My Name Is Earl
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| My Name Is Earl | |
|---|---|
 Title card featuring Jason Lee as Earl Hickey. |
|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Greg Garcia |
| Starring | Jason Lee Ethan Suplee Jaime Pressly Eddie Steeples Nadine Velazquez |
| Narrated by | Jason Lee as Earl J. Hickey |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 69 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Greg Garcia Marc Buckland Tom Palmer |
| Camera setup | Single camera |
| Running time | Approx. 21 min. (30 min. with commercials) "Super-sized" episodes: Approx. 29 min. (40 min. with commercials) Two part and hour long episodes: Approx. 42 min. (1 hour with commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | September 20, 2005 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
My Name Is Earl is an Emmy Award-winning American sitcom created by Greg Garcia. It is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. It is currently in its third season and in the United States is broadcast on the NBC television network Thursdays at 8:00 PM Eastern time. On March 3, My Name is Earl started airing on TBS.
The Writers' Guild strike caused production to end after only 13 of the 25 episodes originally planned for the third season were filmed. [1] When the strike ended, production resumed. A further 9 episodes were filmed for Season 3, and new episodes began airing April 3rd. It has been renewed by NBC for a fourth season.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The series stars Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly, Eddie Steeples, and Nadine Velazquez. Lee stars in the title role as Earl J. Hickey, a petty crook with occasional run-ins with the law, whose newly won $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. While lying in his hospital bed after the accident, he develops a belief in the concept of karma when he hears about it during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. He decides he wants to turn his life around and makes a list of all the bad things he's ever done. After doing his first good deed, he finds his $100,000 lottery ticket. He sees this as a sign and, with his new lucky money, he proceeds to cross items off that list, one-by-one, by doing good deeds to atone for them.[3]
Critics have claimed that the series has a Scientologist basis, with actors Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee being Scientologists.[4]
[edit] Conception
Creator Greg Garcia wrote the pilot while working on another sitcom, Yes, Dear. He initially pitched the series to Fox, which passed on the series. He then approached NBC, which optioned the pilot on a cast-contingent basis, meaning they would order the pilot provided a suitable cast could be assembled.
Jason Lee was approached for the lead role, but was uninterested in working in television and passed on the series twice before finally agreeing to read the pilot script. Though he liked the pilot, he was hesitant to commit until after meeting with Garcia.
[edit] Ratings
The series premiere on September 20, 2005, drew in 14.9 million viewers in the United States, earning a 6.6 rating. By the airing of the third episode it was apparent that My Name Is Earl was the most popular of NBC's new fall offerings, and a full season (22 episodes) was ordered. In its first month, it was also the most popular new sitcom of the season to air on any network and was the most popular sitcom on any network in the coveted 18–49-year-old demographic. The show was renewed for a second season (2006-07) and then for a third (2007-08).
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuesday 9:00 P.M. (September 20 - December 6, 2005) Thursday 9:00 P.M. (January 5 - May 11, 2006) |
September 20, 2005 | May 11, 2006 | 2005-2006 | #40 | 10.9[5] |
| 2 | Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 21, 2006 - May 10, 2007) | September 21, 2006 | May 10, 2007 | 2006-2007 | #58 | 8.9[6] |
| 3 | Thursday 8:00 P.M. (September 27, 2007 - May 15, 2008) | September 27, 2007 | May 15, 2008 | 2007-2008 | #77 | 7.5[6] |
[edit] Characters
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[edit] Main characters
- Earl J. Hickey (Jason Lee) - The protagonist and narrator of the show, he was born on April 25, 1970.
- Randy Hickey (Ethan Suplee) - Earl's younger brother, former husband to Catalina.
- Joy Turner (née Darville, previously Hickey) (Jaime Pressly) - Earl's ex-wife, now married to Crabman. She has (on several occasions) attempted to kill Earl to inherit his money and divorce Crabman until he tells her his true identity.
- Catalina Aruca (Nadine Velazquez) - Works as Earl and Randy's hotel's housekeeper and is a stripper at Club Chubby. Randy married her to allow her to come to America (he secretly loves Catalina) after Earl 'ratted' her out.
- Darnell "Crabman" Turner (Eddie Steeples) - Joy's current husband. (previous name Harry Monroe) Works at the Crab Shack. His real name is Harry Monroe and he graduated from college at age 14, but he hides the truth about himself as he is part of the Witness Protection Program. Joy is suspicious about his identity.
[edit] Recurring characters
Major recurring characters are:
- Carl Hickey (Beau Bridges) — Earl and Randy's father.
