HBO’s newest show, Bored to Death, is entertaining, funny and has a brilliant intro. The intro has not only a great concept, but excellent execution as well.

First, let me explain what the show is about. Jonathan, a pothead writer who drinks too much white wine, just went through a bad break-up with his girlfriend (she broke up with him for smoking and drinking too much). While down in the dumps, he places an ad on Craig’s List as a non-licensed private detective. See, Jonathan reads a lot of detective books and he wants to be a hero, like the ones from his private detective novels.

The intro features a detective novel, which is opened to a page of regular text. The text moves and morphs into illustrations. When the illustrations (made of text) walk or move, words are left behind. I watched the intro frame by frame in order to capture the photos below, and in doing this, learned the deeper meaning embedded. The words that are left behind when the people move are descriptive words about that character.

For example, words to describe the main character Jonathan are: pothead, alcoholic, dreamer, pathetic, bored, books, merlot, etc. See the still shots below.

Tune in to HBO on Sunday nights at 9:30 (check your local listings).