The Worst Sitcom Ending of All Time - Two and a Half Men
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2024
- For several years I have tried to resist making a video essay about the ending to Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen's Two and a Half Men. I have now failed.
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Been a fan since the Fesh Pince video, this one was really good.
I'd assumed the show was just cancelled, so finding out they pivoted to Foodfight 2 was really something
oh my god! thank you so much!
Oh shit, Harriton Splimby jumpscare.
So, I often check comment sections when I click on a creator I don't know - because it will often tell you if the UA-camr is a crazy right-winger...
This is the first time a comment section has given me the confidence to hit subscribe when the video had barely even really started.
The only way of topping this comment is if chuck lorry comments "well you made a video about me so I won"
@@Shamino1 You say that like half the media analysis on this website isn't far right grifters.
A second piano has hit the set of two and a half men
Oh my god, what if that was intentional? I remember seeing the final episode when it came out, and by this point I knew how Sheen had been a 9/11 conspiracy theorist for some time, but, god, what if? What if the final joke in 2 & a half men was a 9/11 joke to mock Charlie Sheen. Could it be?
Just perfect
Hey, I don't know if someone told you, but they were hit by planes, not pianos. Easy mix up.@@Chocolatebutterjelly
Brother I am dead
Damn bro, that's just perfect. Fantastic work.
You said the viewers didn't deserve this. But counterpoint: they were watching Two and A Half Men.
That's low man.
Hahahahaha
My grandma would be upset to know you said that
I was a child to young teen during its whole run don't judge me lmfao I don't like it now as an adult.
A child toyoung teen for 12 years?@@fuzzybuzzy3159
This was akin to a creepypasta. When Ashton Kutcher stared down the camera i genuinely felt a chill go down my spine. This is genuinely so f*cking strange.. like a fever dream.
It genuinely manages to be so out of place and bizarre that it becomes uncanny; like they trick your brain into going “what the hell that’s wrong” and being unsettled just by breaking down the shows own rules it’s honestly crazy like I can’t think of anything even remotely comparable in any other show
That’s why it’s good
Where can you watch this scene
@@Finamajig
lol
zoomers are afraid of 4th wall breaks now?
I feel like the second piano is also saying something. That Lorre *knows* the grudge is terrible for him to hold onto and he just can't drop it. That it killed him just as much as it killed Carlie Sheen.
That’s giving too much credit to the guy responsible for Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory
Ending your long running popular sitcom with a fourth wall break and pissing on the actor who made the show popular is indeed a way to end a sitcom
Some sitcoms are infamous fro their mindscrewing ending _(St Elsewhere_ being in the imagination of an autistic kid, _Newhart_ was just a dream of a character Bob Newhart played in another sitcom, etc.) But I don't think any other show has done it in such a meanspirited way as _Two and a Half Men_
Tbf he's also the eeason the show was cancelled. I'd be mad too
A great way, imo.
@@Mario_Angel_Medina Heck, even Dinosaurs, which ended with EVERYONE DYING, was trying to make a point.
My grandma loved this show for some reason
They don't make haters like Chuck Lorre anymore
(Kendrick Lamar comes close)
Real😂@@mr.froglegs
J
Jews
@@tictactoehuhn6 Spiteful people 👃🏼
Truth be told I was put in a mental hospital in high school and one of the forms of entertainment was a TV which for some reason was stuck on this cable channel that only played classic sitcoms. So whenever we watched TV it was Two and a Half Men, Family Matters, and the George Lopez show. During my stay one of the other patients hurled a box of crayons at the TV after it cycled through 5 episodes of Two and a Half Men.
Out of the three shows which was your favorite?
Putting that TV in a mental hospital is a cruel joke, pouring one out for y'all
Actual one flew over the cuckoo's nest type shit
Everybody liked the show while it was airing (prior to Ashton Kutcher). The moment it finished, the public consciousness shifted to "Yeah the show was always trash".
This phenomenon has become so common in recent years, it needs a name.
The hindsight hater?
Is called the "is not Anime so it sucks" I really hate intelectuals and Hard work.
Reminds me of that time Bill Burr said everybody rollerbladed and then one guy said it was gay and everybody acted like they never did it. 😂
Its called sheep mentality
Everyone loved Nickelback at one point too until some comedian made a joke about how bad they were and it went viral to the point where no one wanted to admit they used to listen to Nickelback despite them being one of the most listened to bands in history
Chuck Lorre dedicating the finale of a 12 season show on his grudge for Charlie Sheen only to kill him off again is Reverse Flash levels of petty.
“It was me, Charlie”
@@RUSmortI EXPIRED YOUR MILK!!!
He was a shoe in for hater of the year.
Out-pettying the man who erased a child from existence out of spite for a guy deserves some kind of award
I mean, he also did it to himself. I personally don't take it as him actually hating the guy but being being mad that the show he made is inherently tied to Charlie Sheen. On the other hand, that's like a DM being mad one of the players has a character go off rail. If you want perfect, play by yourself. Can't do it? Then learn to accept and move on
If I were still in High School, I'd greatly consider "If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really mad" as a senior quote.
You might have just given me an idea.
@@lenko2605about a decade late on the charlie sheen meme I don’t think it would hit like you think
@@ovichggatI don’t know man, that just kind of adds levels to it that make it kind of funnier
@@ovichggat I don't have any better ideas at the moment lol
you guys got to do senior quotes?
