My Name Is Earl - Season 3

The third season of NBC's redneck-comedy-that's-smarter-than-any-actual-redneck was much more plot-based than the first couple. To quickly recap, it's about a lowlife named Earl who decided to turn his karma around by making a list of every thing he's done wrong in his life and trying to fix them. The first two seasons had some continuity and entertaining flashbacks to his previous doings, but most episodes revolved around finding someone he'd hurt, realizing how the simple crime he committed had ended up turning their whole life upside down, and making things right in the end, learning valuable lessons on the way.

The third is different though. Earl starts off in jail, where he was put in season two's finale, finds his way into a coma, and then in a final plot dealing with Billie, the possible girl of his dreams. The list is still usually the center of focus, but there's still a lot of experimentation and changes to the formula. The show's interesting because it often has the mentality of a family comedy, always trying to teach lessons, but the humor and subject matter are quite often not child appropriate. I like Jason Lee more as the charismatic fast-talker, but he fits quite naturally as Earl. The thing is Earl makes more sense as the kind-hearted guy he's turned into than the jerk he spent most of his life as, but that might just be Lee's likability.

The whole cast is pretty spot-on. Ethan Suplee's really come into his role as Randy, Earl's simple-minded brother. He's pretty central as the season goes on, and has a lot of great moments. Crabman is still great, and there are some good guest appearances by Michael Rapaport and Alyssa Milano. I hope the fourth season is more of a return to form, but the third was an enjoyable diversion.