My Name Is Earl – Season 1

My Name Is Earl – Season 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
WorkNameSort: My Name Is Earl – Season 1
A peculiar presentation of white-trash absurdism, My Name Is Earl is one of the few recent bright lights of network television comedy. With a simple device ‘ good-for-nothing Earl (Jason Lee) wants to turn his life around by making up for all of his misdeeds ‘ the execution is what makes the show appealing. Clueless and possessed of a flexible value system, Earl stands as a paragon of enlightened virtue among the hilariously exaggerated morons that surround him. That the creator of the execrable Yes, Dear (Greg Garcia) could be responsible for a show this nimble and deadpan is surprising. That Jaime Pressly ‘ as Earl’s venomous, ignorant ex-wife ‘ turns in consistently funny performances is miraculous. All 24 episodes are included on this four-DVD set, and it’s pleasing to note that the characters (even Earl) have matured little by the end of the first season. Essential extra: 13-minute short Bad Karma shows what would happen if Earl kept a hit list of everyone who had ever done him wrong.

This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2006.