Bored to Death: The Complete Second Season

The second season of this HBO series continues the quirky adventures of would-be novelist and amateur PI Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman)—a character named after the program's actual creator. The first year introduced the hapless hero, an amiable schlemiel who tried to cure his writer's block by offering his services as a detective on Craigslist but wound up in hot water whenever people hired him. His best friends are George (Ted Danson), a womanizing, hard-living magazine editor; and Ray (Zach Galifianakis), a cartoonist with girlfriend problems. In this second run, Jonathan takes a job as a creative writing teacher after his new novel is rejected but he continues moonlighting as a shamus. Meanwhile, Ray suffers further domestic travails while winning some fame by creating a superhero comic book character, and George must deal with a change of ownership at the magazine and a medical problem that leads to a relationship with his doctor. Bored to Death is an offbeat sitcom (somewhat reminiscent of Woody Allen's work), with Schwartzman the ideal nebbish and Galifianakis in laidback mode, leaving the scene-stealing to Danson, who puts his impeccable comic timing to good use. Guest stars including Kevin Bacon, Kristen Wiig, Jim Gaffigan, and Ames himself add to the enjoyment. Compiling all eight episodes from the 2010 second season, extras include audio commentaries, brief episode discussions by Ames, deleted scenes, and outtakes. Presenting enough imaginative twists to belie its title, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)