My Name Is Earl (season 4)

My Name Is Earl (season 4)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	27
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 25, 2008 – May 14, 2009
Season chronology

The fourth and final season of My Name Is Earl originally aired from September 25, 2008 to May 14, 2009 on NBC.

Episodes

Season four began on September 25, 2008.^[1] Greg Garcia said in an interview with Television Without Pity (which was mentioned in a season 2 episode) that season four's focus will return to its original place: Earl going through his Karma List and righting his past wrongs. Actress Alyssa Milano, who played Earl's (ex-)wife Billie, was initially announced to return for a few episodes in season four, but did not reappear.

• Nadine Velazquez is absent in four episodes.
• Eddie Steeples was absent in one episode.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Prod. code
70	1	"The Magic Hour"	Eyal Gordin	Timothy Stack	September 25, 2008	077
When Joy uses Make-A-Wish to stop her and the boys from waiting in lines at the grand opening of an amusement park, Earl remembers when he stole a pony while drunk only to later learn it was to be used by Make-A-Wish boy's last dream come true. Going to the boy's house to try to make it up his parents, they find that the boy is still alive and doesn't want a pony, but wants Earl's help in making his movie, 2 The Max. Earl and Buddy (Seth Green) do a really good job at getting together the cast, including Randy, who turns out to be a really good actor. After several storm-offs because Buddy didn't like the acting, all of the actors quit and leave Earl and Buddy to finish the movie. Buddy leaves to finish the movie himself as a result, and asks Earl to throw him a premiere in two weeks. On the big night, everyone turns up... except Buddy, who has finally died of his illness (it emerges that Buddy was only storming off set to get treatments for his cancer). Buddy's mother comes with the movie that he had finished before he died. Earl decides to tell everyone of Buddy's death after the premiere, and finds that Buddy used the movie to help him achieve many of his dreams. As well as crossing Buddy off his list, Earl also finds the movie to have inspired many others to follow their own dreams.
71	2	"Monkeys Take a Bath"	Greg Garcia	Greg Garcia	September 25, 2008	078
Earl and Randy decide it's time to make amends with their childhood neighbours, the Clarks. But when they discover more skeletons in the closet than they had expected, the brothers find themselves needing to sort out some family issues between their mom and dad (Beau Bridges). Meanwhile, Joy has duped one-eyed Willy out of his glass eye, and despite Darnell's efforts Willy may never "see" that eye again. (Note: This episode aired as the second half-hour with "The Magic Hour" as the season premiere.)
72	3	"Joy in a Bubble"	Michael Fresco	Jessica Goldstein & Chrissy Pietrosh	October 2, 2008	071
Earl's attempt to give Joy the hot tub she's always wanted backfires and she is forced to stay in a makeshift bubble because of a flesh eating toe infection. While she is out of commission, Earl must fill in as the new Joy. Between gossiping with the ladies at the salon and shopping for meat out of some guy's trunk, Earl learns about the Turner family. This includes the fact that Dodge and Earl Jr. might have a social disorder that causes them to have no friends. Can Earl fix this problem too?
73	4	"Stole an RV"	Chris Koch	Kat Likkel & John Hoberg	October 2, 2008	073
To cross Jerry (Jerry Van Dyke) off of his list, Earl can't just return the RV he stole, mostly because Randy blew it up. Earl and Randy set out to find what might make this grumpy war hero happy, and accidentally turn him into a 75-year-old killing machine. Elsewhere, Joy and Darnell attempt to turn the legend of a giant pig that lives near the trailer park into a one-of-a-kind, money making sideshow.
74	5	"Sweet Johnny"	Eyal Gordin	Kat Likkel & John Hoberg	October 9, 2008	072
Earl decides it's time to make it up to local stunt man Sweet Johnny (David Arquette) for sleeping with his girlfriend. When Earl finds Sweet Johnny, he discovers his friend has a permanent injury and learns that sometimes crossing an item off the list isn't always the best thing to do. Elsewhere, Joy buys a gun after someone carjacks the Brat, but Darnell does not approve of owning the firearm.
75	6	"We've Got Spirit"	Eyal Gordin	Hilary Winston	October 16, 2008	070
Randy secretly wanted to be a cheerleader, which Earl unknowingly prevented. Earl takes his brother to cheerleading camp – but his determination wanes when it emerges that most of the Crab Shack customers will be watching their final performance. Elsewhere, Joy is hurt when her son Dodge calls Catalina beautiful and starts to try to make herself look glamorous to her son, much to Darnell's concern.
