Arrested Development

~* TV Show Review *~

Arrested Development
Ahhh... I miss this show so much! It was the funniest show I've ever watched in my entire life. I saw it from the first episode, when it premiered on Fox. It didn't get a lot advertisement, which is one of the things that led to it's early demise. It just couldn't seem to find a mainstream following. Despite the fact that it was a great show, and had brilliant writers, incredibly talented actors, wonderful narration by Ron Howard, earned six Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a cult fan base. Even the side characters were wonderful: Lucille Austero, or "Lucille 2," played by Liza Minnelli, Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler), the family attorney, Scott Baio as attorney Bob Loblaw (comically pronounced, "Bah blah blah"), and Charlize Theron to name a few.
The bottom line is simply this: most people were too slow to "get" the jokes. Even I missed a few the first time around. When you watch it for a second (or in my case, third) time, you catch more and more subtle jokes that tie the show together. It did not have a laugh-track, which was one of the things I loved about it. Unfortunately, most people need a laugh-track... it tells them when something is funny; that way they don't have to think. Just look at some of the shows that are on TV now. How is it that an amazing, award-winning show like "Arrested Development" could be canceled after just 3 seasons, and crap like "The War At Home" is still on the air?

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The Emmy Award-winning comedy series ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT revolves around MICHAEL BLUTH (Jason Bateman) the "normal" one in a family of crazies, who is forced to stay in Orange County and run the family real estate business after his father, GEORGE BLUTH SR. (Jeffrey Tambor), is sent to prison for shifty accounting practices. While George Sr. spent the last year in the slammer discovering his newfound Judaism and recording inspirational tapes, Michael spent it picking up the pieces and trying to teach his offbeat family how to live without an endless expense account. All the while, Michael has also been trying to do right by his 14-year-old son, GEORGE MICHAEL (Michael Cera), an earnest kid who works diligently at the family’s frozen banana stand.
The Bluths are led by manipulative matriarch LUCILLE BLUTH (Jessica Walter), a socialite who is as icy as her martinis. Then there’s the oldest son, GOB (Will Arnett), a womanizer and struggling magician (sorry, "illusionist") whose biggest trick will be to make a real job appear. The youngest brother is BUSTER (Tony Hale), a neurotic professional grad student and glorified mama’s boy (he spent 11 months in the womb). The Bluth siblings are rounded out by cause-obsessed sister LINDSAY (Portia de Rossi), who is married to the hapless TOBIAS (David Cross), a doctor-turned-actor who might get more work if he wasn’t a self-proclaimed "never-nude." Lindsay and Tobias are the ultra-permissive parents of MAEBY (Alia Shawkat), a 14-year-old who loves finding unique ways to rebel against their overindulgence.
Description from TV.com
http://www.tv.com/arrested-development/show/17005/summary.html

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Critical reviews
"Is it beating a dead horse to once again state that this underappreciated gem is the best sitcom on TV? Too bad. 'Arrested Development' is the best sitcom on TV!"
—Tim Stack, Entertainment Weekly, 14 October 2005, p.133

"If you're not watching this series on Fox, the least you can do is buy it on DVD. You'll love it, and it's such a dense show (in the best sense of the word) that it rewards repeated viewing. Like Scrubs and the British version of The Office, it's the sort of show that truly deserves to be seen uninterrupted, several episodes at a time, for maximum enjoyment. The laughs-per-minute quotient here is insanely high, making it great value as a home library purchase."
—David Bianculli, New York Daily News, 12 October 2005

"As oddball as Arrested is, it's also humane. A flawless cast — from Will Arnett's breathy, bombastic Gob to Jessica Walter's boozy Lucille — grounds it, aided by Ron Howard's affable narration. Of course, the center of sensibility is good son Michael (Jason Bateman) and his even better son, George Michael (Michael Cera). Bateman and Cera give the best reacts around — the former all weary exasperation, the latter adorably bunny-stunned. Together, they're the sweetest, awkwardest straight men on the smartest, most shockingly funny series on TV...which is likely canceled, despite six Emmy wins. It's a perversion not even the Bluths deserve."
—Gillian Flynn, Entertainment Weekly, Best of 2005 Issue naming Arrested Development the best TV show of 2005

~*Quote of the day*~

Genius has no relationship whatsoever to popularity. Give me 13 episodes of "Arrested Development" over five years of soul-sucking lameness like "According to Jim" any day.
Tim Goodman

~*Word of the day*~

San (Japanese)

Meaning: Three

Currently Listening to... "I Am The Highway" - Audioslave