Arrested Development - Season 1-3 [DVD]

Is Arrested Development the best US sitcom ever? Maybe not. I'll always be partial to Seinfeld, though AD accomplished as much in three short seasons as they did in nine, so it's a tough call. What the heck. Yes. It's the best US sitcom ever made.

It's in all the little things. You never quite know what you're going to get with Arrested. From the evolution of the narrator (Ron "I'm awesome" Howard) into an omniscient, fourth-wall-breaking bastion of the show's excellence to the shift in relationships between George Michael (Michael Cera off of Superbad) and his maybe-cousin Maeby or his once-girlfriend Anne (aka "Bland", "Annehog" or "Egg") ending up with his uncle Gob (pronounced Job, like in the bible and the start of Mission Impossible), there's few developments over the three years that anyone could see coming. Jeffrey Tambor's characters George Sr. and Oscar (twins, natch) and their various identity crises alone are hard to keep up with.

The cast is the best ever assembled for comedy, no exceptions. Jason Bateman excels as straight man Michael, all worried expressions and listless disappointment in what may be the least functional family ever to grace the small screen. Will Arnett's Gob is just priceless, a magician oblivious to the fact that changing a hundred dollar bill into a hundred pennies is a 99-dollar loss to the businessmen he's trying to impress. Tony Hale is Buster, the soft spoken- I hesitate to say simpleton- heart of gold son constantly put down by booze-swilling Jessica Walters. The dynamic between these two in particular is thrilling, because it encourages Buster to every now and then rebel (with often destructive consequences). David Cross' every homosexual innuendo is a joy, and it's a marvel to watch his excruciatingly awkward physical comedy. Michael Cera's style I'm sure you're now familiar with (he has yet to break form ONCE in ANY of his movies), but here it's mixed with a greater degree of youth and is as such twice as appealing. As a son fond of his father, he's top notch. Also Portia de Rossi and Alia Shawkat are there.

Other little touches include fantastic wordplay. Scott Baio's lawyer character is named Bob Lablaw. Say that out loud. Also, the family's adopted Korean son's name is something of a mystery, as what they THINK is his name is actually 'hello' in his native language. Much mirth ensues.

Of course, the show was simply too good for TV and was axed in it's third year. Perhaps this was a good thing, perhaps not; the series' only fault was the dreadful Charlize Theron-starring Rita subplot early in season 3 (see my review of that set for uncut vehemence), one more of which type would have ruined the whole thing. Still, the rest of the episodes were great and the end was marvellous, so whadda I know? When it was good (which was all but these five episodes) it was concisely plotted comedy gold. Martin Mull as Gene Parmesan, the Private Eye who's rubbish at finding people BUT is a master of disguise manages, in only one appearance, to become one of my favourite comedy characters of all time. Posing as a doctor, he turns; "I have some bad news. I'm... Gene Parmesan, private detective". Funniest thing ever.

So, you have David Cross in head-to-toe blue makeup. You have a frankly racist black puppet. A magician dejectedly hurling a dove into the sea. Ben Stiller with a 'w' for a goatee. An airport stair-car as a primary mode of transport. Liza Minelli not being able to stand up straight due to vertigo. An entirely family of idiots dancing like what they THINK chickens dance like, each different, each completely ridiculous, all at once, to try and make someone ELSE feel stupid. If ANY of these things appeal to you, Arrested Development's your show.

I must point out that at £50-odd quid the price tag is ridiculous- I recently picked up all three sets for £9 apiece. I'm sure this will come down in time though, and Christmas will almost certainly see a fair few of these picked up. A new release of a classic show will hopefully spark considerable interest for the long-touted movie version. I'm not a fan of TV shows making the small-to-silver leap (one reason;why?) but if it gets us more, so be it. Like Ron Howard says in one of the interviews, you may not get it at first, but you'll keep watching and before you know it, you're hooked. And believe me, there's nothing like being hooked on Arrested Development.

Arrested Development has got to be the most clever comedy American tv has ever produced..

It was a shame that FOX axed it after just 3 seasons...

I guess it was just too different to what American audiences were used to at the time... I think if it had come out maybe a few years later than it did, it would have stood a better chance. American audiences expected their comedy to be a laugh-out loud, taped-in-front-of-an-audience sitcom, conventional if you like...
look at 30 Rock and The (American) Office now, it is amazing how unfunny these shows are and they get renewed season after season despite being as unconventional as Arrested Development was in its time.
People simply liked / wanted easy comedy like Friends at the time of Arrested Development.... so it never drew in the audience it deserved.

I have watched back all three seasons recently and wow, it just gets better with every viewing...it is true what people say, the show is so layered that you have to watch it multiple times to truly appreciate it...
The cast are superb... each playing a member of the dysfunctional Bluth family who have to face up to major changes when their father is sent to jail. Jason Bateman is a great anchor for the show.. his sarcasm and disbelief at how selfish or dumb his family are is a hoot.

The show doesn't deliver real laugh out loud moments, more subtle humour is employed really.. i know lots of people just don't get the show but it's simply because they watched one or two shows and don't see it as funny, you have to stick with it because when you do, you get into it, the in-jokes, the loose references to previous plots all contribute to the humour in the show. Of course, if sarcastic humour isn't your cup of tea, then you may wanna pass.. alot of the humour is based on laughing at the Bluth family, NOT with them as you would in traditional situation based comedy..

Truly, one of the greatest American comedies, certainly the best since Seinfeld...
if you look at the state of American sitcoms now, they are so unfunny and cliche-ridden, it's hard to believe a great show like this slipped away quietly after 3 years..

I was hooked from the first DVD although I had seen a few of the episodes. So pleased I could purchase the set and will undoubtably watch it repeatedly.