Open Facebook and everyone seems to be talking about the red wedding in Game of Thrones. You might find a post buried somewhere about Friends. Another maybe reminding you about when Sherlock might premiere. One thing is sure- there is not even a single post on Arrested Development.
Arrested Development is about everything that other sitcoms fail to deliver. Arrested Development gets the jokes right- but what's better is that they are not comprehended by everyone. True, the masses would not like it. However, it's not for the reason that it's a bad show, but rather for the fact that most of the people would fail to get the punchlines until after it's too late!
It has an IMDb rating of 9.2 (Friends has an 8.8, you decide for yourself which is better!) It gained widespread critical acclaim during its original run back in the mid 2000s and continues to get praises after a gap of eight years in production. I usually don't agree to the critical ratings (take for example the disgusting movie titled Burn After Reading), but I must admit the critics have gotten this one pretty much perfect!
Something which I really like about the show is the portrayal of characters- they are not insane, neither can the be compared to cartoon characters. They are highly disorganized, broken characters. Right from Gob's lame magic to Tobias' never-nude syndrome, the characters are extremes in whatever they do.
The satire is pretty spot-on too. Take Kitty Sanchez's affair with her boss, George Sr, or that of his wife's with his twin brother Oscar, or maybe Gob's illegitimate son, the popular Steve Holt- all of this has been woven keeping the stupidity of the masses.
Another reason which makes Arrested Development so perfect is the (un-credited until the fourth season) narrator. Not only does he form the very soul of the show with his narration, the quick lines that he inserts as the characters are speaking serve as perhaps the best punch lines I have ever encountered in a TV show (and it's nothing stupid like Phoebe).
The guest stars have been important parts of the show. Be it the bad-ass magician played by Ben Stiller, Ed Helms (Stu in the Hangover series) being the eager-to-sell-anything real estate agent or Carl Weathers playing himself (for the ones who don't know, Carl Weathers was a part of Arnie's squad in Predator)- it is always something to look forward to.
Any mention of Arrested Development would be incomplete without the mention of the chicken dance. Have a look yourself(if the video I am attaching hasn't been removed yet).
All great TV shows that got abruptly have come back at some point of time to give a proper ending to their story (take Firefly for example). Arrested Development is no exception! On May 26th, after seven long years of wait (well, two for me), Arrested Development came back with fifteen new episodes on the same day, thanks to Netflix! This time, every episode concentrated on a single character. There are plans for a movie to wrap things up.
The fact that hardly anyone loves it among my friend circle hardly bothers me. In fact, I feel superior that I am one of the very few who have been able to truly enjoy this epic comedy. For the others who are still glued to Friends/How I Met Your Mother/The Big Bang Theory, you are just missing out on something really great (or perhaps, you would never possessed the intellect to comprehend it!)
The satire is pretty spot-on too. Take Kitty Sanchez's affair with her boss, George Sr, or that of his wife's with his twin brother Oscar, or maybe Gob's illegitimate son, the popular Steve Holt- all of this has been woven keeping the stupidity of the masses.
Another reason which makes Arrested Development so perfect is the (un-credited until the fourth season) narrator. Not only does he form the very soul of the show with his narration, the quick lines that he inserts as the characters are speaking serve as perhaps the best punch lines I have ever encountered in a TV show (and it's nothing stupid like Phoebe).
The guest stars have been important parts of the show. Be it the bad-ass magician played by Ben Stiller, Ed Helms (Stu in the Hangover series) being the eager-to-sell-anything real estate agent or Carl Weathers playing himself (for the ones who don't know, Carl Weathers was a part of Arnie's squad in Predator)- it is always something to look forward to.
Any mention of Arrested Development would be incomplete without the mention of the chicken dance. Have a look yourself(if the video I am attaching hasn't been removed yet).
All great TV shows that got abruptly have come back at some point of time to give a proper ending to their story (take Firefly for example). Arrested Development is no exception! On May 26th, after seven long years of wait (well, two for me), Arrested Development came back with fifteen new episodes on the same day, thanks to Netflix! This time, every episode concentrated on a single character. There are plans for a movie to wrap things up.
The fact that hardly anyone loves it among my friend circle hardly bothers me. In fact, I feel superior that I am one of the very few who have been able to truly enjoy this epic comedy. For the others who are still glued to Friends/How I Met Your Mother/The Big Bang Theory, you are just missing out on something really great (or perhaps, you would never possessed the intellect to comprehend it!)
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