"Bored to Death" seems to be hitting its stride, and it does so with an episode that makes only glancing mention of Jonathan's private eye work. Instead, this is a showcase for Ray (Zach Galifianakis) and George (Ted Danson).

Though the show is billed as a "noir-otic comedy," I had hoped for more noir than comedy. Sunday, it was all comedy and no noir. While the premise of the show has heart-broken writer Jonathan Ames posting an ad on Craigslist offering his services as a private detective, episode 3 finds Jonathan considering an offer to punch up a script from Jim Jarmusch. In some ways, it felt like a stunt-cast cameo around which the entire episode was written. OK, who am I kidding; that's exactly what it felt like. Still, Jarmusch was suitably Jarmusch-like (his closing scene riding a kid's bike in circles around a vacant loft was so absurd it moved past cheesy and back to funny), and Jonathan's episode-long quest to retrieve a misplaced script led to some of the episode's funniest moments.

To recap, George, Jonathan's magazine editor, takes him to a party to meet Jarmusch. The filmmaker liked Jonathan's first novel, and wants him to work on a screenplay. Jarmusch has one great line, telling Jonathan, "You must really suffer from the terrifying clarity of your vision," and gives Jonathan a script. He misplaces it while making out with an underage Jarmusch fan, who happens to be the daughter of a therapist. Luckily, Ray, Jonathan's best friend and a cartoonist, had promised his girlfriend that in exchange for sex, he would go to therapy. That opens the door for Jonathan to get his script back, but ultimately, he must retrieve it himself.

The scenes with the therapist (Denis O'Hare), both on screen and off, were highlights. He so "eviscerated" Ray at his session that he not only forgot to get the script, but wandered away from the appointment blubbering about needing a long list of comfort items (beer, vodka, comic books, etc.) to cope. Later, when his girlfriend comes to make good on her end of the sex-for-therapy agreement, he tells her he can't. "When I was a little kid, I used to push my penis in to make it look like it disappeared. Today, it happened all by itself."

Meanwhile, the therapist dismisses all of Jonathan's problems (writer's block, etc.) and offers this zinger: "Lives don't change. We simply become more comfortable with our core misery, which is a form of happiness."

I haven't mentioned Jason Schwartzman yet because, while he's on screen nearly the entire time, Jonathan was such a straight man here that he threatened to disappear. Either Schwartzman is just that good, disappearing into the role and the story, or the real Jonathan Ames, who wrote the teleplay, has found it easier to give meaty parts to everyone but his own character.

One last note: An oddly well-timed reference to Roman Polanski by George came when Jonathan said the girl he had made out with was 16: "Polanski was much worse," he says. It is as if Ames knew the director would be back in the news.

Best lines:

Ray (discussing with his girlfriend a request by fans for him to donate sperm: "But it's flattering. They're fans of my work. I've never had lesbian fans before."

Jonathan: Movies equal money, women, glamor, more women.

Jonathan: I wish I would have met you in high school.
Underage girl: I wouldn't have liked you then.
Jonathan: That's true.

George (watching a naked girl walk back to his bedroom): She makes me feel like I'm 50 again.

Labels: Bored to Death, HBO, Jason Schwartzman, Jonathan Ames, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis