My Name is Earl: Season 2 (www.the-usher.com)

Very Bad Things
When Joy and Darnell get into an argument over her surprise birthday, Earl jumps at the opportunity to cross off number 183 on his list "Never took Joy's side". Meanwhile Joy runs into various problems after trying to return a television set she recently purchased.

Jump For Joy
In order to help a friend Earl has to raise a lot of money. He goes to Richard Chubby (Burt Reynolds), owner of Club Chubby a local strip club. He agrees to loan Earl the money if Earl can convince his most popular dancer to come back and work for him.

Sticks & Stones
Earl decides to cross off number ninety-one on his list "Made fun of Maggie Lester for having a moustache". Earl and Randy visit Maggie who is now working for a carnival as "The Amazing Bearded Woman" meanwhile Joy has a run in with the law.

Larceny Of A Kitty Cat
Earl scratches number 56 off his list when he must return a prize winning cat back to its owner after sabotaging a cat show in Joy's favour. Meanwhile Randy forms an attraction with the cat's owner.

Van Hickey
Earl tries to make amends with Tom (number 50), the older man they let be the lead singer in his band but then kicked out before their first performance. While trying to arrange a reunion show Earl must also deal with Number 51, "Slept with Ralph's mom."

Made A Lady Think I Was God
Earl takes on Number 12 on his list "Made a lady think I was God". Millie Banks, she was the manager of Earl's trailer park, he pretended to be the voice of God to get her to stop bothering them.

Mailbox
Catalina helps Earl cross off No. 75 on his list "Used a mailbox as a trash can" This leads to the discovery of two undelivered letters one is a declaration of a man's love the other reveals Darnell's secret.

Robbed A Stoner
Blind In the middle of a heat wave, Earl decides to cross number 26 off his list "Robbed a Stoner Blind". To accomplish this task Earl and Randy find Woody the stoner and must live an environmentally conscious life in the commune with Woody for a week.

Born A Gamblin' Man
Earl tackles number 146 on his list. He decides to make 274 bologna sandwiches for Kenny because he stole them from him in school when they were kids. While delivering the sandwiches, Earl moves onto a new mission, to teach Kenny how to gamble but has trouble stopping. Joy goes to group therapy for her anger management issues.

South Of The Border Part Uno
In the first half of this special one-hour episode, Earl and Randy face problems in their quest to take Catalina off Earl's list and bring her home after she was deported because of Earl. Joy's friendly attitude causes the neighbours to get closer and Darnell doesn't like it at all.

South Of The Border Part Dos
In the second half of this special one hour episode, Earl and Randy face problems in their quest to take Catalina off Earl's list and bring her home after she was deported because of Earl. Joy's friendly attitude causes the neighbors to get closer and Darnell doesn't like it at all.

Our 'Cops' Is On!
It's a trip down memory lane for Earl, Randy, Joy, Darnell and the Crab Shack regulars when they remember their fifteen minutes of fame watching a 2003 repeat of the TV show "Cops", which was filmed in Camden County.

Buried Treasure
In classic whodunit fashion, Earl must determine who took his stolen "treasure" so he can cross it off his list. Joy, Darnell and Randy all give their own version of what happened to the buried treasure.

Kept A Guy Locked In A Truck
Earl attempts to figure out how to make amends to a dead guy that he once locked in a truck. Meanwhile, newlyweds Randy and Catalina go hunting for an apartment.

Foreign Exchange Student
Earl goes for #44 on his list trying to help Pierre, a French foreign exchange student, he made fun of when they went to school together. Earl flies him back to the US and he tries to hook Pierre up with a girl he had a crush on as a child. Meanwhile, newlyweds Randy and Catalina find their marriage changes in ways they would never imagine.

Blow
Earl takes on number 101 on his list, "Stole a girl's identity." The girl turns out to be Joy's half-sister that she never knew about and the one person that could possibly help her get sympathy from the jury. The problem, Joy and Liberty are enemies.

The Birthday Party
Earl wants to use his birthday to look back on all the good he's done over the past year, but at his party, everyone seems to want to talk about his past misdeeds instead.

Guess Who's Coming Out Of Joy
With Joy now pregnant again, Earl looks back on her pregnancy during their marriage, and how his father was responsible for one of his first truly good deeds.

Harassed A Reporter
As Earl and Randy work to cross No. 29 on the list "Harassed A Reporter", Randy gets tired of being in his brother's shadow. In an attempt to distance himself from his brother, Randy realizes the true power of karma and the media.

Two Balls, Two Strikes
After Richard Chubby dies, Little Chubby comes to town to take over the family business. While Earl tries to cross an item off his list he learns the true meaning of sacrifice.

G.E.D.
Earl tries to apply for a credit card but he's declined because he doesn't have a job. He decides to take steps to adulthood by going back to school to earn his G.E.D. At school he realizes how hard it is for teachers to deal with badly behaved kids, just like the one he used to be.

Get A Real Job
When Earl decides to get his first real job at an appliance store, he experiences 'growing pains'. Meanwhile, Joy makes another irrational decision as her the upcoming trial draws closer.

