Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman) is a freelance writer with one novel under his belt, a 447,000 rating on Amazon, and serious writers' block. He writes the occasional article for his friend George Christopher (Ted Danson, in a hilarious role), the bored-to-death editor of an Esquire-type magazine. Meanwhile, his buddy Ray (Zak Galifianakis)is a frustrated graphic novelist, comic-strip artist trying to hawk his work, with meager results. Zak's girlfriend Leah controls his every move, while Jonathan's girlfriend Suzanne moves out after Jonathan refuses to clean up his act according to her straight-edge wishes, i.e., no drinking, no pot smoking.

After losing his roommate/lover, Jonathan is unable to write, and suffers from a serious case of the doldrums. He mopes around his apartment, doing very little but reading Raymond Chandler novels and getting smoked up. Schwartzman is very good at conveying this bright-guy-turning-into-a-loser character. Apparently inspired by the Chandler novels, he decides to try his hand at being a private eye himself. Despite having no background whatsoever in police work, he figures he has nothing to lose and advertises on craigslist as an "unlicensed" private detective. He hopes that by doing this he will pad his bank account, as well as find inspiration for his writing. Thus, the hilarity ensues.

The series is stylish, with lots of allusions to Raymond Chandler potboilers, complete with gorgeous, troubled dames, topcoats, hats, and all the Chandler-esque parafernalia. Jonathan hasn't a clue as to what he's doing, but somehow his escapades all work out, with George and Ray as his Keystone cops sidekicks. Each episode is done tongue-in-cheek, requiring a large dose of literary license from the viewer. If the viewer has a sense of fun and enjoys a well-crafted farce, this isn't hard to do. I hope this series catches on, because in my household, this is half an hour of very entertaining television. All the actors do a fine job, my favorite being Ted Danson, who seems to thoroughly enjoy acting a fool and probably getting paid enormous amounts of money to do so. Some of the scenes are sidesplittingly funny; others have a Woody Allen-ish charm, as Schwartzman is exactly the kind of appealing nebbish that Allen always played. I hope for more "Bored to Death" episodes of this caliber in Season 2.

Fun series but you have to wonder about the sticker price as it only ran for 8 episodes. Fortunately, HBO plans to air another season, so if I were a shrewd customer, I would wait to see how it pans out. The show has a lot of potential, but had barely warmed up before it was over. Really love the interplay between Danson, Schwartzman and Galifianakis, especially in episode 6 where they stake out the beautiful blackmailer. Some fun cameos as well, such as Jarmusch making a surprise visit in episode 3: The Case of the Missing Screenplay. Bebe Neurwith pitches up in three episodes. Oliver Platt appears as Danson's rival and the lovely Laila Robins as Danson's ex in the closing two episodes.

Here's a list of the episodes:

Episode 1: Stockholm Syndrome
Episode 2: The Alanon Case
Episode 3: The Case of the Missing Screenplay
Episode 4: The Case of the Stolen Skateboard
Episode 5: The Case of the Lonely White Dove
Episode 6: The Case of the Beautiful Blackmailer
Episode 7: The Case of the Stolen Sperm
Episode 8: Take a Dive

If "Bored To Death" were a rotten series, it would be SO easy to make a joke about the title. Fortunately, Jonathan Ames' HBO comedy series dodges the bullet -- its mix of comedy, mystery and Ames' own personal experiences is hilarious, the writing is excellent, and Jason Schwartzman heads a brilliant little cast that manages to charm you as they make you laugh.

Writer Jonathan Ames (Schwartzman) is depressed when his girlfriend moves out. So after seeing a Raymond Chandler novel, he goes onto Craigslist and advertises himself as a private eye: "I'm not licensed, but maybe I'm someone who can help you."

Surprisingly, there are some takers. Ames ends up taking on several small-time cases, mostly centering around people/things that are lost or stolen -- a sister who vanished, a boyfriend who may be cheating, a script he accidentally lost himself, a stolen skateboard, a Russian convict who wants to find his true love, a blackmail tape, and lesbian con-artists who are... well, stealing something rather personal.

And while he does all this, Jonathan is dealing with the problems of his own life, such as his lingering love for his girlfriend and his stalled second novel. His friend Ray (Zak Galifianakis) is struggling with his controlling girlfriend Leah and his graphic novel career. And Jonathan has to babysit his insane boss George (Ted Danson), the owner of the magazine he writes for, who has his own set of weird personal problems (and frankly he doesn't seem to live in the same world as the rest of us).

"Bored to Death" is one of those comedy shows that doesn't really resemble anything else on TV -- it has a distinctly arty, New York flavor, but avoids seeming pretentious just because its lead characters are so earnest. And while there are plenty of hilarious situations (George and Ray attacking a blackmailer... armed with toys), it manages to never quite cross the line into total absurdity.

And the writing is really, really clever. Without resting too long on any one joke, the writers dabble in humor from colonics, therapists, sperm donation, vegans, pot, the Russian mafia and plenty of subtle literary references. It has plenty of hilarious lines ("I've always been intrigued by Stockholm Syndrome. Makes me think of my childhood") and funny dialogue, particularly between George and ANYBODY ("How long has Jonathan been in there?" "I don't know. I'm on marijuana minutes"). But the writers also include some powerful character-building moments, such as George's lingering love for his ex-wife (and what he does because she asks him).

Schwartzman is charming as a rather dweeby writer who is desperately seeking some kind of happiness in his life, but isn't entirely sure how to find it -- so he tries to help other people. Galifianakis is plenty of fun as his big hairy pal in dissatisfied maleness, and there are some great smaller turns by Bebe Neuwirth (as Ames' editor), Parker Posey and Oliver Platt. And of course, Ted Danson is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT as Ames' world-weary, mildly insane boss.

If you like a clever, quirky little comedy without a laugh track, "Bored To Death" definitely won't live up to its name -- it's weird, funny and somehow endearing. If only I knew when season two was coming out.