"CSI," "2.5 Men:" Bodies Everywhere

"It was really a half-assed idea when I pitched it to Carol," says Chuck Lorre, adding, "It's mind-boggling that it's happening."

Lorre is the co-creator and executive producer of "Two and a Half Men." "Carol" is Carol Mendelsohn, executive producer of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." The "half-assed idea" was for the two shows to swap out writers for an episode.

And so, Mendelsohn and "CSI" EP Naren Shankar put together an episode of "Two and a Half Men" (airing Monday) in which a dead body turns up and forensics investigators try to figure out if Charlie Sheen can add murder to his celebrated list of other vices, and Lorre and his colleage Lee Aronsohn cooked up a "CSI" episode (airing May 8) involving the murder of a sitcom star.

"Burning inside of me was the desire to do an autopsy on a sitcom diva," Lorre said in a phone press conference this morning.

"I wanted to fulfill Chuck's fantasy," said Mendelsohn, and we won't pursue that one any further.

When Lorre first suggested the cross-over episodes - which won't involve the casts, but will feature what he calls "Wonderful little cameos that are a wink at the audience" - Mendelsohn said she took the idea to Shakar, whose response was, "What a nut."

"We took it to the network and no one really took us seriously," she added.

Shankar recalled the shows' stars' responses:

Bill Petersen: "Are you crazy?"

Charlie Sheen: "Are you serious?"

Shankar confessed that he and Mendelsohn learned something about writing comedy: "We learned that puns are the lowest form of comedy."

"We learned it again and again and again," Mendelsohn added.

So, which show is funnier?

Mendelsohn said, "The 'Two and a Half Men' episode is one of the funniest I've seen."

"We're not patting ourselves on the back," Shankar quickly adds. "That's a tribute to Chuck and Lee. They did an incredible job."

"I laughed myself silly," Mendelsohn continued. "I loved their cast."

"It's a good thing that the comedy's funnier than the drama," Shankar conceded.

Aronsohn said, "It's safe to say that this is one of more dramatic episodes of 'Two and a Half Men,' and one of the funnier episodes of 'CSI.'"

"We managed to make a mutt out of both shows," Lorre semi-boasted, adding that this has given him a case of crossover fever that Katie Couric's current woes might help cure:

"If there are any changes in 'The CBS Evening News,' I'm throwing my hat in the ring."

- "Two and a Half Men:" 9 p.m. Monday, CBS Channel 2.
- "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation:" 9 p.m. May 8, CBS Channel 2.