Anyone else catch this last night? Cute!

Long story short. After winning $100,000 on a scratch card (followed by immediately being hit by a car), white trash loser/bully/sad sack/petty criminal Earl Hickey has a morphine-induced revelation - courtesy Carson Daly, whose show he's watching while in traction. Earl reckons all the bad things that have happened in his life (including his failing marriage to an adulterous, soon to be ex-wife) are the result of karma. He decides that he needs to make up for all the bad things he's done in his life, so he draws up a list of all his misdeeds and then, with the help of his brother and the maid in their motel, sets out to make things right.

After some requisite introductory set-up, last night's pilot centered around Earl trying to make up for tormenting a grade school classmate. He spies on him for a couple days, and comes to the conclusion that the guy is lonely. So Earl sends him a prostitute, who's rebuffed even after she "show(s) him my good boob." Of course, the guy is gay - and closeted on top of it. So Earl ends up taking him out to a gay bar. It's not as offensive as it sounds, really.

Well, maybe a little. My Name Is Earl treads the fine line between crass and sweet, and manages it pretty adroitly. Jason Lee is also pretty foxy, so I may be giving more slack than usual. Anyway, it may be worth keeping an eye out for. I actually laughed out loud at a network sitcom, and that's high praise indeed.

[ September 21, 2005, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: Jim ]

Damn! I forgot about it! I was so obsessed with not missing "Lost!"

I thought it was hysterical! Finally, something to watch again. The family sitcom fare of the past few years has been disasterous.

I didn't find the show offensive at all...just damn funny.

It was pretty funny but I didn't think it was offensive enough. I kind of wish it was on FX or HBO because they could take it that much further. I love that, like Scrubs and Arrested Development, there is no stupid live audience or intrusive laugh track. It could be tough to draw an audience in that time slot though.

Eh. Mildly amusing. Swiped the easy stuff from the brilliant "Arrested Development" -- the narration, the single-camera filming, the absent laugh track -- but couldn't quite capture that show's plot density or zingingly mean wit. And if he has to accomplish an I'm Sorry goal every episode, I'm going to have to invoke "Seinfeld"'s No Hugging! rule. I'll watch "Earl" if there's nothing else on, mainly for Jaime Pressly as the trashy wife. Loved her.

Well I may have to eat my words on this one. The debut was watched by 15.3 million people. However, the Amazing Race on CBS and Commander in Chief on ABC don't debut until next wek and that will probably cut into the audience a bit. But NBC has to be pretty pleased with the debut numbers.

I agree with dwb. Mildly amusing. Much better was "The Office" right after it, on NBC.

You think, willyboy? That episode was the first of the US Office shows I've seen and I was very disappointed. The way they try so hard to make the show feel uncomfortable and embarassing was...well, uncomfortable and embarassing. And just not very funny.

I'll give it another shot, though - great cast.

I thought it was terrible. I really had high hopes too, but it was unwatchable. I really want these types of sitcoms to succeed too, I guess I'll have to give it another try.

I happened to catch "Earl" in repeat on Bravo tonight, stayed with it because of Jim's "good boob" quote above. The show got me to laugh out loud several times -- broad comedy, sometimes even slapstick, but quite funny. Love not hearing a laugh track.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like NBC/Bravo is repeating the season premier of The West Wing, which I discovered too late has moved to Sunday nights. (Sorry to go OT...)

[ September 25, 2005, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: fenwayguy ]

I dunno I think the wedding episode this week was absolutely hysterical.... who knew Corky Sherwood from Murphy Brown would be one hot piece of trailer trash LOL and FUNNY to boot

I think this show is a riot, having seen most of them--but I did not recognize the ex-wife as Corky Sherwood from Murphy Brown--are you sure? She is so completely different in this role if it is the same person. Very funny. And you have to give props to a sitcom, even on NBC, that premiers with a gay theme. The star is not hot in anyway either--too over the top, but the show is really funny.

And I love the Office afterwards. For some reason Steve Carell (sp?) is super hot to me--think it goes back to my thing for men in suits.

The actress who plays the ex-wife is Jamie Presley (sic?), and the woman who played on Murphy Brown is Faith Ford who's currently on that sitcom with Kelly Ripa.

or does she play the role of "Faith" on the show? Oh well....

Her name is Faith Ford but, oddly enough, she plays Hope on "Hope and Faith." Kelly Ripa plays Faith.

I love this show! What a hoot! - very original, too. This & Scrubs are my faves. Is Scrubs off for awhile - coming back midseason? And is Malcolm in the Middle still on??

Scrubs is supposed to be back, but I'm not sure when NBC plans to bring it back. Malcolm in the Middle is on Fridays at 8:30 ET, and I think I've watched it once in that timeslot this year.

I guess sometime I'll have to check out My Name Is Earl.

WIth Arrested Development headed to cancellation-ville, Earl is now the best comedy on TV. Jamie Pressley is a riot as Joy. When they were shopping for the wedding, I couldn't stop laughing.

And The Office gets better every week. The show they should cancel to amke room for Scrubs is Joey. That show is just unwatchable.

WHOOPS my bad .... I thought she was smae chick... LOL no wonder she looks so young and hot. I agree with you I think scrubs is a great show. I am surprised tho wasn't Earl originally a one hour show, or was that just the premier?

I don't even think the premiere was an hour. I could be wrong on that though.

Earl and The Office actually have me watching new sitcoms again. I usually stick to the syndicated Seinfeld, King of the Hill, that 70's show or Malcom in the Middle, as you can get those on so many fricking channels.

But I've almost made it a point to not miss The Office each week. It takes about 3 consecutive episodes before everything starts to make sense. The Office can be pretty lame for most of the show, and then they just nail something dead on that gives me a rolling laugh. If you don't know anybody like at least 2 of the characters on The Office, you're lucky!!

I justed watched a syndicated episode of My Name Is Earl on TBS and until now, I never realized how hot Giovanni Ribisi is.

Giovanni Ribisi plays Ralph Mariano, a good friend of Earl.

He shows a lot of skin on this show and he has a beautiful body.

I always thought he was cute when he played Phoebe's brother on Friends.

Giovanni Ribisi