The BEST episodes of My Name Is Earl season 1
Every episode of My Name Is Earl season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of My Name Is Earl season 1!
Earl Hickey's life has been full of poor choices and mistakes, and upon discovering that he is the holder of a winning lottery ticket, Earl is hit by a car and the ticket blows out of his hand as he lies unconscious in the street. While recovering in the hospital and watching television, Earl has a karmic epiphany, thanks to Carson Daly, who attributes his success to doing good for others. A light bulb goes on in Earl's dim head, and he sets out to right every wrong he has done. He will turn his good fortune into a life changing event, as he sets out to right all the wrongs from his past. Despite his seemingly limited intelligence, he is oddly effective and has a voice and style of his own.
#1 - The Professor
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/9/2006
Earl's nervous about returning a laptop computer he stole from a college professor, mostly because he's uncomfortable around smart people. When the professor turns out to be a beautiful woman, he feels even more ill at ease, until she flatters him and asks him to speak about his list in front of her class. Meanwhile, Randy experiences fraternity life---and absolutely loves it.
#2 - Number One
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/11/2006
In the season finale, Earl decides to cross off the first number on his karma list, “Stole ten dollars from a guy at the Camden Market.” Earl to his dismay finds out that he owes much more than ten dollars, in fact he must surrender all his lotto winnings. Earl now ponders when karma is going to help him with his misfortunes.
#3 - Faked My Own Death
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/2005
When Earl meets a tough biker chick at a Halloween party, it looks like a match made in heaven--but when the costumes come off, the mismatch becomes apparent and Earl takes drastic measures to get out of the relationship. Now, years later, Earl must find a way to make amends for deceiving the girl.
#4 - Dad's Car
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/16/2006
It's Mother's Day again when Earl remembers that he has never given his mother a Mother's Day gift Just as he and Randy are about to finish carrying out his long overdue gift his mother decides her repayment should include Earl doing something for his father.
#5 - Broke Joy's Fancy Figurine
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/2005
In order to replace a fancy figurine that he broke, Earl lends a hand to help Joy's former adversary and her daughter win a mother/daughter beauty pageant . However, Joy enters the pageant also with her "dead" mother trying to win that same figurine, hoping to trade it for a hot tub. Recap: The episode begins with Randy sitting down at the bar. Earl walks in and hands a cereal box to Randy. He looks very happy. Earl tells Randy no more generic cereal for him. He only gets the best now. When Earl and Randy get back to the apartment, Joy is there digging through all of their stuff. Earl tells Joy she isn't getting any of his money. She tells him that all she really wants his a hot tub. Earl looks on his list and sees that Joy his on it. He tells her that he will fix that so she'll leave him alone. It says that he blew up Joy's Trophy but he can't really remember what it was for. Later that night he dreams about it. Randy and him are using firecrackers to blow stuff up. They run out of things so Earl brings Joy's trophy. It is a little girl sitting on a lawnmower with the companies name on it. The next day Earl goes to the company and asks if he can have one of the trophies. The lady there tells him that the trophies are given out to the winners of the Lawn Mower companies Mother and Daughter beauty pageant. The lady remembers when Joy won. The next year a new mother and daughter entered and that family has won every year since. Their name is the Stokers. Earl goes to the mother and daughter and asks if he can have one of their trophies. They make a deal that if Earl helps them win this year, they will give him the trophy. Earl tells Joy he is going to enter and win her a trophy. She doesn't want him to so she is going to enter, too. The beauty pageant is also has a talent show part. The reason this family has won every year is because they have a "gift" in which they can throw knives with amazing accuracy. Earl is placed on a large circle which spins ar
