Arrested Development (TV Timeout)

(This will be a new feature where I talk about TV. Good or bad.)

What is my favorite television show of all time? While I did not watch it while it was still on air (few people did, and if you say you did, you’re lying) I have seen every episode multiple times, and no show holds up better upon multiple viewings than Arrested Development. In fact, I might go as far as to say it actually improves with each exploration. Most television shows are made to be a disposable entertainment overall. Watch, enjoy, forget, and see you next week for the same. Arrested Development is best seen as one 53 episode piece of work, and there is barely a weak link in the bunch.

The overall plotline of the series involves an incredibly self-absorbed family known as the Bluths who have suddenly run out of money after the patriarch George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor) winds up in prison after being arrested by the SEC. (They have boats?!) It is now up to Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) who, as the narration at the beginning of every episode puts it, “has no choice but to keep his family together”, and he does so despite every reason not to.

Here’s a basic family outline:

Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) – Essentially the straight man who likes to think of himself as the only sympathetic one in the family. However, he is more like these people than he thinks.

George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) – Michael’s son, who is perhaps the most overwhelmed child in the universe. He is doomed to live amongst these people for the rest of his life, all the while having an inappropriate crush on his perhaps-cousin Maeby Funke.

Gob Bluth (Will Arnett) – My favorite character of the series, perhaps. A man who has grown up to be nothing but a womanizer and a failed magician, he wants nothing more than to be seen as a success by his family. However, he tries for this acceptance in the most inappropriate and insane ways possible.

Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) – The younger brother of Michael Bluth who has been babied his whole life by his mother, and as such has grown up to be a bona-fide mother’s boy. He cannot live without a matriarchal figure in his life.

Lindsay Bluth-Funke (Portia DeRossi) – The only Bluth daughter (Michael’s twin) who has become something of an activist, but only as a protest against her father and always for selfish reasons. She married Tobias Funke to upset her parents, and to this day regrets it.

Tobias Funke (David Cross) – A former therapist/analyst (or analrapist) who, after the pilot, discovers his desire to be an actor. Needless to say he mostly fails in this endeavor, and Tobias is famous for his… interesting choice of words in most scenarios.

Maeby Funke (Alia Shawkat) – The daughter of Lindsay and Tobias who received virtually no parenting her entire life and thus is completely independent and rebellious.

George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor) – The father of Michael, Gob, Buster, and Lindsay who runs the Bluth Company and is arrested by the SEC. Most of the series is spent discovering whether he is innocent or guilty.

Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) – The wife of George and is something of a mastermind herself. She is clearly alcoholic and needs to control every aspect of her children’s lives, particularly Buster.

This show has the best ensemble of any comedy ever, if not any series ever. Nearly every character gets equal time and for the most part they spend a whole lot of time in various pairings (even though the relatively early cancellation prevented some more possibilities.) Every actor pours their heart and soul into every line, and many scenes play like a one-upping contest. (Which is a REALLY good thing.)

The glue that holds the series together is the narration of Ron Howard, who is so sobering over the madness that ensues that you can now understand what you are seeing. The only real inconsistent element here is the music by David Schwartz, which ranges from genius to distracting.

The writing of this series is genius in a way that can’t truly be appreciated the first time through, or perhaps even the eighteenth time through. Rarely does a line go by without an inside joke or foreshadowing in some way. There are jokes in the 51st episode which reference the 13th, and vice-versa. Nothing is done in this series without purpose. That’s why it had such a hard time attracting an audience while on air. If you start watching some random week you may find yourself jumping on to a speeding train that just is not worth it. I’m not sure I could have kept up when it was on Fox. Watching this show requires investment, which is rare for most comedies.

Of course Fox didn’t help one bit, being a network with a famous history of giving comedies no chance unless your name is Seth MacFarlane (and even that needed two chances). In fact, it’s a miracle the series lasted as long as it did. However, Fox gave up in the third season, cutting the order to 13 episodes and going weeks without airing one, until the fateful night when they dumped the final four episodes on one night… OPPOSITE THE OPENING CEREMONIES OF THE OLYMPICS!!! Okay, I’m done venting.

Since then the show has gained quite the following has developed. The DVDs are still selling well, which when you think about it is pretty extraordinary. There have been rumors of a follow-up movie for a while now, but as time goes by it seems more and more likely it won’t happen. Many critics have called it the greatest sitcom of all time, and I’m right there with them. While it may not have lasted as long as it should have, one of the blessings is that there is not a weak link in the bunch. So if you want to watch something unlike anything that has ever been created, all while laughing your pants off, sit down and settle in with the greatest dysfunctional family in television history.

(I’d recommend beginning with the pilot, just to get your feet on the ground. It isn’t the best episode, but it’s necessary. I don’t want to make this sound like homework, but it is.)