Author Topic: Arrested Development (Read 6304 times)

Mikezilla · « **on:** March 29, 2011, 11:49:34 am »

Im probably going to get tons of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- for this, but I just finished watching all the seasons for Arrested Development for the first time. Who knows, this thread has probably been done before but JESUS GOD THIS IS THE MOST HILARIOUS SHOW EVER. A buddy of mine got the first season for me when it first came out on DVD and I just watched it at work this past week. I feel bad because I missed out on a great show that I could have been enjoying years ago. I dont understand how a show like this managed to be on the same amount of time as tripe like Jersey Shore. Anyone know why it only lasted 3 seasons?

Samstag · « **Reply #1 on:** March 29, 2011, 12:56:28 pm »

The Cult of AD is like the Catholic Church. As long as you convert before you die you're okay with us.

It didn't last because it was on Fox in bad time slots. Most of my all-time favorite shows were Fox cancellations. Also if you didn't see it from the first episode and/or didn't give it a few episodes to grow on you it might just look like a confusing mess.

Donkbaca · « **Reply #2 on:** March 29, 2011, 01:00:49 pm »

It failed for two main reasons:
1 - it was opposite monday night football for most of its run
2 - what makes it funny is the inside jokes that sort of vein through it. One episode is kinda funny, but three episodes in a row is hilarious, its one of those the sum is greater than the individual parts scenario

Mikezilla · « **Reply #3 on:** March 29, 2011, 04:52:28 pm »

Quote from: Donkbaca on March 29, 2011, 01:00:49 pm

It failed for two main reasons:
1 - it was opposite monday night football for most of its run
2 - what makes it funny is the inside jokes that sort of vein through it. One episode is kinda funny, but three episodes in a row is hilarious, its one of those the sum is greater than the individual parts scenario

Yeah I guess both of you are right. It had a lot of reoccuring gags, and references to other episodes. If you missed one, it wouldnt be as funny, like you said, if you watched 3 in a row. I had all the seasons so I watched em all in a row over the course of a few days at work. Damn. Another awesome show falls prey to MNF. Damn. DAMN!!!

upprc04 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 29, 2011, 05:42:23 pm »

Apparently, they played the last 4 episodes up against the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Fox has a great history of killing off shows. I'm glad that Fringe just got renewed for another season regardless of being changed to Friday nights.

amendonz · « **Reply #5 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:02:54 pm »

love this show, one of the greats.

other top shows..

Curb your enthusiasm
Trailer Park Boys
the office (uk mainly, although i like the US one)

shmokes · « **Reply #6 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:23:30 pm »

You're all wrong. It was cancelled because Mikezilla didn't see it until now. I'm serious. I also didn't see it (or know of its existence) until after it was cancelled. It was cancelled because Fox didn't believe in it, they didn't promote it. And, of course, it had a bad time slot too, so I guess you're not all entirely wrong.

But primarily, this show simply wasn't supported at all by fox. People just didn't know about it. Nobody watches the Emmy awards. That's not enough. But for christ's sake, all the Emmy awards should have been enough to wake up the executives at Fox.

By the way, make sure it doesn't happen again. At least three members of Arrested Development's cast are now doing Archer on FX, which, like Arrested Development, is by far the funniest thing on television. I mean nothing else even comes close. Main difference is that it's not cancelled yet. So get watching it and get the word out. It's on Thursdays and we're in the second season now. First season is on Netflix (it disappeared briefly when the DVD was released, but it's back). Speaking of the DVD, if you don't have Netflix I assume you can get the DVDs from Redbox . . . or bit torrent.

Speaking of which, I still haven't watched last Thursday's episode. I need to get on that.

DaveMMR · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:39:03 pm »

Quote from: shmokes on March 29, 2011, 06:23:30 pm

By the way, make sure it doesn't happen again. At least three members of Arrested Development's cast are now doing Archer on FX, which, like Arrested Development, is by far the funniest thing on television. I mean nothing else even comes close. Main difference is that it's not cancelled yet. So get watching it and get the word out. It's on Thursdays and we're in the second season now. First season is on Netflix (it disappeared briefly when the DVD was released, but it's back). Speaking of the DVD, if you don't have Netflix I assume you can get the DVDs from Redbox . . . or bit torrent.

Thanks for the tip - I'll check that out.

And yeah, I used to love and preach the gospel of AD to anyone who'd listen. I taped every week, bought the DVD's as soon as they came out and watched it over and over. Great show - I do miss it but am glad to at least have gotten 53 episodes of classic TV to enjoy.

yotsuya · « **Reply #8 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:53:08 pm »

Quote from: Mikezilla on March 29, 2011, 11:49:34 am

I just watched it at work this past week

Tell me you don't work for the TSA or FEMA.

javeryh · « **Reply #9 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:08:18 pm »

The reason it failed is because it was too smart for the general public to understand. I'm completely amazed that 30 Rock has been on the air as long as it has but NBC tends to let low rated comedies find their footing before giving them the axe (Cheers, Seinfeld, etc.). Fox likes to cancel things immediately or set them up to fail by changing time slots or showing episodes out of order (Firefly anyone???).

shmokes · « **Reply #10 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:16:18 pm »

I totally disagree. Almost without exception everyone I know who has seen it, loves Arrested Development. They come from every facet of the spectrum, young, old, liberal, conservative, intelligent, not . . . so . . . bright. It was totally accessible. It was extremely smart writing, but smart is not the same as inscrutable. You don't have to be especially bright to laugh your ass off that Michael was dating a retarded girl without realizing it, or that Toby is a nevernude and an analrapist, or Lucille's amazing alcohol fueled dysfunctional mothering style.

