Better late than never, here's my take on the "Bored to Death" season finale. I'd guess I have all the time in the world, because HBO rarely sticks to any sort of schedule (unless it's an aggressive one with a true hit like "Entourage" early on), so I wouldn't expect new episodes of BTD for at least 12-18 months.

Either way, things ended with a bang, or rather, a punch, as the boxing match among writers and editors promised in the seventh episode was held in this, the eighth. Things began with another stunt casting, as the annoying Sarah Vowell dialed things down enough to be practically anonymous as someone interviewing George, Jonathan and Ray and their opponents from GQ (and book critic John Hodgman) about the pending bout.

There isn't much of a case for Jonathan. The only one comes when someone calls him and tells him to throw the fight or they'll expose George's Viagra prescription. Jonathan gets the guy's number from his caller ID, searches a reverse directory and goes to take back the evidence from someone who is even more a milquetoast than he is.

The focus is, rightly so, on the fight. Ray opens by fighting the cartoonist from GQ, a big fan who nevertheless, and much to his horror, knocks Ray down with his first punch. Jonathan is next, and he gives Hodgman a sound beating. In a funny exchange during which Hodgman's goading seems to energize Jonathan, Hodgman, on the mat after being punched, responds to Jonathan's declaration that the Times gave him a good review, by saying, "I didn't know the Times liked your work. I must have missed that," before passing out.

Jonathan wasn't the only one to take a dive. George is asked by his ex-wife (and current wife of his opponent, GQ editor Richard Antrem, to take a dive. It seems Antrem has a bad heart and shouldn't fight. George sees her in the front row and decides to do just that, letting Antrem knock him down. There are tender scenes between Ted Danson's George and his ex before the fight, and a nice moment between Danson and Jason Schwartzman's Jonathan after. These give some real depth to the characters, that are good to see.

So, in closing, "Bored to Death" was nothing like I expected, but that's not all bad. I still feel the premise of a struggling writer trying to be a private detective could be more fully explored, but the interplay among the characters and the genuinely funny writing by Jonathan Ames make me willing to be patient and wait for those moments when they come.

Best lines:

GQ cartoonist to Vowell's reporter before the fight: "I've never practiced S&M, but I've always wanted to, and this seems like a good opportunity."

Ray: I'm going to do the old Rope-a-Dope, just like Will Smith in 'Ali." I watched that last night.
George: You mean like Ali.
Ray: I didn't see Ali, I saw Will Smith.

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