You know the kind of guy who does nothing but weird things and then wonders why weird things happen to him? Well, that was me. Every time something normal happened to me, something weird was always waiting around the corner: karma. That’s when I realized I had to change, so I decided to stop being so weird and act normal to those people around me. I’m just trying to be a normal guy. My name is Thomas.
For those who do not get the parody reference I will clue you in. That is a parody of the intro sequence to the television show “My Name is Earl.” As of late, this show has been my guilty pleasure all throughout winter break for an easy laugh and a good message. Originally released on NBC in 2005 and running for four seasons until 2009, the show centers itself around a largely, and intentionally, misguided concept of karma and how it works.
The general premise of the show is simple, as explained by the central protagonist Earl Hickey in the show’s opening sequence: “You know the kind of guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting around the corner: karma. That’s when I realized that I had to change, so I made a list of everything bad I’ve ever done and one by one I’m gonna make up for all my mistakes. I’m just trying to be a better person. My name is Earl.”
The show makes it easy to understand and watch from any point in the series, but there is a little more depth behind it than what Earl mentions. The series takes place in a made-up place called Camden County. It is both a bit of a desert and a bit of a suburb all at the same time, to give it a fairly ambiguous location for viewers. But one thing is clear about Camden County—it is not all too affluent. The people there all retain some sort of stereotype held about redneck middle America. Whether it be the day-time hooker trying to make a few bucks, the old librarian who steals town relics, the illegal immigrant working a number of jobs, the trailer park mom who always finds herself in front of a jury, the friendly idiot who loves doing weird things or Earl, who just loves stealing; it is clear that none of these people are perfect.
But the common thread that runs through all of them is that they are all people who are trying to look out for themselves and make do with what they have. But none of them want to change into better people until Earl gets hit by a car. The car crash knocked a winning lottery ticket out of Earl’s hand, and that’s when he realized nothing good would happen to him until he did good for others. So upon doing a few good things and finding the lottery ticket which won him $100,000, Earl decided to use the money to make up for all the bad things that he has ever done to others in his life: karma (or so he thinks).
The show follows Earl and his brother Randy as they live out of a motel and slowly try to undo all the bad things they have done to others, things as simple as making up for bullying to more complicated crimes, such as stealing a woman’s prosthetic leg—there is a lot for the two of them to do. As they explore their town and learn more about everyone who lives in it, the show watches over them as they come to gain compassion for everyone around them. No one in Camden County is perfect, and that’s the idea, but all of them are a community and because of Earl they all slowly become better people.
There are no real love interests between people or relationships that we watch develop out of that sort of love but rather we watch a community come together. It is easy to laugh at all of the outrageous and funny things Earl and Randy did when they were younger, like harassing a news anchor, but it is just as easy to end each episode with a good feeling inside you from watching them make up for it.
The show is not intrinsically deep or designed to change the world but it does give something to the viewer: humanity. It is a good reminder that no matter where we come from, what we believe, or what we do we are all people trying to figure things out for ourselves and get by. We may all show affection and appreciation in different ways but it does not mean it does not exist between us. Karma may not be a force that immediately gives us good things in return for doing good things as Earl may believe but that concept is certainly a good way to walk through life.
As a show, it is designed to look rough and as if it was filmed by the redneck types who are featured in it, but it all adds to the charm. The show, like its characters, isn’t perfect and it’s never going to be recognized as perfect television but it gets across what it needs to—it doesn’t take a genius to make the world a better place.