#6 - Randy's Touchdown
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2005
Back in their high school days, Earl ruined Randy's chance to score a touchdown during a key football game; now Earl must figure out a way to make things right. Recap: The third episode of My Name Is Earl takes a different approach then the last two. Earl adds a new quest to his list and that is getting Randy a touchdown in High school football. The story behind it is that Earl bet money that Randy's team would lose while he was playing football. Randy helped out by playing horribly, but the last play of the game, down by one touchdown, Randy finds he has the ball and starts running to the end zone. He realizes he could actually score a touchdown but chooses to fumble the ball and lose the game. Earl feels so bad about doing that he gets Randy back in to High school with the worst football team in the area. Meanwhile Earl's ex-wife Joy has Earl's car towed, along with his money hidden under the driver's seat. When Earl and Randy go to question Joy, Randy accidentally reveals where the money is hidden. The chase is on! Earl gets to the car lot first but the people working there wont let him near the car until he pays the $3,000 in parking violations on it. Joy soon shows up and gets the same answer. So now Earl has to come up with $3,000 to get his car and lottery money back. He knows there is no way to get that much money so he has to break in and steal the car. His plan comes to him when Randy is studying up on History. The Trojan Horse, but instead a car with someone hiding in the trunk. Joy is still trying to get the money, too. She pawns a bunch of things and gets closer to the $3,000. Earl gets his recently redeemed friend Kenny to help. Kenny's friend has a car they can use to get towed. After Earl fails to fit in the tiny trunk, Kenny offers to do it for him. This leaves Earl and Catalina free to go to Randy's Football game. He doesn't score a touchdown until the final play of the game, in the huddle of the team, Randy says to give the ball to him. Th
#7 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/2005
Today is the first day of the rest of Earl Hickey's life. After coming into a $100,000 scratch-off lottery ticket and losing it just as fast upon being hit by a car, Earl has an epiphany in the hospital--to make up for all the terrible things he's done in the past. With his brother Randy and a motel maid named Catalina, Earl writes up a list of every misdeed he was a part of. Earl sets out to do just that, starting with #64--Kenny James, a boy he picked on in elementary school. Recap When we meet Earl Hickey, he describes himself as "that guy you see going into the convenience store when you stop off in that little town on the way to Grandma's house--sorta shifty looking fellow who buys a pack of smokes, a couple lotto scratchers and a tallboy at 10 in the morning." He's a petty thief who proceeds to steal some CDs and a flag from a van parked outside of the aforementioned convenience store. Earl's narration introduces us to Joy, his unfaithful wife of, presumably, six years. He also introduces his two children (neither of which he fathered), Dodge and Earl Jr, and his brother Randy. The narration montage also introduces Darnell, an employee at Ernie's Crab Shack and also the father of Earl Jr. This all brings us to three weeks ago. Earl gets his due in the form of a $100,000 scratch off ticket... only to promptly lose it when he runs into traffic and gets hit by a car. He wakes up in a hospital with an injured leg and neck, a morphine drip, and divorce papers from Joy. While flipping channels on the television, Earl stops on Carson Daly's late night talk show. Carson recites his philosophy on karma and it inspires an epiphany in Earl. After he's released, he and Randy get set up in a motel room, where Randy quickly makes nice with the maid, Catalina. Earl decides that he will write out a list of all of the bad things he's done and sets out to right his wrongs. He starts with #136, being a litterbug. Right after throwing away garbage in the motel parking
#8 - O Karma, Where Art Thou?
