 "Never should have been cancelled!!" | 2009-10-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A292KHTOXR3V7Y |
| This TV is show is a treasure! I resisted watching it until a friend made me, and I was flabbergasted that I hadn't watched it all along. I honestly regret not watching this show while it was still on the air. I don't know how this show got poor ratings-- it is gut-busting hilarious. If you haven't seen this series yet, do yourself a favor and rent it or buy it. It's easily worth the $20 I paid for each season, and it has TONS of re-watchability. |
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 "A fantastic series, but considering getting the discounted set of all three seasons instead of just season 1" | 2009-10-13 |
| - Reviewed By crculver |
I really do regret never seeing ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT during its three-season run from 2003-2006, as it is one of the few television comedy programmes I've enjoyed. Its documentary-like storytelling based around a quirky family, where executive George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor) goes to prison and his son Michael (Jason Bateman) must take over the company and shepherd his siblings, with frequent flashbacks makes for comedy that I can best compare to Wes Anderson's film The Royal Tenenbaums. While the writing is at a high level, with complex plotlines and jokes that play themselves out across episodes (or disappear only to return a season later), but the writers also had to work within the constraints of a FOX sitcom, and one of its successes is how cleverly they chafe at their situation. References to sitcom tropes abound, such as a character joining the military, the matriarch adopting a child only to have him quickly disposed of, and dramas of who someone's real father is.
The strong writing couldn't succeed without strong acting. Rarely have I seen a cast so believable as a family, with Bateman as the responsible middle son carrying on a convincing rapport with Will Arnett as his loser elder brother George Oscar "GOB" Bluth and Tony Hale as his neurotic younger brother Buster, as well as Portia Rossi as his airhead twin sister Lindsey. I first became familiar with Will Arnett's acting when he played a hyperbolic pervert soon killed by a sex machine on a Human Giant sketch. His part of GOB is considerably more tame, and elicits as much sympathy as laughter. Just as fine as the central parts, however, are the guest parts: Henry Winkler as a seedy lawyer, Amy Poehler as a manic seal trader whom GOB marries on a dare, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a blind attorney.
If you only know this programme from when it was broadcasted, the DVD is still worthwhile, as there's a lot of freeze-frame details that make it all even funnier. That said, the series was funny well beyond season one, and the DVD set of all three seasons goes in some places for little more than this set of season one only. |
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| "Genius!" | 2009-10-09 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| Comedic Genius! This show should still be airing on television! With the quality of witful writing, I cannot believe it was cancelled!Truly masterful comedy! An essential part of your comedic library! |
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| "Nothing better!" | 2009-10-07 |
| - Reviewed By existfor |
| This is the greatest television show of all time. In fact, I think it's the greatest work of American pop art of all time. There is simply nothing better. My wife and I watch it every day. It's our "after work" routine. It's unspeakably entertaining. I can not recommend it more. |
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| "AD: 1-3" | 2009-10-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A4KH5DZT2ZTK6 |
| Arrested Development is hilarious. So many inside jokes and hidden jokes... great writing and acting. If you haven't seen it. Pick these up. |
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| "The GREATEST sitcom ever" | 2009-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A4M7LMO1PQJKS |
The title is no exaggeration, this truly is the greatest sitcom to ever grace TV. Just like Seinfeld was so far above any other 90s sitcom, this show has dwarfed every comedy of the past decade. There are some great shows on today, like 30 Rock (which, to me, is sort of a mini-AD), The Office (although it's has been declining in quality in the past 2 years), and Always Sunny, but none of these are on the same level as AD.
The incredible attention to detail on AD is mind-blowing. Upon repeated viewing, subtle running jokes become noticeable (yet never feel repetitive), soft spoken lines which add immensely to each scene can be heard, and brilliant foreshadowing that reveals major plot twists become obvious and you are left kicking yourself for not picking them up initially. But, then again, no other sitcom has ever required your full attention like this one does.
And that is most likely the reason why it was canceled. If you look at any CBS comedy, for instance, they all follow a here's-the-setup-to-a-painfully-obvious-and-unfunny-punchline formula (the fact that Two and a Half Men is the #1 comedy in America is truly disturbing). No, this show requires you to watch the episodes attently and sequentially in order to fully "get it". It sounds like a chore, but it is completely worth it.
These are three of the best seasons of any TV show ever. In a way, I'm glad it ran for only three seasons. It never felt like it was overstaying it's welcome (unlike The Office now). I will be first in line the movie, though. |
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