"My Name is Earl" is about a guy you shouldn't really like because he's done a lot of things that you can't believe he's done.

The reason you will like him, or at least watch him, is because Earl is trying to be a better person.

Earl Hickey was a two bit hood who has a long list of nefarious behavior. After he wins the lottery, he instantly gets hit by a car.

He decides this is karma punishing him for all the bad things he's done. So he decides to write down that list and go through each one, making up for all the mistakes he's made.

Jason Lee plays Earl with a lot of humor, but also a lot of heart. We understand almost immediately even if he's done bad things, he's not really a bad guy. This is especially evident in the way he takes care of his sweet and simple brother Randy, played by Ethan Suplee.

He's also really determined to make things right. Once he committed to the list, he was bound and determined to keep to it, even when it would have been easier for him to walk away. Therefore it's easier to root for him, because his goal is so selfless in nature.

The true comic gem of this offbeat sitcom is Earl's ex wife Joy, played by the super talented, Emmy winning Jaime Pressly. Unlike Earl, she's not one bit sorry for the things she does - the short list including passing off a son as Earl's she actually made with her secret lover, ultra laid back "Crab Man" Darnell (Eddie Steeples).

With Nadine Velazquez rounding out the cast as maid/stripper Catalina, this eclectic bunch manage to work both with and against Earl's noble goal.

It is because this goal is so noble they can really dance up to the line of outrageousness each week. As Earl narrates to us his back story, we get to see him at his baddest. From faking his death to break up with a girl to stealing a car from a one legged girl, any and everything goes. There will be times you'll say, "Surely they won't go *there*," and times you say, "they actually *did* go there!"

Needless to say, this is not a comedy for the fainthearted.

Surprisingly, when creator Gregory Thomas Garcia took his irreverent premise over to Fox, they (of Simpsons and Family Guy fame) decided to pass. NBC would later pounce on their error after reading the pilot, the same pilot that ended up winning an Emmy in 2006.

Camden County is full of characters you've likely never seen on TV before, but with an earnest Earl at the wheel, this is a Camino you won't mind getting into.

A+

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