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/2006
When Earl and Randy try to return a stolen wallet they find out taking the money had cost two newlyweds their honeymoon. In an attempt to make things right Earl takes over for the groom at his fast food restaurant. After time Earl finds out the boss is a jerk and Earl wonders how such a man with a luxurious house and beautiful wife could not be affected by the only thing he believes in, Karma. Recap: Earl and Randy wake up one cold morning at the hotel, Catalina alludes to the fact that they may be being carbon monoxide poisoned and leaves the room. Randy discovers that Earl was right when he said Randy "wasn't ready for a pet" after discovering dead "Mr. Fishy" (the goldfish) in a sealed plastic bag in his pocket. Earl however discovers number 202 on his list, "stole a wallet from a guy at a gas station." We flash back to "a few years ago" when Earl was "hanging out in a gas station bathroom, waiting for some guy to drop his pants and provide me with an opportunity." Earl screams a little too loud and a little too enthusiastically when he discovers just how much money is in the wallet and has to cover by announcing to the bathroom that "they have my favorite brand of toilet paper in here, soft stuff." Earl admits to having stolen a lot of wallets in his day, but also admits that this particular one was the mother load. And, it seems when you find yourself with a lot of money you go to Jasper's. What is Jasper's you may well ask? "Jasper"s is kind of like the mall, only it's in a storage unit and everything there was stolen from the mall." The gang spends the thousand dollars they had on many things that day and according to Earl, they were living like kings. But back to today, when faced with the reality of having to give up his helmet bought that day long ago, Randy asks Earl why he can't just give the guy back his wallet with a thousand dollars of his lottery money stuffed in it. Earl explains to Randy that the items were bought with stolen money a
#9 - Stole P's HD Cart
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/19/2006
Earl crosses another number off the list when he returns Pops’ Weiner Hot Dog cart he and Ralph (Giovanni Ribisi) stole in his youth. The good deed does not last long as Ralph, who works for a competing franchise sets fire to Pops cart. Earl now must set things right with a bizarre plan while recruiting Randy, Joy, Catalina and Darnell to assist him. Recap: After going out to eat, Earl remembers that he and Ralph stole Pop's Wiener Hot Dog cart because the competing fast food restaurant manager pay then to do it. So he decided to take it of his list. Earl when to the place where he hide the cart and went to Pop's house to returned and ask for forgiveness, Pop agree to forgive him. But it was not enough because now people are used to go to the fast food restaurant and nobody goes to Pop's anymore. Earl decided to advertise Pop's to get him back to business and he succeeds. But after Pop's got back to business Ralph burns Pop's cart because once again he got paid by the competing franchise. Earl decided that now he owe Pop a new cart so now he had to get money to buy one. He decided to get the gang together once more to plan for a new hit. While planning Ralph came up with the idea of cutting his finger and put it in the food of a restaurant and sue them, Earl dismiss the idea. He planned to get them all work in a company and steal all they could from it to get the money. Thanks to Kenny, Earl makes all the gang look qualify for the job (Kenny exchange his test with them making him look bad and them good). After all got the job, they hide and wait for the night to act. At night, they started to steal everything but then Ralph came up with stealing a huge copy machine everybody didn't wanted to do it but Earl thought that the machine would make the money quicker and decided to go for it. They went inside the room with the huge machine and try to carry it through the door but it was to big to fit, Ralph insisted in pushing it harder but it got them tra
#10 - Joy's Wedding
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/15/2005
Darnell and Joy decided to tie the knot while Earl learns thru Randy’s invitation that he is not invited. To make things worse Joy has scheduled the wedding on Earl’s birthday so that all of their friends will be unable to celebrate with him. A drunken Earl crashes the party accidentally breaking Joy’s nose and now is forced to add “ruined Joy’s wedding” to his list.
#11 - Quit Smoking
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/2005
Earl must make amends to Donny, an intimidating thug who spent two years in jail for a robbery Earl committed. Oddly enough, the only way he can do this is by helping Donny's mom quit smoking. Meanwhile, Joy discovers she's the beneficiary of Earl's will and decides to kill him!
#12 - White Lie Christmas
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/2005
As the holiday season comes under way a few secrets are exposed when Earl attempts to cross number seventy-four off of his list: "always ruined Joy's Christmas." Earl, Randy, and Catalina enter a radio contest to win a brand new car for Joy to make up for all of the thoughtless Christmas presents Earl gave her while they were married. While Randy and Catalina vie over the car, Earl finds out that Joy's parents believe that he's still their son-in-law and that he's just returned from the war in Iraq. Joy is afraid to tell her father, an alleged racist, that she is now married to Darnell, so Earl plays the part, afraid of ruining another one of her Christmases. Recap: Of course this episode is again about doing things right, but with a little difference: This time there are other people too who, well didn't do all bad things BUT they all have secrets. This episode begins with a contest. The contest consists of the following. You have to keep at least one hand on the Car which you can win at all times. (I think it's a Dodge Neon.. but I am not sure), Why does Earl want to win the contest when he got a perfectly fine '73 Al Camino with nice '77 Door and a 1987 Camero Transmission.? Of course! It's for the List! Number 74: 'Always ruined Joys Christmas'. You see a few examples. 2002: He gives her something that looks like empty shell casings and gets asked: What shall I use them for? And he says: Whatever you like. 2003: She gets flavored condoms 2004: She gets Keys and says: "Wait, these are my keys?" and he says: "Yes, I found them" (Very funny moment in this episode). Well, we are back at the contest. His brothers asks: "What does she need a new car for, she already has one" After that you see a extremely funny scene (and a little sad) where she and Darnell get out of the car .. and you see the two children in the back in the middle of the rain. And that kinda makes the point for earl. Back at the contest. Just when it began Earl shakes Randy's hand, and a
#13 - BB
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/4/2006
Earl attempts to cross out number 147 on his list "Shot Gwen Waters with a BB Gun." To make things right he must reunite Gwen with her estranged father which Earl finds increasingly difficult.
