My Name Is Earl: Sticks and Stones

(S02E03) Who would have thought that we would have gotten a lesson in acceptance and tolerance of others from, of all people, Earl Hickey?

After watching the classic movie "Freaks" this past weekend, I had wondered if we'd see anything in the mass media that depicted people who were considered "freaks" anymore without encountering a great deal of controversy. Leave it to My Name Is Earl to bring it forward, but doing it in such a way that it warms your heart in the end.

Admittedly, this episode wasn't a laugh-out-loud riot (at least not to me), but there were some pretty funny moments, including the playing of ring toss with the unicorn guy and the scene where Earl as a kid refused to take his shirt off at the pool because of his "Rasta Nipples."

I still have issues at times with Randy spouting out his non-sequitors. But he did have one funny line about thinking Earl was being called "Pasta Nipples" and wondering how the kids knew how they tasted.

However, what made this episode so appealing to me was the way in which Earl dealt with the way he treated people who were different from him, and his genuine effort to bring his new friends into the mainstream. Yeah, I know, it could be considered too much of a "feel good" story and not very edgy, but remember that Earl is still coming to grips with karma and how doing good things for others will make him feel good about himself.

In addition, the substory of Joy's legal troubles will carry on for at least a little while longer. Her communication problems with her deaf lawyer (played by the great Marlee Matlin) were a bit over the top, but she showed some real humanity when she told her that she didn't want to go to jail because she would be taken away from her kids. I can't wait for the ensuing courtroom scenes--they ought to be interesting.

By the way, did you notice that CIA recruitment commercial in the middle of the show? What was that all about? It was like they were recruiting people to work for a customer service firm. Very strange...

Also, I've been alerted by a fellow TV Squader, along with some tips sent in by viewers, that the word "Amish" was deleted at the beginning of the episode. I frankly did not notice it, but if any of you can shed some light on it, please post your comments about it here.