- Kay Hickey (Nancy Lenehan) — Earl and Randy's mother.
- Dodge Hickey (Louis T. Moyle) — Joy's oldest son.
- Earl Hickey Jr. (Trey Carlisle) — Joy and Darnell's son.
- Kenny James (Adult - Gregg Binkley, child - Andy Pessoa) — Kenny is a childhood victim of Earl's bullying.
- Patty the Daytime Hooker (Dale Dickey).
- Ralph Mariano (Giovanni Ribisi) — Earl's childhood friend.
- Willie the One-Eyed Mailman (Bill Suplee).
- Billie Cunningham (Alyssa Milano) — Earl's most recent wife, married in "Love Octagon", divorce papers presented in "Camdenites Part 2".
- Liberty Washington (Tamala Jones) — Joy's half-sister.
Other recurring characters include Electrolarynx Guy, Nescobar Aloplop, Didi, Doug, Jasper, Donny Jones, and Bob Smiley.
[edit] DVD releases
Season Releases
| DVD Name | Release dates | Ep # | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | |||
| Season One[7] | September 19, 2006 | September 25, 2006 | 24 | The four disc box set includes all 24 episodes. Bonus features include deleted scenes, commentary tracks on selected episodes, selections from the season's gag reel, and a "mini-episode" vignette where Stewie Griffin from Family Guy tells Earl to get revenge on everyone who misdid him. |
| Season Two[8] | September 25, 2007 | January 28, 2008 | 23 | The four disc box set includes all 23 episodes. Bonus features include deleted scenes, commentary tracks on selected episodes, as well as other featurettes. |
| Season Three | September 23, 2008[9] | TBA | 22 | The four disc box set includes all 22 episodes. |
[edit] Season 1 DVD set
The season one "mini-episode", titled Bad Karma, is an alternate version of the events of the pilot episode featuring what would have happened if, instead of seeing Carson Daly talking about karma while in the hospital, Earl saw Stewie Griffin of Family Guy talking about vengeance.[10]
- At Best Buy locations the set came wrapped in a miniature replica of Earl's flannel shirt.[11]
- The DVD set at Target stores featured a limited-edition bonus DVD with extra bloopers and other bonus features.[citation needed]
[edit] Season 2 DVD set
- A limited edition Season 2 DVD set at Target and Best Buy contains a scratch and sniff card for use with the viewing of the "Get a Real Job" episode.[citation needed]
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Nominated for 2006 Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy.
- Jason Lee nominated for 2006 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy.
- Jason Lee nominated for 2005/06 Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in a comedy series.
- Cast nominated for 2005/06 Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble in a comedy series.
- Jaime Pressly nominated for a 2005/06 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
- Marc Buckland won the 2005/06 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (episode: Pilot).
- Gregory Thomas Garcia won the 2005/06 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (episode: Pilot).
- Jason Lee nominated for 2007 Kid's Choice Award for Best Actor.
- Nominated for 2007 BAFTA TV Awards for International Programme of the Year [1].
- Jaime Pressly won the 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
- Nominated for the 2008 People's Choice Award for "Favorite TV Comedy".[12]
- Nominated for 2008 BAFTA TV Awards for International Programme of the Year
[edit] References
- ^ My Name Is Earl. TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
- ^ Orlando Sentinel - NBC renews "Chuck," "Life" and "Heroes" for next season; get ready for quick return of "30 Rock," "The Office" and "ER" by Hal Boedeker
- ^ Shales, Tom. "Earl Defines What It Takes To Be Sorry", 2005-09-20. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Donaghy, James (2007-06-29). My name is L Ron Hubbard. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Series. The Hollywood Reporter (2006-05-26). Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
- ^ a b 2006–07 primetime wrap. The Hollywood Reporter (2007-05-25). Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
- ^ My Name Is Earl - The Complete 1st Season DVD Information. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ My Name Is Earl - The Complete 2nd Season DVD Information. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Earl-Season-Three/dp/B0019CLMW8/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3W0OHC69D8549&colid=191Z48BBS6NVH
- ^ My Name Is Earl - Season 1 DVDs To Have New Bonus Mini-Ep with Family Guy Crossover!. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ Klein, Eric. My Name Is Earl - The Complete First Season. UGO Networks. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
- ^ People's Choice Awards Past Winners: 2008. Sycamore Productions. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Fry, Kim. "California church plays role in ‘My Name Is Earl’ TV series", United Methodist News Service, November 28, 2005.
- Nominations and Winners. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved on January 13, 2006.
[edit] External links
- My Name Is Earl at NBC.com
- My Name Is Earl at IMDb
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