I’ve never understood the popularity of Two And A Half Men. There. I said it.

I’ve never actually watched an entire episode, either, but that’s largely because the three minutes I’ve seen of the show was enough for me to decide it wasn’t worth my time. Endless 8th-grade humor about male genitalia and women’s bodies and farts only gets you so far. Like, maybe an episode’s worth. Somehow, this show has been on for nine seasons. NINE. They’re still going strong even after losing one of their stars to Ashton Kutcher, in the midst of a huge public breakdown on the part of Charlie Sheen, who has pretty much become a joke at this point.

At any rate, despite the popularity of Sheen’s character, the contention between him and the network execs means they can’t exactly bring him back on, even for flashback episodes (his character was killed off, apparently) or dream sequences. So what’s their answer? They put his spirit in someone else’s body. Namely, Kathy Bates.

Now, I love Kathy Bates. She’s played some of my favorite characters over the years and is fully capable of playing everything from a hard-nosed bitch to a vulnerable woman who tries too hard to make everyone happy. To see her talents used to bring a character like Charlie Harper back to life just makes me sad…especially when she falls into the trap of ball-jokes and sexist silliness.

Twitter users actually seemed pretty divided on the subject, which is rare. I guess I should be glad Bates has found a few new fans in the Two And A Half Men audience, because she deserves recognition for the funny lady she is.