#14 - Teacher Earl
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2005
Earl decides to teach English as a Second language to cross "Made fun of people with accents" off his karma list. While Ralph an old friend is released from prison, Earl tries to convince him in the ways of karma however Ralph ends up kidnapping Randy trying to get his hands on Earl’s lotto winnings. Recap: Earl loved to make fun of people with funny accents and because of Karma, he wants to pay back all the people he made fun of. Scandinavian, Hispanic or Asian, he laughed at them all. What does he decide to do? Teach English to foreigners. While Earl and Randy are getting something to eat, one of Earl's old friends, Ralph shows up. Turns out he just finished up 18 months in prison. Now that he's out, he's eager to start stealing again. Randy and Earl tag along a bit, but Earl realizes he can't do this anymore. After Ralph steals stuff from a store, takes a bridal dress and throws all his beer cans in the apartment complex's pool, Earl decides he has to tell Ralph about the List and his changed ways. So he takes all of Ralph's stolen stuff and cleans up the pool. While cleaning the pool, Joy shows up and tells Earl he can't teach English anymore. She explains that one of Earl's students has a nail business next door to Joy's nail business. The only reason people go to Joy is because she speaks English so she doesn't want Earl's students to learn. Just then Ralph walks in and hears them talking about the List. Ralph questions Earl and he has to explain everything. Ralph doesn't really pay attention until Earl mentions the $100,000 he won. Ralph decides to give Karma a chance and he cleans up. Soon after, Ralph gets a job and an apartment room next door to Randy and Earl. He starts working at a Lamp Store. Earl is proud of Ralph until he sees that he's been stealing lamps from the store. He decides not to be friends with Ralph anymore because he still steals. Randy starts to hangout with Ralph more then Earl and tells him that it's his List and he
#15 - Stole a Badge
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/27/2006
Earl tackles No. 127 on his list by making amends for pilfering a police officer's badge. When he discovers that the theft resulted in the cop's demotion, he tries to get the officer reinstated.
#16 - Y2K
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/23/2006
When Earl is attempting to cross number 24 ("Stole a red 'Take-a-number' machine” ) off his list, Randy tries to get Earl to back down by trying to make him remember, through a flashback, how they got the machine around New Year’s Eve 1999. Darnell convinces the gang to believe that Y2K will signal the end of the world and they, happily, will be the last people on Earth.
#17 - The Bounty Hunter
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/6/2006
Number forty-five "Ditched Jessie to Marry Joy" is next on the list when Jessie, Earl's ex-girlfriend returns to town seeking revenge. Earl must protect Joy in a lakeside retreat while Randy fights not to reveal their location to Jessie.
#18 - Monkeys in Space
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/26/2006
Earl tackles number eighteen on his list when one of his old friends is arrested. Remembering that he told an inappropriate story at his birthday party he must give him one great day to make up the the terrible one before he was sent to prison.
#19 - Something to Live For
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/2/2006
Earl takes his car troubles as a sign that it is time for him to redeem himself for a long run of stealing gas out of a complete stranger's car.