"The guy who made JFK" - You mean Vietnam Veteran, Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient Oliver Stone? Yeah I think he's allowed to have opinions on the government and Vietnam.
yeah that was one of a couple obvious zoomer fingerprints on this one
Yeah he also supports socialist regimes on my country Venezuela and also in Cuba, made documentaries about such.
Still love his earlier movies.
He also was the screenwriter for the 1983 version of Scarface.
Yeah he's based@@jesustovar2549
@@jesustovar2549 He supports socialism?
Didn't know Stone could be even MORE based than i thought
That ending is the most petty thing in a show/movie I've ever seen. Makes pro wrestling promoters look sensible.
Holy shit, that finale actually looked deeply disturbing. Like lost episode, creepypasta vibes but genuinely unsettling
IKR
"I turned around and Charlie Sheen threatened to kill me!! Then Chuck Lorre bled from the eyes and dropped a piano on my dog?!"
it indeed does, but i'm pretty sure people would prefer this to be lost episode, not actual one.
i watched TAHM (never got to the Ashton era) some years ago. the last year i rewatched it on amazon prime and i enjoyed some of the season 9-12 scenes, but it wasnt the same feeling. watching the ending was too confusing to be real
@@imjoniYeah my Great Uncle likes the show, but he despises Ashton Kutcher, never brought himself to watch any of his episodes.
35:33 So intersting that the creator of Big Bang Theory of all things dismissed pop culture reference jokes as cheap and easy
I was literally thinking 'This guy must hate Big Bang Theory' but he made it????
In a different universe Sheldon was the one that had the winning meltdown
Basinger
@@MilkyWayGrump Botswana
@@MilkyWayGrump Venezuela
Hearing stories like Chuck Lorre just makes me hate the current industry. Cause back in the day you could just randomly meet a guy who knew a guy and get a job. Now a days you gotta fight thousands of people, fight against a robot and then do 4 rounds of interviews before you get a chance at being hired.
Chuck Lorre reminds me of Bobby chotic on a very surface level
@@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat
Lorre is not that bad. Petty, sure, but not "sexually harassing" bad.
That.... just sounds like nepotism being replaced with everyone getting a chance.
It should be noted that Lorre seemed to understand the lose-lose aspect of this mess: the second piano falls on him as he says "winning". Given all the mayhem and bitterness on all sides, it wasn't surprising to my father and to me that the show ended this way. My father enjoyed the show, was critical of it during the last seasons, and still enjoyed it.
And part of that, I feel, goes to an unsung hero in this essay/autopsy: Jon Cryer, who is not simply "the guy who played Alan", but the actor who stayed on board from start to finish, and, like all the best actors, gave 100% to his character and the silly scripts. I wish you had mentioned his situation in all of this, as he was basically left to carry what was left of the series on his shoulders, all the way from maintaining some kind of tone to shepherding Kutcher through his initiation. I can't help but feel that, though the stars of this autopsy are, without a doubt, Lorre and Sheen, it's Cryer who truly deserves the glory. I can also venture to say that, though Sheen was the name and the draw for the audience, I remember many, many, of the actual stories centering around Alan.
Yeah, I always thought Cryer was more influential in this story than people gave him credit for. It's telling that, for all the bad blood that was going on in this show, Charlie Sheen still wanted Cryer to be in his new proposed sitcom. He seemed to recognize that Cryer was just as important in the show's success as he was.
@@libRteedude That's really nice to know, that Sheen seems to have appreciated his costar.
Jon Cryer wrote this comment.
@@madprophet6891 Jon Cryer is much taller than I am, and presumably much less nearsighted....
The absolute gall to make fun of Charlie Sheen for not wanting to do a scene where he references a breakdown he had years ago that he regrets and wants to move on from
but if you watch the video that's exactly what he did in another show.
@@thegamedudeguy The difference is that Sheen did it when the event was way more recent, and making a joke about something you did in a self deprecating way is way different from someone else doing it to mock you.
@@naplockblubba5369 Did Charlie write the Anger Management episode? Because I'm pretty sure someone else wrote that for him to do on that show too. He was obviously fine with it, til he decided he wasn't. Must be that bi-winning he was talking about?
@@jamesoblivion The Anger Management thing was around a year or so after it happened. But it was around 4 or 5 years ago at the point of the 2 and a half men finale, it's not hypocritical or "bi-winning" that he could have changed his opinions on the event in such a large span of time. Not to mention that the Anger Management joke was a lot shorter and was much less mocking and spiteful towards his person than the 2 and a half men one in all likelihood would have been.
I actually think that by him taking the role and acting on the last episode, he'd show how what he said was wrong, and that he recognizes how much of a bad influence he was. Taking the role that satirizes everything that he went through (that was already extremely satirized on the internet) would show that he moved on
Chuck Lorre actually ended the show by depicting Charlie Sheen as the soyjak and himself as the chad, what a guy
Based
based
Well at least that was he's plan, but in reality TBBT kinda saved hes skin because that episode was really not well received by most people, lucky hin he had another card to play with.
@@youknowwho257 I mean he did get extremely lucky because TBBT is utter garbage.
It uses psychological tricks to make idiots think it is funny.
Seriously, try watching the show without a laugh track, the entire show is just sociopathic narcissists saying mean things to each other or being creepy stalkers and incels.
The whole show is a hate letter to nerd culture, or basically what the average idiot thinks nerds are like.
It gets good enough ratings to justify buying more seasons and more spinoffs, but none of the shows are any good.
Chuck lost his mind to liberlism and most people are ignoring any shows he has a part in and leaving after they figure it out if they missed it.
