sided with the teary eyed Girardi. That alone made Pavelka’s  battle with his hater an uphill one.

Pavelka’s hater, a 20-year-old girl who believes everything she reads in tabloids and gossip magazines, said she thought Pavelka was arrogant, a coward and possibly gay.

Well, he confronted his hater, took her flying in an airplane and had a heart-to-heart with her in The Bachelor’s mansion. No dice. His hater hated him just as much at the end of their day together as she had at the beginning.

Week two featured Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend and baby daddy Scott Disick and “Despereate Houswives” star Eva Longoria. Needless to say, Eva Longoria won her hater over with ease. Even Mario Lopez asked, “Who hates Eva Longoria?” She cooked with her hater in her restaurant, Beso, and told him about her philanthropic activities in the Latin-American community, to show him that she is not, as he had believed, ashamed of her Mexican heritage. Disick had more of a bittersweet end to his encounter.

Disick’s hater repeatedly referred to him as a “douche” or a “douche bag.” When he first encountered her, he, like Pavelka, behaved in a way that confirmed what his hater believed about him. It was all an act to get the girl to start bad mouthing Disick. She did. Later, he confessed that he’d been putting on an act, took her bowling and did his best to convince her that he’s a changed man. Gone is the jerk of old. He even went so far as to help a bowling alley employee clean a pair of bowling shoes. He drew the line when the girl tried to get him to clean one of the restrooms. When he asked her at the end of the evening if she was still a hater, she admitted that she’d changed her mind about him. But there’s a catch.

Disick ended up hating his hater … “with a passion.” Why? Because she told him that she’d never been hated by anyone … ever. She never gave anyone a reason to hate her. Tell that to Eva Longoria.

Regardless whether or not viewers hate the featured guest, the real question is will they love or hate H8R?

Did you watch the first episode? Let us know what you think

Some movie remakes, like “True Grit,” turn out to be as good as, if not better than the originals, others like  “3:10 to Yuma,” not so much.

Fans of the 1991 film “Point Break,” which celebrated its 20th anniversary this month, seem to fear its remake will fall into the not so much category. Unfortunately, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson of Alcon Entertainment obtained, from RGM Media, the rights  to remake the popular film.

“Point Break,” considered the film that officially launched Keanu Reeves’ acting career, is also considered a timeless classic. In the film, Reeves plays Johnny Utah, an FBI agent who infiltrates a gang of bank robbing surfer dudes. The late Patrick Swayze played, Bodhi, the leader of the gang. Rounding out the cast of main characters are Lori Petty as Utah’s love interest Tyler; Gary Busey as Utah’s partner and mentor Pappas; and John. C. McGinley as, Ben Harp, the jerk supervisor the audience loves to hate.

As with most remakes — if not all, the new “Point Break” will be nothing more than a regurgitation of the original film with fresh new faces in the starring roles. To begin with, the backdrop will be the world of international extreme sports instead of surfing. The basic premise of an FBI agent finessing his way into a group of criminals remains unchanged. The filmmakers are keeping the other changes a secret for now.

Kurt Wimmer, who wrote the screenplays for “Salt” and “Law Abiding Citizen” will write the screenplay for the new “Point Break.” Johnson, Kosove, Michael DeLuca, Chris Taylor and John Baldecchi who will produce the film seem excited about the project and how the new movie will fare when compared to the original, which was directed by “The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow .

DeLuca stated, “’Point Break’ wasn’t just a film, it was a Zen meditation on testosterone fueled action and manhood in the late 20th century, and we hope to create the same for the young 21st!” That statement begs the question, couldn’t they have created that same energy with a completely new movie?

The negative reactions that met Alcon Entertainment’s announcement imply that the remake won’t fare well at all. For now, it seems to be a done deal. So, who should be cast in the starring roles? Who would play Johnny Utah? Who would play Bodhi? And what about Pappas, Tyler and Ben Harp? The casting director for the “Point Break” remake has his work cut out for him.

