One of the best new TV shows of the past several years, My Name Is Earl, follows the life of Earl Hickey (Jason Lee), a man who discovers karma while lying in a hospital bed. Celebrating a $100,000 scratch-off lottery ticket, Earl gets hit by a car and knocked unconscious. His lottery ticket escapes in the wind, and Earl is hurried to the hospital where a revelation from Carson Daly hits him like a ton of bricks. Convinced that his bad luck is the result of bad karma, Earl compiles a list of everything he’s done wrong from grade school to the present, and he’s intent on fixing every bullet point on his list.
Nominated for two Golden Globes in its first season, My Name Is Earl won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy. Created by Gregory Thomas Garcia, creator of the popular Yes, Dear, the series is certain to be a favorite for years to come with its eccentric characters, brilliant writing, and infinite episode possibilities (no doubt the list will grow as Earl tackles each thing on it).
Joining Earl on his quest are his dim, yet innocent brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), friend and illegal alien hotel maid Catalina (Nadine Velazquez), Earl’s trailer trash ex-wife Joy (Jaime Pressly), and Joy’s new husband Darnell “Crabman” Turner (Eddie Staples). Also along for the ride is $100,000 in lottery winnings. Even though Earl lost the lottery ticket when the car hit him, his newfound dedication to the principles of karma pays immediate dividends when a gust of wind places the missing ticket right in front of his feet. With the money at their disposal, Earl and Randy dedicate themselves full-time to the task of crossing things off Earl’s list. It’s a quest that makes for some of the most interesting and comedic moments in television history.
The My Name Is Earl DVD features 24 hilarious episodes including the season premiere in which Earl sets out to help a former grade school classmate he used to pick on relentlessly, Kenny James (Gregg Binkley). Learning that Kenny is gay and lonely, Earl works overtime to find Kenny a partner. Other notable episodes from season one include “Stole Beer From A Golfer,” in which Earl and Randy must pay back a golfer (Johnny Galecki) who they cheated out of free beer (a difficult task once they realize their actions have ruined his life), and the season finale, “Number One,” in which Earl sets out to rectify the number one thing on his list: “stole ten dollars from a guy in the convenience store.”
Article comments
1 - Chris Beaumont
Love the show, but how exactly is this a DVD review? There has not even been an announcement of a release.
2 - Matt Paprocki
My thought exactly. For all we know, not all the episodes would make it on the DVD, or maybe even some extra ones when it's released.