TVSquad

After what seemed like an interminable Winter Olympics break, My Name is Earl finally comes back to Thursday night. Life is indeed good again.

This week, we come to find that Earl neglected to pay his taxes after working in an asbestos-filled room with his brother Randy a while back. He did pay his share of fines to the municipality over the years, but Earl feels he owes it to the government and adds this task to his list.

Earl is doing his level best to repay the government in a number of innovative ways, including filling in a pothole on the main highway. Of course, things go awry when a police officer accuses him of burying a baby in the hole at gunpoint, and Earl eventually "undigs" the pothole. He then gets the idea to join a prison road gang, where he meets up with an old friend who is doing time. All of the cons are dressed in jeans and white t-shirts, and as the day goes on and the heat beats down on the gang, Earl takes off his shirt and is in his jeans and white t-shirt. When the guard begins to gather everyone back on the bus, Earl is mistaken for a prisoner, and despite his protestations, is driven to prison.

Earl's pleas that he is not a prisoner are ignored, and he ends up in solitary confinement to the strains of Humble Pie's "30 Days in the Hole." (A BRILLIANT song choice!) Finally, after a few meals, Earl is released. One would think that he would put this part of his list aside, but Earl is determined to make amends, even though he has become frustrated with the government and how they don't seem to care.

He then gets the bright idea to do something that will get him heavily fined so he can pay the government back. He and Randy then decide to trespass and climb the local water tower, which they've done many times before. They seem to have it down to a science with their intricate use of ropes. After reaching the top, they do their best to get somebody's attention, but to no avail.

Suddenly, after Randy jumps up and down on the roof, it cracks, and the brothers tumble down and end up being hung by the waist with their ropes. They are amazed to discover that there is no water in the water tower, and they end up hanging there for a couple of days. (There's a great moment where they both sing "The Greatest American Hero" theme song.)

After a series of events that occur while they are hanging in the water tower, the boys end up being rescued by the local fire brigade. Earl comes to the realization that the government exists to help people, and he goes into a semi-patriotic soliloquy about it. Earl pays the fine for trespassing, and all is right with him and his world.

It was a nice return for Earl. What I'm liking is that in his quest for karma, Earl has to confront his own frailties and frustrations and is learning that doing good for others isn't that easy.