{alltv} Sheen's 'Torpedo' landing in Canada

In some ways Charlie Sheen's live show has set the bar so low, as long as he isn't throwing poop when his tour hits Canada on Thursday, he might get multiple standing ovations at Toronto's Massey Hall.

Or he might get booed off the stage. And in either instance, it won't necessarily be about him.

Therein lies the irony of Sheen's My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option tour thus far.

It actually stopped being about Sheen long ago.

Different from "live entertainment" in the traditional sense, Sheen's shows have been more like rallies. It's the crowds that are setting the agenda now. It's the crowds that are generating news stories.

Media organizations virtually have stopped "reviewing" Sheen's show. What people want to know is, "Were there any drunks? Were there any crazies?"

And it has become equally clear that the reaction of the crowd is only vaguely related to what Sheen is saying or doing.

Apparently it has more to do with how the crowd reacted to Sheen in his previous show. You know, if the crowd gave Sheen a hard time the night before, the next night the crowd tends to embrace him. And if the crowd embraced Sheen the night before, the next night the crowd tends to give him a hard time.

Sheen is scheduled for two shows in Toronto, so we're willing to bet that however the crowd reacts Thursday, he will get something of the opposite reaction Friday. It has become a reflexively contradictory form of social media, without computers.

This whole "Sheen spring" has been one of the weirdest seasons we can remember on the entertainment weather front. And hey, we still have a clear memory of "Leno/Conan winter" last year, so that's saying something.

As you'll recall, "Sheen spring" started when Sheen and the makers of Two and a Half Men - the long-running sitcom that is a product of Warner Brothers Television and airs on CBS and CTV - started fighting over ... well ... uh ...

The truth is, we're still not 100% sure if there was a flashpoint for the acrimony, or if it merely was a case of long-built-up resentments on both sides. In any event, Sheen's behaviour became increasingly erratic (in the studio's opinion, not Sheen's); the studio shut down production; and ultimately, Sheen was fired.

The whole idea for Sheen's live tour - which has one more Canadian date, May 2 in Vancouver - was that he did not want to fade quietly into the night.

He had something to say, he needed an avenue to say it, and if people were willing to buy tickets, then hey, good for Charlie. Both the United States and Canada are free countries, barring a wildly unexpected result in the upcoming Canadian election.

Oddly, though, as Sheen's tour has continued - it began April 2 in Detroit and wraps up May 3 in Seattle - what Charlie has to say increasingly has become background noise. The only ongoing intrigue with regard to Sheen personally has been limited to the question of whether he and his show are going to "make it" to the end.

Many predicted he wouldn't get this far, but we always had a strange feeling he would. He just seemed so damned determined. You can say a lot of things about Charlie Sheen, but one thing he doesn't lack is will.

In the big picture, though, it largely has ceased to be about the self-proclaimed warlock. We resist the urge to say there's something deeper going on here. But there's something different going on, that's for sure.

Charlie Sheen's My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option tour

April 2, Detroit - Audience hostile, some demand refunds.

April 3, Chicago - Show totally changed, better reception.

April 5, Cleveland - Charlie seemingly finding his stride.

April 6, Columbus - Drunks and crazies start to take over.

April 8, New York - Mercilessly booed by hostile throng.

April 9, Wallingford, Ct. - Small-city crowd cheers every word.

April 10, New York - Positive rebound from first NYC appearance.

April 12, Boston - Arguably Charlie's most boring effort.

April 14-15, Toronto - Who knows???