Very quick thoughts on the second "Bored to Death" coming up just as soon as I tell you what upsets me most about the environment... Of the six "Bored to Death"s I've seen, this was probably the best, both in terms of nailing the form and tone (effete, neurotic Brooklyn guy plays at being hard-boiled private eye) and in terms of being funny (if Ted Danson gets nominated for an Emmy a year from now, he'll have to submit this episode for the cold sore/Krav Maga scene).
The guest casting was very good, including Kristen Wiig as the alcoholic client and Michael Potts (aka Brother Mouzone from "The Wire") as the cheerful colonic technician ("I am going to find all your treasures!").
Watching the first episode, I couldn't fathom why HBO picked this show up. Watching "The Alanon Case," I got it, and it kept me watching even though I ran hot and cold on the later episodes.
What did everybody else think?
I enjoyed this one much better than the premiere ep. The joint stalking accusations were awesome, as was the colonic & "treasures" scene. I'll stick around for now.
ReplyDeleteThe whole punching scene really cracked me up, but now I'm a bit disappointed that this would be the best of the six episodes you've seen.
ReplyDeleteIt's not my favorite show of all time, but it's way better than recent HBO creations like Hung and True Blood. Also definitely far superior to Entourage.
ReplyDeleteAnyways...what else are you going to watch between Curb and Mad Men?
I liked it and will stick with it, but then again I liked last week's, too. It's quirky, in a good way.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching this and laughing once, I thought, "Well, Alan said the first episodes are uneven." But if this was the best one, yikes.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think that this show is going to be nothing but the sort of fabulous life wish-fulfillment for hipsters that "Sex and the City" was for women.
I thought this episode was a definite improvement over the 1st.
ReplyDeleteDanson was hilarious, especially in the cold sore/punching scene.
The double stalking was amusing but a bit overdone. It was nice to see Peter Hermann and Kristen Wiig.
I'll keep watching for the time being.
Michael Potts = Brother Mouzone
ReplyDeleteaha! good call Alan, couldn't place him
If only this show had been written about the Ted Danson character! Because other than that...no, no, no. Brooklyn stroller jokes? Colonic jokes? How old is this stuff? What's next? Quiche jokes?
ReplyDeleteI like this show so far. Not really all that exciting, but I'm a fan of pulp fiction detective novels, so I want to see where this goes. I like the "noir" atmosphere, and all the cheesiness.
ReplyDeleteI've also always been a Ted Danson fan and so far he's cracking me up in this role. I loved the rubber gloves.
I also enjoyed the box of love notes :)
I think this show is great. While I'm not laughing hysterically, I smile throughout the entire episode.
ReplyDeleteDanson is solid, but Schwartzmann just nails the character. He fits the tone of the show perfectly.
My favorite scenes are when he become overly effusive in his personal opinions in moments no one else cares to hear, or his touch of super-sentimentality.
His rambling to Kristin Wiig about his girlfried problems, or his comment that he'd like a colonic, etc.
There's something about the way Schwartzmann talks that cracks me up.
I like the dialogue, the throw away lines "no hand holding here." I'll stay in this film for a bit.
ReplyDeleteTyped up some thoughts on the first two episodes and in particular how they fit the Jonathan Ames Canon here:
ReplyDeletehttp://npinopunintended.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/jonathan-ames-is-bored-to-death/