MY NAME IS EARL (TV SERIES) - DVD review

His name is Earl, Earl Hickey, and he's the trailer trash hero of Greg Garcia's always irreverent and funny sitcom "My Name is Earl." Combining the comedic talents of actor Jason Lee with a brand of humor that feels a little like "Family Guy" filtered through a more focused lens, the show is a great way to spend half an hour. Collected in its first season DVD set, you can enjoy the hilarity at the press of a button.

The set up is a simple one; in hopes of turning his life around, Earl creates a list of wrongdoings he's committed over the years and plans on rectifying his actions and making it up to the people he mistreated. You see, Earl had won $100,000 off a lottery ticket but his glory was short lived as he was hit by a car and as a result the ticket floated away. Earl, knowing full well that he isn't a very good guy, gets a sign in the form of Carson Daly, who espouses on his talk show about the essence of karma.

Every episode follows Earl as he tries to make up for his misdeeds and the result is an often hilarious look at human nature. The greatness of the show rests in the way the characters interact with each other and often react to Earl's new philosophy in life. Over the years he's surrounded himself by an off beat cast of cohorts that include: ex-wife Joy (Jamie Pressly), his brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), Joy's new husband Darnell (Eddie Steeples), and Catalina (Nadine Velazquez).

The show really owes as much to its cast as it does to its writing. Lee is great and gives Earl a nice balance between being an ignorant hick bent on making his life (and those around him) better. Pressly is a great foil for Lee, in that her character is almost a 180 to Earl's good hearted charm. Suplee also provides a nice bouncing board for Earl, almost always acting as Earl's right hand in his various misadventures. Rounding out the cast are Steeples and Velazquez, who offer a nice touch of humor, while serving as a means of grounding the knee jerk antics.

Garcia and company have found a nice balance between styles blending satire, slapstick humor, situational comedy and a genuine dose of heart, into a brilliant little half hour serving. In the episode "White Lie Christmas," which guest stars Brett Butler ("Grace Under Fire") as Joy's mom, the set up is that Earl always managed to screw up Christmas for Joy and the kids when they were married. With Randy's help Earl hopes to win Joy a car in a radio contest. Things get complicated when Joy's parents arrive, but Joy hasn't managed to inform them that she and Earl are divorced (she told them Earl left to serve in Iraq) and that she's now married to Darnell, who she fears will cause her father to write her out of his will (and her stake in the family business). Earl agrees to play along, but only because she guilt's him into believing that it'll be his fault if he comes clean and ruins yet another Christmas. Earl's situations never go quite as planned but things ultimately turn out for the best because karma is on his side.

"O Karma, Where Art Thou?" finds Earl filling in at a fast food restaurant as part of his list, where his faith in following the karmic path is put to the test by his new boss (Jon Favreau), who is, without a doubt, the boss from hell. The boss is a jerk in every sense of the word and seems to be doing great from himself; he lies, cheats, steals and even has a hot wife. However, when the boss pushes Earl too far, Earl let's his fists do a little talking which causes karma to take its toll on Earl's boss. The result is funny but the epiphany that Earl has is even better.

"My Name is Earl" doesn't stray away too much from the basic set up of the show, which is a good thing because it lets the writer's come up with some very creative misdeeds that Earl has done over the years; stealing a car from a one legged woman comes to mind, or making up for that fact that he fake his own death to get out of a clingy relationship. Whatever the case may be, Earl is always there trying his best to make things better and for the half hour that he fills the television screen he really does.

Video
The DVD set is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The image looks great, the show is much better on the DVD than its broadcasted counterpart. Everything appeared to be crisp and clean with no noticeable traces of grain or artifacts anywhere. Colors were solid and bright throughout. Blacks were consistently strong and deep, as well. To say the least this is one great looking set of DVDs.

Audio
The show is presented in and English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix which is strong throughout. A dialogue heavy show the surrounds don't get much of a work out but add a nice ambience when the music kicks in during various scenes. The audio is great for this dialogue heavy show.

Extras
Adding to the strong presentation is a wealth of extras. Featured in the commentaries are
producer/co-creator Greg Garcia, producer/director Marc Buckland, producer/actor Jason Lee and actor Ethan Suplee on the pilot episode. "Teacher Earl" features commentary from Garcia, Lee, Suplee and guest star Giovanni Ribisi. "Joy's Wedding" features Garcia, Buckland, Lee and actor Eddie Steeples. Other commentaries included are "White Lie Christmas," "O Karma, Where Art Thou?" "Dad's Car," "Number One" and the bonus episode "Bad Karma", offers comments from Garcia, Buckland, Lee and Suplee. Most of the commentaries are good fun, with the various cast and crew members chatting it up and discussing the particular episodes production and development.

"Bad Karma" is dubbed the show's "lost pilot" and takes a look at what might have happened to Earl had he watched and episode of "Family Guy" instead of Carson Daly. Instead of seeking out good karma, Earl goes out, inspired by Stewie Griffin, and exacts his revenge on people he feels have done him wrong.

"Makin' Things Right" is a very good 40 minute look into how the show came about. Headed up by Garcia and various cast and crew members the featurette takes a look at how all the elements came together for the show.

"Karma is a Funny Thing" is a nearly 20 minute long blooper reel that's almost as funny as some of the shows episodes. Also included are deleted scenes and a soundtrack promo.

Film Value
"My Name is Earl" is one of the best new comedies on TV. Producer and co-creator Greg Garcia has managed to create a truly unique and funny show that never panders to its audience. With every episode the series delivers a wonderful mix of humor that is often intelligent and always full of heart.