@@alexistaylor969 big bang theory suffer the same as two and a half men, the series went too fat away from the central premise, and even then i dare to say big bang theory had one of the most satisfactory endings on all sitcoms, isnt specially, fun, epic, heartwatming, but is well done, and thats a huge accomplishment on this era of bad endings
If I can give Chuck Lorre anything, he managed to make me side with Charlie Sheen. Now that’s impressive.
That's really sad, it sounded like Sheen wanted to give fans the ending they wanted and Lorre made the ending about himself.
I don't think fans of a show like that deserve anything good.
Sheen also wanted to make the ending about himself, to be fair. He wanted it to be used as his own personal diving board for his career & comeback
when ashton kutcher looked into the camera i was genuinely shaken
When the intrusive thoughts win
You just got Punk’d
fallout new vegas whiplashing me 270 degrees around to some member of ceasers legion yelling at me
@@spiller-hy7uk"The Caesar has marked you for death! And the legion obeys! Prepare yourself for battle!"
@@Krakkokayne fuck you todd for almost making me die via cool ranch dorito inhalation may 5th 2024
This whole Charlie Sheen thing feels strangely modern, like it should've happened ten years later than it actually did, even Alex Jones is involved
Kanye
it was also a little late in the game. Stuff like this had been happening since the internet became a major cultural influence around ~1999. At the time Charlie Sheen's speech became a meme, we were all thinking "isn't everyone a little tired of this stuff yet?"
@@tetryst Depends on which circle you were in when it happened. In 2011 I was in 8th grade and everyone from 7th-9th grade was joking around about winning, tiger blood and banging 7 gram rocks, singing the schmoyoho remix in the hallways etc.
It was a popular meme for like 2 months straight, and in a small EU country. So no, I didn't see anyone who was tired of it, unless it was a person who always had contrarian opinions, so it was normal for them to be tired of that kind of stuff.
@@Elrohof I remember the little iPod game called pocket god and thats where I first found out about the Charlie sheen references lol
alex jones was relevant back then too if you were an internet nerd, it's just that no one was stupid enough to take him seriously yet
I don’t know why I just watched a 47 minute video about a shitty sitcom, but here we are
For the poor attempts at its defence below, of course
The show was never a high-brow critics pleaser. It's a sit down and enjoy dumb jokes about this scared-of-commitment man, his pedestalizing-of-women brother and a literal child trying to navigate a world of commitments, connections and obligations to others.
I still watch reruns of the first half of the show whenever they pop up. Because the jokes land, and they're varied enough between episodes to not get tiring. Other than the very obvious "men are horny", which frankly is such a dead horse Kharon is looking to hire it, to expand his transportation business.
I kinda miss those "pre-netflix" shows. You could just turn on the tv and have dinner in peace or just chill in the couch, there was no rush, no binge watching ,you could miss 2 or 3 episodes and nothing would change. I think breaking bad, game of thrones and streaming really changed how series were made.
In my mind, the fact Charlie Sheen managed to live rent-free in Lorre's head for that long counts as winning.
no doubt
Bi-winning
living rent free in Lorre's head like Alan lived in his house
Well, yeah. You remember the guy that causes nearly 1000 people to lose their jobs. Since when did being a dick to everyone become something to celebrate? Or getting lifelong STD's you pass to your co-workers by not telling them?
It was the opposite. After Sheen had left the show, he kept addressing comments about Lorre everywhere in every chance he had. People like to idolize Charlie Sheen, but he was out of control and he got himself fired because he was unable to work with, being that an opinion of everyone involved in the show. The finale was a direct response to all the BS Lorre had to take during those years.
That final vanity card is baffling. "Charlie Sheen wanted to do a heartfelt ending that could lead to a new beggining for the series, but I wanted to spend the whole episode making fun of his breakdown then throw a piano at him".
If I wanted to make myself look like the bigger person in this conflict, I would NOT admit something like that.
I don't think he wanted to seem like the bigger person honestly, I think he was well aware of how petty and spiteful the episode would be and didn't care lol
@@tokisugar Fair. Still crazy that he made himself out to be less reasonable than CHARLIE SHEEN of all people
@@matti.8465 Remember Charlie's irresponsibility lead to many people's lives being derailed. Lorre was understandably pissed that his work and creativity was derailed by an emotionally unstable man that was paid millions all because he felt slighted
@@andrewsandoval2685 Not to mention if i recall charlie was extremely abusive to people on set if I recall. Everyone hated working with him from what Ive heard.
I honestly gotta wonder if Chuck Lorre ever realized that maybe the reason he didn't want to play in the finale was because it was an entire episode dedicated to ruthlessly and cruely mocking him. I don't care if the person in question is Charlie Sheen, I think no one would accept a script that's literally just dedicated to insulting one of the actors playing the characters.
In an alternate timeline, the show ends with a satisfying last episode starring Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre getting wasted together. 😂
Ehh, still better than the final season of Game of Thrones.
I absolutely love that people just act like that show/ending never happened, much like the epic store
@@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat Which one? Game of Thrones or Two and a Half Men?
Ashton Kutcher just flat out saying he can't wait for the show to be over is the most relatable thing ever.
That early 2010s TV "tech guy" trope was such an odd entity. Genius programmer who's also very business savvy, and also hot and a ladies man, and made their money by selling out to Microsoft or Google. I don't think that guy ever existed outside of television.
Not to mention the portrayal of them being mad scientists who have crazy sci fi technology just because they ran a tech startup.
