My Name Is Earl: 4.04 ‘Stole an RV’ Recap
October 3, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: October 2, 2008
An interesting factoid we learn about Randy in this episode of My Name Is Earl is that whenever he finds a hat, which happens from time to time, he invariably gets lice and a brand-new personality to go along with it. Hence the amount of time he spends during this installment speaking what he thinks is British English, complete with cultural references and unique vocabulary.
While Randy’s busy with that act, Joy, and eventually Darnell, devotes her efforts to capturing Pigsquatch, a supposedly mythical, giant prehistoric pig that she sees in the flesh one day. Her plan is to get rich quick by putting the animal on display for tourists.
Unfortunately, she overdoses it with medication meant for humans and kills it, thus destroying any possibility of working her scam on any unsuspecting victims. Worse, since the pig didn’t die of natural causes, she and Darnell have to remove it from the trailer park lot themselves (the county won’t help), and this thing is the size of about ten of them put together.
My Name Is Earl: 4.03 ‘Joy in a Bubble’ Recap
October 3, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: October 2, 2008
This episode of My Name Is Earl threw me off at the end, in a very. very good way. Read on to find out why.
One day while Earl is driving Catalina to work, he spies a hot tub along the side of the road that reminds him he owes Joy one. Back in the day, when they were married, she landed a gig as a spokesmodel for a hot tub company but never made it in.
While she was spraying a can of aerosol hairspray on her hair (and most of the rest of her upper body), Earl came over and set the whole trailer on fire when he tried to light a cigarette. Duh! Since Joy was supposed to be paid with a free hot tub, Earl considers himself responsible for payment in kind.
Although a homeless man named Joe is living underneath the hot tub on the highway, he quickly trades it for a stick of deodorant, which he promptly heats. Later, Joy is so thrilled about her new luxury item, she marinates in it for hours on end.
My Name Is Earl: 3.21-3.22 ‘Camdenites’ Recap
May 18, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: May 15, 2008
Watching the one-hour My Name Is Earl season finale made me realize something — the show is very rarely funny anymore. When I do laugh, it’s usually at the ridiculous sight gag-type situations, such as Randy falling over after a driver throws a bagful of garbage at him when he’s doing what Billie wants him to in order to “earn” a Klondike bar. (Get it? The ice cream’s advertising tag line is “What would you do for a Klondike bar?” So, Randy would do just about anything, including humiliate himself, for one.)
More often than not, even the visual stuff doesn’t work as intended, though, which means as it stands now, Earl is one unfunny sitcom; you have to really care about the characters to get anything out of it. I laughed twice, tops, as I watched this two-parter: once during the aforementioned Klondike pratfall and once when either Randy or Joy said something else stupid; I can’t remember which one or what was said, a fact that’s telling in itself.
The main premise of “Camdenites” is that Earl’s marriage to Billie sucks, primarily because she’s painfully cheap, controlling, and annoying. But, Earl has to rely on her money now after spending all of his own. This puts him in a bind since he can’t figure out why Karma would hook him up with his literal dream woman, who was so loving and doting and perfect in his coma sitcom, and then have her turn out to be such a turn off.
A discussion with his mom (Nancy Lenehan) for advice leads Earl to realize his father has survived decades of marriage to his mother — whom Billie has nothing on in the annoying department — by working all the time to stay away from home. Earl decides to follow suit and focus on his Karma list, which leads him to #86, Didi (Tracy Ashton), the one-legged woman whose car he stole. After he hops a mile in her shoe as instructed, she allows Earl to cross her off his list, and things improve with Billie.
My Name Is Earl: 3.20 ‘Girl Earl’ Recap
May 9, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: May 8, 2008
How ironic is it that when Earl gets ecstatic over his alleged soul mate Billie’s decision to start her own Karma list, everyone nearby reacts negatively? Very, and the contradiction — or at least the gunshot — should have warned Earl of the difficulties to come with regards to his new wife.
Once the glow of being newlyweds diminishes, Earl is left with the shocking realization that he and Billie have different opinions on just about everything, from which Van Halen is better (the one with Sammy Hagar or David Lee Roth) to whether it’s okay to barge into the bathroom when the other is peeing.
Earl’s dismay decreases a little when Randy and Joy, neither known for their great wisdom, both advise him that having a partner means putting up with differences and little annoyances. So, Earl tries his best, but he draws a line when it comes to Karma. Props to Earl for making it clear he won’t tolerate Billie’s early approach to doing good, which is lazy at best. Read on to see why.
After Billie gets inspired by Earl and makes her own Karma list, the newlyweds realize they have one item in common regarding a local grocery store employee named Joel (Blades of Glory and Napoleon Dynamite’s John Heder). A competitive bagger, he returned home from a prominent national bagging competition to find his house empty after being robbed by thieves, two of whom were Earl and Billie (at different times).
