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« My Name Is Earl
Episode Recap: "No Heads And A Duffel Bag"
Kudos to Earl for taking a little break from the coma-dream storyline — whether or not you're a fan of that, you have to admit it felt good to watch Jason Lee perform some more traditional protagonist duties. Not only that, but this week was filled with quite a few standout lines and performances.
It was an episode comprised of nearly non-stop flashback and it worked wonderfully. Randy decided to run another karma errand for Earl by attempting to make amends for an incident in which their parents' vacation was ruined. Of course, he had to finally fill them in on the little details — Earl's in a coma, and oh yeah, he was in prison for a while there, too. At Earl's bedside, straight-laced Carl Hickey relives the vacation incident which turns out to be an epic tale involving a duffel bag full of marijuana.
Beau Bridges and Nancy Lenehan always turn in great performances as the elder Hickeys, but they shined especially bright this time around. The scene of them as youths at Woodstock was definitely a high point (no pun intended). In her two inadvertent drug experiences, Kay Hickey packed in a lifetime of hair-hating, cutting off her "dead skull carpet" and accusing it of loitering. Of course, Carl just said no, but I don't think a man more excited to see Sha Na Na ever walked the earth.
Joy, Darnell, and Catalina were all great, but as usual, I wish we got to see a little more of them. Joy got a few good lines in there before the duct tape went over her mouth, and Darnell was his usual diplomatic self while being treated as the obvious go-to guy for marijuana in the eyes of the Hickeys. He points them in the direction of a drug dealer (portrayed amusingly by Michael Pena) staying in the same motel room Earl and Randy would eventually call home. The references to the show itself in this scene were quite entertaining — Randy called "dibs" on Catalina just like in the very first Earl episode and then commented that it would be weird to live in a room like that with his brother, saying "There's only one bed; we're two guys."
Now, through all the action this flashback presented us, I occasionally asked myself how it was all going to get crossed off of the list in the dwindling half-hour. The solution to that was one of the best parts, in my opinion. It's an accomplishment to all involved with this show that it can change gears so effortlessly from being the wacky comedy it is to being truly heartfelt, even by the weightiest drama's standards. This time around, it was Carl who brought on the emotion as he admitted to his comatose son that this seemingly disastrous event had actually been a good one; it made him feel like a hero to his family. A smile then formed on Earl's face after his dad said he'd never give up on him and gave him a kiss on the forehead. It sounds a little corny when I write it here, but as we saw, it's not corny at all when supported by a top-notch acting job. If that doesn't bring Earl out of his coma, I can't wait to see what will.
But let's get back to the comedy. Here are some of the funnier moments from tonight:
• Joy: "Flavored vodka is for sissies and pregnant women."
• Randy on trying to have Earl's tonsils removed: "In my defense, I was pretty drunk."
• The drug dealer says "Easy, Lebowski" to Beau Bridges' character in a little nod to his brother Jeff Bridges.
• "I'm so hungry, I could kill a child!"
• After hearing the Hickeys' strange situation, calm Crabman comments "Say no more; we've all been there."
• Randy's tale of being hit in the head by a "melted popsicle without a stick" falling from the sky. Gross.
• "Oh, snap!" "Snap what?!"
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Apr 18, 2008 1:58 AM
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Yea! Earl was back! I'd begun to think it was the show's writers who were in a coma.
My favorite line of the night was the drug dealer's reference to Joy as "the tight blonde with the variety pack of kids". Don't think the term "variety pack" won't be used by me in the future. Loved it.
I loved that the parents didn't know that Earl had been in prison and was in a coma. Makes sense when you realize that they never visited him in prison or the hospital. I found that clever that they simply hadn't been told!
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Apr 18, 2008 8:57 AM
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Last night was a great episode - "Earl's in a coma?" "Earl's been in jail?" Too funny when the parents found out these 2 very major events in Earl's life...I love the parents!
Another great scene was when Crabman was able to identify which type of "weed" the Hickeys were after simply by smelling Carl Hawaiian shirt that he'd worn when he burned it - what a nose on him!
It was very sweet at the end with Earl and his father.
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Apr 18, 2008 10:09 AM
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Whew! Earl was back last night and I loved it. For all the reasons everyone else mentioned. If we're taking a poll on favorite bits. Mom and Dad finding out about Earl's jail and hospital time. And Mom's hair after her contact high.
I have to say, when Earl's Mom and Dad showed up a the hospital my first thought was oh good. Grown ups will be talking to the doctors now.
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Apr 18, 2008 8:51 PM
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Regarding the Lebowski comment, right before that the drug dealer calls Earl's father 'Dude', to which Beau Bridges replies, "Don't ever call me that!".
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Apr 19, 2008 1:09 AM
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Thank God! I was pretty sure I was going to have to give this show up for just not being funny anymore, but that was a good episode. Earl's parents are great and everyone had some great lines. I don't know why, but the kangaroo in the tub just killed me! Let's hope they can keep this up and we never go back to the coma-dream.
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Apr 21, 2008 1:00 PM
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This ep was great. lol two weeks ago people were commenting on here why his parents never came to visit... Now we know they were left in the dark! Such a Randy thing to do. It was even funnier when they told Randy you were here last week for lunch!
William's on Randy calling dibs on Catalina made me think... Are they still married?? Seems like that storyline just fell off the show. But knowing them, they will bring it back at some point and make everyone go oh yeah!
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Apr 21, 2008 4:49 PM
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