Two and a Half Men has been one of my favorite shows since it first aired on September 22, 2003.
The finale, which just took place Thursday, brought together all that was great about the show and provided a stellar ending to the series…except for the very last scene which involved Chuck Lorre’s continuing obsession with Charlie Sheen.
Do you know anybody who seemingly has it all yet embraces spite, pettiness, and jealousy at every turn? Well, meet Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men.
Chuck Lorre is reportedly worth $700 million dollars.
Yet he is a discontent.
He is like a Larry Ellison who just never quite bested Bill Gates. Or a popular actor who longed for, but never won, an Oscar.
These people are trying to keep up with the Joneses when, unbeknownst to them, they are the Joneses.
Ending of Two and a Half Men
The season finale of Two and a Half Men ended with a piano dropping on Charlie’s character (who was not really Charlie Sheen) and then the camera turning to Lorre in the director’s chair who says “winning”. Then, in some odd attempt at humility humor, another piano drops on Lorre.
The battle between Lorre and Sheen had been ongoing but escalated after Charlie’s departure from the show.
You can read the many reasons about the Lorre/Sheen feud but, to get to the gist of it, you only need to read between the lines: Lorre is jealous that Sheen gets all of the credit for Two and a Half Men.
Yet, to create the best ending to Two and a Half Men, who did Lorre revolve the whole show around? Charlie Sheen. He abandoned all of the on-going plot-lines and made the entire finale about Charlie’s character and Charlie himself, with some especially underhanded digs at the cancellation of Charlie’s show Anger Management. But, since Charlie qualifies for a “syndicate payout of around $200 million“, I’m not sure he feels too slighted.
It’s Chuck who always feels slighted. Yes, he had made other shows before Two and Half Men but Charlie had brought him his biggest success to date. And, would everything after (such as The Big Bang Theory) have happened were it not for the for the fortuitous appearance of Charlie on Two and Half Men?
These questions seem crazy to entertain given the level of success and wealth that Chuck Lorre has. Yet, apparently, Chuck Lorre continually asks them of himself? And, because of this obsession, he ruined an otherwise great ending to Two and Half Men by trying to make it about him.
It was not, and will never be, about him. I’m sorry Chuck: you’re the creator, not the star. You will never shine that bright. Nobody even knows who you are except for those who follow TV very closely.
True, Lorre will probably outlive Charlie Sheen and die with more money in the bank but the question is this: Will they be able to fit the chip on his shoulder in the coffin or will he have finally let it go?
Richard Cummings
Get your copy of his latest book entitled Obvious Conclusions, stories of a Midwestern emigrant influenced and corrupted by many years living in San Francisco and abroad. It just received its first outstanding review "...reminiscent of David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs" on Amazon UK.
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