My Name is Earl: The Birthday Party

I hate to add to the pile up, but I have to also disagree with the review. In fact I was a little taken aback by the negative review because I thought teevee.org would also have much love for this episode.
Maybe its just a matter of perception, but I agree with the bulk of the comments here. Sure, we got some good laughs out of all the stuff Bad Earl did but the final minutes of this show proved that it was all about how Earl was beginning to effect the people around him. I mean Joy, the woman who once tried to kill him with a crossbow, let Earl off the hook for a past wrong!

It seems as if i was the only one who enjoyed the cops episode. Maybe it is the fact that i absolutely love this show, just like the office, it makes me smile every time it comes on. I have yet to be dissappointed by an episode of either show this season which amazes me. Mybe i am too easily impressed

Danny - I thought those two moments were the best, as the total misdirection got me both times!

Most comedies I'd rather they ignore the plot and just go for laughs, but for some reason I do think the "Earl crosses one thing off his list" episode are by far the best. I'm with Brad.

"And then it turns out that the airing of the grievances was really just part of a big birthday surprise."

The episode would've worked better if they could've worked in some feats of strength.

http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/

Did anyone else notice Randy doing the Twin Peaks dance at the end? The fingersnapping thing? I swear that's how they dance on Twin Peaks...

I agree with the commentors, I though it was a really funny episode too. I love all the different personalities around Camden County, and how they keep reappearing. Like tonight's cameos of the one-legged girl or the immigrant learning to speak English.

Agree with the other commenters.
This was fantastic.
A clip show that wasn't a clip show.

I mean, people have been saying for a while now that there needed to be more scenes with "Bad" Earl. This was an entire episode of that.


I mean, this isn't some serial drama where characters need to be developed and the story moved along every episode. This is a sitcom and it's great to just have a funny episode.

Brad, I feel like you're looking for something in this show that it doesn't aim to be.

I especially liked the "twists" in the flashbacks. We're shown Earl's mom and a naked toddler on the rug and led to believe that it was Earl as a baby who peed on it, when in walks adult Earl so drunk that he thinks he's in the bathroom. And Crabman complaining about the time that Earl got him "stoned", we see the pot brownies and assume that's what he was referring to, when in reality it was the people who got the real brownies actually throwing stones at him.

They may not have been unforseeable, but they were clever nonetheless.

Wow, I'm glad so many people wound up writing the comments I was going to when I first saw this post last night - but I was just too tired to write. I, too, thought the episode was great - it was like a bonus bunch of mini-eps that were each funny in their own right, but didn't warrant full-on episodes themselves.

I very much agree with Nola - these are all cases where the people feel Earl truly deserves to cross them off the list. I mean, for the most part these are some relatively minor list items. I like that the show has been trying new things with the format and has been consistently good. I think I say this every week, but the show continues to surprise me.

Wrapped up in that sometimes-cuddly exterior every week are some seriously adult themes - Earl and Randy get so trashed they can't buy back the pot brownies? This isn't a Hallmark special by any means - yet they still are able to get across a halfway decent message. I don't think they could have assembled a more perfect cast for this show. The actors are all brilliant in their roles and clearly enjoy putting out the show. I love it.

I can't believe I'm disagreeing with TV Squad, but I thought it was a very good episode.
I feared the CLIP SHOW at first too, but was pleasantly surprised.
I think it's great that people are finally acknowledging what Earl has done and to whittle down the list like that to make things easier for him really shows everyone's appreciation. They're not just a bunch of dumb hicks. They actually have a heart of gold.
Where was Giovanni Ribisi though!!?!?!? We need more of him. : )

I couldn't disagree more with you. I thought last night was an incredibly funny episode and in fact, the only episode this season I thought was funnier was, you can probably guess, "Our Cops Is On".

Not only was an episode like this needed but it was the perfect time for it in the show's run. It was needed because we are starting to think of Earl in TOO happy and sappy of ways. He's so wonderful and good and cuddly. The problem is if he becomes TOO wonderful in our eyes, then the whole premise of why he needs the list goes away.

We haven't had to live with Earl and his foilbles our whole lives. We've only mostly seen the good Earl. This episode, in addition to being plain flat out funny... "he stole my right windshield wiper, he stole my left windshield wiper..." serves to remind us that Earl was a pretty flawed person with a LOT to make up for. It makes him having a list and working to cross things off it important again to the viewer because we've been reminded of how bad he really used to be.

Plus, I loved it just for finally finding out how and why he stole the one legged woman's car!! "Earl, can you give me a hand?" and he's frantically searching the bed for the hand too! HAHA!

Anyway, you're all wrong on this funny, funny, much needed episode.

Dave