TVSquad

If any of you Hickey fans were hoping that the show might live on in cable, it's time for me to shatter all your hopes and dreams like that first girl who told you you just weren't all that. The truth hurts. It looks like the producers couldn't make the numbers work, so new episodes of My Name Is Earl won't be coming to TBS after all. I'm of mixed feelings about this now. I really enjoyed the show for the most part, but now that I have some distance from it, I don't think I'll be too shattered if it's gone.

Did Earl ever finish his list? I haven't seen the show in a couple of seasons (though I really liked the first season or so), and I ask because, well, this could turn out to be His Name Was Earl, since NBC is very close to saying bye-bye to the sitcom. How does this rank as a series finale if this season finale does indeed turn out to be a series finale?

I think it's safe to say that My Name Is Earl is a prime example of a show that has lost its buzz. Remember when everyone was talking about how good and clever this show was? Now, even though it still leads off NBC's Thursday night schedule, it's not really a show that viewers talk about a lot. Of course, "buzz" doesn't necessarily equal quality, so tell me, are you still watching, and is it still as good as it used to be? It has to be good - Geraldo Rivera was in this episode!

So what's a second banana? Well they're certainly not second best. No, in fact they're often the main reason to tune into a particular show. Not because the show's major plotlines revolve around them, in fact they generally don't, but because they liven up every scene they're in. Virtual show-stealers, a good second banana can turn a generic sitcom or drama into television gold. The ultimate wingman on television, there was no greater second banana than my man Barney Fife, brilliantly played by Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show, and later Mayberry R.F.D.

When it came time to put together this list, I wondered if I'd be able to find ten viable and qualified bananas on the airwaves today. But I guess I needn't have worried. It looks like Barney was an inspiration (in more ways than one) to the current crop of second bananas. They litter their peels all over the television landscape, leaving us to trip over in laughter time and time again at their antics. But how do they stack up? Who's the biggest fruit in the tree? There's only one way to find out!

(S04E1/S04E02) "Kenny, I'll get you a Wet-Nap. Your people love those." - Earl Hickey

Well, they wasted no time getting Earl back on track this season.

I must admit that while I enjoyed some of Earl's coma dreams and most of his stay in prison, even I was relieved to see the list back in play.

It's been so long since I've seen Seth Green be funny in anything, I forgot how funny he actually is. Seeing how Green spends a good part of his career making short films and animation that mercilessly mock the current state of cinema, he was the perfect choice for his role.

(S03E18) " I got shoulder-humped by a doberman...to completion." - Tiffany Henson

I was wondering when the hospital would get around to giving Earl the boot. It only makes sense that Camden County's health care facilities are run just like everything else in the area. I love the idea of Camden Cash. I think I'll pitch the idea to some of our overcrowded hospitals here in Los Angeles.

Remember a few weeks ago, when I said how much I envied Jason Lee? Well, after seeing him wedged in that shopping cart and bounced around in that wheelchair, I am forced to rescind that statement. It's good to see Mr. Lee is still willing to work for a living.

(S02E15) Two of my favorite things about My Name is Earl are that the show has great supporting characters, and that while each episode stands on its own, the producers reward viewers who have been following the program all along by bringing back characters and plotlines where you least expect them.

This episode does a great job on both of those fronts. In fact, while I tend to prefer episodes where Earl gets to cross something off his list, this episode would have been just fine if Earl hadn't been in it at all. I'm not sure I'd watch a show with Randy or Joy as the main character (although last week's My Name is Randy/Joy/Crabman sequences make me wonder), but they can each certainly hold their own in a fight. Or at least we know Joy can.

When the networks all get together at their secret meeting. . . you know, the one where they laugh about how none of the mysteries will be solved on Lost and where they try to figure out how many more shows they can stuff into Thursday nights to cause our DVRs to have a meltdown . . . they need to adopt a new amendment into their secret constitution. An amendment that will be as important as the one that decrees that Cop Rock will never be duplicated, and the one that commands CBS to continually green light shows by Joe Pantoliano and then cancel them or keep them off the air entirely.