@@boxylemons7961They'll blow the panties off the audience by exiting Vim
The problem was that everyone knew Steve Jobs but no one knew Steve Wozniak. Jobs was a relatively smart guy but he was a much better marketer and presenter than an engineer. Wozniak made all Steve's ideas actually work. But everyone thought it was all Jobs, that Jobs was a wunderkind once in a generation mind; All smoke. Jobs was actually kind of a nightmare to work with, but he could sell the product. And history repeats because the same thing happened with John Romero and John Carmack, the charismatic asshole with ideas and his engineer buddy that actually made them work. But more people know Romero than Carmack, although Daikatana came back to bite Romero in the ass.
The problem was that everyone knew Steve Jobs but no one knew Steve Wozniak. Jobs was a relatively smart guy but he was a much better marketer and presenter than an engineer. Wozniak made all Steve's ideas actually work. But everyone thought it was all Jobs, that Jobs was a wunderkind once in a generation mind; All smoke. Jobs was actually kind of a nightmare to work with, but he could sell the product. And history repeats because the same thing happened with John Romero and John Carmack, the charismatic asshole with ideas and his engineer buddy that actually made them work. But more people know Romero than Carmack, although Daikatana came back to bite Romero in the ass.
@@MatthewStevensOrMattDave What exactly are you saying with your comment? Steve Wozniak is pretty close to what people expect tech people to be like back then. It's weird that TV had this alternative version that was on pretty much no ones mind
Two and a Half Men was ahead of the curve when it came to a show about a bunch of awful people.
It has it's own charm, can't deny that.
From this video alone the ending sounds genius tbh, why should a terrible show respect its viewers keeping the show alive when the show would've been better off dead long ago?
Show wasn’t terrible. I’d say it’s one of the best sitcoms up till Sheen left.
it's like the biggest "fuck you" to the audience ever
"If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really pissed."
This is so simple but hilarious
So charlie sheen has a highly successful career, goes to rehab, goes on alex jones to say anti semetic remarks, has insane interviews and has multiple publicists quit. Charlie Sheen is the OG Kanye West
My god
At least Kanye West made something good like Graduation, Charlie Sheen was just in Two and a Half men.
@@Fernybunhe was also in platoon and hot shots
Where was the lie again?
Pretty good comparison
Kanye has been off the rails since forever, though. George Bush doesn't care about black people!
Sir, Rick and Morty has been actively hating its audience for the past 7 seasons XD
South Park has been for 20 years
@@sharkapuppetI will never get over the dolts who think that show agrees with them, about literally anything. It’s hilarious
"Can you legitimately think of a sitcom ending worse than this"? I dunno, How I Met Your Mother gives it a run for its money, at least.
What happened there?
@@tumultoustortellini multi season budding relationship between two characters getting thrown out the window last minute (Barney and Robin)
Story has Robin realise she is indeed in love with Ted and can't act on that, Ted's kids say he is obviously still in love with Robin and he runs off to go ask her out after finishing the story to his kids, making it seem like Robin was the real love of his life not the mother of his children the whole story was about him meeting.
To be fair the mother's kids has been dead for a while
They wanted their father to be happy again
@@christiandauz3742 wait what.
@@Devilot109
In How I Met your Mother she has died before Ted told his kids about their stories
Ted is a widower by the time of the future
Finding out Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men were made by the same guy was like the modern version of finding out Darth Vader was Luke's father for me
Disturbing but makes perfect sense?
Everyone knew but you?
Chuck Lorre is the adult version of Dan schnieder
how come
@@sharkapuppethe sexually assaulted actors too?
The fact that Lorre and Sheen ever worked together again after this is very weird.
What's weird about two people who both regret how they acted towards the other, reconciling and then wanting to work together again?
@@Helio5kIt’s weird because you rarely hear about that kind of maturity.
@@rustyshackleford2950especially coming from Charlie Sheen, and the guy who's show Charlie Sheen ruined by being Charlie Sheen
@@Helio5kprobably for the reasons the video said. How it took that long, for a show that nobody cared about.
@@Helio5k it felt like a bridge had been permanently burnt. Sheen implied that he wanted to kill Lorre after the two and a half men finale, but I guess they worked things out. Good on them I guess.
The way I see it, this type of unhinged meta commentary is genuinely good entertainment. It's not high art, sure, but it carries an honesty and a transparency that are refreshing. That, combined with the two pianos that fall on the two men involved in the feud, respectively, is almost poetic. I could even begin to argue that this is actually a move of camp genius. That the piano is the perfect symbol of coarse but earnest entertainment, borrowed from the cartoons of the childhoods of Two and a Half Men's leading viewing demographic. That, in its simplicity and crassness, it's a message about the double-edged sword that is a grudge held for too long; an acknowledgement that using his position as master puppeteer, in his writer's chair, to drop a piano on Charlie, puts Chuck on the same level. So, with the break in the fourth wall theme, TV logic extends itself into the real world, and Chuck gets the same karmic punishment. I could argue that the animated sequence is ugly on purpose, that the absurdity of Rose's well prison, along with the 4th wall breaks, Schwarzenegger, and the ending itself, along with the stabs at the quality of their humor, are all a meditation on the shift TV programming saw in the 12 years since the Pilot aired. Because, when they started, TV was viewed as low grade entertainment, but it grew and garnered prestige in the meantime, and shows that remained on during that shift and retained their initial tone, began to look dated, suddenly being criticized for not reaching a level of quality they never signed up to offer. Do I believe all of this is true? No, but some of it might be. What is certain is that I am glad Chuck was given the freedom to make the strange and unusual choices he wanted to make. I am glad this finale exists, however absurd, however childish. It's a brand of artistic freedom
Your analysis of the early internet sounds like you read a speculation piece written by somebody born in 2005. Lmao. It's like you read major topic points from that era, then just completely made up the the filler dialogue.
the stuff about the demise of the "mainstream" is so funny because it absolutely is still a term and concept on the internet, its even easier for something to be known across the entire net nowdays lol
Scrolled until I saw someone mention this. The parts of the video covering the show itself were pretty good but definitely a lot of uninformed filler type ranting.
