Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, I’m continuing my coverage of My Name Is Earl (2005-2009, NBC), which is currently available on DVD and Hulu!

My Name Is Earl stars JASON LEE as Earl, ETHAN SUPLEE as Randy, JAIME PRESSLY as Joy, NADINE VELAZQUEZ as Catalina, and EDDIE STEEPLES as Darnell.

Season Two confidently expands Earl’s sense of humor and its understanding of its characters while maintaining a loosening but still evident command on the initial premise, presenting an intersection of novelty and knowingness that typically yields a sitcom’s peak. I mostly agree that this is Earl’s best, with the only caveat being, because this show is higher concept, it does put more stock in an ability to generate ideas that directly utilize its premise. So, a compelling case could be made for the first season’s purity of situation in story as its most ideal. Two, comparatively, is bolder and more up for taking risks, including episodic gimmicks such as stunt casting — a sign that a show is now a bona fide hit, feeling its oats and attracting top talents. Such devices are often ostentatious and can be a distraction from the core elements of the situation, but a lot of Two works, for the premise is still well-displayed (the case-of-the-week template demands guests anyway) and this year does a great job developing the leads and deploying them more optimally, so they can help support every plot. While lesser defined ensemble players Catalina and Darnell get fleshed out, explicit arcs are used to explore and evolve the primaries — as Randy falls for Catalina, Joy runs afoul of the law, and Earl takes steps to not just help others, but improve himself as well. The Randy/Catalina stuff is the most formulaic and peripheral to the series’ main narrative concerns — a clichéd rom-com engine — but the Joy storyline emphasizes the characters’ shared history of legal trouble and offers plenty of showcases for the Emmy-winning Jaime Pressly to shine. As for Earl, efforts to grow him — particularly in Two’s latter half, when he gets a degree, a job, and a home — feel like a way for the show to pivot how it engages the premise, widening out from the simple “list” conceit into the broader realm of do-gooding and self-improvement. This isn’t entirely ideal, for the premise’s specificity was indeed part of its promise to the audience. But bolstering the characters like this exponentially improves any idea that does involve the premise, and that’s something reiterated throughout Two, which combines this enhanced mastery of character with a boldness about its identity en masse, including its working class, blue-collar bent, and its riskier, but mostly earned, comedy. Accordingly, this is a strong list — a testament to Earl’s fine sitcommery.

 

01) Episode 26: “Jump For Joy” (Aired: 09/28/06)

Earl hopes to get Catalina stripping again to raise money for Joy’s bail.

Written by Vali Chandrasekaran | Directed by Chris Koch

After a premiere that sets up Joy’s arrest and the legal troubles that’ll prove to be an arc throughout the year, this follow-up has Earl putting aside his list to instead help raise Joy’s bail money. It’s an example of something we’ll see more frequently going forward — Earl helping others as a substitute for checking exact items off his list, which was the original premise. These tangentially appropriate offerings are hit-and-miss overall, but they “hit” when they do smart things for other elements of the situation, like the main characters and their relationships, and this one is a winner because it’s a vital showing for Catalina, whom Earl tries to get back into the strip club to fundraise for Joy. The two women, who don’t like each other, have great banter (Jaime Pressly won an Emmy for her work here), and the strip club is a choice venue for the lower-class, seedier aspect of Earl’s identity to be reinforced. Additionally, the bond between Catalina and the brothers is strengthened as well — which is good for the ensemble in total. Oh, and Burt Reynolds notably guests as the owner of the club — the season’s first stunt casting.

02) Episode 29: “Van Hickey” (Aired: 10/19/06)

Ralph learns that Earl once slept with his mother.

Teleplay by J.B. Cook | Story by J.B. Cook & Marc Singer | Directed by Craig Zisk

Giovanni Ribisi returns in his recurring role as Earl’s old pal Ralph in this entry that gives us a great, relationship-driven conflict predicated on something bad Earl did in his past: he slept with Ralph’s mother. This sets the stage for a broad but hilarious plot where Ralph tries to even the score by sleeping with Earl’s mom (Nancy Lenehan), and then, in his efforts to make amends, Earl decides that the only thing he can do to set this all right is to marry Ralph’s mom himself — a nice way to tether these comedic ideas to his general objective and the series’ overarching premise. Naturally, the status quo is restored by episode’s end with help from some predictable but welcome dovetailing via the subplot about Joy doing community service, but it’s a strong showcase for the Earl character, boasting a story rooted in his history. A must-include.

03) Episode 30: “Made A Lady Think I Was God” (Aired: 11/02/06) 

Earl tries to make amends with the former manager of their trailer park who’s now a nun.

