Chuck Lorre got the last laugh in the battle between the Two and a Half Men creator and the show’s former star, Charlie Sheen. At the end of the series finale tonight, Sheen’s character, Charlie Harper, died, after the show’s characters discover he actually did not die four years ago.
Spoiler alert: after months of anticipation, it turned out Sheen himself did not appear on the program. In the show’s vanity card , a personal message flashed on-screen before the final credits, Chuck Lorre, who had been paired in a social media war with Sheen that ended with the actor’s firing, explained what happened.
“I know a lot of you might be disappointed that you didn’t get to see Charlie Sheen in tonight’s finale. For the record, he was offered a role. Our idea was to have him walk up to the front door in the last scene, ring the doorbell, then turn, look directly into the camera and go off on a maniacal rant about the dangers of drug abuse. He would then explain that these dangers only applied to average people. That he was far from average. He was a ninja warrior from Mars. He was invincible.
And then we would drop a piano on him.
We thought it was funny.
He didn’t.
Instead, he wanted us to write a heart-warming scene that would set up his return to primetime TV in a new sitcom called The Harpers starring him and Jon Cryer.
We thought that was funny too.”
The message seems to give Lorre the last laugh after his very public falling out with Sheen. It also seems to contradict what Lorre said recently about Sheen’s departure: that the incident was long past and there were “no wounds.”
Jon Cryer recently told The Toronto Star that there were still feelings of affection on the Two and a Half Men set for Charlie Sheen.
“I would always like to see Charlie back, whether on the finale or in life. He was a great friend for eight-and-a-half years…. I honestly don’t know if he’ll be on our last show, but it certainly won’t be because people here don’t love him.”
Cryer went on to describe what it was like for him when Sheen’s erratic behavior became public four years ago.
“The worst thing about the period was to see a friend going through a serious drug issue and feeling helpless. It’s like when your uncle is going off the wagon or your incredibly highly paid co-star goes off the wagon. Or the worst possible thing that could happen, which might mean they’re not alive anymore. As all that stuff was falling apart, and as this human being was falling apart, you kept thinking something has to give. He has to hit that wall. And there was no wall. He never hit the wall.”
Two and a Half Men aired for 12 seasons on CBS.