76	7	"Quit Your Snitchin'"	Chris Koch	Matt Ward	October 23, 2008	076
Earl finds out that he is no longer covered by the criminal code of ethics when someone steals Randy's birthday present from him. When he learns that the law of the underworld no longer protects him, Earl struggles with the idea of going to the police, despite Joy's protests that snitches are the lowest of the low.
77	8	"Little Bad Voodoo Brother"	Chris Koch	Alan Kirschenbaum	October 30, 2008	074
While Earl is busy planning a Halloween party for Dodge and Earl Jr., Randy befriends Catalina's visiting nephew Oscar and tries to be a good older brother example to him. When he is caught stealing tips, Randy tries his best to confront him and tells him to return the money. The boy then appears to go into some sort of trance, which Randy takes to be voodoo. Earl tries to convince Randy that it isn't voodoo, despite seeing voodoo dolls of each other made. After the nephew steals some of Joy's hair, Joy leads the locals in a mob intent on getting their hands on him. Randy and Earl have no choice but to defend the boy from the clutches of the mob.
78	9	"Sold a Guy a Lemon Car"	John Putch	Michael Pennie	November 6, 2008	075
When a mysterious man named Lloyd (Courtney Gains) moves next door to Earl and Randy, a life-or-death item suddenly jumps to the top of the list. Meanwhile, Joy becomes obsessed with winning a science fair so that she can buy a necklace designed by Jane Seymour with the $500 prize money.
79	10	"Earl and Joy's Anniversary"	Michael Fresco	Danielle Sanchez-Witzel	November 13, 2008	079
Earl remembers the surprise party that Randy threw for his and Joy's first wedding anniversary, during which Earl's more successful and handsome cousin Blake (Jason Priestley) made him feel less than adequate as a husband. Killer bees invade Camden, trapping Darnell, Catalina, Kenny and Patty in a phone booth.
80	11	"Nature's Game Show"	Eyal Gordin	Hunter Covington	November 20, 2008	080
A series of tornados hitting Camden County aren't Earl's biggest concern when he loses his list. A wild ride in a boat causes Randy to think he's invulnerable and he ponders how he should use his newfound power. Joy and Darnell argue over who is the smart member of the couple. Catalina and Patty have a religious awakening.
81	12	"Reading Is a Fundamental Case"	Michael Fresco	Mike Mariano	December 4, 2008	082
While reading to children, Earl reminisces about a recent list item that he and Randy righted. It all began when Earl found his old friend Raynard (Ewen Bremner) living in the wild and keeping company with a raccoon. The episode is dedicated to Garcia's newborn son Gump in the Amigos de Garcia Productions logo stating: "Happy Birthday, Gump!"
82	13	"Orphan Earl"	Marc Buckland	Michael Shipley	December 11, 2008	081
Earl discovers that Joy has continued a holiday scam they started years before, and has expanded the scam to include her friends.
83	14	"Got the Babysitter Pregnant"	Mike Mariano	Teleplay: Vali Chandrasekaran Story: Patrick McCarthy, Erika Kaestle and Vali Chandrasekaran	January 8, 2009	083
After having his heart broken by the babysitter, a young Earl goes to drastic measures to make sure she and her boyfriend pay the ultimate price. Now older and wiser, Earl decides it's time to cross them off his list. When he finds the couple and their live-in, obnoxious, grown son, he believes karma wants him to help the freeloader learn how to make it on his own. But when Earl finds that the lesson in tough love also applies to Randy, he realizes the difficulty in kicking someone out of the nest. Meanwhile, Joy struggles to tell Darnell that she lost his beloved pet turtle.
84	15	"Darnell Outed"	Eyal Gordin	Ralph Greene	January 15, 2009	084
When auditions for Erik Estrada's new reality show (Estrada or Nada) come to Camden, Earl encourages Joy to go for her childhood dream of becoming famous and try out, thus allowing him to cross an item off his list. Joy, initially reluctant, steals Randy's audition and makes a fool of herself. Her crazy antics are a cause for concern when Darnell receives a startling phone call. Even though this is a 2-part episode, this part didn't say "(Part 1)".
85	16	"Darnell Outed: Part 2"	Eyal Gordin	Teleplay: Hunter Covington & Matt Ward Story by: Alan Kirschenbaum, Jessica Goldstein & Chrissy Pietrosh	January 22, 2009	085
After losing his Witness Protection cover, Darnell must pack up the family and assume a new identity. Earl and Randy make a shocking discovery at the post office: maybe Joy can challenge Erik Estrada in his show (Estrada or Nada) anyway.
