My Name Is

My Name Is Earl has shaped up into one of the best sitcoms on TV (admittedly, not much competition). The last two episodes have me a little worried, though. They were funny, but both broke the format.

Reformed hood Earl has a list of things he's done wrong. Each week he does a good deed and crosses something off the list. This is a great hook. The show is narrated by Earl.

Two weeks ago, however, it was done as an episode of Cops. Last week they had the other characters narrate it from their point of view. There's nothing wrong with an occasional change, but you don't want every show to be a stunt. I hope the producer don't mess things up by figuring they've got to goose the format every week.