Seaon 3 of My Name is Earl

My Name is Earl, is in it's third season and seems to be going strong. I was leery about this season because I wasn't sure how the writers were going to keep the show going with Earl being in jail.

For those of you who aren't Earl addicts, last season's finale ended with Earl stepping up and claiming he was the one that stole a truck from a local company rather than his ex-wife, Joy. Joy was guilty of the crime but Earl realized if she went to jail she wouldn't be able to take care of her two children, each from different fathers, or her somewhat wayward husband, Crabman. She had already been accused of two other crimes and this latest would've been her third strike and would've put her behind bars for a number of years.

So Earl stepped up and claimed responsibility for the crime. He figured he'd get maybe a month in prison and some community service. It didn't work out that way. Instead the judge noted the turmoil Earl had put Joy through with the trial and found his late admission reprehensible. He sentenced him to 2 years in a maximum security prison.

This season started with Earl in prison. The whole premise for the show is Earl trying to make amends for his past life of crime and injustice. To right all the wrongs, he made a list of all the people he negatively impacted and he tries to make amends. Basically every show is about Earl helping people he'd once hurt. The situations he and his dimwitted brother Randy get into are simply hilarious.

This year, though he's in prison. I was wondering how the My Name is Earl writers would be able to continue this list theme. In fact he isn't even able to take the list into the prison with him.

The first two episodes though were very entertaining. The first dealt with Earl getting used to prison life. Joy was so wrought with guilt over Earl taking the fall for her that she pleaded for a way to make it up to him. He told her to take care of Randy while he was locked up.

This sounds simple but Randy is so dim he doesn't even know how to set an alarm on his digital clock radio. In fact he doesn't know how to set the clock at all. He needs to be told to stop before crossing a busy street. In other words he takes constant supervision, much like a toddler.

Randy drives the very pregnant Joy crazy. She eventually starts carrying around a huge rubber band that she snaps him with whenever he does, or is about to do something stupid. She has to snap him a lot, but eventually she starts getting him to think a little.

This episode also found Earl using his list again. He found an inmate that he'd taken advantage of when he was a kid. He realizes that his actions were what made this man become a criminal. He remembers the inmate being on his list, so he tries to make amends somehow. The only problem is the guy is totally nuts and violent.

There's a great scene when the nut inmate and Earl are put into the same solitary holding pen separated only by bars. The nutty guy is trying to dig under the bars while Earl is pushing the dirt back into the hole. The whole time the inmate is telling Earl how he's going to kill him.

I was relieved to see the list used in the show, but I'm skeptical as to how many different ways the writers can spin this situation.

The most recent episode was a classic. Earl is promised a reduced sentence if he can get two rival gangs to stop beating each other up all the time. He tries various methods but nothing seems to work. Then Earl catches the two gang leaders kissing passionately. It turns out the warden had earlier tried putting the two inmates into solitary confinement together for a month. He hoped they'd get tired of beating each other up and become friends.

When they opened the doors the two were still fighting ferociously. It was all a ruse though. The two gang leaders had become much more than friends during their month together. They didn't want their gangs to realize they were lovers and in love. This is why they're constantly fighting...it's a chance for the two men to touch each other and maybe fondle a little. The episode is filled with hysterical gay prison humor.

I'm anxiously awaiting this week's episode which should once again be clever and witty. My Name is Earl is a funny show and the restriction of prison life doesn't seem to have negatively impacted the show in the least, in fact it may have enhanced it.