The items in Earl's list shown during the opening sequence read as follows:
- 56: Stole liquor from liquor store.
- 57: Told Joy Dan Dodd messed himself on the (rest cut out of frame).
- 58: Fixed a high school football game.
- 59: Everything I did to Dad.
- 60: Pulled fire alarm
- 61: Stole Mom's car (but I gave it back).
- 62: Faked death to break up with a girl.
- 63: Wasted electricity.
- 64: Spray-painted the bridge.
- 65: Cost Dad the election.
- 66: Let mice out at school play.
- 67: Stole beer from a golfer.
- 68: Blew up mailboxes.
- 69: Cheated on school tests a lot.
Big Chubby, played by Burt Reynolds, is the father of Little Chubby, who is played by Norm MacDonald. MacDonald often impersonated Reynolds on Saturday Night Live (1975) and used the same clothing from his parodies on this show.
Part of the show's ad campaign before the series aired included billboard ads with Earl's picture and one of the items from his list printed on the billboard (for example, "Cheated my way through the seventh grade . . . twice", "Stole a car from a one-legged girl", "Faked my death to break up with a girl", etc.), with the tagline " . . . I'm sorry".
In Sticks & Stones (2006) Earl says, "He even taught me how to ride a skateboard without falling off and scraping my knees" (and Earl is seen struggling to ride a skateboard in the next clip). However, Jason Lee, who plays Earl, is a professional skateboarder who mainly skated in the late '80s and early '90s, and is co-owner of Stereo Skateboards.
When Earl and Randy are returning the items they stole from the convenience store, Earl refers to it as the Quick Stop, the store made famous in Clerks (1994), and referenced in the other movies, in which Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee appeared.