Earl Hickey, I heart you...

I feel the need to express my L-O-V-E for the new NBC show "My Name is Earl" -- GOD I TALK ABOUT TELEVISION A LOT. Seriously though, this show is actually based on an original though of some genious sitcom writer who'd clearly had enough of the same old mundane pseudo-comedy.



So, what can I say about Earl to prove that I, too, have an original thought in this narrow-minded brain of mine?

Well, the first thing that struck me about the show is how much it reminded me of "Raising Arizona." I actually searched on the internet to make sure the Coen brothers weren't involved, and they're not. I could actually see Jason Lee (the actor who plays "Earl") running down the road with pantyhose on his head and a package of diapers under his arm. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but it's something.

It's just so -- silly... yet it's actually got a positive message. Earl learns about good and bad karma (not the true Buddhistic karma -- is "Buddhistic" a word?) and realizes he's created a lot of bad karma for himself in his lifetime, so he goes through a series of 'do overs' to try to right all of his wrongs. The "wrongs" he's committed are quite amusing -- Tuesday night's episode was about admitting he'd faked his own death to get out of a relationship with a crazy girl to the crazy girl herself. Because of his admission, the crazy girl is able to grow a backbone and stand up for herself, and eventually fakes her own death in return to show Earl just what it feels like.

Pretty funny stuff. Explaining it here just doesn't do it justice. It's worth watching.