My Name is Earl

Well, here it is - my first post.

The first major decision related to starting a new blog is deciding what the opening topic will be. This is very important because the first post can set the tone for the rest of your blog’s life. It would make sense for my first post to describe my life history and my philosophy, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, I don’t want to be that predictable.

So, what should I talk about? There are so many subjects to choose from...

I know! This isn’t exactly the freshest or most intriguing subject, but it has recently been on my mind. Plus it matches my attempt to not be predictable.

Here it is (drum roll please)…my first topic will be…My Name is Earl.

Yes, I want to talk about the new hit sitcom from NBC; the one that is getting raves from critics nationwide.

In case you’re not familiar with the show, it is about a redneck guy named Earl (played by Jason Lee) who one day wins $100,000 in the lottery. Now, up to this point, Earl’s life has been full of terrible deeds. He has peed in the back of a police car, he has teased his fellow school mates, stolen anything that is not nailed down, well, you get the point. Soon after scratching the winning ticket, Earl is hit by a car and loses the ticket.

As he is in traction, Earl decides that his bad karma has caught up with him. He makes a list of every bad thing he has ever done and resolves to fix them one-by-one. Soon afterwards, the winning lottery ticket drifts back into his life. Earl takes that as a confirmation of his new goal.

I really wanted to enjoy this show. I enjoyed Jason Lee in “Almost Famous” and was ready to like him in this show. He’s a funny guy and a decent actor. The majority of the reviews were gushing. How could I lose?

Then I saw the show.

As I watched, I could not help but think that the show is a blatant attempt by NBC to create a show to appeal to us “red state” Republican-types. Or rather, Hollywood’s idea of red staters.

The show is an obvious rip-off of Blue Collar TV. Apparently, the success of “The Blue Collar Comedy Tour” and “Blue Collar TV” has not gone unnoticed by the executives at NBC. I’m sure Hollywood has finally realized that half of their audience is conservative and Republican and that Hollywood’s left-leaning, liberal shows may not appeal to us.

As usual, the Hollywood executives missed the point.

What makes Blue Collar TV funny is that Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and the others are true Blue Collar guys. They’re “rednecks”. They understand blue collar people. Jeff is from Georgia, Larry’s from Nebraska, Bill and Ron are from Texas.

The creator of "My Name is Earl", Gregory Thomas Garcia, went to college in Maryland. Jason Lee is a Southern California skateboarder dude. Ethan Suplee, who plays Earl’s brother Randy, is from Manhattan. Even Nadine Velazquez, who plays the hot Mexican maid, is from Chicago.

Jaime Pressly, as Joy, has some credibility since she is from North Carolina. Even so, her character comes across as Hollywood making fun of “rednecks”.

These people playing regular blue collar folk seems like so much more Hollywood insincerity. Why couldn’t they have picked actors more appropriate for the roles? Could it be that the show is so insulting that appropriate actors weren’t interested?

Hollywood is once again trying to be something it isn’t.

I hear Fox passed on the show.

Smart move.