Monkeys in Space is the fourteenth episode of Season 1 of My Name Is Earl. Earl wants to make up for telling an embarrassing story at Hank Lange's birthday party. He has to do it fast, before Hank is sent to prison. Meanwhile, Randy looks for a job.
Episode guide[]
You know the kind of guy who does nothing but bad things then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me something bad was always waiting around the corner. Karma. That's when I realised I had to change. So I made a list of everything bad I've ever done and, one by one, I'm going to make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person; my name is Earl.
Whilst in the Crab Shack, Joy shows Earl a newspaper featuring an old friend of his, Hank Lange, who was given 20 years in prison for his crime to try to rob a liquor store with a crossbow. As he looks at the newspaper Earl remembered #18 "Told an inappropriate story at Hank Lange's birthday party", when he told a story about Hank having sex with a transvestite woman at a bachelor party. Earl realised his inappropriate story had him disrespected, a criminal and thrown in prison in the first place. Back at the Crab Shack Earl went to put some music on the jukebox, and as Randy came up to ask for money for the claw machine, Joy told him to stop mooching off his brother and to get a job for himself.
Earl and Randy went to the prison to visit Hank, and Randy asked Earl if he should get a job. Whilst being searched by the security guards, Earl said that it would be a good idea so that they would have enough lotto money to cross the items off his List, but he did not mind supporting him. Randy agreed to get a job to try and find his purpose in life, after Earl said that his purpose was the List. Earl spoke to Hank, who said that because Earl gave him one bad day, he should give him a good day before he was transferred upstate. He asked Earl to bring in his grandmother as she could not drive, to get his local newspaper from his uncle and to bring a batch of fresh doughnuts from Yummy's. Earl agreed to do so, and left.
At the Crab Shack, Earl told Catalina that visiting hours were over at noon at the prison, so he would have to wait till the next day to give Hank his good day. Meanwhile, Randy searched for a job, and after ruling out Club Chubby, being a pilot and working at the Crab Shack, Randy found a job where he would sell cleaning supplies door to door. He signed up and got the job, staring by going to Joy's trailer and testing out his selling skills on her. He told her that one bottle could clean all the windows in her house. She said that she did not believe him, and so he cleaned all the windows to show her. After he was finished, Joy said she was not interested in buying the cleaning supplies, and Randy left disheartened. After trying several other jobs including one that caused him to temporarily lose his sight, Randy concluded that he had no purpose in life and agreed to go and work at the Crab Shack as a busboy.
Meanwhile, Earl got up early, 11:00am, to go and pick up the newspaper Hank wanted. However, his uncle did not trust Earl with his mailbox key, and did not trust elevators, and so Earl had to push him, in his wheelchair, all the way down the stairs of his third storey apartment. By the time he got him back up, it was almost noon so Earl decided to get up even earlier, 8:00am, the next day. He then went to Yummy Donuts, but found out that one legged Didi worked there, who chased him out of the store. He found a way to get the doughnuts, by calling up the store forcing Didi away from the counter, running in and grabbing some doughnuts, then leaving cash on the counter. However, once again he did not finish in time to get to the prison.
Earl got up at 7:00am the next day, and did the same routine as the day before. This time he made it through everything, but when he went to pick up Hank's grandmother it took him an hour to find a parking spot, and when he did it was already noon. The next day, getting up at 6:00am, Earl managed to pick up Hank's grandmother but had problems when she refused to let him put her eye drops in. By the time he eventually did it, it was noon. Meanwhile, Randy said that he did not enjoy his job at the Crab Shack, but thought it could be his purpose to clear up gross plates. He told Earl that he had the next day off, and offered to come along and help with Hank's good day. Randy assisted Earl with getting Hank's uncle down the stairs, buying the doughnuts, and putting his grandmother's eyedrops in, allowing them to get to the prison at 6:30am, just an hour and a half after they got up.
Earl realized that with Randy's help he could cross the items off his List a lot easier, and he had been with him when he had done most of them. He told Randy that maybe his purpose was to help Earl with his List, and Randy agreed to do that instead of working at the Crab Shack.
Notes[]
- This is the episode where we find out that Catalina works at Club Chubby.
- Although the state name on the license plate of Earl's car is painted out, from the color and arrangement of the numbers and letters, it is clearly a California plate, even though there is no Camden county in California. From the first digit (4), it can be estimated that the car was registered in California sometime in the mid to late 1990's.
- When Earl tries to put the medicine in Hank's grandma's eyes, objects disappear to show time passage. However, a woman first disappears and then re-appears.
- When Randy says "Poopie Trip" while sleeping it's an allusion to the film Mallrats Starring Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee. Gwillam(Suplee) is staring at 3D Magic Eye poster and Brodie(Lee) startles him, Gwillam replies "Poopie Trip"
Flashbacks[]
- A flashback shows Earl at Hank Lange's birthday party telling a story about Hank when he had sex with a man he thought to be a woman at a friend's bachelor party .
List[]
- Introduced in this episode:
- - #18 Told an inappropriate story at Hank Lange's birthday party. (It is expected that Earl crosses this off)
Featured music[]
- "Time Has Come Today" by The Chambers Brothers
- "Peace Frog" by The Doors
- "Got the Time" by Joe Jackson
- "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet
- "The Weight" by The Band
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[]
- Tracy Ashton as Didi
Guest starring[]
- Tim DeKay as Hank Lange
- E.J. Callahan as Uncle Charlie
- Donna Hardy as Hank's Grandmother
- Booth Colman as Scientist
- Daniele O'Loughlin as Nurse
- Michael Hagiwara as Orderly
My Name is Earl Season 1 | Season 2 > | |||||||
#00 Bad Karma | ||||||||
#01 | Pilot | #07 | Stole Beer from a Golfer | #13 | Stole P's HD Cart | #19 | Y2K | |
#02 | Quit Smoking | #08 | Joy's Wedding | #14 | Monkeys in Space | #20 | Boogeyman | |
#03 | Randy's Touchdown | #09 | Cost Dad the Election | #15 | Something to Live For | #21 | The Bounty Hunter | |
#04 | Faked My Own Death | #10 | White Lie Christmas | #16 | The Professor | #22 | Stole a Badge | |
#05 | Teacher Earl | #11 | Barn Burner | #17 | Didn't Pay Taxes | #23 | BB | |
#06 | Broke Joy's Fancy Figurine | #12 | O Karma, Where Art Thou? | #18 | Dad's Car | #24 | Number One |