Premiere Season, Thus Far

Bored to Death (Grade C)
HBO's latest half hour venture, "Bored to Death," featuring the incomparable Jason Schwartzman was underwhelming. I hope that it improves in the coming episodes but the pilot was kind of lame. It lacked funny. If it wasn't HBO I wouldn't likely be watching episode two, but it is and I have learned to give HBO the benefit of the doubt. Even if it is just for the sake that it is surely going to be something different than the mostly lame network material.

Community (Grade B)
This show might have something. It's central character played by that guy from The Soup, Joel McHale, was pretty snappy in the debut. You have got to appreciate anything that is shot in a real live location with more than three walls. McHale is quite good and charming. Hopefully the supporting cast, which was largely unimpressive, will step up in the coming weeks. I am not a big fan of Chevy Chase being in this series. It doesn't work for me. He was also largely unfunny in the pilot. Hopefully he goes away and makes another family vacation movie.

Heroes (C+)
The two-hour season premiere of Heroes did not at all set the stage for this season. I have no idea where it is going and I don't really mean that in a good way. It was kind of lame really. I am really sick of Claire trying to fit in. That story line has been played out. My interest in this once great show (C'mon Season One!) has seriously dwindled. I still love the characters but it is starting to come off the rails. It started losing me after the writer's strike when they ditched a whole story line without finishing it. That was rude to the audience don't you think? Here's to hoping for a Hero's rebirth, but judging by the way things are going we may be saying goodbye to this series before long.

Bones (B)
There was a lot of issues to address after last season's crazy alter-reality episode. They handled it deftly though. I am not sure how they keep this show rolling but they do. They continue to be inventive. It seems like now that the show is in syndication everybody knows everything from here on out is just gravy. So, why not add Stewie from Family Guy into an episode. This show is still fresh and could go for a few more strong seasons.