My Dad's Name Is Earl

And my Grandfather's name is Earl. So you might say I had more than the usual amount of interest in the NBC's new comedy "My Name is Earl."

There aren't a whole lot of Earls in our neck of the woods. And I always thought my grandparents were a little nuts to call him by his middle name of Earl when he had a somewhat more conventional first name. (You'd think his father, Earl Sr,. would've known better.) But my dad did manage to be a very cool "Duke" in college (as in "Duke of Earl")

Duke, er, Earl is fond of saying that the only other people he's met with his name have been farmers or black. (For the record, he is neither.) In the very least, he can now add small-time-crook-trying-to-make-good-TV-character to his list. (For the record, he is not that either.)

The advance word on this show was so good, I didn't think it would live up to the hype. But I couldn't even count the number of times my husband laughed out loud during last week's episode. And he's usually more of a laughing-on-the-inside kind of guy.

There were the kind of lines in that show (particularly the voiceover stuff) that I aspire to in my writing. Note that I said "aspire." Unfortunately, in my case I'm coming up with my (theoretically) funniest stuff when I'm drifting off to sleep and those clever lines are long gone by the time I actually start to write...like now...

O.K., enough of my little endorsement. I can only hope tonight's show is as well done as episode 1.

If it is, the only real loser will probably be my dad. The show's success will mean he's probably going to have to deal with the title (and whatever goofy comments people throw his way about being "Earl") for a long time.

NBC's official site for the show