Harassed a Reporter is the 19th episode of Season 2 of My Name Is Earl, and the 43rd episode overall. Earl and Randy work to cross #29 off of The List. Earl tries to make amends with a television reporter, Nicole Moses, whose career went down after constantly interrupting her live reports. Randy embraces the true power of Karma and the media as a way to get out of his brother's shadow. Nicole interviews Earl about his past and the list in hopes that it will bring back her career.
Episode guide
During another sleepless night alongside Randy, Earl watches TV news reporter Nicole Moses, who's been relegated to the "Up Before Dawn" show. Years before, Randy and Earl clowned around behind Nicole as she covered a meth lab explosion. The brothers gained notoriety with this "crazy arms" dance and embarked on a quest to harass Nicole during all her live reports.
Nicole finally had a meltdown on camera, beating Randy and Earl with her microphone and sending her career down the tubes. Nicole is now #29 on Earl's list, so he and Randy visit her at the TV station. Nicole thinks she can redeem her career with a heartwarming story pulled from Earl's list, and he promises to help.
Now that he cares what people think, Earl is nervous to appear on camera, but Randy's excited to be on TV even though Nicole isn't interested in him. Earl closes his eyes and picks a story from his list: losing an important client for a business woman. When the woman turns out to be Patty, Nicole exclaims that she can't do a heartwarming story about a hooker.
Earl comes up with a better story: he'll make up for the time he obliterated Earl Jr. and Dodge's beloved playhouse with his El Camino. Nicole loves the idea of building the kids a new playhouse, but informs Randy that he won't appear on camera, because it's not his story.
Dejected, Randy seeks solace from Joy, who advises him to break away from Earl and be his own man. Excited, Randy resolves to make a list of all the good things he's done, and mess with those people while wearing a sombrero. Later, Earl and Catalina are shocked to see Randy doing a "crazy head" routine on Nicole's weather report.
Randy arrives at the motel wearing a sombrero to get his own news story, and when he does, he's going to make sure Earl's a part of it, because that's something Earl wouldn't do. Earl apologizes, promising Randy that they'll build the new playhouse together.
Nicole's not happy with Randy's participation, but Earl makes sure that Randy gets plenty of camera time. Later, everyone's at the Crab Shack to see Nicole's piece on the evening news. Nicole announces that Earl's heartwarming story is all about how he takes care of his mentally disabled brother, Randy. Embarrassed, Randy takes off.
Randy runs to the TV station to confront Nicole. She explains that she had to make the story more interesting, and all she did was make him look stupid on TV, just like he did to her; it's karma. Earl offers to ask Nicole to re-edit the piece, but Randy is satisfied - karma finally noticed him. Using their crazy arms, the brothers cross #29 off the list together.
Amigos de Garcia Productions Vanity Card
Notes
Flashbacks
List
- List items introduced in this episode:
- - Unnumbered list item 19 Cost Patty the Daytime Hooker a klient (this was misspelled on the list).
- List items introduced and crossed off in this episode:
Featured music
"The Claw" by Jerry Reed
Memorable quotes
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
Guest starring
- Leigh Allyn Baker as Nicole Moses
- Jorge Noa as Nick Chavez
 < 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 | |||