TVSquad

did you get high while i was getting my colonic??

Yeah, Zach was not Zach in The Hangover and it's sad that he's going to get popular with people thinking that sort of shtick is Zach's brand of comedy. Bored to Death is much more in line with his comedic timing and delivery. Watch his stand-up or find episodes of Last World with Zach (to this day, VH1 made such a huge mistake canceling it).

I'm sorry you were bored but the comedy is meant to make you smile and meant to carry through episode to episode. It's not tigers in bathroooms and fat guys half-naked.

No, I don't think you get it. I wasn't talking about every show needing to be like The Hangover. But this show is not even subtle, it's actually sad.

It simply plods along and really doesn't seem really funny at all, which is how it's being marketed by HBO.

So Justin, hats off to you for being such an asshole by exclaiming the subtle nuances of this lame-ass show. List the things about this episode that were "funny" to you. Was it the herpes on Ted Danson's lip or the discussion as to whether you could get "herpes on your hand" if he punched the outbreak?

Go ahead. Pontificate, why don't you?

Erm, a lot of people saw episodes prior to the premiere...people who didn't work for the company...people who don't work for newspapers. They can to "I LOVE IT" e-mail promotions. Just because you and people you know didn't see it first, doesn't mean non-industry, regular joe's didn't see it before it premiered, because...they did.

I particularly like how someone questions whether or not the show was too high-brow for you, you respond with using phrases like "simply plods" and "subtle nuances" and even better yet you use the word "pontificate."

It totally proves how much of a brilliant mind you have.

Totally.

Totally.

Totally.

I don't understand your point about non-industry, regular joes getting to see these episodes before people in the industry do. So you're telling me that regular people who are not editors, producers or studio heads get to see it first? Or are you referring to focus groups that are set up by marketing depts to screen potential releases?

So what do you mean? And I don't buy the hyped quotes that HBO splashes all over. Not at all. But there are a lot of people who enjoy anything. More power to them.

I was kind of harsh on Justin though. That was true.

I've been called worse than an asshole and I'm all for childish comebacks so, 'Takes one to know one!'

That aside, yes, I thought the can you get herpes from a punch was funny. I thought the whole sequence was funny even if a huge fake herpes bump on the lip is a bit pedantic. It's the art of conversation that makes the show work, with a nice hint of physical comedy (such as Zach's character always running into strollers/prams).

I'm not trying to convince you to like the show but you seem so closed off to it that I don't think you see the big picture. It's far from perfect but it does the little things right and when a show gets those nuggets of comedy right at the beginning, the bigger picture is easy to color with interesting storylines, fun cameos, and inventive storytelling. I'm sorry you don't like it--your loss--but there's far, far worse on television (See: CBS) that calling this boring is hilarious all on its own. Perhaps if it were called CSI: Noir or NCIS: Indie Beards people would totally be hipsters and jump on the bandwagon.

The last bit that made me laugh is your statement that Schwartzman has no charisma. Have you ever watched I Heart Huckabees? He and Mark Wahlberg have such awesome chemistry and both ooze charisma. Have you seen Funny People? I think Schwartzman's character was second only to Aubrey Plaza in terms of charismatic performances. So, I ask: do you understand the term 'charisma'? I just want to be sure we can at least agree on a definition.