Last night's "Bored to Death" was the weakest of the bunch so far, really nothing more than an extended joke about skateboard punks and an excuse to get a couple of costars on the screen. While things returned to the struggling-writer-as-PI theme, I would have willingly traded that for a story that didn't feel like it ran out rather than ended.

Jonathan's case is to find a missing skateboard. It was stolen from the 9-year-old son of Parker Posey's radical vegan single mom. Jonathan is put onto the case by Ray's girlfriend, who mentions it amid a rather tense visit from the lesbian couple that wants Ray's sperm for an artificial insemination. (see last week's wrap-up for details). This scene, which yields a few laughs at Ray's expense, proves that the characters around Jonathan provide much more satisfaction than the star of the show.

Jonathan falls for Posey and decides to take the case for free. He must pursue an "alpha male" 16-year-old who stole the skateboard from Posey's kid. That's it. He asks around, finds the kid, is rebuffed and then conspires with Ray to steal the skateboard. Jonathan's best scene follows, as he sits on the skateboard to ride it down a hill, the skateboard kids in pursuit. The scene is reminiscent, coincidentally enough, of the Hummer ad that was inspired by "Rushmore."

Meanwhile, Jonathan's boss, the magazine editor George, falls for a young woman because he has developed an obsession with the female armpit. He tells Jonathan he saw the blonde hairs of an organic-restaurant owner glowing in the sunlight, and he was hooked. He and Jonathan go to the restaurant for an event. George is so worried about fitting in with the young crowd that he dons a beret. Luckily, Jonathan nixes that idea. They get to the restaurant and the main joke is that the girl's armpits are filled with a thick thatch of hair. Things come full circle, however, as the skateboard kids find Jonathan and ruin the event.

Jonathan returns the skateboard, but is of course rebuffed by Posey. Jonathan can't find love four episodes into the season, and Posey wouldn't do more than one cameo, so that was a given.

One more cameo that seems as if it has legs: Bebe Neuwirth, Ted Danson's "Cheers" castmate, appears as Jonathan's editor or agent. We learn for the first time that Jonathan's long-gestating second novel is a "Kama Sutra novel" and he's not very far along.

The whole thing felt incomplete, more like a handful of disparate scenes than a coherent narrative.

Best lines

Ray (talking about his girlfriend's kids): "Those kids call me fat and hairy. They could stand to lose a few pounds themselves."

George, (after smoking pot with Jonathan): "Are we too stoned? My feet feel really interesting in my shoes."

Jonathan (to Posey's radical vegan): "In my heart I'm a vegan, but in my mouth I lack discipline."

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