My Name Is Earl 2.3 “The Gangs of Camden County”

It’s the open-hearted abandon of My Name Is Earl that keeps winning me back.

I was an early fan during its first season, but back then I still got the sense that it was bordering on the snide just a little too much.  There was just something about the idea of Ivy League graduates and millionaire movie stars playing white trash (and often in the crudest, last appealing possible light) that made me pause.  I couldn’t deny it was funny, but I wasn’t sure whether it was also being condescending.  As the season progressed, the writing sharpened.  The characters became deeper, arguably more sympathetic, and it became easier to empathize with their points of view.  Eventually, I felt like I was laughing with them rather than at them, and that’s the point at which My Name Is Earl hit its stride.