My Name Is Earl: 3.18 ‘Killerball’ Recap
April 29, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: April 24, 2008
The hospital decides to kick out still comatose EARL, and RANDY is offered a choice: put Earl in a state-run home or accept $2000 in Camden cash, redeemable at over six local locations. After he sees the Camden cash can be used for paintball, Randy chooses the second option, of course.
As he reveals to doubtful JOY and DARNELL later, however, his main concern looking after Earl is to get his older brother better so he can start taking care of things on his Karma list himself. In fact, that’s what Randy becomes preoccupied with — identifying those past trespasses on the list that Earl can rectify while still comatose.
After buying a pimp’s pimped-out wheelchair from prostitute PATTY, Randy first determines that Earl can make amends to DERRICK STONE, a fellow trailer park resident who had a 9-to-5 job, until the Hickey boys got him fired when they buried his car under a mountain of dirt, making him late for work.
Why did they do that? Because the noise Derrick’s car made when he started it each weekday morning kept them from sleeping to their normal wake-up time of 5pm. Randy leaves Earl in the back of the car to help Derrick use the carpool lane to get to work faster, unaware that Derrick sold the vehicle to a woman in the trailer park after they buried it and he lost his job and girlfriend, who didn’t want to be involved with a slacker.
My Name Is Earl: ‘Love Octagon’ Spoilers (5-1-08)
April 18, 2008 by Chandra
Things are looking up for you know who on “Love Octagon,” the May 1 episode of My Name Is Earl.
As a result, Billie (Guest Star Alyssa Milano) becomes the focus of an intense search when she can’t be found anywhere. Michael Rapaport returns, as well, to play her ex Frank.
My Name Is Earl airs Thursdays on NBC at 8pm EST.
My Name Is Earl: ‘Killerball’ Spoilers (4-24-08)
April 18, 2008 by Chandra
The April 24 episode of My Name Is Earl is called “Killerball,” and yes, Earl is still in a coma.
In fact, although Earl isn’t dead, Randy is faced with the issue of how to take care of his older brother in the long term. His decision might surprise some people, just as his choice to continue tackling items on Earl’s Karma list might.
My Name Is Earl airs Thursdays on NBC at 8pm EST.
My Name Is Earl: ‘No Heads and a Duffel Bag’ Spoilers (4-17-08)
April 17, 2008 by Chandra
On the April 17 episode of My Name Is Earl, “No Heads and a Duffel Bag,” poor Earl remains in a coma. So, Randy feels compelled to continue crossing items off his Karma list, which entails getting some drugs back to a nasty drug dealer this time. The only problem is their dad Carl destroyed the illegal product.
Beau Bridges returns to guest star as the senior Hickey and Michael Peña (The Shield, Felicity) portrays drug dealer Circus. What a name…
My Name Is Earl airs Thursdays on NBC at 8pm EST.
My Name Is Earl: 3.16 ‘Stole a Motorcycle’ Recap
April 13, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: April 10, 2008
Still in a Coma
Following EARL and BILLIE’s double car accident, Earl remains in a coma in the hospital. RANDY has already learned that his brother’s health will improve if he crosses things off on his Karma list for him, so Randy arrives at the hospital to determine which item he should tackle next. Since all Earl does is drool these days, the only way for him to choose the next item is by drooling on the list. His spit lands on “Stole a motorcycle,” to Randy’s great dismay.
Earl and Randy Take a Crime Walk
One day, Earl and Randy were out taking a so-called “crime walk,” scoping out stuff to steal, when they came across a motorcycle in the lot of a garage. The keys were still in it and the garage employees, the Teutul family from TLC’s American Chopper, were off somewhere arguing and distracted, so Earl and Randy hopped on, drove away, and proceeded to get blackout drunk on beer and booze in a park. The next day, they woke up on a school bus full of students, and Randy can’t remember how they got there or where they left the stolen ride.
Comedy Talk: ‘My Name Is Earl’ Star Jaime Pressly Chats with Ellen
April 10, 2008 by Chandra
NBC’s Karma sitcom My Name Is Earl returned last week with a tragic double episode focused on the aftermath of Earl’s recent coma-inducing car accident.
Emmy-winning actress Jaime Pressly plays Earl’s razor-sharp but loyal ex-wife Joy, of course, and she appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show last week to promote the sitcom’s post-writers strike premiere.
Just follow the jump to see how Pressly’s been doing these days. We already know her acting didn’t suffer during the prolonged, forced hiatus. In fact, you can catch her — or least her voice — as the character Mrs. Quilligan in the current animated movie Horton Hears a Who!