#20 - Cost Dad the Election
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/2005
Earl tries to cross of number four off his list “Blew dad’s chance to be elected mayor”. Four years earlier, Carl Hickey ran for mayor to redirect a proposed airplane traffic route over his house and away from the wealthy part of town. Earl unfortunately ruins any chances of his father winning when caught in on tape assaulting a police officer. Earl must now help his father get elected and mend his relationship with his father. Recap: It begins with hearing Earl talking to himself that he is not too eager to Cross Number 86 off his list, which is: 'Stealing a Car from a 'One-legged Girl' Well but he overcomes his fear and goes to her house. He tries to explain, she curses at him and then her no-legged, but fitted with prosthetic legs, boyfriend runs after him, and as we know the Hickey Boys aren't that fast, so he catches up with him and beats him with a sign which he takes as a hint from "Karma" that he should be somewhere else that day. He thinks about that while getting beaten with a sign which says "Marty Park for Mayor". Which brings him to Number 4 on his list: "Blew Dad's Chance to get elected Mayor." For this you have to know that Earls father always complained about things and never did anything about it. But when they put the airplane route right above his neighborhood he decided to run for Mayor. In the course of that you see Earl and his brother always getting into trouble, first as children and then as young adults and their father always bailing them out of jail. But then he stopped bailing Earl out. But his opponent used the bad sons, more so Earl than Randy against him and thereby causing him to lose the election. They didn't talk since then. Well, so much for the past. Now, trying to make things right, Earl signs him up to run for Mayor again. And even finds new voters to register. But when, due to Randy's fault, the Voter Registrations are flying out of the Car and due to a misunderstanding with the Police while trying to pick up the
#21 - Stole Beer From a Golfer
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/2005
Earl attempts to help Scott (guest star Johnny Galecki) get over his preoccupation with golf--an obsession caused when he and Randy started fixing Scott’s golf game to get free beer. But after becoming so thoroughly entangled in Scott’s personal life that he drives Randy away, Earl realizes that he may be the one with the obsession.
#22 - Boogeyman
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/30/2006
Earl decides to cross off "made a kid scared of the boogeyman" from his list. Earl soon discovers just what kind of lasting affect he had on the little boy.
#23 - Barn Burner
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/5/2006
When trying to enroll her children into the Right Choice Ranch for troubled youth, Joy is denied enrollment because of a barn burning incident at the hands of a younger Earl. Earl, Randy and Catalina travel to the camp to make amends for the barn burning by building a pen for the camp’s ostrich. Earl learns the real reason behind the barn burning incident and decides that every incident on his list after the fire should be shared by Randy. Recap: The episode begins as we find Randy playing the crane game in the Crab Shack. There is a live rat inside, and Randy wins it. Unfortunately, he gets bitten as it was having it's way with Grover when Randy so rudely pulled it out. Joy complains to Darnell about the kids, saying they are even too bad to visit the "Right Choice Ranch", a place where Earl and Randy went as kids. Darnell says he is busy, but Joy reminds him that he's only delivering crabs, not doing a transplantectomy. Earl doesn't want to deal with the kids and tries to avoid Joy, but the Ranch is on his list - he burned a barn down throwing away a cigarette. He decides to go, and tries to keep it a secret because Randy is afraid of birds. When asked where they are going, Earl only offers that "they do not have funnel cakes." Upon arrival, Randy cunningly tries to avoid the birds at the Ranch (but ends up playing dead and begs two children to call the cops) while Earl volunteers to help build an ostrich pen. After seeing how much the kids enjoyed seeing his good example (and Catalina), Earl realizes that if he hadn't burned down the barn, Randy would probably have a better life. Earl decides to add Randy to the list, but Randy isn't happy about that. After some arguing, a mishap lands a nail through Earl's hand. We remember Randy's fear of blood, and he admits that it was his fault the barn burned down. Turns out he dropped an oil lamp by the still lit cigarette after a bird scared him. Earl realizes that Randy is responsible for everything -
#24 - Didn't Pay Taxes
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/2/2006
Earl attempts to cross off another deed of his list. This time trying to repay the government after failing to pay his taxes in the past.