I'm talking about the amendment that prevents the networks from making live-action remakes of classic animated programs ever again. Especially if it is a remake of an animated holiday classic that millions of viewers still remember fondly. Because, no matter how hard they try to stay truthful to the original, they always manage to screw it up. Particularly when they decide to update the live-action remake of the animated holiday classic to reflect modern fads and values. When they try that disaster looms.

I'm not sure I like this news. The television reporter at the Washington Post is reporting that every episode of My Name is Earl will not be about checking something off his list. According to Lisa de Moraes, the writers/creators felt confined by the format and only stuck with it to see if they could get through the first season (and be renewed). Apparently, some episodes will have nothing to do with the list. The Post reporter doesn't say what the other episodes will be about. The writing on the show is definitely hilarious but I kind of liked the gimmick of Earl having to cross something off his list each week. Although, I can see how that would get old after a few seasons. Guess we'll have to see what they come up with. See how I talked myself off the edge?

How do you feel about this change?

Cool link here. It sends you to the homepage for a company called Legend Films. Their specialty? Colorizing old black and white movies so that classic cinema is more appealing to the current crop of film-goers. Anywho, they were tasked with colorizing that one scene from Entourage's "Queens Boulevard." It played a big role in this episode. Vince and Walsh (the director) refused to sanction the release of the film unless it was put out in it's original black and white format. No word yet on whether or not the film will actually be released in the world of Entourage. But if you'd like to see the whole scene in color (past episodes have only given us Vince's "I am Queens Boulevard" line), now you can. It's a little cheesy, but definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of the show. Now all we need is that scene from Aquaman with Vince running down the pier? Anyone?

[Thanks to commenter Barry for pointing this out!]

Ethan Suplee (pronounced soo-PLEE) plays lovable Randy Hickey on the NBC hit comedy, My Name is Earl. He has a long list of movie roles, including three Kevin Smith movies and a cameo in the upcoming Clerks II, roles in American History X, Without a Paddle, Cold Mountain, Butterfly Effect and the newly released Art School Confidential. Ahead of tonight's season finale, Ethan took some time to talk to me about the first season of Earl, antics on the set, and about a certain cat he let out of the bag regarding an extra episode on the upcoming Earl DVD.

How do I know it's a holiday? When I find myself watching reruns of Boy Meets World on ABC Family (I usually have the YES simulcast of the Mike and the Mad Dog radio show on during the afternoons --  nice background noise while I do my work -- but they're off today). In the episode I watched, I saw a couple of people who would become future stars, ironically much bigger than any of the kids who were the stars of that show (I mean, has anyone heard from the person who played Topanga lately?).

One was Brittany Murphy, who played Topanga's best friend Trini. The second, and more surprising, find was Ethan Suplee, who currently steals every scene as Randy in My Name Is Earl. He played Frankie Stechino, half of a bully team that terrorized the school. It was tough to recognize Ethan at first, because he was much heavier back then (the episode was from 1995) than he is now. But I thought he was pretty funny; he put on a wiseguy accent and did a good job of being a "smart" thug. He and his partner, Joey the Rat, even did a nice little take on Reservoir Dogs. You could definitely see the comic potential in Ethan just from those scenes. Good thing he dropped some weight, though; he was unhealthily heavy back then. I can't imagine anyone else playing Randy, know what I mean?

He has the pox! Production for My Name is Earl was halted over the weekend because Jason Lee has red, itchy spots all over his body. So far, no one else in the cast or on the production crew has chicken pox. NBC says Jason is pretty miserable and highly contagious, so he'll be out of commission for several weeks.

Of course, show creator Greg Garcia had a great comment about Jason's misery. He said, "I saw him shake Charlie Sheen's hand at the Golden Globes, and the next morning he woke up with bumps all over him."