Thursday October 5, 2006
2ALJ01
Earl decides to cross off number 91 on his list, "made fun of Maggie Lester for having a mustache". Earl and Randy visit Maggie, who is now working for a carnival as "The Amazing Bearded Woman". Meanwhile, Joy has a run in with the law.
Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)Messed up as could be, but still entertaining hide show
Earl decides to make up for upsetting a mustachioed girl, Maggie Lester (or "Maggie P.I." as he called her), in his school days. Tracking her down at her home, he discovers she is now content, bearded and working as a "circus freak". Earl is determined to do something for Maggie (Judy Greer) but is puzzled as to how he can improve her life.
This is a heart-warming episode and very entertaining.
As a "Twin Peaks" fan, it was great to see Carel Struycken again LOL the boy had a horn i think that that would just be awsome lol dd f
Earl decides to make amends to a woman with a beard that he made fun of in Jr. High School. After confronting her he finds out that she is the bearded lady in a carnival and lives with a bunch of other side show people. He and Randy befriend the whole bunch and spend a day partying and having a good time with them. Earl realizes that he was laughed at when he was younger at a swimming pool when he was trying to dive of the diving board because he had hairy nipples. He confronts the lifeguard/gym teacher at the pool and get embarrassed again. After this he decides to dive of the board shirtless the next and invites the carnival folks who turn him down. When he is about to dive off the board, he chickens out and turns around to climb back down the ladder, when he sees that the carnival folks are there. They all proceed to jump off the diving board. Diving off the board in public, motivates the carnival folks to chase their dreams and all of them get real jobs.
Meanwhile, Joy is going to meet her public defender, dressing very sexy in order to motivate him to work harder. When she gets there, she finds out that her lawyer is a woman and to top it off is deaf. Joy proceeds to act like the trailer trash that she is and the lawyer tells her to represent herself. Joy crawls back to the deaf woman lawyer to get her to handle her case, and makes a fool of herself again.
This was a great episode. The whole gang crack me up, buy I think Joy does it the most.
What a travelling freak show! hide show
This is a great example of a My Name is Earl plot, one that starts with crossing off insulting someone in high school and ends with Earl having to make the sacrifice of jumping off the high dive with his shirt off.
Whether it's Darnell's knowledge of law (that Joy ignores) or the street of freaks, this episode is one full of surprises along with great lines from Randy, Joy and Earl and we also learn about Earl's problem in his past which is pretty tame compared to Kevin's.
Overall, both plots of this episode are great and the ending is fantastic with Joy not learning a lesson and Earl doing the opposite, encouraging freaks to get outside.
Differences unite all of us. hide show
Earl is such an imaginitive show, in that its combines low brow attitudes and facades with esoteric morality themes. Yeah, its hokey, and sometimes saccharine, but there is no show on TV that has as much fun getting to the saccharine as Earl. The case in point is the episode "Sticks and Stones." On any other sitcom (yes, even the Simpsons, b/c its not the early 90s anymore!) this would have resulted in cheap laughs and asides about the characters, but on Earl, its the inventive twist about how many of us use humiliation of others to cover our own insecurities. Yeah, Earl's puberty caught up to his issue, but the sideshow performers let wisdom and maturity overcome their fears. BTW, I love how un-PC Joy is!
Earl meets some circus freaks and has his heart embiggened as he learns they aren't freaks after all but, by golly, people just like you and me. Ouch, my teeth hurt! hide show
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I must note that the last several episodes have been back on track and the show has been up to its old form lately. I'm glad.
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This review is not only about this episode but about season two of the show in general. Season one of "Earl" was truly wonderful. It was great to spend some time with Earl and his brother Randy.
But the second season has two flaws that I can see. First it looks like the writers have bowed to pressure by Jaime Pressly or her agent to give her more screen time. The last several shows have given her her own independent story line and frankly the show falls flat as her character is not likable AT ALL. Secondly it looks like they have changed to story lines to be sickly sweet. In season one they have a one legged woman hopping after Earl with murder in her eyes. In season two if they were to have such a character it looks like the writers would feel the need to be more politically correct.
Look, if its funny its funny. This show is losing the direction and magic that made it a hit and it's going downhill. I hope they learn their lesson and go back to Season One's style/focus/atmosphere. If they don't I doubt there will be a season three. I would bet viewers are starting to check out already.
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VillaFan
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