TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

My Name Is Earl: Season 1 [2005]


RRP: £34.99
Our Price: £17.81 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The most original comedy since Arrested Development, My Name is Earl marked the launch of a lovable new loser. Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) sleeps all day and drinks all night. The pattern ends when he buys a scratch card--and wins $100,000. Seconds later, he's hit by a car and loses the ticket. While in the hospital, wife Joy (Emmy nominee Jaime Pressly) leaves him for Darnell the Crab Man (Eddie Steeples). Doped up on morphine, he's watching TV when Carson Daly says something about karma. Earl decides that's his problem: bad karma. He resolves to spend the rest of his life making up for all the harm he's ever done. In the pilot, Earl and brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) start by picking up litter around their motel (Joy got the trailer). While they're at it, Earl finds the lost ticket and collects his bounty. The plan is working! Along with comely maid Catalina (Nadine Velazquez), they set off to right more wrongs. Created by Greg Garcia and teamed with The Office, My Name is Earl put NBC back on the must-see comedy map. Unlike most sitcoms, it drops the studio audience in favor of flashbacks, freeze frames, first-person narration, and extensive So-Cal location work. A soundtrack heavy on blue collar favorites, like Lynyrd Skynyrd, completes the picture.

Throughout the season, Earl gives an old girlfriend self-respect ("Faked My Own Death"), plans his ex-wife's big day ("Joy's Wedding"), and makes up for the birthday he ruined ("Monkeys in Space"). First year guests include Brett Butler ("White Lie Christmas"), Juliette Lewis ("The Bounty Hunter"), and Emmy nominee Jon Favreau ("O Karma, Where Art Thou?"). Giovanni Ribisi and Beau Bridges also stop by as, respectively, Earl's pal Ralph and father Carl. Speaking of originality, "Dad's Car," which takes place during Mother's Day, features commentary from the mothers of Lee, Suplee, Garcia, and director Marc Buckland. --Kathleen C. Fennessy


karma is a funny thing
Review date: 2008-08-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

when this was on TV i missed a lot of the episodes and the only one i saw was the last episode so i decided to buy this for myself and i could not believe what i had missed. when i asked my friend if he had seen it he said yes and we both loved it. when i saw this i was not dissapointed.So if you like a comedy that's full of laughs this is for you.

Similar Products

Reviews


Best US comedy series since "Friends"
Review date: 2007-12-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

In my opinion, "My Name Is Earl" is one of the best post-"Friends" US sitcoms, it's funny, origional and most episodes manage to deliver a good message.

In the first episode we meet Earl Hickey and see right away that he is basically a "bad" person - makes fun of people, steals etc - until he wins $100,000 on the lottery and while goin to collect his winning, gets hit by a car, looses his winning ticket and ends up in hospital. While in hospital he has a revelation and decides to make a "karma list" - a list of everything he has done wrong and all of the people that he has wronged and decides to set about making up to these people and crossing them off his list. He crosses his first bad deed off the list during the episode and finds his winning lottery ticket again. Seeing this as a mesage from karma he decided to spend his winnings on crossing all the bad deeds off his list, with the help of his brother, Randy and often his ex-wife Joy and her new husband Darnell (AKA Crabman).

This is a brilliant series, every episode is hillarious, clever and has a good message about how you should treat others. The characters are all unique and brilliant.

The DVD Box set includes the entire first series, plus deleted scenes and an alternate first episode in which Earl writes a "revenge list" of all the people who have screwed him over.
I would highly recomend this show to anybody.


At last - a good American comedy!
Review date: 2007-09-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

I've heard the odd person over here say that American comedy is better than the comedy we produce ourselves. It's something I strongly disagree with, with the likes of The League of Gentlemen, Spaced, Black books, etc - I think our recent comedy machine is running strongerer (I know it's not a proper word) than the American equivalent.

But My Name Is Earl is a true gem, a fantastic comedy. Most of the American imports we get over here are so cheesy. They are full of shallow middle class people leading lives we are meant to envy, they all have perfect hair and wear the latest fashions. This is refreshingly different.

Earl wins a fortune on a scratchcard, only to end up dropping it when he is hit by a car. During his time in hospital his wife leaves him and he is left watching a program about Karma. Whilst zonked out on morphine he convinces himself that bad things happened to him because he's been a bad person, he resolves to put things right and makes a list of all the people he's been nasty to.

