Charlie Sheen can't escape his partying past, even on his TV sitcom.

        Mr. Sheen, who replaces Michael J. Fox on Spin City today (9:30 p.m., Channels 9, 2), plays new Deputy Mayor Charlie Crawford, whose reputation precedes him to New York's city hall.

        “I burned a lot of bridges in Washington — in one car,” Charlie says his first day on the job.

        He tells an old girlfriend from his hard-drinking days: “I don't remember you. I barely remember 1994. I'm still trying to figure out why I have the words "Ace of Bass' tattooed on my (rear).”

        It sounds like his TV character has made as many headlines as the 35-year-old actor who assaulted his girlfriend, obtained call girls from Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, dated porn stars, and nearly overdosed on drugs.

        That's on purpose.

        “To ignore the reality of the kind of lifestyle I led at one time — for a long time — I think would be a bit of a disservice to the show, and to the potential comedic situations in this character,” says Mr. Sheen, who has been clean and sober since May 1998.

        “To meet some of the those elements head-on, and ... to laugh at myself is a good way to dispel a lot of it, and let everybody know that I'm moving toward a positive and productive (life),” says Mr. Sheen, whose sitcom airs opposite his father's Emmy-winning drama, The West Wing.
       

Trouble with women

       

        “We would not have gone in this area if it wasn't something that Charlie was interested in or willing to portray going in,” explains Gary David Goldberg, Spin City executive producer.

        So Charlie arrives late to City Hall today because he's sleeping with a Swedish stewardess. He almost kills a settlement with New York toll booth workers due to the way he broke off a romance years ago with the woman now representing the union.

        He meets his match — maybe moreso — in Mr. Fox's old nemesis, Caitlin Moore (Heather Locklear). He's ecstatic to learn that she speaks in sports cliches like one of the guys.

        “I also drink beer and play poker,” she says. “I'm just a tattoo away from being your dream girl.”
       

Lower energy cast

       

        Mr. Goldberg (Family Ties) hired Mr. Sheen, with whom he did a police comedy pilot last year, after Mr. Fox gave his blessing to continuing the show without him. The producer couldn't have picked a person more opposite than Mr. Fox, the lovable Emmy-winner who left the series to battle Parkinson's disease.

        With Mr. Sheen comes a smaller cast and lower energy. At times, Mr. Sheen looks so uncomfortable, with a tie loose around his neck, almost to the point of being lost. Maybe it's because we want him to be like Mike.

        With Mr. Fox, “basically a lot of the Spin City episodes were a big blunder. Mike is in trouble; Mike scrambles,” Mr. Goldberg says. “Charlie's character ... is a more subtle authority figure.”

        So subtle that he appears dazed and confused tonight.

        Without Mr. Fox, who has freely given Mr. Sheen advice, Mayor Randall Winston (Barry Bostwick) has a much smaller staff. Co-stars Connie Britton, Victoria Dillard and Sandy Chaplan were fired after 100 episodes, leaving Michael Boatman, Alan Ruck, Richard Kind, Ms. Locklear and Mr. Sheen.

        “We were a very big cast to begin with. And we felt we are now a new show, and we wanted to clear space enough for all the characters to shine,” Mr. Goldberg says.
       

Surviving change

       

        Intense Mr. Sheen, whose film credits include Major League, Platoon and Wall Street, seems an odd choice for a sitcom. But he has TV history on his side. A surprising number of top shows since My Three Sons have survived cast changes (Cheers, M*A*S*H, NYPD Blue, Newhart, Law & Order, Dallas), though there are a few memorable exceptions (Northern Exposure, L.A. Law, Designing Women).

        “At this stage of my life, to get a shot at getting back in the game ... is really a blessing,” he says.

        Even the actor may not watch his ABC debut tonight. The serious baseball fan — he owns several wooden Crosley Field seats — probably will tune in either the baseball playoffs or his father's drama on NBC.

        “I'm probably going to watch West Wing because I will ... know what Spin City was about,” he says.

        Unless he becomes more comfortable with comedy, millions more also will choose The West Wing on Wednesdays.Sorry, Charlie.

        John Kiesewetter is TV/radio critic for The Enquirer. Write to him at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; E-mail: Johnkiese@yahoo.com.
       

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