Get a Real Job is the 22nd episode of Season 2 of My Name Is Earl, and the 46th episode overall. Earl and Randy get jobs in the shipping department at Waadt Appliance to cross off #273B Get a real job. When Earl tries to get promoted to salesman, he gets his customers stolen away by the other junior college educated staff. With Joy's court date approaching, she makes another irrational decision, and prepares Darnell and her kids for their uncertain future without her.
Episode guide[]
Earl and Randy don't usually set the alarm clock, but today is their first day at their new jobs, stocking appliances for Mr. Waadt. Up until now, Earl has kept himself from becoming an adult, #273B on his list. Once he got his GED, it was time to start looking for a job. Earl learned that it's easy to get a job, but hard to find one you want to keep.
Earl got a real job
While Earl's feeling good to be part of the workforce, Joy is enjoying her own little dose of reality. After stocking up on green punch, she and Darnell run into her deaf lawyer's word talker Doug in a parking lot. Joy insults Doug, mistaking his old-looking wife for his mother. Miffed, Doug reminds Joy that her trial starts next week, and maybe she shouldn't have bought all that punch - Joy might be going to jail.
Supervisor Reggie explains the perks of the job to Randy and Earl: everyone gets a one-week vacation and a store credit card. Twice a day the guys eat snacks from the vending machine. After four hours, Earl's already not sure if he can perform this job for the rest of his life. When salesman Ricky calls Earl to the sales floor, it's just like the first day he drank chocolate milk and realized he wanted to have a moustache for the rest of his life - Earl wants to sell appliances in the front of the store.
Reggie explains that no one's ever moved from the back to the front of the store. It's a little ironic: the salesman all wear Dockers, but they call the guys who work in the back Dockers,' because they work on the loading dock. The Dockers wear Dickies, which is what they call the guys who work in the front, because they are. Meanwhile, Joy prepares for the possibility of prison by trading in the Subaru BRAT for a car that will accommodate her family, buying a life-like sex doll for Darnell, and learning to speak Mexican.
Earl goes the extra mile to show Mr. Waadt that he wants to be a salesman. The Dockers think Earl is sucking up, despite his claims of being a regular guy. Earl remarks that he's spent his whole life making fun of people who try to get ahead - maybe he was wrong. All the Dockers, even Randy, try to sabotage Earl, but Mr. Waadt takes notice of his hard work, and gives Earl a shot. If he can sell $5000 in appliances by end of day Sunday, he's in.
Now that Earl's wearing Dockers, all the salesman, led by smarmy Ricky, promise they'll do whatever it takes to keep Earl from joining their ranks. On Sunday, it looks like Earl has failed to reach his goal, when a little old church lady comes in to the store to purchase a boatload of appliances for a soup kitchen. Earl asks the Dockers to load the truck, but they refuse, so Earl does it himself. The guys are amazed - no Dickie has ever pulled his own stock! While he's busy, Ricky lies to the church lady and scoops the sale.
Stress will make you do crazy things, as Darnell finds out, when he wakes up next to the sex doll. Joy has left him a video, explaining that she traded in the Brat because she needed a bigger trunk, and learned Mexican because she's going on the lam to Mexico to escape prison! She begs Darnell's forgiveness and promises to send for him and the kids as soon as she can. It's closing time at the store, and despite a rousing don't-give-up speech from Reggie, Earl turns his in his tie and name tag to Mr. Waadt.
Reggie knocks on Mr. Waadt's office door. He puts down his store credit card, demanding to buy a refrigerator from Earl. Ricky's protests fall on deaf ears, as all the Dockers line up to buy appliances from Earl in a show of solidarity for one of their own. Earl wins the day, and is promoted to salesman. Sadly, Joy's not having the same luck in Mexico
Notes[]
- This episode originally aired as a super-sized episode on NBC that ran 24 minutes without commercials. It was later cut to 21 minutes for syndication. DVD and streaming versions use the original super-sized edit.
- Earl's first job is at Waadt Appliance.
- The Spanish phrase that Catalina teaches Joy, literally translated, is "Good day, I am here to be your bitch"
- Nadine Velasquez is of Puerto Rican decent and in the show she is supposed to be from Bolivia. Joy also asks her to teach her to speak Mexican. When Catalina says the word "perra" she pronounces it how a Puerto Rican would which sounds more like "peja." This is different from how a Bolivian or a Mexican would pronounce it.
- Guest stars MacKenzie Astin and Sean Astin, who both play salesmen, are brothers. They are the sons of actors Patty Duke and John Astin.
- Earl's attempts to become a salesman parody "Rudy", which guest stars Sean Astin, Charles S. Dutton, and Chelcie Ross starred in.
- The clip of the baby walking on water that plays after Joy's videotape is from the Pilot episode of "Yes, Dear". Another show made by Greg Garcia.
Flashbacks[]
List[]
- Crossed off in this episode
- -#273B Get a real job.
Featured music[]
- "Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8)" by Jerry Reed
- "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum
- "Working Man" by Rush
- "Midnight Rider" by Gregg Allman
Memorable quotes[]
- Earl: Rise and shine, hands off... mine! Randy, hands off mine!
- Joy: So 'snap' is 'chasquido.' "Oh, Chasquido" - that'll work.
- Darnell: Oh, my god!
- Joy: Found one that looks just like me! She takes two triple-A batteries and you can get'em at Dodges Lite Brite. Check that out - she has even got that new car smell. I know how you like that!
- Darnell: I do like that smell, but I also like the smell of bacon but I'm not gonna fornicate it.
- Earl: I don't know if I mentioned this, but the microwave you bought has a tray that spins around so your food doesn't get tired of the view!
- Reggie: Hey rookie, anyone ever teach you the right way to use a broom? You take the handle, put it at a 45 degree angle, lean it against a wall, then sit your ass down and eat some lunch!
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
Recurring[]
- Billy Gardell as Billy Hoyne
Guest starring[]
- Sean Astin as Ricky
- MacKenzie Astin as Brandon
- Charles S. Dutton as Reggie
- Chelcie Ross as Mr. Waadt
- Fred Stoller as Fred
- Jonathan Slavin as Doug
- Pamela Kosh as Mrs. O'Leary
- Polly Humphreys as Woman #1
- Jennie Fahn as Woman #2
 < 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 | |||