Hmmm ... this sounds like a rather interesting premise, actually: HBO has just given the green light to a new comedy pilot titled Bored To Death, about a Brooklyn writer who is so bored that he decides to become a real life private eye like the hero in his favorite Raymond Chandler novels.

Hey, if we can't have Marlowe, I'll take this.

The script is being written by Jonathan Ames, former columnist at The New York Press and author of the books The Extra Man, I Pass Like Night, I Love You More Than You Know, My Less Than Secret Life, Wake Up Sir! and What's Not To Love? Ames has also been a boxer and has appeared several times on The Late Show with David Letterman. He's also working on a graphic novel called The Alcoholic, which sounds like a rather great idea for a graphic novel. He'll also be executive producer on the project.

I'm a big fan of private eye TV shows and novels, and I've been thinking lately that they need to make a big comeback (sorry, Monk just isn't the same). Raines comes kinda close, but it's not quite the same thing. Judging from the script for the pilot of Marlowe, ABC's modern take on the classic Raymond Chandler character, it looks like it could be a return to the great private eye genre that TV fans have been waiting for.

The first thing I noticed is that, yes, the show is going to have voiceovers! Some people hate voiceovers, some people love them. I remember that Robert Parker hated the voiceover on Spenser: For Hire, when it was actually one of the cool things about the show. There's a lot of voiceover in this pilot script, and while I don't mind it, I wonder if it's too much.