# My Name is Earl - 11/15/05 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297 "2005-11-16T12:16:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/61 "2005-11-16T22:33:58Z")
did anyone catch that Earl marathon on Saturday. I just saw bits and pieces, but they had the episode where Earl had faked his death to break up with a girl. In the final scene, when Earl is using the paper mache Earl as a pinata, Randy is sitting there eating Frosted Flakes. I wonder if this episode was supposed to come after the one where Earl buys him the Frosted Flakes and tells him he’s on the karma train. (choo choo). Anyway, I said this last week and I’ll say it again. This show has done more character development in the couple months it’s been on than Friends did in 10 years. Is it just me, or is intelligent TV starting to make a come back? Has Ethan Suplee (sp?) ever played a smart character? I guess cause he looks so goofy, he’s pigeonholed into the idiot role. I guess his part as rabid comic fan in Chasing Amy may have been a smart person, we’re not really told. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/62 "2005-11-16T23:20:34Z")
> [@whole bean](#): > > Maybe it’s me being a southerner and all (as has been mentioned in past _Earl_ threads, the south/rednecks seem to be the target of ridicule in _Earl_), but I feel like some of the Earl jokes are a little tired/easy. Don’t get me wrong – funny show, but it can’t touch _the Office_. The pairing though is probably not the best. But what do I know, I like[d] _the Simpsons_, I do not like _Futurama_. I thought originally it was set in the South, but it is clearly set in Maryland. All the towns mentioned in the golf show were Maryland towns, and the crab shack fits. So, southern but not south. I don’t think Earl has much of a sex drive myself. He doesn’t seem to even notice Catalina. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/63 "2005-11-16T23:47:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I don’t think Earl has much of a sex drive myself. He doesn’t seem to even notice Catalina. That’s only because Randy called “dibs” when they first saw her. Not sure if the “old Earl” would have persued her despite losing the “dibs”, but the “new Earl” certainly wouldn’t try to do anything to ruin the thing that Catalina & Randy have. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/64 "2005-11-17T00:19:06Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > Has Ethan Suplee (sp?) ever played a smart character? I guess cause he looks so goofy, he’s pigeonholed into the idiot role. I guess his part as rabid comic fan in Chasing Amy may have been a smart person, we’re not really told. He played a college student in The Butterfly Effect. He was also a big creepy punker, but he must have been smart enough to get admitted! I never saw the end of the movie, so I’m not totally sure what happened to his character. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/65 "2005-11-17T00:28:47Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I thought originally it was set in the South, but it is clearly set in Maryland. All the towns mentioned in the golf show were Maryland towns, and the crab shack fits. So, southern but not south. I agree on the probable setting (it’s filmed in California, thus the stray palm tree here and there), but I think MD was chosen so that they could fully exploit some southern gags. Jaime Presley/Joy is pure Alabama/Mississippi brother, no doubt about it. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/66 "2005-11-17T01:26:39Z")
Maryland can be really damn trashy, though, at least in other portrayals in the media. Have you ever seen any John Waters movies? Everything, from Pink Flamingoes to Cry-Baby to Pecker, is set in and around Baltimore, and Waters paints it as a city full of quirky white trash, weird rednecks, and lowlife sickos. I mean no offense to the good people of Baltimore, of course. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/67 "2005-11-17T01:50:19Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maryland can be really damn trashy, though, at least in other portrayals in the media. Have you ever seen any John Waters movies? Everything, from Pink Flamingoes to Cry-Baby to Pecker, is set in and around Baltimore, and Waters paints it as a city full of quirky white trash, weird rednecks, and lowlife sickos. > > I mean no offense to the good people of Baltimore, of course. I have and in the last _Earl_ thread I commented on the Waters-esque nature of parts of the show, but Presley’s accent is pure south (I think she’s from some small town in NC) ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/68 "2005-11-17T01:54:04Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I mean no offense to the good people of Baltimore, of course. None taken, Hon. 😉 The sad part is, I know people just like Earl. And Randy. And Joy. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/69 "2005-11-17T03:30:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought originally it was set in the South, but it is clearly set in Maryland. All the towns mentioned in the golf show were Maryland towns, and the crab shack fits. So, southern but not south. But in the pilot, Joy got Earl drunk and drove him to Vegas to get married. It would have been tough to have kept him from sobering up somewhere between Maryland and Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/70 "2005-11-17T03:36:36Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > But in the pilot, Joy got Earl drunk and drove him to Vegas to get married. It would have been tough to have kept him from sobering up somewhere between Maryland and Nevada. WAG: I don’t know, Old Earl could have just been fed a steady supply of Beer and Joy and he wouldn’t have noticed. Jim ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/71 "2005-11-17T14:07:56Z")