Remember in idiocracy how there are channels for literally everything? I assume it had something to do with that
Who am I kidding you already made up your minds
So many video essays are like this, it's nearly unbearable
The fact that they tried SO hard to keep the show going after Sheen left is ASTONISHING.
2 and half men made enough money to pay a singular actor 25 million dollars a year . Even at its lowest point it drew in 10 million viewers.
It only ended because everyone involved was sick of it and it was obvious the money wasn't making it worth it
*Ashton-ishing
*Ashton-ISheen
I find it funny how (as the video itself says) the show went from being "a sitcom with three main characters" to basically being the Charlie Sheen show without Sheen himself.
The fact it went on for so long is Ashton-ishing
so the biggest lesson to learn here is that if america had a universal single-payer healthcare system, two and a half men could have been prevented from airing.
Where did that come from?
@@White_Reclusebeginning of the video, the reason two and a half men got written was cause a friend of chuck lorre who was down on his luck and at a low point in his career was about to lose health insurance, as a result Lorre stepped in to help, writing the titular two and a half men. Without American health insurance two and a half men never exists
Hell it wouldn’t have been created at all.
@onyourleft5648 I think that says more about unions than it does healthcare.
So would Breaking Bad
dang charlie really lived in that directors head rent free for like 4 years
Chuck Lorre was a hater and wasn't ashamed to admit it, respect.
calling george costanza similar to allan isn't exactly incorrect but it feels wrong to me on a spiritual level
Not even close George is pathetic but Alan is a whole other level of pathetic and pushover he is the most bitch character I've ever seen in fiction and it's worse than Meg from family guy or Jerry from Rick and morty
Same
Ikr? George was loveable for all the wrong reasons. Alan was fucking unbearable
George Costanza is really confident for a guy with extremely low self esteem
Allan feels like the inspiration for Jerry Smith. But that’s probably just because they’re based off of similar sitcom archetypes.
Charlie Sheen: We can end it with me apologizing to my brother and reuniting amicably, then maybe we can start a new show, start over, and do this right.
Chuck: haha drug addict Porky Pig monster and then murder
He literally dropped a piano on Sheen's head. I can't think of anything more childish, petty, and cringe than that.
@@WobblesandBeanIf I had one of the most successful series of all time and a guy I was making rich derailed the gravy train by ranting about tiger blood I'm not being the bigger man.
@@ShadowRulah4 more seasons is hardly derailed
@ShadowRulah Cuck Lorre is a terrible writer anyway. Nobody of any substance watches his shows. They're generally misogynistic trash where every character is a terrible person.
@@ShadowRulah Lol "derailed"? The show went on for years after that. And even if didn't, the piano thing was still petty cringe and childish. Plus, Sheen didn't leave the show, Chuck Lorre fired him because he was butthurt.
I don't know how to feel about this ending anymore with all this context. Seems like everyone was so full of spite
I'm wondering now, was that scene in WandaVision where we see Agatha in the director's chair, a reference to 2 and a Half Men?
"I've never seen a show hate its audience this much"
Alright, this show vs Velma.
The difference is 2 and a half men actually had an audience.
@@WobblesandBean Honestly you're right
@@WobblesandBeanFacts, Velma is just prime "Didn't Earn It" ESG Money Laundering.
@@WobblesandBeancomprised of more than just hate viewers at least...
I think there is a difference between a gradually built resentment to your audience from a producer, and a show made out of spite, and cheap shock "subversion" (playing into every single predictable modern writing trend).
I feel bad for the actors. A lot of them are really good.
Edit: the actors in velma, not 2 and a half men.
If I had a nickel for how many men, I would have 5 nickels, or 2 and a half dimes
goddamnit
Good joke Dad
I don't get it?
Nice try, A.I., but you can't fool me!
@@tadghkelly3747There were 5 main characters
Seeing Aston's character makes me actually really wanna see a show where its a normal person dealing with the hijinks of a preestablished group that is wacky and WAY out of their comfort zone.
Like a soap opera character joining a comedy sitcom
The fact that this show and the Big Bang Theory were so popular goes to prove that audiences have absolutely no taste whatsoever.
they always wore the worst clothes the entire show
Even the suits are horrible looking. How do you mess up suits? The fuc...
@@RobotnikPlngas real men who act like the characters actually dress like that though so it never bothered me
boy do i love vertical stripes
@@lachlank.8270 how about-get this-ill-fitting button-up shirts
That was just 2000s fashion
Idgaf what anyone says, Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer had amazing chemistry and portrayed one of the best brother/buddy dynamics in comedy.
They ain't gay bro wtf don't say that
@@ColonelMetusHur so edgy
@@ColonelMetus I wonder about Charlie sometimes..
Just cause they have chemistry doesn't mean they're gay lmao.
@tonyj2319 yeah it do
Actually that's a really REALLY clever ending. It doesn't hate the audience. It hates it's own concept and sends itself off with practically 0 grace. That's wonderful actually. It's a great ending for specifically Two and a half men
"every tech guy I know lives like Patrick Bateman"
As person who worked in tech for over 10 years, this statement cannot be more accurate.
