Dad's Car

Season 1, Episode 18, Aired
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Episode Summary

It's Mother's Day again when Earl remembers that he has never given his mother a Mother's Day gift. Just as he and Randy are about to finish carrying out his long overdue gift, his mother decides her repayment should include Earl doing something for his father.
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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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  • Karma can work in mysterious ways

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By jimbo_001, Dec 03, 2006 Report Abuse
    This episode was very interesting indeed because we find out that Earl is on his own list and he can't forgive himself for the life he could have had had the mustang not been lost. This brought a lot of funny moments and I for one found this episode to be entertaining on a lot of different levels.

    Mother's Day was a great idea for an episode and the combination of the two was done perfectly, the coupon book being hilarious and showing that sometimes stealing isn't the answer.

    Overall, the plot and jokes of this episode are very good and it also develops the relationship between Earl and his father.moreless

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  • Earl is on his own list...

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By sassy_eggs, Mar 26, 2006 Report Abuse
    Earl gives his mother a happy mothers day to make up for all the bad ones she's had. When she asks him to do something for his father, he decides to get back his dad's car that he lost in a road race (telling his dad that it was driven into a lake) when he was 11. But instead of being overjoyed at it's return, Earl's father reveals that it was not his car but Earls, intended to be given as a 16th birthday present. So Earl finds himself in a new position: He's on his own list. He sets about restoring the car, with his dad reluctantly joining in to help. For the first time in years the father and son team are talking without fighting and at last Earl has mended his relationship with his father.

    I liked this episode a lot. It was not as funny as previous episodes (the best lines came from Joy in her side story of having Mother's day without her kids) but it had great character development. Perhaps it was a bit sentimental, but I think it is really starting to show how much Earl is growing as a person. Excellent episode!moreless

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  • Earl tries to give his mom her first great Mother's Day.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By SerTyrion, Mar 24, 2006 Report Abuse
    I have been getting bored with this show. Over the last month or two, I have mainly been watching the show strictly because my girlfriend and I always watch it together.

    This episode, however, reminded me why her and I began to watch it in the first place. Well written and funny. It was good to see that Earl is finally making progress with his father (a role Beau Bridges plays wonderfully) and the two are becoming closer, which is something those two have never had.

    Watching Joy totally drunk was also a bonus.

    This episode had some great morals in it. Earl and his father stop fighting and work on the car. Joy missed her children so much that she had Randy play with her. This episoded fleshed out some of the characters a bit more, namely Earl's father and Joy.moreless

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  • They are all good, but this one is just hillarious.

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By popstar, Mar 21, 2006 Report Abuse
    These Episodes are almost as compact and fast-pacing as video clips. Bang! Bang! Bang!
    Joke after joke. This one is just really funny. I like the short format and I always look forward to the next one. The characters in this ep. are just great. Earl's ex-wife, her boyfriend, Earl's mother and his father, his brother or the cruel guys at the junkyard. There are played with so much love. In times where ther are so many action series around where the topics are always just sex, terror, crime and the fight for or against it, this series is a highlight in the current us.moreless

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  • Earl tries to make up for all the horrible Mother's Days he put his Mom through.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By rharisay, Mar 19, 2006 Report Abuse
    One of the best episodes of the first season. It is both heartfelt and hysterically funny. Heartfelt: Earl finally breaks through his Dad\'s rough facade when he returns a car that he had lost in a drag race. Hysterically funny: The first drag race and then the second drag race where we see all the changes.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Featured Music: "Things We Do For Love" by 10cc "Radar Love" by Golden Earring "Highway Star" by Deep Purple "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" by James Taylor "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett Edit
    • We learn that Earl lost his virginity in a public bus while Randy watched. Edit
    • We learn that Earl was meant to be named Carl after his father, but was called Earl when the C was mistaken for an E on his birth certificate. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The Czech episode title is "Tátovo auto", meaning "Dad's Car". Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Czech Republic: October 6, 2009 on Prima COOL Edit
    • From the DVD commentary: When Joy's chair falls on the floor the pitcher on the table wasn't meant to tip over. It happened by accident but they kept it in because it was funny. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Earl: (voiceover) After 20 years of lying to my dad about what happened to his car, it was time to tell him the truth. (Earl knocks on his parents door) Carl: It's not mother's day anymore Earl. Come back next year. (goes to slam the door) Earl: No, no, wait Dad. I'm here for you. I didn't lose your car in the lake, I lost it in a race but I just won it back so I can cross you off my list like mom wanted. Edit
    • Joy: Thank you babies. You boys leaving for a whole week is the best mothers day gift a mom could ask for. Darnell: (holds out the tip jar) Here's some extra spending money. Can you empty it out now? I need the jar for Mr Turtle so I don't have to buy him a seat on the bus. Joy: Oh yeah (empties jar) Here you go. Bye boys. Dodge: We promise not to call Mommy. Joy: Oh, wouldn't answer if you did. Edit
    • Joy: Damnit, who keeps putting Mr. Turtle in the toilet? Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Guy: You ready Pee Wee? Earl: Let's do this. This is a reference to the the comedic actor Paul Reubenfeld (aka Paul Reubens) who hosted the 1980's saturday morning children's program Pee Wee's Playhouse. Edit

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