Written by Bobby Bowman | Directed by Marc Buckland

Roseanne is the big name of the week here, playing the ex-trailer park manager who once took out a restraining order on Joy. Earl not only wants her to rescind it (for Joy’s legal benefit), but he also wants to make amends for a trick he played on her years ago, when he pranked her into believing that she was hearing the voice of God. Well, that history-building inciting incident made her become a nun — cleaning up her act and improving her personality — and Earl’s apology only backslides her, forcing Earl and his group to then return her to the right path. There’s an interesting idea underneath all this broad pomp and circumstance (including the stunt casting) — as Earl’s amends make things worse for the person, not better, and that’s a neat way to play into the premise. Also, I like how the regular situation is married in this plot to the year’s primary arc, while the incorporation of Roseanne, whose own sitcom was a blue-collar rebel as well, suggests an aesthetic link that reinforces this rising aspect of Earl’s identity.

04) Episode 31: “Mailbox” (Aired: 11/09/06)

Earl returns undelivered mail to their senders.

Written by Kat Likkel & John Hoberg | Directed by Michael Fresco

Despite having a fine A-story about Earl making up for his past misuse of mailboxes by returning undelivered letters to their senders — which enables a guest stint by Jenny McCarthy as a woman for whom Earl falls — this offering’s real value comes from its development of the ensemble’s two least-defined players, Catalina and Darnell, who both get fleshed out. For Catalina, her bond with Earl is strengthened when she helps him do what’s right. For Darnell, we learn that he’s part of the Witness Protection Program, a huge detail about his character that will inform his usage for the rest of the run. So, in bolstering several regulars’ depictions while also exploring the premise pretty well, this is textbook sitcommery for Earl. 

05) Episode 32: “Robbed A Stoner Blind” (Aired: 11/16/06)

Earl and Randy make amends with a stoner by living with him at a commune.

Written by Kat Likkel & John Hoberg | Directed by Marc Buckland

The big names keep coming, as Christian Slater plays a stoner from whom Earl and Randy once stole. Here, in their efforts to make amends, they join him at an environmentally conscious commune, where the comedy comes from their difficulty adjusting to this new lifestyle’s extremes. It’s inherently gimmicky and feels like it — with a gag where Randy takes herbal medicine and hallucinates in stop motion animation (proof of the show’s hit status, as it now has the budget for such an extraneous stunt) — but because it’s launched by the premise and ends with a corroborating thesis that Earl should focus on things he himself can fix, this fun outing is indeed a seasonal highlight, and certainly an ambassador for Two’s boldness.

06) Episode 36: “Our ‘Cops’ Is On!” (Aired: 01/04/07)

The gang watches their episode of the TV show COPS. 

Written by Timothy Stack | Directed by Ken Whittingham

My choice for this year’s Most Valuable Episode (MVE), “Our ‘Cops’ Is On!” is probably the funniest entry of the whole series, with a laugh-per-minute rate that few highlights from this decade can boast. This distinction is largely earned from the fact that it’s a deliberately atypical — and yes, gimmicky — half hour of My Name Is Earl, diverting from its usual cinematic and authoritative framing for an explicit parody of the TV show COPS, thereby engaging the mockumentary reality TV-esque lens quite popular here in the 2000s and currently evident on Earl’s neighbor, The Office. (Heck, this COPS takeoff is the entire gist of Reno 9-1-1!) Accordingly, this almost feels like a one-off rejection of the series’ self and a concession to a style that it was otherwise choosing to eschew. However, that doesn’t ultimately matter, for this is easily the best representation of Earl’s comedic abandon in Season Two, and its readiness to break form and go out on proverbial limbs for big hahas. Additionally, this ends up being a great sample of My Name Is Earl as a whole because it’s a terrific showcase for the characters too — essentially functioning as a long flashback to Earl’s past that provides another glimpse of him before he reformed (which reiterates why he needs this list in the first place — the premise!), and more than just the main leads, it’s an opportunity for the town as a collective entity to shine also, with regular and recurring players corroborating the specific working-class, rural, and unglamorous sensibility that has continued to become one of Earl’s defining attributes, setting it apart from its contemporaries. (And the guests — including Mike O’Malley and Kathy Kinney as the cops — are such an additive presence as well.) As a result, this feels like something only this series could do, and so even though it may not resemble a normal showing by design, it displays everything else about Earl so well — and with a humor that, again, is seldom matched. The next two seasons will try to recreate this magic with their own episodic deviations from form but without the same solid character support or the novelty that gives this fundamental gimmick permission to break the series’ rules. So, this is a once-in-a-series gem.

07) Episode 37: “Buried Treasure” (Aired: 01/11/07)

Earl has trouble giving back some historic silverware he stole.