Ending your 12 season sitcom by declaring that it was garage at the whole time is the most mid-2010s thing I’ve ever heard. The 2010s truly were the best time to be alive (for meta jokes that killed the audience’s investment in the story).
What are other examples? This type of self-destruction is fascinating, and the only example I can think of is a Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark performance where the Green Goblin sings “I’m a 65 million dollar circus tragedy (actually, more like 75)” which could be a reference to the musical’s budget and reputation.
@@amusingmoose9924 One that I can think of is Chowder, with a perfectly fine ending that actually ends with a fourth wall break of Chowder screaming "NO! I REJECT THIS ENDING!"
The Lego Movie 2 doesn't get enough hate for being a movie that constantly references that it is a sequel, and that it is a musical, which is even more insulting since it barely even commits to being a musical. Plus, it's got a weird message about the main character from the first movie being a toxic person unless he lets girls play with him, which is just confusing in-context.
hey garages are great!
@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917Muppets 2 has those same features as Lego 2 and is a good movie
Don't worry, they are still doing it.
Guy was a crackhead making 27 mllion a year. It's frankly amazing he's alive at all.
Those are rookie numbers for the average 70s and 80s rock star.
With HIV I believe...
@@kevintanza6968they weren't making 27 mil a year
And also lots and lots and lots of sex...
When you started the section talking about how the pop-culture relevance of the show intersected with the internet, and particularly the part about "the mainstream" no longer really being a thing, we started to undergo a creeping existential shift that we felt deep in the pit of our stomach, something like the feeling of loss that later sets the stage for nostalgia. See, we're 22 years old now, born in 2001, and growing up, the internet was a given, and things "going viral" was both common and, from our perspective, basically the same as "going mainstream". We had, on a couple occasions before, noted that "nothing has really gone viral in a while", but only upon hearing you describe how the modern internet is more fractured and the mainstream is largely a thing of the past that it really hit home: things don't "go viral" anymore. Not like they used to. It just doesn't happen now. That was a consequence of a very particular set of variables in play at a very particular time, that just so happened to coincide with our formative years, leading us into the sense that that was simply how things worked. But it wasn't. Well, it was for a time, but now it isn't, and perhaps will be no longer. That section of this video shifted our perspective in an all-encompassing way that we have never quite experienced before. It felt like passing through a gate in the path of growing up that many have been through, that we were theoretically aware of, but that we had no experience or familiarity with until now, and now, in the way of time, we are forever changed, we cannot go back to the way we were before watching that segment, never again...
...
...and the fact that the part about the ending of the show still stood out more in terms of bizarre, existential feelings is a testament to what the fuck was going on there like holy shit. What is this show? We want to study it, though the ordeal scares us.
Well anyways thanks for making a pretty standard video essay that nonetheless managed to shake us to our core in several unprecedented ways. This is going promptly on our inspiration playlist and we will perhaps come back to this for years to come. Cheers!
As a kid I normally hated whatever my parents put on tv but this was one of my earliest memories of them switching my shit to this and being like it’s alright
Watching this while glancing sidelong at my shelved bowling shirts. Will their time come again?
Ew
This comment made me audibly laugh, thank you
Don't lost hope, hang in there, at the very least in 10 years you can wear them to nostaliga themed costume parties
O
I promise they will.
Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen getting back together to make a new series together is probably the funniest thing to come out if this.
I hate that I honestly love the ending being a full middle finger...I can't explain it but it just fills me with joy that Chuck went from writing his feelings into the cards at the end to writing into the script itself. I respect it on a level I cant quite describe.
I hope Chuck got vaxxed
Welp, I hope everyone did. I don't know why you wish exactly for Chuck Lorre to protect himself but OK.
@@user-mh1lk5fh8e you better booster up
There was an anonymous quote from an agent during the writers’ strike that i keep thinking about; something like “nobody wants to write two and a half men, everyone wants to write barry. But a lot of people watched two and a half men, and nobody watched barry.” I think there’s a kernel of truth to this, but also that there isn’t some secret way to make two and a half men type sitcoms again that people are refusing, the era is just over. The 2011-2016 era of pop culture was so surreal.
Barry?
@@msjkramey Its an HBO Show headed by Bill Hader
@@j.b.aw.6968thanks. Was it good?
@@msjkramey liked it a lot but it is an acquired taste
@@j.b.aw.6968it’s great.
The worst part of Two And a Half Men is how catchy the intro was. My dad liked it so I heard it from the living room. Over a decade later I still have the “men men men men, manly men men men-“ stuck in my head like a parasite
*starts to whistle the intro them*
Def one of the worst earworms ever made.
god me too
Very fitting considering that why Charlie in the show was wealthy.
its the only thing the show added to my sphere of american culture
Chuck Lorre ending up being the biggest loser here.
Two and a Half men was worlds funnier than Big Bang Theory.
The former at least tried at jokes, while the latter thinks using pop culture references is a good substitute
Something about the _Two and a Half Men_ finale that I can't shake it off me is the feeling that Chuck Lorre always planned for the show to end with an scene similar to the one of Alan, Walden and Bertha sitting on the balcony. Remember how Robert Kirkman once said "I have an idea of how _The Walking Dead_ will end but its just something I prepared for the inevitable moment in which the series isn't selling anymore"? I think Chuck Lorre had a similar "In case of cancelation break the glass" finale, but firing Charlie Sheen derailed the whole plan. Like a minute before they drop a piano over Charlie, Alan and Walden talk about how it doesn't matter than none of the women on their lives care if they live or die because they have eachother, its easy to imagine Charlie and Alan reaching to that conclusion if they where allowed to have character developtment... instead, the series ends by demolishing the Fourth Wall with an sledgehammer
I honestly gotta wonder how the show would've ended if Sheen never went on his public meltdown and got fired. Though it probably would've been way less interesting than the finale we got. Mediocrity is sometimes worse than being outrageously bad, because at least extremely bad media can still be talked about.
