Two and a Half Men

Let’s get this out of the way. “Two and a Half Men” is a horrible show. It’s a horrible, no-good, very bad, I’d-rather-watch-milk-spoil-then-drink-it kind of show. The writing is lazy, the jokes are obvious and none of the characters are particularly appealing. The fact that it lasted 12 seasons (and spent many of those seasons as the top-rated comedy in the United States) is a testament to the triumph of mediocrity and how appealing to the lowest common denominator is not only a #winning strategy but a highly lucrative one. By all accounts, the show is a vertiable cash-cow and does well in syndication, which means we’ll never be able to escape it.

That being said, the “Two and a Half Men” finale was a fascinating meta-episode that doubled as a prolonged “f-you” from series creator Chuck Lorre to his many, many detractors. CBS’s most valuable asset poked fun at all the criticism the show has taken over the years and responded with a simple shrug of the shoulders while using a proverbial hundred dollar bill to light one of his victory cigars.