I just read your comments ...
Question: I just read your comments about a potential
Jim Parsons Emmy nomination. You mentioned a number of contenders, but I'm disappointed you didn't include
Jason Lee. OK, I admit, I have a huge crush on him, but that's partly because he's so terrific as Earl! (Yes, it's also partly cause he's so hot without the Earl moustache.) He brings so much to that part: great physical comedy, warmth, and an amazing ability to be the old, bad Earl and the new, good Earl and make us believe the same guy could be both. Also, speaking of Emmys, Jack McBrayer should be nominated — and win! — for his terrific portrayal of Kenneth on
30 Rock. If you're really reading this, Matt, thanks!
Answer: Janet, I read 'em all. And you're right about Jason Lee. He should have been nominated for an Emmy for
Earl long ago, although this has not been
Earl's, and by extension his, best season, so the lapse here was probably not entirely accidental. But Jack McBrayer? Absolutely. Did you see him in last night's
30 Rock, reacting in horror as Liz Lemon let him down and ultimately sold him out? "Your eyes look like my uncle's after he would drink from the air conditioner," he told her.
So funny! He is the quintessential supporting player/scene-stealer, and would be an inspired choice.
But for an alternate take on
Earl, here's this from Steve: "As a regular reader of your columns, I know you had some misgivings about the Earl-in-jail episodes of
My Name Is Earl, and I, too, was hoping the show would get back to "normal" soon. How disappointed I was, however, when the show returned from its strike-induced coma with a super-sized Earl-in-a-coma episode. This episode made me wish Earl was back in jail. The entire episode was terrible. Earl's visions of old 1960s-style TV were dull and completely lacking in humor. We waited 3 months for this? It made Jeff Zucker's pre-show cameo seem funny by comparison."
I wouldn't go as far as to praise that inane corporate cameo, but I agree that it wasn't the way I'd have chosen to bring the show back. I'm not a fan of NBC's super-sizing to begin with, but this was an especially contrived return episode. It may take a while before I'm back in the fold on this show. Thursdays are starting to fill up again, and I foresee
Earl episodes stacking up on my DVR as they did during the prison period.