The series follows as he goes around helping the people he has mistreated in the past. The great thing is, apart from his quest to right his wrongs, he is essentially the same person.

Jason Lee declined the role twice before agreeing to read the pilot scipt, he is a very talented actor and his big screen experience makes his portrayal of Earl one of perfection. The character is one of the most lovable characters I've ever seen on telly, even given his redneck bawdiness and layabout lifestyle.

Earl is accompanied by his 'special' brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), again a brilliant character, and one played so convincingly.

Kevin Smith fans might notice the odd reference to his films, not totally unexpected really considering Lee and Suplee have appeared in his films and seem like good sports.

Anyway - switch off all that 'Will and Grace' style of so-called comedy and watch something about real characters with real depth, My Name is Earl - a modern classic.


Already a modern comedy classic
Review date: 2007-07-31 Rating: 10 out of 10

This was a great original idea simply because of the endless possibilities of a man who has a list of people in which he has done something wrong to in his past and want's to put it right has to offer but just because it is original doesn't mean that it will be any good but thankfully this is much, much more than good.

I find this a very enjoyable American comedy, there are so many modern programmes, British and American that are advertised, hyped up and forced into my home repeatedly to the point of me talking to the TV and saying BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS, this definitely isn't one of them because it doesn't need to be, it is one of those outstanding programmes that just happily and quietly just says to the viewer, HEY, IF YOU DON'T WANNA WATCH ME, THAT'S FINE BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS COOL. But seriously, I really do like this, it has likeable and odd characters, a beautiful and sunny small town community type location, I find it somehow extremely relaxing and yet it is at times completely mad. It also makes very good use of the guest stars and something that I truly love about it from a personal point of view is the whole love of Heavy Metal/Rock, this is definitely a very nice little bonus.

It is the characters that really makes it special, there is the lead Earl Hickey (Jason Hickey), almost unrecognisable from his appearance in the movie VANILLA SKY with Tom Cruise, his overweight, simple and close brother Randy Hickey (Ethan Suplee), so close he even shares a double bed, the very unique Darnell Crab Man Turner but arguably my favourite is the blonde, tough, outspoken and loud, that's right, you guessed it, Earl's ex and now with Crab Man, Joy Turner (Jaime Pressly).

If you have still never seen this and want to watch a modern American comedy that is unique, relaxing, has great characters and feels a little retro but at the same time feels incredibly fresh and good enough to stand the test of time, then My Name Is Earl is one of the programmes you definitely need to watch. A RELAXING MODERN COMEDY CLASSIC.





another great comedy
Review date: 2007-07-22 Rating: 8 out of 10

my name is earl is an emmy award winning show that is pretty original,pretty lively and well acted and ranks as a show as fresh as it comes in recent years but doesnt get the five star treatment that i reserve for comedies like only fools,peep show,curb your,scrubs and even friends,my name is earl is great but isnt laugh out loud funny all the time and as this is a comedy then it failed to deliver none stop entertainment,on the whole four stars is still a sign that this is essential to your dvd collection.
The show is about karma meaning what goes around comes around,earl hickey played with ease by jason lee is a likeable rogue who wins the lotto and then loses the ticket when he is run over,in hospital he views a show on karma and then realises that if he is good then good will happen to him so he writes a list of all his wrong doings in the hope of appeasing those he hurt,after he fixes the first wrong he finds the lotto ticket,cashes the winnings and goes about using the money to help him complete the list.
He has his brother Randy to help,who is a little too stupid in my opinion at times and the maid of the hotel that they are staying in,and there is his ex wife and her new husband,there are various minor characters who all had to the shows greatness.Pretty much every moment of every show is entertaining but like i said there is the odd desperate joke that does fall on its face but repeated viewings may improve those for me,some guest actors appear to liven up the proceedings as well,and with a dvd bonus called bad karma which is an episode where earl decides to do bad to those who hurt him making for great entertainement ending with randy taking over and having a tache and saying my name is randy making for a great dvd extra you could do alot worse than this ,great tv and wipes the floor with english drivel like my family and my hero,they just dont compare.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Jaime Pressly
Jason Lee
Ethan Suplee
Nadine Velazquez
Beau Bridges

Creators:
Ethan Suplee (Primary Contributor)
Nadine Velazquez (Primary Contributor)

Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036027458
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 4
Format: PAL, Subtitled,
Release date: 2006-09-25
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 501 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional