GED is the 21st episode of Season 2 of My Name Is Earl, and the 45th episode overall. After Earl gets rejected to apply for a credit card for not having a high school diploma, a job, or a real place to live, he decides he needs to take some big steps towards finally growing up. When Earl returns to school he gets a taste of what it's like to teach juvenile delinquents when he asks his old high school teachers to help him get his G.E.D.
Episode guide[]
A lady called Natalie was giving away t-shirts to apply for a credit card at the Crab Shack, when it was Earl’s turn to get a shirt Natalie refused to give him a credit card because he was considered homeless, unemployed and uneducated. Earl was depressed when the bank didn’t consider him an adult Darnell tried to cheer him pointing out he was doing the List but Joy just mocked him for not doing it in number order, Catalina suggest adding it to his list that he screwed himself out for being an adult which Earl thinks is a good idea and did that he also wrote other items with little letters underneath like he seen grown ups do.
The next day Earl and Randy did their GED as it was too late to get a high school diploma but Earl was having trouble answering the questions so decided to go back to high school to tell the teachers he wanted to come back but they refused to teach him because they got tired of dealing with rotten little fuzz nuts like him that kept misbehaving until the pranks got out of hand, they even they tried in school suspension but they couldn’t get substitutes to cover the class anymore Earl told the teacher he need them to get his GED and said he would do anything.
So the teachers made Earl teach the class on his first day he got hit by five spit balls and a homemade Chinese star so on day two Earl prepared to get the students inspired and turn them around so they didn’t end up like him, Earl tired straight talking to the kids but one of the students Nick called him gay for sleep in the same bed with Randy so Earl decide to show him his motel room and Joy to show them what they life would turn out to be if they didn’t change and how much life would be if he stayed in school but failed to get thought to them. One of the students called Summer came up to Earl after everyone left to tell him she didn’t want to be a loser so Earl taught Summer every piece of advice he could give her until he learned that it was just a distraction so Nick and his friends could tip his car on to its side. Earl was so mad he told the teacher to stand up and fight back as they were in charge, they told him they weren’t allowed to hurt the students but Earl said not hurting them just give them a taste of their own medicine.
The next day the teacher played the same pranks the students pulled on them but saved the worst prank for Nick, Mr. Baldwyn used to be a mechanic so had wired Nick’s car so that when he started it the CD player would play “I have a tiny penis” on a loop and when he tried to turn it off the airbags would go off then the doors would lock and he would be give a shock when he tried to open them. On their lunch break Earl, Randy and the teachers went in to the staff room office to watch and film to look on students face but when Nick’s car it exploded when he unlocked it, the teacher started to worry that were going to jail for attempted murder but the explosion did then a favour as the students who thought the teachers were trying to kill them for pushing the pranks to far started acting nicer.
The teachers were so grateful to have control over the classroom they started teaching Earl and Randy and they liked learn so much they took classes that weren’t on the GED test, Earl felt good when he retook his GED test and handed it in, Randy didn’t draw a picture on the answers because he knew too many of them so drew an elf called Finster on a different piece of paper to hand to the teacher. Earl felt proud of himself so doing something big and hang his GED in his motel room then crossed 273A off his list, Randy applied his newly learnt skills by correcting his spelling on Randy was here message he made with a knife on the side of the door.
Earl's completed the GED on April 2, 2007. His scores by subject:
Subject | Standard Score | Percentile Rank |
---|---|---|
Language Arts, Reading | 480 | 38 |
Language Arts, Writing | 440 | 27 |
Mathematics | 410 | 16 |
Science | 490 | 42 |
Social Studies | 440 | 27 |
ESL | n/a | n/a |
Each subject requires a 410 to pass, and the total battery average must be 450 or higher. Earl's battery score is 452 (total of 2260/5 required tests).
Notes[]
- Earl attributes the aphorism "Hazy dreams produce hazy results" to "ibid". "Ibid" is short for the Latin word "ibidem" (in the same place). It just means that the current reference in a list (in this case, a list of quotations) is identical to the previous one, not that the quotation was originated by someone named "Ibid".
- The camera's perspective of the teachers looking under the hood of the car is reminiscent of a directing trademark of Quentin Tarantino (although usually Tarantino's characters are looking into a car's trunk).
- When filling in the multiple choice answer paper, Randy (Ethan Suplee) holds up his sheet saying "...it's a sail boat". This is a reference to his character in Mallrats who, throughout the entirety of the film, fails to see a sail boat within a Magic Eye picture.
Flashbacks[]
List[]
Introduced in this episode:
- 273 Kept myself from being an adult.
- 273A Finish high school.
- 273B Get a real job.
- 273C Move out of the motel.
Crossed off in this episode:
- 273A Finish high school.
Featured music[]
- "19th Nervous Breakdown" by The Rolling Stones
- "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers
- "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen
- "Low Rider" by War
- "Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke
Memorable quotes[]
- Earl: Catalina, tell these guys why they don't want to be like me?
- Catalina: Well, one night, a speed freak broke into his room, slammed Earl's head in the bathtub until he passed out, then went to the bathroom and left without flushing.
- Earl: Stop freaking out. Look, I've accidentally exploded tons of stuff in my life and nothing been traced back to me. Now the important thing is we go about our normal business and act casual. Got it? See, this what I'm talking about. Ms McCulin, rocking with your hands buried in your crotch is not acting casual.
- Ms McCulin: But, I'm nervous
- Randy: It's okay, you can get him with the next bomb, you just have to delay it a little.
- Ms Hardin: They're gonna call this terrorism.
- Mr. Romacks: We're going to Guantanamo. Game, set, match.
- Earl: What the hell!
- (Earl's car is flipped on it's side)
- Randy: I don't remember you parking the car like that. (kids laugh) How'd I even get out?
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Jason Lee as Earl Hickey
- Ethan Suplee as Randy Hickey
- Jaime Pressly as Joy Turner
- Nadine Velazquez as Catalina
- Eddie Steeples as Darnell Turner
Guest starring[]
- Kurt Fuller as Mr. Baldwyn
- Alex Morris as Mr. Romacks
- Vicki Juditz as Mrs. McCullen
- Mary-Pat Green as Ms. Hardin
- Jeanette Brox as Summer
- Jesse Head as Nick Daily
- Sharon Sachs as Natalie
- Andrew Caldwell as Superglued Kid
- Arjay Smith as Clint
< Season 1 | My Name is Earl Season 2 | Season 3 > | ||||||
#01 | Very Bad Things | #07 | Mailbox | #13 | Buried Treasure | #19 | Harassed a Reporter | |
#02 | Jump for Joy | #08 | Robbed a Stoner Blind | #14 | Kept a Guy Locked in a Truck | #20 | Two Balls, Two Strikes | |
#03 | Sticks & Stones | #09 | Born a Gamblin' Man | #15 | Foreign Exchange Student | #21 | GED | |
#04 | Larceny of a Kitty Cat | #10 | South of the Border, Part Uno | #16 | B.L.O.W. | #22 | Get a Real Job | |
#05 | Van Hickey | #11 | South of the Border, Part Dos | #17 | The Birthday Party | #23 | The Trial | |
#06 | Made a Lady Think I Was God | #12 | Our 'Cops' Is On! | #18 | Guess Who's Coming Out of Joy |