The Trial
Things are finally looking up for Earl with a G.E.D., a job, a new apartment and love interest. However, it may all come crashing down during Joy's trial date. Earl's shocking testimony could help Joy, but at what cost?

Television comedy series can become the most beloved programmes on the box but they have to have something for the audience to connect with or be a unique idea. 'My Name is Earl' has both.

Comedy can be the biggest audience draw for television, especially in the US. Hits like 'Friends', 'Seinfeld', 'Will and Grace' and the classics like 'M*A*S*H', 'The Phil Slivers Show', 'I Love Lucy' and 'The Honeymooners' drew huge audience figures and became even more popular in syndication on continuous rerun. When you look at the current crop of comedy shows, one stands out at becoming a classic of the genre and that show is 'My Name is Earl'.

The success behind a show comes from a simple premise that can drive it for its duration. 'Earl' has that and you can sum it up in one word, karma. A former theft, bum and all round reprobate, Earl sees the error of his ways after been knocked over by a car after winning $250,000 on a lottery scratch card. Losing the card when he is knocked down, Earl realises that he has to change and decides to make a list of all of the things he has done wrong to people in his life and then make amends for each and everyone one of them, hoping that the good karma will cancel out the bad but it is a very long list. The premise is simple but with each entry on the list been very different, the scope for comedy is vast.

With a great premise has to be backed up with a good set of characters to bring it to life and 'Earl' has some firm favourites. First up we have Ethan Suplee has Earl's slightly simple brother Randy. While we have seen characters like this before on many a comedy show, Suplee brings a simple honesty to the character and one that quickly endears you to him. With his fear of birds, his complete lack of understanding of what Earl is trying to achieve and his devotion to his brother, Randy is character that provides the many of the quick laughs and one-liners. Then we have Earl's ex-wife Joy, the epitome of trailer trash, who's thieving and loud mouth always gets her and anyone around her in trouble. Jaime Pressly is exceptional in this role and it is one that shows there is more to her than just good looks as she is also a real comedic talent. Eddie Steeples and the beautiful Nadine Velazquez are also excellent as Joy's love of her life Darnell and Catalina, the maid at the hotel and girl that Randy adores. Leading the show is the performance of Jason Lee as Earl. This is a role made for the extremely cool actor who made his name in Kevin Smith's cult movies 'Mallrats' and 'Chasing Amy' and it is him that makes Earl so likeable.

After an extremely strong debut season, the second run was always going to be a difficult one to follow but the good news is that the show continues at the same momentum and in some cases surpasses what it has already achieved. With a fantastic two part episode that sees Earl and Randy try to save Catalina, the brilliant 'Cops' homage and the continuing plot line that will lead to Earl making a great sacrifice in the name of karma.

The second season of 'My Name is Earl' shows how good this show can be and how much potential it has. With a great cast and a premise that can provide great comedy, as well as been able to run and run, this is a show that is destined to become a classic.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the series looks great.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes
View deleted scenes for the episodes 'Very Bad Things', 'Van Hickey', 'Made A Lady Think I Was God', 'Mailbox', 'Born A Gamblin' Man', 'South Of The Border', Kept A Guy Locked In A Truck', 'Blow', 'The Birthday Party' and 'Two Balls, Two Strikes'.

Commentary
Listen to commentaries for the episodes 'Sticks & Stones', 'Larceny Of A Kitty Cat', 'Van Hickey', 'Our 'Cops' Is On!', 'Foreign Exchange Student', 'Guess Who's Coming Out Of Joy' and 'The Trial' with contributions from series creator Greg Garcia, writer/producer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, writer/story editor Hilary Winston, writers/producers Bobby Bowman and Mike Maricino, director Mike Frasco, editor Billy Morrison and stars Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Nadine Velazquez, Jamie Pressly, Eddie Steeples, Giovanni Ribsi, Beau Bridges, Tim Stack and Amy Sedaris, these commentaries are extremely fun and a great listen for fans.

Karma: Take 2 Blooper Reel (9.28 mins)
Watch the cast and the guest stars makes some hilarious mistakes and fun on the set of 'My Name is Earl'.

The Stoner Files: Robbed a Stoner Blind - From start to finish (38.48 mins)
Series creator Greg Garcia, producers Marc Buckland, Kat Likkel and John Hoberg, writer Bobby Bowman and the rest of the cast and crew take you through the creation of the script, production and then transmission.

The Web Cam
Earl, Randy, Joy, Catalina, Darnell and Earl and Randy talk to the new Internet web cam set up in the Crab Shack. These are very funny bonus features for fans of the show.

My Name is Earl as a Telenovela (0.59 mins)
Watch a trailer for the show filmed in the style of a Mexican soap opera

Trailers
Previews of 'That 70's Show', 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for the second season of 'My Name is Earl' is one that fans will really enjoy. The commentary tracks are very good and a lot of fun but when you add in the rest of the bonus features, this is a package that shows how a TV show should be presented.

DVD

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