This show has been a mainstay of the Thursday night NBC comedy line up for years now and for good reason.My Name is Earl is a great satirical riff on lower income Americans, or to be less politically correct "white trash", "trailer trash", or "rednecks".
To the shows credit, it never outright insults this community. The characters are more defined by their ignorance then by any stereotypical qualities that those with too much money may assign to them.
Earl is a likable character who is only trying to make up for a wasted life pursuing himself and making amends to those people he has hurt along the way. Accompanying him is his "slow" brother, whose good heart and loyalty makes up for any lack of intelligence and leaves him an endearing character.
The shows supporting cast really helps this show stand out, especially Earl's borderline insane ex-wife and her gentle "crab man" husband who provide Earl with prime examples of the life he left, whilst providing him the support of an extended family.
Now the above may make it seem like a heart warming family drama. But My Name is Earl is like taking the above and mixing in 10 pounds of crazy and a little dash of weirdness. Earl often finds that he has to jump through a lot of crazy, weird loops to make it up to his former victim. The show also excels at building it's own mythology, and makes the residents of Camdon County seem like they are part of their own little county, with rules and traditions that seem hilarious to the average viewer.
This show would have been higher on my list, but the last season seemed a little rudderless and direction less. How much the writers strike played into that has yet to be seen. But I look forward to this year bring the show back with a bang. If you haven't checked it out yet, give it a try. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
You can watch episodes and clips of My Name is Earl at Hulu :
http://www.hulu.com/my-name-is-earl
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment