Jonathan Ames' Bored to Death recently joined the ranks of Party Down and Freaks and Geeks in the mausoleum of brilliant TV comedies that were taken off the air too soon. You know — the shows that, when mentioned in front of any semi-intelligent person, will bring up the generic anguished cry of "I can't believe NBC tabled Community but kept Whitney and Glee for old people!"
Ames, in what he calls "a consolation for my show which is… was called, I have to use the past tense, Bored to Death," was invited to present an award at the Writer's Guild, and he did so with equal parts intoxication and brilliance, making for the most entertaining award presentation in recent memory. (The show announcer introduced Ames as "the author of The Extra Man and Wake Up, Sir! and the fully-frontal creator of Bored to Death," reminding us all that even if you write several critically-acclaimed novels, and an excellent TV series, you'll still always be remembered for the one-second nude scene you did that one time.)
The prosecco-besotted writer, calling himself drunk "in a Dean Martin way," entertained the crowd with remarks on the effeminate men in the audience, and complimented the women that he was making "subconscious eye-contact with" as only the truly neurotic could.
Only a bit bitter, Ames noted, "all the awards have to go to Modern Family, because it has the word family! My show had the word "death," which is the other fact of life," before going on to present the award, an act which got a little more complicated when he shuffled his note cards and the award envelope together, causing a bit of confusion.
Ames has called marijuana his drug of choice, but he apparently got drunk because he couldn't make the speech stoned. He intended to tell a story about the first time he smoked, but lost the thread halfway through, so all that comment accomplished was adding "smoke a bowl with Jonathan Ames" to my bucket list. (Bored to Death viewers will remember the fictional Ames' brilliant invention: the one-hitter paired with a prescription bottle full of weed.)
Finally, Ames signed off with one last quip: "It is a very female-centric award. I mean, has it always been shaped like that?" But quoting the speech does not do it justice — do yourself a favor and watch it above.
