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Is Bored to Death's Title Too On-the-Nose?

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Written by April Yorke   
Monday, 21 September 2009 00:00

Bored to DeathI don't want to go as far as to say that I was bored to death, literally or figuratively, by last night's première of Bored to Death, the new HBO sitcom starring under-appreciated hottie Jason Schwartzman. But it was kind of boring.

Perhaps it's just a little too low key. My last unlicensed PI show was, after all, Pushing Daisies, starring under-appreciated hottie Lee Pace. In it, a pie maker could wake the dead. This time around, a writer needs something to do to break himself out of what appears to be a white wine/pot-induced writer's block (or is it the other way around?). Actually, that too much white wine and pot thing is pretty funny. But it's not laugh out loud funny like I want it to be.

The pilot stuck to establishing characters and relationships, so the actual case  Jonathan Ames (a name so fake sounding I was surprised to learn it's real) took on was so run of the mill that I could have solved it while making a profit (Jonathan forgot about expenses).

Overall, I hope that the cases either get a) more complicated or b) more zany. Preferably the latter and that they further involve Ted Danson and Zack Galifianakis.  Until then, this show seems a little too close to living up to its title.

Also, I hope that Ames picks up that trench coat soon. Solving cases in a sports jacket? I think not. 

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Kevin Johns
kevinjohns
September 24, 2009
Votes: +0
Writer's block...

I just watched the first episodes of Californication, where Mulder is also dealing with writers block.

But does writers block really exist, or is it just a plot point?

Seems to me like the Wonder Boys idea of the writer not knowing when to stop is probably a little more realistic than a writer who can't seem to write at all.

Maybe its just because I've been doing so much journalism lately (as opposed to fiction writing), but writers block isn't something I see real writers struggling with. Christ, if you are a journalist with writers block, you sure as hell aren't much of a journalist!

April Yorke
April Yorke
September 25, 2009
Votes: +0
As real as yours truly

It's not that he can't write (on the show, he appears to be some sort of society columnist), but that his second novel isn't developing. It's not yet clear whether than means he hasn't written anything or if it's more of a Wonder Boys/Starting Out in the Evening sort of thing where he can't stop writing. I tend to think of writer's block more as hating what you write, in that you type stuff out and then delete it all. Everything sounds forced and false, ideas aren't taking shape the way they used to, and eventually you just stop writing altogether. It happens.

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Last Updated on Friday, 20 November 2009 03:52
 

April Yorke is a (Cult)ure Magazine contributor since Wednesday, 07 January 2009.

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