All of this came out in the pilot episode. Earl was out drinking and met Joy. She got him extremely drunk and then drove him to Las Vegas to get married. When he woke up he noticed she was already pregnant (“Some people would say not noticing your bride was six months pregnant is a good reason to stop drinking. I figured it was a good reason to keep drinking.”) All Joy could remember about the baby’s father was what kind of car he drove, so they named the boy Dodge.
Unbeknownst to Earl, Joy was having an affair with Darnell, the owner of a local seafood restaurant (hence the nickname Crabman). Earl eventually figured it out when Joy became pregnant and Earl Jr was born black. But Earl stuck around for several more years. It was Joy who finally decided to divorce Earl when he was hospitalized (after being hit by a car in the first episode) and Darnell had been kicked out of his parents’ house.
I think he can just mark that one off and chalk it up as “even”!
A few thoughts:
I got two new viewers for Earl. I have been harping on my brother to watch it. With his son’s baseball season over, they caught it last night. They LOVED it. I told them it was an average to mediocre episode compared to some of the others, and they are very eager to catch more.
Flightless Bird- Earl is doing rather well in the ratings. It is usually in the Top 25. It is especially doing well with males 18-34, which is the most desirable demographic to Madison Avenue. NBC is even considering moving Earl to Thursdays to try to take back MUST SEE TV.
Crab Man is clearly the funniest character other than Earl. But they only use him in small doses, which is a good thing. It keeps him funnier. He speaks, but usually in one liners. He is very efficient with his language. “Thanks For the Flakes” this week. The best part is the way Earl lights up when he acknowledges him. For a guy who impregnated his wife and kicked him out of his trailer, Earl seems to like him a lot. My three year old likes the Crab Man best. He giggles when he comes on screen and says…CRAB MAN! The whole Wind Beneath My Wings (Joy, CM, and Randy) was hilarious.
Anyone who wants to understand the charm of the show and the quality of Jason Lee’s take on Earl needs to watch his face during the knife throwing practice. There he is getting knives thrown around him and he is naturally concerned. Finally, the mom throws the last knife and it connect just below his privates. Most sitcoms would have the “target” ham it up and act like they are terrified. Not Earl. He pauses (which makes it funnier), realizes his nuts are intact, and gives a shit eating grin and a slight nod. He’s just happy his testicles live to see another day! Hilarious because it is so subtle. Lee has a lot of mannerisms and gestures like that. Small stuff. It is the #1 thing that makes the show different than conventional sitcoms. It is a three dimensional performance.
I love that Earl is developing enough depth about his journey that he knew it was right to cross Joy off the list. I really liked the way that played out. I like that Earl struggled with adding someone NEW to the list. I thought it was cool that he was so obsessed with his list that he didn’t think about his actions causing NEW harms. When he realized that, and took a knife in the leg, that’s television gold!
I first saw Jason Lee in Mallrats and I thought he was one of the best parts of the movie. He is a surprisingly great actor. He has been great in all the Kevin Smith Movies and was excellent in the Incredibles and Almost Famous. The biggest drawback I see so far is most of his characters come across similar. He’s like Jack Nicholson in this regard. He is largely a one trick Pony, but a greatly entertaining one trick pony.
Middleman, another Earl bit I love is when his brother does something stupid, and does it again and again. Earl kind of impatiently tells him to stop, and does this little eye-roll thing that’s an equal mix of love and exasperation.
Best line of Tuesday’s show? Joy to Darnell: “Honey, I know you’re not a smoker, but you’re gonna have to pick up the pace a little!” as they struggle to fill the urn.
I’m not sure if it was the script or the fact that I’ve been working 12 hour a day for the past week, but this episode cracked me up big time.
Favorite line: Earl, you gotta touch this, it’s so hot.
I relate this show to Arrested Development and the Office as one that it really helps to know the characters to get the humor.
I just want to know how come we only get to see Catalina in sexy outfits when Joy isn’t in the episode. Anyone else thinking bikini cat fight?
And just an aside
Best line from The Office: The Albany branch is working through lunch to prevent downsizing and Micheal is giving everyone an extra hour to watch the fight.
Then I think we’ve discovered where My Name Is Earl is set. Tim Stack, playing himself, was mentioned as a “hometown” celebrity. His IMDB Bio says he was raised in Doylestown, PA.
I just about split a gut when Joy sprinkled some of ‘mom’s ashes’ on the floor and did a soft-shoe dance on them. Dancing on her mother’s ashes, and everyone thought it was ‘touching’. Heh.
