The characters are caricatures of their dope-smoking, wine-swilling, Gore Vidal-quoting selves, falling into ever-more absurd scenarios and playing a kind of intellectual high-wire act that allows us to laugh along with the antics, but also, importantly, observe them from a safe remove.

Despite its gratuitous nudity, double-crossing gunplay, and growing pile of corpses, Bored to Death is a remarkably gentle show and its characters surprisingly lovable.

Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis steal scenes with charm and zaniness, respectively. Galifianakis actually kidnaps the show by breastfeeding.

Good for the very same reasons the first 2 seasons are. The stories are a little wonkier this time; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The finale is also underwhelming. My least favorite season, but it's all very close anyway. 7.9/10

It edges on the oh-so-clever-cute universe of Dave Eggers (and John Hodgeman in anything is nails on a chalkboard for me), but the shows flies on the merits of its stars.