I try my best to call them like I see them, and after seeing this episode, I'm sadly forced to call it lackluster. More often then not, if the first half of an
Earl episode moves a little slow, it gives way to a lightning-quick laugh-fest in the second half. This wasn't one of those episodes.
Last week, Randy watched as crossing an item off of Earl's list led to a miraculous upswing in his vital signs. Determined to help his brother emerge from his coma, Randy spent his time this week trying to make up for another of Earl's misdeeds - he and Randy once stole a motorcycle from the
Teutul family of
American Chopper fame, appearing here in a cameo which almost made the
Hilton appearance seem good by comparison. Almost.
The slant on this mission was that Randy and Earl went on an alcohol bender after stealing the bike, so Randy (with Joy and Darnell) had to piece together the night detective-style in order to locate it. Now normally, this is the part of the blog where I inject a few funny lines because I'm too excited to wait until the end. Not so this time around. There were even a few jokes that seemed a little forced. The little exchange at the Crab Shack about witch hunts comes to mind. The characters that were introduced for this storyline seemed wasted as well - for instance, I became excited to meet Homeless Joe and Shopping Cart Kim, but it didn't turn out as well as I expected.
Meanwhile, Earl is still sitcom-atose in the hospital. I appreciated this last week, but I should've anticipated how I'd feel after realizing this could go on a while. The classic TV mock-up wasn't 100 percent unfunny this time around, but it was dangerously close. This storyline may even be problematic when the coma is finally finished - if the real romance doesn't pan out, we may be more disappointed than we might have been; even worse, we may be kind of over it when the time actually comes.
"General jackass-ery" is how the Hickey brothers' father apparently once described their behavior. I'll stop short of applying that term in respect to this Thursday's
Earl installment, but I do hope things pick up a bit next week. This episode was most likely just a small hiccup along the way to having our Thursday night favorite back in full force. Let's all do an extra good deed or two meanwhile and see if karma rewards us next week.
But hey, we're still talking about one of the best comedies on television. Here's some of the funny moments that
did happen:
" "Check out the hawg." "Dibs! Where is she?"
" "My comedy always has a message."
" In the too-perfect world of the classic sitcom, Billie seems footloose and fancy-free with her flawless hair and makeup as she smiles and reports that her water just broke.
" Randy, doing his best Lenny from
Of Mice and Men, almost good-naturedly kills Earl twice in one episode.
" The way Earl yelled "Time to die!" before hurling Randy into traffic.
" Randy's peanut butter and jelly analogy.
" While Earl and Billie consult a book of baby names, Randy peruses one of uncle nicknames.
" One word: pantenna.
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I try my best to call them like I see them and after seeing this episode Im sadly forced to call it lackluster More often then not if the first half of an Earl episode moves a little slow it gives way to a lightning-quick laugh-fest in the second half This wasnt one of those episodes Last week Randy watched as crossing an item off of Earls list led to a miraculous upswing in his vital signs Determined to help his brother emerge from his coma Randy spent his time this week trying to make up for another of Earls misdeeds he and Randy once stole a motorcycle from the Teutul family of American Chopper fame appearing here in a cameo which almost made the Hilton appearance seem good by comparison Almost The slant on this mission was that Randy and Earl went on an alcohol bender after stealing the bike so Randy with Joy and Darnell had to piece together the night detective-style in order to locate it Now normally this is the part of the blog where I inject a fe
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