I only got to watch it last night, and wanted to mention one bit that really made me laugh: Catalina trying to figure out “HR Pufnstuf”. “How can that flute talk? Is it magic? Is it the ghost of a dead flute?” Honey, that’s a question that I’ve been wondering about for years. Any show that contains multiple references to Sid and Marty Krofft is okay with me. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/72 "2005-11-17T14:16:16Z")
Best Line I remembered was Joy’s “you helped me find the perfect irregular wedding dress” Randy was in [Evolution](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0251075/) (Deke!) , and he **SAVED THE WORLD!!** Go Randy! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/73 "2005-11-17T19:34:59Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > He played a college student in The Butterfly Effect. He was also a big creepy punker, but he must have been smart enough to get admitted! I never saw the end of the movie, so I’m not totally sure what happened to his character. [hijack]You need to see the end of this movie! I’m not gonna spoil it, but I will say that he plays a lot more than just the punker you see in the beginning of the film. I was surprised at how good that movie was![/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/74 "2005-11-17T19:47:55Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I only got to watch it last night, and wanted to mention one bit that really made me laugh: Catalina trying to figure out “HR Pufnstuf”. > > “How can that flute talk? Is it magic? Is it the ghost of a dead flute?” > > Honey, that’s a question that I’ve been wondering about for years. > > Any show that contains multiple references to Sid and Marty Krofft is okay with me. Yeah, that’s another thing I like about this show. I just love that they’re always watching HR Pufenstuf. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/75 "2005-11-19T16:25:09Z")
I think “Scrubs” is the obvious pairing with “My Name is Earl”, since it’s a lot of the same kind of humor. Now if only they’d get off their asses and start the new season… ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/76 "2005-11-19T16:37:02Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I think “Scrubs” is the obvious pairing with “My Name is Earl”, since it’s a lot of the same kind of humor. Now if only they’d get off their asses and start the new season… It’s not the Scrubs producers’ fault. NBC shelved Scrubs to be a mid-season replacement, starting in January. Then it will most likely replace The Office, or perhaps get scheduled on Thursday night. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/77 "2005-11-19T17:04:10Z")
I taped the show for my husband (he was away on business) and we just watched it last night (along with _Lost_ and _Survivor_). _Great_ episode. I think something’s wrong with me, though – I totally have a crush on Earl. His messy hair, his porn-star mustache – and, yowza! – his hairy chest. My husband says I’m sick, but is it just me? Am I the only one who thinks Earl is just hot as hell? And the best line belongs to Joy – “It’s not the lying that screws you up – it’s the finding out!” Funny _and_ true! ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/78 "2005-11-19T18:58:59Z")
> [@whole bean](#): > > I agree on the probable setting (it’s filmed in California, thus the stray palm tree here and there), but I think MD was chosen so that they could fully exploit some southern gags. Jaime Presley/Joy is pure Alabama/Mississippi brother, no doubt about it. Can’t speak to the character, but Jamie Pressley herself is a proud daughter of [Kinston, North Carolina](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005326/). ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/79 "2005-11-19T22:58:55Z")
> [@Jess](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks Earl is just hot as hell? No. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297/80 "2005-11-20T18:37:42Z")
I must say I was rather squicked out to find that stars Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee (as well as guest star Giovani Ribisi) are Scientologists. Not that it will keep me from watching and enjoying the hell out of the show, but I wonder if they pull a Tom Cruise and submit the cast and crew to Scientology pitches? Oh, ad Earl is hot in a “your friends would disapprove” way, but in real life he’d be annoying, smell like beer and cigarettes and probably be bad in bed . . . . . . \*Um, not that I’d know \*. . . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-11-15-05/331297.md?page=5)