Annyong everyone! Crawl out of your stairs cars, aztec tombs and attics, because “Arrested Development” has returned! Unlike most of Barry Zuckerkorn’s court cases, this revival is sure to wind up with successful results, thanks to the entire cast of the show, not to mention several essential guest stars and the show’s amazing writers team, returning for fifteen more episodes, all exclusively on Netflix for instant streaming. And don’t worry; these new episodes are NOT just for British eyes only!
Returning from the dead is a rare occurrence for a show, but then again “Arrested Development” was far from normal. The family redefined different, full of brothers who had missing hands, fathers who may have committed light treason and a 15-year old girl who had a high ranking position in the film industry. Still, it seemed to always exist on some form of reality and the show seemed to work due to the fact that the family genuinely loved each other, despite all of the horrible things that occurred to them.
The show (which can be found in it’s 53 episodes entirety on Netflix) joins “The Simpsons”, “Seinfeld” and “The Big Bang Theory” in the pantheon of shows that can be rewatched over, and over again. Filled with in-gags that reference future episodes, not to mention sight gags that will only be appreciated by the most observant of viewers, “Arrested Development” rewarded those who actually paid attention to every second of the show, and made each episode a tour de force in terms of superb writing.
The cast of the show also excelled, with Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth proving to be the perfect straight man for all the mayhem around him, while Portia De Rossi and Will Arnett as his siblings were always a treat thanks to their exquisite timing and one-liners. Tony Hale stole every single episode he was in as Buster, the oddball of the family (sample line: “Unlimited juice? This party’s gonna be off the hook!”). Plus, Jessica Walter and Jeffrey Tambor were the perfect terrible, but somehow still loveable parents, who manipulate their children as much as they love them. Finally, the best cast member by far was Tobias Funke, who has perhaps some of the funniest lines in the entire show, and some of the best physical comedy as well (anything when he’s dressed as British nanny Mrs. Featherbottom never fails to leave me in giggles).
Also, as a side note, it’s amazing to see how many huge comedians got their start in bit parts on this show: Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Simon Helberg, Rob Riggle. I’m fascinated by the large amount of genuinely huge celebrities that appeared on this program.
Unlike a certain blind lawyer, it’s no lie to call “Arrested Development” one of the best TV comedies ever created, and even less so to call it one of the best TV Shows created in the 21st century. Maybe I’ve made a huge mistake in setting expectations too high for new viewers, but I’m sure this show will work it’s magic on many new viewers thanks to these new episodes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna watch Gob and Franklin record their new controversial album.
Editor’s Note: This review was written by Gene Parmesan. He’s THAT good.
Anonymous • Sep 27, 2013 at 11:19 am
I didn’t partically like the new season as much as the previous ones, but this show coming back made me so excited!
The Critc Critic • May 27, 2013 at 10:56 am
That bit about the Simpsons being able to be watched over and over again, I sure hope you weren’t suggesting we sit through all the crap post-Season 8 of that show has given us. And Sheldon is the only redeemable thing bout The Galaxy Explosion Hypothesis.
I think the thing that’s unique about the show is that unlike a majority of TV comedies, it actually gets better as it goes along.
Doug Laman • May 29, 2013 at 11:39 am
See, I actually enjoy many of the later episodes of the simpsons. Totally agree about Seaons 4-8 being a Golden Era for the show, but there’s still plenty of superb episodes created (this past season finale was a good reminder of that,with a surprisingly heartfelt and hillarious premise involving Homer trying to get a good anniversary gift)
And yeah, Arrested Development defenitley improves as it goes along. For instance, one of the most absurd, yet somehow hysterical creations Franklin (Gob’s puppet) doesn’t even come to play until late in Season 2 (or nearly halfway into the shows lifetime)
On a side note, I have some interesting feelings about this new season. Not sure if they warrant a full review, but in short, they had momentso f genuis, but were crippled by a poor and overly cluttered presentation. It is is nice to see a different storytelling format for this kind of show, but it still felt needlessly overdone.