The word is out. Ashton Kutcher has replaced Charlie Sheen on the hit CBS comedy series “Two and a Half Men.” Fans of the show will recall that a series of vitriolic public rants led to Sheen’s firing in early 2011. To say that he burned the bridge between himself and producer Chuck Lorre would be an understatement.Time will tell whether or not it can be rebuilt. The bigger question is can Kutcher make fans forget about Sheen? Maybe they already have.For now, the show must go on. And so it will, beginning Sep. 19, with Kutcher in the role of Walden Schmidt, a super rich Internet genius and a social clod. It’s unlikely that Schmidt will be anything like Charlie Harper (Sheen) who, according to Michael Scneider of radio station KFMB 760, met an unfortunate end in France. As a result of Harper’s death, Schmidt buys Harper’s beach house and then invites to Alan (Jon Cryer) and his son, Jake (Angus T. Jones), to stay and, more or less, keep him company. Fans of the show have less than two weeks to decide whether or not they want to tune in and see how Kutcher does. Obviously, he’s too young to actually serve as a replacement for Sheen, even if the show’s executives had wanted to go that route. Besides, Charlie Harper, like Sheen, is unique and in his own way, irreplaceable. Why even bother to try?

That doesn’t mean that Kutcher can’t fill the void. His fans or fans of “That ’70s Show” will recall that Kutcher earned his comedy stripes as Kelso, Eric’s (Topher Grace) beautiful but brainless pal who thinks his looks are all he needs to get ahead in life. Kutcher has also done a romantic comedy here and there — “Guess Who” and more recently, “Killers” — on the road to his new starring role.

It’s tough filling the gap created by another actor’s departure. Just ask Daphne Maxwell Reid, who assumed the role of Vivian Banks from Janet Hubert-Whitten, from 1993 to 1996, on the NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” That Reid transitioned smoothly into the role is a testament to her skill as an actor as well as the fans’ willingness to accept her. Knowing that Hubert-Whitten left to take care of her own real-life child probably helped. Sheen, conversely, was kicked to the curb.

Does Kutcher have a large void to fill in Sheen’s absence? Yes. But he won’t be literally replacing Sheen the way Reid did Hubert-Whitten. Add to that his past sitcom experience and a healthy fan base of his own. Kutcher’s ability to step in and take “Two and a Half Men” and its fans to new comedic places, while maintaining the integrity of the show’s original premise, should not be underestimated.

By now, most Tyler Perry fans know about his new television series “For Better or For Worse,” which follows Marcus (Michael Jai White) and Angela (Tasha Smith) — two characters who first appeared in Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?” and “Why Did I Get Married, Too?” — as they struggle to make their marriage work. The show is scheduled to air on TBS beginning in November. The series will be the third for Perry whose other offerings include “House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns,” which also air on TBS.

If the trailer is anything to go by, Marcus and Angela, the least likable couple to come out of “Why Did I Get Married?” and “Why Did I Get Married, Too?”, will continue to fuss and cuss and thoroughly entertain people who like that kind of thing. It’s possible these characters were chosen as much for the availability of the actors who portray them as for their entertainment value. What’s disappointing is the fact that Angela is the stereotypical loud, foul-mouthed, abrasive black woman who takes advantage of every opportunity to emasculate her man. It would have been much more refreshing to see a series that follows Sheila (Jill Scott) and Troy (Lamman Rucker) as their marriage blossoms. But would it appeal to a wide audience?

For the uninitiated, in “Why Did I Get Married?” Angela has a successful hair salon and Marcus, a former NFL football player, is unemployed, a fact that Angela throws up in his face continuously. She has chosen to forget that her success is not only because of her business acumen but also because Marcus, while he was still playing professional football, gave her the money she needed to start it. When the couple shows up again in “Why Did I Get Married, Too?,” Marcus has found a job as a TV sports analyst and Angela’s hair salon is even more successful. Despite mutual infidelity, to which they each confessed in the first film, Angela continues to accuse Marcus of cheating. He, on the other hand, seems to take for granted that Angela is and will always be faithful for the remainder of their time together. Of course, he doesn’t help matters much by goading Angela’s jealousy with nebulous comments and secretive behavior. If you look in his eyes, you can see that he enjoys making Angela jealous even if he doesn’t necessarily enjoy the way she expresses it.

Perry will most likely have happily married couples who don’t yell at, belittle or cheat on each other to balance out the chaos that is Marcus and Angela. Fans of his movies will notice that  every negative, stereotypical character has a positive counterpart, which gives each story balance.