TVSquad

(S01E08) "You think we learned anything tonight?" - Jonathan

I'll tell you what I learned -- Bored to Death has a lot of potential. All season long, I've gone from loving to hating to loving this show, and with the season finale now come and gone, there's a real opportunity here for Bored to Death to become HBO's next break-out hit when it returns. All the pieces are in place and it probably could have blown up this season had there not been so many episodes where the show tried to find its footing. Is it a detective show? Or is it about three friends in the publishing world trying to make their mark? Or is it both?

As one of the few hits that's currently keeping HBO afloat, Entourage is still only a modest success - it's recent fifth season premiere hit a three-year low. Despite the lackluster ratings, HBO still gave the greenlight to a sixth season much earlier than expected... because, well, they don't have much else going on right now.

That being said, I'm a huge fan of the show and have been since it began. Yes, I'm one of the few that actually tuned in for the mostly ignored eight episode freshman season. I honestly don't see HBO pulling the plug without a true series finale at this stage in the series, but weirder things have happened and I want season six to roar back. So if you watch the show, great - glad to know you weren't part of that "three-year low" I mentioned. But if you used to watch Entourage, or never have, then this will be good for ya - the only six episodes you need to watch to know just what the heck is going on in the world of Vincent Chase.

(S01E08) "Patty Hughes has ears too! Maybe I'm talking to the wrong person." - Larry

Despite the minor complaints about this show that I think most people have been expressing, I tell you what -- it still holds your attention for the whole hour. I'm almost getting used to the fact that Damages has a tighter lipped writing staff than Lost does.

So what does that mean for this episode? Well... not much. One bombshell that I think we all knew was coming got let out of the bag and a few other little tidbits were let loose too. I think one of the most bothersome things for me is that new info doesn't come when you expect it. Stuff gets revealed in conversations that don't necessarily relate to the revelations. If anything, it keeps you on your toes as a viewer. I think I use my DVR remote to rewind scenes from this show more than anything else I've ever watched.

(S01E08) Despite the fact that I think pretty much everyone was sharing the same hunch about who the real Ice Truck Killer is, how cool was that final scene? I'm so pumped for the rest of this season now. We'll come back to this though.

One of the big things I really loved about this episode is that Dexter seems to finally be realizing that in order to make it, he needs to start humanizing himself a bit more. He needs to start giving into the things that once made him feel powerless and accept that fact that even he needs to find a real connection with someone. Clearly it's Rita and the fact that Dexter was finally willing to have sex with her (and she didn't find him to be "empty" in bed) was a big step. He definitely cares about this woman, despite what his inner monologue says, and the only thing that worries me now is what happens when she finds out what Dex does?

(S01E08) It's not that I'm against fancy one-liners for episode titles. I just find it sort of disappointing when you read one that sounds interesting and the episode barely has anything to do with it. The Sopranos and Deadwood are notorious for this. I like my episode titles to be simple, but descriptive. Take Seinfeld and "The Puffy Shirt." Going into that, you got a pretty good idea about the focus of the episode.

Alright, you can tell I'm reaching here because eight episodes in, and we finally got to one that I didn't really enjoy. It was just slow. But we did get a new character. Donna Abandando (played by Gail O'Grady) got hired by Lt. Fancy to be the new detective's secretarial assistant. She seems a little loopy, but it's the type of character that can lighten up some of the more serious scenes. The "tempest in a c-cup?" That would be her and she was in the episode for only a couple of minutes. It would have made far more sense to call this one something along the lines of "The Taxi Cab Butcher." What, too much?