Mini reviews of Television seasons old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. Occasional bunnies.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

My Name is Earl: Season One (2006)

Earl Hickey was an opportunist. He'd take any opportunity that came his way and not give a damn about consequences. If you left your car door unlocked, he'd take your car. Earl was that kind of guy.

After a particularly hard day he's floored by an epiphany, which sets him on a path of reparation trying to right his wrongs in a way that he believes Karma would find appropriate. Nothing ever goes according to plan, but he struggles on, aware that Karma is watching his every move, because he believes that once he's cancelled out his misdeeds his life will improve.

That's the basis for the entire series. Each week Earl tackles a new wrong from his past that he feels should be put right. It's a concept that's perfect for an episodic comedy, but it needed a sympathetic and likeable loser to make it work. They found it in Jason Lee. He's the perfect loser.

Earl's friends and family are equally important to the show's dynamic, and there again the casting team lucked out. Everyone is entirely suited to their role.

My Name is Earl is light-hearted entertainment with real heart and real laughs. Most of us should be able to relate to his plight on some level.

24 episodes, approx 20 minutes each.

3½ roadmaps to a better life out of 5

3 comments:

cuckoo said...

:bearclap: :bearclap:

"Hey, crabman."

Great show. It manages a steady 3 1/2 right up until the end.

Possibly a 4 once the writers know no one's watching and they're fully aware of being cancelled at the end of the year.

Dr Faustus said...

Crab man is awesome. He's so chilled.

The best deck I ever had was a blind, Jason Lee. The one Burger King sent him a Cease and Desist order for. Thinking of that while binging on the show made it even more fun.

Impudent Urinal said...

I always liked Lee since Mallrats. Oddball comedy seems to be Garcia's shtick and he does it pretty well. Plus it's nice for a show to be about becoming a better person for once.

4 "Dammit, Randy!" out of 5