Kathy Bates Channels Charlie Sheen on 'Two and a Half Men'

Charlie Sheen is gone from “Two and a Half Men,” but not forgotten. The star was fired from the hit sitcom, and for good measure, his character was killed off last season.

Well, never say never on television: Last night's episode got around the dead-and-departed Charlie Harper character by having him return as a ghost, in the body of Oscar winner Kathy Bates.

The 63-year-old appears in Alan’s hospital room sporting one of Charlie’s trademark bowling shirts and chomping on a cigar. A salty, funny conversation then takes place: Bates must convince Charlie’s brother (Jon Cryer) that she is really Sheen, so she explains she’s in the “old broad’s body” because Charlie’s in hell.

She then tells her co-star she came back to tell him “it’s not too late to turn your life around” and to “step up, be a man.” (Bates then proceeds to demonstrate that actually she kind of is a man. We said it was salty.) The actress does a spot-on turn channeling Charlie.

[Related: Win a One-on-One Therapy Session With Charlie Sheen]

Word of the Bates/Sheen scene quickly spread on the Web, with Twitter reaction mixed. Starpulse tweets that Bates “nails it.” Marcus Blumberg disagrees, posting, “Kathy Bates is a great actress but having her play Charlie Harper is the dumbest idea that ['Men' creator Chuck] Lorre guy ever had.” MissJoella thought Bates was “so hilarious.” Sandra Sookoo also gate Bates a thumbs up: “I love her.”

See Kathy Bates as Charlie Harper in this clip from last night's "Two and a Half Men":

"Two and a Half Men" airs Mondays at 9 PM on CBS.