I am – Hercules!!

Scripted by novelist Jonathan Ames (“Wake Up, Sir”), HBO’s “Bored To Death” stars Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore,” “Shopgirl,” “Marie Antoinette,” “The Darjeeling Limited,” “Funny People”) as Jonathan Ames, a pot dealer/novelist who, reeling from a break-up, impulsively advertises himself as a private detective on Craigslist.

Co-stars include Zack Galifianakis (“The Hangover,” “G-Force”), Ted Danson (“Damages”) and my luscious 94-pound girlfriend, "Juno" star Olivia Thirlby:

I confess I love the cast (both Oliver Platt and Jim Jarmusch turn up in episode three!) a lot more than I like the scripting.

The second episode, guest-starring the ubiquitous and always solid Kristen Wiig, features a seemingly impossible coincidence which struck me as insanely lazy. I suspect there’s ample evidence here that the real Ames smokes a lot of weed and hopes his audience is doing the same.

Of the first three episodes the third was my favorite, mostly because it gave Galifiankis’ character a lot more to do. A funny snippet from that installment:

SCHWARTZMAN: She’s only 16 years old. Nearly 17. Nearly 17.

GALIFIANAKIS: You didn’t sodomize her, did you?

SCHWARTZMAN: No!

GALIFIANAKIS: That’s too bad.

USA Today says:

… TV that's tailor-made for people who hate TV. It won't make you laugh, but it will make you feel hipper than the room, and for some, that will be enough. …

Time Magazine says:

… Bored to Death is good, very good —but it's pilot isn't, so it wouldn't be terrible to miss it or see it late. …

The New York Times says:

… a droll, Brooklyn hipster spin on the genre … s idiosyncratic and delightful in its own way as “Curb Your Enthusiasm” …

The New York Daily News says:

Jonathan Ames may be bored to death, but that's no reason he has to take the rest of us with him. … You want smack him and tell him to go sit down. And if you did, he probably would.

The Newark Star Ledger says:

… It's a comedy that's so dry, you may need to have a canteen by your side to watch it. It's also very uneven (I liked half the episodes I've seen, and found the title too apt for the other half), but buoyed by supporting performances from Ted Danson as Schwartzman's Peter Pan complex of a boss and Zach Galifinakis from "The Hangover" as Schwartzman's best friend. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… The original story is a fairly commonplace exercise in postmodern noir in which an idle gesture leads to violence and murder; the series, which is easily my favorite of the fall season, is something much better -- a shaggy-dog comedy that floats on a cloud of fuzzy romantic optimism, the underlying energy of a location-shot fairy tale New York City, and the talents of its art-house leads …

The Washington Post says:

… "Bored to Death" has earned some advance raves, but I wonder whether that's just because it's a new HBO comedy with writerly bona fides and is about people in Brooklyn who subsist on freelance artistic endeavors and constantly spill their woes in coffee shops. I was turned off by "Flight of the Conchords" at first, too, but plenty of people loved that series, and it showed more instant spark and charm than "Bored to Death." It's also possible that my hipster shield is cranked up too high these days, but who can blame me? It's been a long decade of loser coolness. Schwartzman plays Jonathan with the lackadaisical attitude of most of his roles, at once sweet and creepy but ultimately underwhelming. …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… it may be Schwartzman's best role yet, and the half-hour "Bored to Death" episodes roll by all too quickly. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

It's tempting to say HBO's "Bored to Death" lives up to its title, but that's not entirely true. Sunday's premiere (at 9:30 p.m.) is a little dull, but future episodes have more entertainment value. Still, you have to be a fan of neuroses humor for "Bored" to have much comedic impact. …

The Boston Globe says:

… amusing … I’m happy Schwartzman has found a vehicle that’s droll enough to capture his sensibility, but not too precious or willfully quirky. His previous foray in TV, Fox’s “Cracking Up,’’ was too broad to showcase his low-key gifts, and the movies in which he shines (such as Steve Martin’s “Shopgirl’’) are few and far between. …

Variety says:

… the series proves too precious and quirky for its own good. Of the handful of episodes previewed, only the third -- which conspicuously departs from the basic premise -- exhibits the madcap attitude that the first two reach for and miss, and by then, it's a little late to stave off unflattering reviews invoking the title.…

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… the humor is so subdued and the stories so unsurprising that there is nothing to divert your attention from the fact that you're watching someone whose life is far less interesting than your own. … "Bored" prefers droll to funny. Almost implicit in its tone is the attitude that viewers should be satisfied merely hanging out with the literati of New York, flawed though they might be, and not hope for compelling stories and charismatic characters, as well. …

9:30 p.m. Sunday. HBO.