@Mario_Angel_Medina There's something poetic about the fact that the How I Met Your Mother finale sucked specifically because they were set on doing it according to their original plan, whereas if the 2 & 1/2 men ending went in a way close to what you described it might have at least been decent
“The phrase ‘9/11’ comes up on his Wikipedia page way too much for [Charlie Sheen to be considered a good person]”
I like how this almost implies that Charlie Sheen had a hand in the September 11th attacks
Jet fuel can't melt steel beams, but Charlie Sheen can.
@@Calvin_Coolage It’s that tiger blood
He got Aids. He's good
That would explain how he knew so much about it
@@Calvin_Coolage his std ridden piss
Lorre should have quit after cowriting the tmnt theme, nothing he did after was anywhere near as good. He deserved fading into obscurity
I feel like Chelsea was the best girlfriend Charlie ever had
That Bookie reveal at the end had me scrambling for more information, what a wild way for the story to end.
@@NightcoreJones who are you. don't call this number again
@NightcoreJones 🙄
Nah, Twilight Princess is actually awesome.
@NightcoreJones Bro I just KNOW you ain't dissing Twilight Princess like that.
@@NightcoreJones I have no idea what why of that meant but dude get a life.
Don't follow people to other platforms to harass them it's a shitty thing to do
Honestly this video might be a better ad than anything HBO did for that show
This is going to be a strange take away, but the description of the finale (and the last season) reminds me of a potential “lost episode” creepypasta, only so much more fascinating. It has the template of a show not doing what’s expected of it, but instead the horror coming from characters having hyper-realistic eyes/blood or killing themselves/others, there’s the unsettling feeling that the world is breaking. The storytelling you’d expect from a finale is gone and replaced by very contemporary yet personal jabs at itself and Charlie Sheen. Characters are looking to the camera and addressing the audience when that’s never happened before. The vibes of the notes Lorre left at the end of the episodes changes in a similar way. The bizarre CGI could be seen as a replacement for something suddenly being hyper realistic. Of course, there’s the still from 37:42 that would probably be the moneyshot associated with this creepypasta, just edit it to be spookier.
Oh and great video!
Like how Adult Swim dropped "Too Many Cooks" with no warning?
@@msjkramey In terms of the world breaking? That’s an interesting comparison, though TMC’s world/storytelling breaking is more like a cancer attacking the show from within (which is the slasher), while for TaaHM, it’s more like a murder-suicide where it lashes out at Charlie and itself (best exemplified at the very end when both Charlie and Chuck Lorre get squashed with pianos).
I'm glad someone else got this vibe cause every time I've heard about this finale it feels like if it tried to be any more intentionally unsettling it'd be right in line with that style of writing. Such an odd way for a show to go out that kinda crosses into the uncanny valley
@@KrissyBluesHigh five! Coincidentally, this finale was written around the time creepypasta was huge.
I've been thinking for years that a horror story about a comedy becoming self-aware could be great.
Like, nothing you do matters. Any big changes will just be undone next episode. How many jokes have ben something disgusting in disguise? (ex: iCarly and all the feet stuff) You don't want to be funny anymore, but if you're not funny the show ends. What happens when the show ends? Are you free or do you end too?
Why is everyone laughing?
Hahaha, Ashton Kutcher is more hated now, than Charlie Sheen!
Can I ask why? Because I never liked him in the first place. So I don't follow him
Two and a Half Men was one of those shows that I knew millions of people watched but never heard of a single person who watched it.
15:30 The episodes in a sitcom just resetting without the characters learning anything is realistic to real life.
Using the end title cards as a way to tweet about Charlie sheen is hilarious
i still remember "tigers blood" and "winning" what a time to be alive
Then we found out what Tiger Blood was and we all tried to forget.
@@TheSolidSnakeOil what is it
@@RobotnikPlngas duhh? Winning???
@@RobotnikPlngasSheen has HIV
Ok you really let pretty clear that you were never a fan of Two and a Half Men, not even close to that... so you made a video about a show that you basically hated and that had an ending that you also hated, while trying at all times to avoid actually saying that you hated the show so as not to scare away fans of the series who might end up parachuting onto your channel or just to not be seen as a hater, tbh it wasn't even very difficult to notice, it is very clear your disdain for the show.
Halfway through the video this narrative became old and tiring to listen to, i mean this literally was a series of boring criticisms and complaints about all the boring criticisms and complaints that a famous TV series had.
If you clicked on a video titled “the worst sitcom ending of all time” and were surprised to find the video being largely negative about the series in question. That’s kind of on you buddy.
Hell he’s even alot nicer to the series than he really needs to be. Gives it credit where credit is due, compliments Lorre on the genuinely good reason the show exists. and even give Charlie sheen of all people the benefit of the doubt. If anything he was needlessly nice to the show.
Literally has an entire section of the video explaining why the show has a good premise and character ideas. Also like why would someone only be allowed to make this video if they like the show?
Imagine continuing to watch Two and a Half Men after they fired the only character worth watching. The show ended with Charlie Sheen leaving.
