The week's episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D list brings Kathy's obsessive jealousy of Oprah Winfrey to the forefront, and it results in a trip to Mexico and the tragic abuse of of a Kathy pinata.

We begin with Kathy trying to figure out some way to become "the red-headed Oprah," and she hatches a plan to open a school for girls in Mexico, the same way Oprah did in Africa. Of course, she doesn't have Oprah's power or millions of dollars, so she settles on remodeling the library of an existing school (but still insists in renaming the whole school "The Kathy Griffin Leadership Academy").

Comedian Michael McDonald (from MadTV) shows up to lend moral support, but I'm too distracted to pay attention, because everytime I see him, I can't help but play this classic scene in my mind.

Team Griffin (Jessica, Tiffany, and Tom), Kathy, Steve Wozniak's assistant Julie, and a cute Apple computer guy named Patricio head off to Mexico to take a look at the school, but soon, a tragic incident will bring the festivities to a standstill:

Kathy does her impression of a blood blister

Kathy falls asleep under the sun, and her face ends up looking like chicken cacciatore, but I guess she can look on the bright side and think of it as a natural chemical peel. They head off to the school, which in all seriousness reminded me of Jonestown (or the Jackson family compound).

Kathy is shocked to discover that the students of the school (who are about twelve years old) have never used computers, which leads to my favorite line of the night, which Kathy expertly deadpans:

"They don't even know what the Internet is. I don't think they've even seen Internet porn ... what kind of country is this?"

They take a look at the library building they'll be remodeling, and it's a disaster. There are scorpions crawling all over the place, windows busted, and the entire building reeks of dead rodents and oppression (aah ... that takes me back to my summers at Vacation Bible School). There's only one solution: it's time to hit El Cosco!.

Find out if Kathy is able to "make a difference" after the break.

Kathy displays the tragic results of bobbing for french fries

The Costco trip results in lot of equipment and supplies for the library, plus a near head-on cart collision, and before long work begins on cleaning up and renovating the school building.

Kathy delegates work, which means everyone else works, and she "works on her sunburn" (and seriously, that thing looks painful. Her face looks like the last days of W.C. Fields.). The Costco guys arrive to help with the shelves, and Jessica has a mini power-trip over the library books (actually, I think she just can't stand Steve's assistant Julie, and doesn't want her anywhere near them).

Steve arrives with the computers, and the hot Apple guy starts teaching the kids all about the wonderful, crippling addiction known as the Internet. As the kids get on line, you can literally see the vitality and life drain from their eyes. ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

The finishing touches are put on the library, but right before the opening, Team Griffin secretly unveil the one thing the kids are sure to enjoy:

Sales have been brisk for the Raggedy Ann blow-up doll

It's time for the opening of the library, and when Kathy finds out that no one there has ever heard of Oprah, she decides to fill them in on the truth:

"Oprah Winfrey is a powerful woman who tortures Mrs. Kathy. She's a bad, bad lady who hurts people."

Unfortunately, that last line garners an incredulous "What?" from translator Patricio, and he decides not to relay that particular piece of information.

The press arrive (all three of them) and then it's time for an official tour of the library. The kids are excited to get backpacks and love the books, and all snarkiness aside, it's actually moving to see that Kathy has, in fact, probably made a difference in these kids' lives.

Of course, the show can't end without everyone beating on that Kathy pinata, and for some reason, Team Griffin takes a special delight in punching and hitting it. The show ends with the kids cheering for Kathy, and as she puts it, "they'll never forget the odd lady with the burnt face who gave them books and let them beat the sh*t out of a pinata that looked like her."

You can see a deleted scene from the episode below, about whether Kathy should give each kid a racy head shot, and come back for next week's recap, which will involve Kathy at a gay resort!