86	17	"Randy's List Item"	Paul Burke Pedreira	Bobby Bowman	February 5, 2009	086
When he wins on a scratcher Lottery ticket, Randy is immediately hit by a bike and the ticket blows away. Following in Earl’s footsteps, he believes that was a message from karma, and he too should start a list of past wrongs he needs to right. When the brothers realize that their karma lists share an item, they set out to work on it together. Meanwhile, a frustrated Joy tries to convince the FBI to give her and Darnell a better identity in the Witness Protection Program.
87	18	"Friends with Benefits"	Allison Liddi-Brown	Jessica Goldstein & Chrissy Pietrosh	February 12, 2009	090
When Mr. Turtle finds his way home after being lost, Earl sets off to return him to Darnell, who now lives in an upscale community with his family, thanks to Witness Protection. Meanwhile, adjusting to her new wealthy lifestyle proves difficult when Joy struggles to fit in with her trophy-wife neighbors. Back in Camden, Randy unwittingly shares a bed with a guy named Jim, who has a crush on him.
88	19	"My Name Is Alias"	Eyal Gordin	Matthew W. Thompson	February 19, 2009	089
Darnell's father (Danny Glover) arrives in Camden claiming he needs to make amends with his son. Earl and Randy smell trouble and go to warn Joy and Darnell. Unfortunately, trouble follows them there and the family reunion results in Darnell and his dad going on one last super-secret, undercover operation.
89	20	"Chaz Dalton's Space Academy"	Marc Buckland	Hilary Winston	March 5, 2009	087
Earl makes up for ruining the space suit that Chaz Dalton wore in space, only to find out his childhood hero was a fake. Meanwhile, Darnell gets back in touch with his friends he met as Harry Monroe, getting Joy interested in the social networking website BuddyBook.
90	21	"Witch Lady"	Eyal Gordin	Michael Shipley & Matt Ward	March 19, 2009	088
Earl conjures up a karmic plan to atone for all the wicked wrongs he did to an oddball "witch lady" (Betty White) when he was a youngster. But the golden girl proves to be certifiably unhinged, putting the Camden crew in a life-or-death situation. Elsewhere, Joy tries to prove that she has a good side.
91	22	"Pinky"	Greg Garcia	Greg Garcia	March 26, 2009	092
Earl helps Randy find his first love, a girl with pink hair called Pinky. Randy learns Earl had come between them all those years ago, lying to Pinky by telling her Randy had broken up with her. After reuniting on a bridge, Randy finds out his first love is actually Joy.
92	23	"Bullies"	Eyal Gordin	Vali Chandrasekaran & Hunter Covington	April 16, 2009	091
Randy takes drastic measures to avoid Joy's bullying, while Earl attempts to cross off another list item for bullying an old schoolmate, Wally Panzer (Matthew Willig), whom Earl dubbed "Pansy."
93	24	"Gospel"	Ken Whittingham	Mike Mariano & Deweyne Lamar Lee	April 23, 2009	093
Earl tries to return a stolen church organ to a preacher (formerly a "gangsta" known as "Hash Brown"), but finds that he's on the list more than one time. Meanwhile, Joy accidentally kidnaps Catalina, and Darnell tells her they have no choice but to kill her.
94	25	"Inside Probe: Part 1"	Greg Garcia	Greg Garcia	April 30, 2009	094
News show Inside Probe investigates the disappearance of the Crab Shack's owner, thinking that he was abducted by aliens. After eight years the show airs on TV, and several Camden residents become murder suspects. Michael Waltrip and Geraldo Rivera guest star.
95	26	"Inside Probe: Part 2"	Greg Garcia	Michael Pennie & Timothy Stack	May 7, 2009	095
The Inside Probe investigation continues, revealing the final fate of Ernie: in a freak accident he fell into wet cement, half drunk, while trying to change the tape of the hidden cameras in the women's restroom.
96	27	"Dodge's Dad"	Chris Koch	Alan Kirschenbaum & Danielle Sanchez-Witzel	May 14, 2009	096
After being reminded of ruining Dodge's Career Day a few years earlier, Earl agrees to appear again. Awkward questions remind Earl that Dodge doesn't know that Earl isn't his natural father. Under pressure, Joy reveals that Little Chubby – the richest businessman in Camden – is Dodge's real dad. Earl tries to get Little Chubby to do his duty to Dodge; Little Chubby responds to Earl's efforts by freezing his bank account and having him evicted from the motel. Eventually a DNA test reveals that Dodge's father is not Little Chubby but Earl himself: the conception occurred during a Halloween party, at which Earl and Little Chubby wore similar costumes. Even more surprising, Darnell is not Earl Jr's father. Because the series was unexpectedly cancelled, the mystery remains unsolved.

References

1. Fall TV: NBC Unveils Its Premiere Dates, TV Guide