Side note, Oliver Stone is the only Vietnam veteran to make a movie about Vietnam. He was an infantryman.
I did not know that!
@@BestPunkyEver he has two Purple Hearts and a bronze star with a V device. It explains why he is so anti war. I have similar feelings after seeing warfare myself.
No wonder his war films are so damn amazing there's another movie he made called
born on the fourth of July
It's amazing
- detailed backstory about a piece of pop culture
- Exploring a topic barely anyone's covered or even referenced since it happened
- 2010s nostalgia
- Quality commentary
oh yeah this one's a banger
You definitely don’t need to know anything about black culture to enjoy fresh prince. As a 9 year white Canadian confirm I can confirm this. The shows just fucking good and the serious bits were never ham fisted and always felt authentic.
What? You mean I didn’t need to know about Malcolm x to understand “Jessie? Break out Lucile.”
*clacking of case clips*
Dropping a piano on charlie sheen is the first and last time I will find two and a half men funny, it is perhaps the best way to end it
"Bizarre sense of euphoria you get after vomiting" is one of those phrases that'll rattle around my brain for decades
I love vomiting yogurt, the only thing that goes back and forth is nice and tasteful.
@@Yanoor sounds very caligula's roman
even a bulimic couldn’t have said it better.
Post vomit clarity is one thing we can all relate with
I have to appreciate the lengths someone has to go to make themselves look petty in comparison to a serial drug abuser who was going through a mental breakdown.
these "people" pour conrete down wrlls to deny them from being used. not surprising. did you know lorre is a fake name? hes chuck levine. like mark cuban. or so many others.
Chuck Lorre is trying to singlehandedly keep Primetime TV alive.
It's not really a satisfying ending, but it's a work of art and genuinely creepy and funny at the same time.
Lorre created Two and a half men AND The Big Bang theory !?
Shouldn't he be on trial for human rights violations for that?
You should write for them same quality
Big bang theory isn’t that bad, aside from being indirectly responsible for the problem with apu affecting animation casting.
Frankly I think the show should be known as a love it or hate it show.
@@changvasejarik62This is what his reputation online is, outside the Internet most people I know loves the show, except for my Great Uncle who said it was for gays, because of Jim Parsons.
@@changvasejarik62 The mysoginy in TBBT is pretty bad once you notice it
@@ngotemna8875 No it's not.
People talked a lot about how Game of Thrones disappeared from the public consciesness after season 8.
But I think I've never even thought about Two and a half men in the years since it's conclusion and haven't heard of it from anyone as well.
GoT has the advantage of beeing bad on levels unimaginable before, so it keeps beeing discussed as a mistake.
honestly, I hadn't thought about it in so long I don't remember. I think, before I saw the title of this video, I kind of forgot the show existed
thats what happens with sitcoms, very few are memorable to be rememberd after ending, a lot of them if not everyone get outdated very soon
I'm a Gen Z and I watched Two and a Half Men years after it ended, it was played alot on Warner TV along The Big Bang Theory (my favorite sitcom) and Friends. But I'd agree the Ashton Kutcher seasons were unneded.
@@CG-eh6oeSame happens with the Star Wars sequel trilogy, fans still talking about how it ruined the franchise, as a fan myself, I think most of the fandom is damaging themselves, others do like those last movies don't exist.
If you think about it, rick and morty is just two and a half man + two women + sci fi...
Is it really "bad comedy" if millions of people enjoy it? I don't like Lorre work but from an alien from another planet perspective, you could say Arrested Development first seasons (as great as they are) are bad since a lot less people watched it. Of course there are a lot of factors in play but you get my point, I just don't believe we (the intellectuals that enjoy real comedies /s) can shit on Two and a Half Men or Big Bang Theory
My mom still says "Duh, Winning" whenever it can be applicable. Charlie sheen's psychotic break was felt by EVERYONE.
And "Tiger's Blood" is an actual flavor for energy drink mixes now
20:51 you must be younger. Because dude there was SO MANY NICHE websites. Now, just everything is on either Reddit or Discord.
this
Yep
Dude prob never heard of web forum sites.
Yeah i am glad i grew up 80s n 90s and beginning of wed/pcs. Guves me baseline of how things worked and where. I understand hardware and software. How many kids have any idea how a pc works? We where building them as kids b4 the 1st modem
90's and early 2000's internet was the peak of the internet, before a single corporation basically owned everything.
The old af A-Team dedicated sites I followed started disappearing until they were gone by mid 2010's... This is just an example of niche interests and people interacting in specific places instead of a social media/Insta. Msging type thing
The way you narrate this sounds like you've just discovered the internet.
critics calling two and a half man bad while all ragin about friends is wild to me
I don't know, compared to other finales in which the writers are so far up their own ass to convince everyone that it was always meant to end like that and you just didn't get it, Lorre was brutally honest about the entire show and its audience in what essentially amounted to a broadcasted shitpost.
10/10
he does say in the video on how its bad and does liking low brow humor really that bad? like mcdonalds is not some fine cuisine restaurant but its pretty fun to eat, whats wrong with that?
Awesome video, great work.
the old internet was extremely fragmented, you didn't have everything on 4 websites.
most subjects had their own silos of forums, message boards, and sites.
better times tbh fam.
What 4 websites are you referring too? I’m going to assume that two out of the four are UA-cam and Wikipedia.
Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Twitter
No cap fam
I miss forums. :(
@@ZachX888 get to 4chan then. Enjoy the rabbithole