Written by Erika Kaestle & Patrick McCarthy | Directed by Eyal Gordin

As evidenced by the above COPS parody, this season is willing to deploy stunts beyond casting — and this is another instance where the show experiments with its form, offering a chain story in which the narration gets picked up by different characters, who then lead the action with their perspective. It’s a bit like the frequent Rashomon sitcom trope in that, although an ostentatious gimmick, it forces an understanding of the leads’ contrasting POVs and thus their definitions. For that reason, it’s a good character showing, and with a basic idea connected to the main premise — Earl’s attempts to cross something off his list — this is one more winning display of My Name Is Earl here in its gimmick-heavy but mostly successful, peak-funny second season.

08) Episode 43: “Harassed A Reporter” (Aired: 04/12/07)

Earl tries to make amends with a reporter by giving her a story about his list.

Written by Barbie Adler & Brad Copeland | Directed by Chris Koch

Earl’s relationship with Randy is the series’ strongest emotional bond — usually reiterated every week by a final scene of the two together in bed — but a lot of Randy’s development this year occurs in his arc with Catalina, which isn’t as rich as Two’s other storylines. So, what I like most about this installment is that it focuses on Randy in relation to Earl, looking at insecurities that elevate because of Earl’s do-gooding. Its setup — of Earl giving a reporter the exclusive story of his transformation and new purpose as a way of making amends for having frequently embarrassed her in the past — is great because it sits squarely on the series’ premise and then invites an opportunity to wound Randy’s ego. Additionally, it prepares a wonderful centerpiece — the aired news story, where the reporter credits Earl for taking care of his “mentally disabled” brother. It’s funny — a bold climax for this otherwise relationship-oriented outing.

09) Episode 44: “Two Balls, Two Strikes” (Aired: 04/19/07)

Earl tries to make amends with a man whom he once kneed in the testicles.

Written by Bobby Bowman | Directed by Victor Nelli Jr.

Norm Macdonald delivers a funny performance in this episode, playing the strip club owner’s son, who takes over after his father’s death. It’s a chance for the SNL vet to trot out his reliable impression of previous guest Burt Reynolds, and it’s memorable for that alone. But I also appreciate how this offering plays to the premise with an amusing logline — Earl making things right for a guy he kicked in the balls by paying for his testicular surgery — and then gives us the twist we observed with Roseanne, as Earl’s do-gooding actually make things worse for the person, so restoring the status quo becomes the goal. It’s all a comical and capable display of the situation, elevated by the year’s typical stunt casting. (Charles Robinson also appears.)

10) Episode 47: “The Trial” (Aired: 05/10/07)

Earl testifies in Joy’s trial.

Written by Timothy Stack & Mike Mariano, and Vali Chandrasekaran | Directed by Michael Fresco

Season Two concludes with a largely plot-driven outing that culminates in Joy’s trial and sets up the main (but misguided) arc for next year, as Earl takes the fall for her and is sent to prison. Although it’ll prove troubling next week, it works here, because it’s a sacrifice that not only speaks to the year’s desire to replace specifically named personal amends with Earl’s more general commitment to altruism, it also communicates the idea that he is becoming an adult and accepting more responsibilities — the cap of a mini-arc from the end of Two where Earl gets his G.E.D., takes a steady job, and moves into a regular place. This, to me, is another expansion of the premise that’s sort of an offshoot of the series’ core concerns, but I consider it basically laudable because it’s character-focused. Also, to this entry’s credit, it does involve Earl’s list and finds him making direct amends to someone he’s wronged as well — Joy’s attorney, played by the recurring Marlee Matlin, with whom he squares things by taking the fall for Joy. So, this is a terrific showcase for My Name Is Earl and where it stands in Two — with character, premise, and the major stories for both Earl and Joy. Unfortunately, the series is never again so sharp.

 

Other notable episodes that merit mention include the two funny, solid entries where Earl goes back to school and gets a job as part of his pivoting mission to grow up and become a better person, “G.E.D.” and “Get A Real Job,” along with the broad but premise-approved “Sticks & Stones.” I also enjoy “Larceny Of A Kitty Cat,” which guests the hilarious Amy Sedaris as a woman for whom Randy falls and to whom Earl is trying to make amends, “Kept A Guy Locked In A Truck,” which has a decent premise-based story with a guest turn by John Waters, and “Guess Who’s Coming Out Of Joy,” a flashback show that seeks to expand our understanding of the main characters and their relationships. Lastly, I’ll also take this space to cite the popular two-parter “South Of The Border,” which sees Earl and Randy going to Mexico to bring back Catalina — it isn’t among my favorites because I think it’s a giant narrative gimmick that breaks too much from what the series usually promises to be.

 

*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Two of My Name Is Earl goes to…

“Our ‘Cops’ Is On!”

 

 

Come back next week for Season Three! And stay tuned for a new Wildcard Wednesday!