SNAAKE · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2011, 12:04:48 am »

arrested development was hilarious

you should check out weeds too

crashwg · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2011, 02:05:45 am »

Quote from: SNAAKE on March 30, 2011, 12:04:48 am

arrested development was hilarious

you should check out weeds too

I found Weeds about two years ago, watched a couple episodes then decided it wasn't for me. A couple of months ago I decided to give it another go and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the last six seasons. Sometimes I'd watch 5 episodes a night because it's one of those shows where you need to know what's going to happen next. Can't wait till season 7 starts. I can't even imagine where the story will take the cast now...

On the topic of Arrested Development, thanks for the suggestion. I watched the pilot tonight and am confident that I will enjoy the rest. I was a little hesitant at first since it's been cancelled but I hear there's a feature film in the works so hopefully whatever loose ends there might be from the cancellation. Boy does this sound like a familiar story, (Firefly anyone) Fox has got to be the STUPIDEST broadcasting company in the history of television.

drventure · « **Reply #13 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:39:44 am »

Never seen arrested development, but I was reading an article about the 10 funniest sitcom character names, and Attorney Bob Loblaw made it on the list.

Now that's freakin' hilarious!

"Bob Loblaw, Se habla espanol"

Samstag · « **Reply #14 on:** March 30, 2011, 09:42:01 am »

I read about it on Bob Loblaw's Law Blog.

Mikezilla · « **Reply #15 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:06:50 pm »

Quote from: shmokes on March 29, 2011, 06:23:30 pm

You're all wrong. It was cancelled because Mikezilla didn't see it until now. I'm serious. I also didn't see it (or know of its existence) until after it was cancelled. It was cancelled because Fox didn't believe in it, they didn't promote it. And, of course, it had a bad time slot too, so I guess you're not all entirely wrong. But primarily, this show simply wasn't supported at all by fox. People just didn't know about it. Nobody watches the Emmy awards. That's not enough. But for christ's sake, all the Emmy awards should have been enough to wake up the executives at Fox.

By the way, make sure it doesn't happen again. At least three members of Arrested Development's cast are now doing Archer on FX, which, like Arrested Development, is by far the funniest thing on television. I mean nothing else even comes close. Main difference is that it's not cancelled yet. So get watching it and get the word out. It's on Thursdays and we're in the second season now. First season is on Netflix (it disappeared briefly when the DVD was released, but it's back). Speaking of the DVD, if you don't have Netflix I assume you can get the DVDs from Redbox . . . or bit torrent.

Speaking of which, I still haven't watched last Thursday's episode. I need to get on that.

That made me laugh, good post shmokes!

I was reading on Wikipedia, and Shmokes sums it all up here. Also, was DVR in existence when this show was on? I read on there they kept shuffling around the time spots. I remember thats what killed futurama for me, I never knew when the damn show was on. Ok! Spreading the word about Archer! Ill check it out tomorrow for sure. I also have netflix at work, so Ill catch up before tomorrow.

Quote from: yotsuya on March 29, 2011, 06:53:08 pm

Quote from: Mikezilla on March 29, 2011, 11:49:34 am
I just watched it at work this past week

Tell me you don't work for the TSA or FEMA.

Haha no, I work at a bank. A really slow one.

DaveMMR · « **Reply #16 on:** March 30, 2011, 06:39:23 pm »

Quote from: drventure on March 30, 2011, 07:39:44 am

"Bob Loblaw, Se habla espanol"

"Bob Loblaw, No habla espanol"

AtomSmasher · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:34:07 pm »

Quote from: shmokes on March 29, 2011, 06:23:30 pm

You're all wrong. It was cancelled because Mikezilla didn't see it until now. I'm serious. I also didn't see it (or know of its existence) until after it was cancelled. It was cancelled because Fox didn't believe in it, they didn't promote it. And, of course, it had a bad time slot too, so I guess you're not all entirely wrong. But primarily, this show simply wasn't supported at all by fox. People just didn't know about it. Nobody watches the Emmy awards. That's not enough. But for christ's sake, all the Emmy awards should have been enough to wake up the executives at Fox.

I did watch it when it originally aired and I wonder if some of the season 3 jokes still translate if you weren't watching it when it first aired. For instance, they often brought up the website savethebluths.com in the show, and the reason is because this was a real website trying to save the show from getting cancelled. They also had an episode were they were advertising it like crazy saying the show would be in 3D, would have lots of guest stars, and one of the characters would die on the show. The episode is hilarious, but I'm curious how well it translates to those who never watched the previews beforehand.

DaveMMR · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:19:49 pm »

Quote from: AtomSmasher on March 30, 2011, 07:34:07 pm

They also had an episode were they were advertising it like crazy saying the show would be in 3D, would have lots of guest stars, and one of the characters would die on the show. The episode is hilarious, but I'm curious how well it translates to those who never watched the previews beforehand.

Haha, I love that episode. That "preview" is actually part of the episode (it's where the credits normally were), so it's just like any normal joke setup. It wasn't an actual Fox promo. It's still present in the DVD's, etc.

popsicle · « **Reply #19 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:43:30 pm »

I too only watched this wonderful show last year (and sucked wife and her visiting mom into watching ALL episodes in a 2-week span). So terribly disappointing that there are not more of these. Jeffrey Tambor is outstanding, and was already a favorite from Larry Sanders. I do remember watching one or two episodes when it aired (a friend was raving about it), but as mentioned it takes a few episodes to get to know the characters and grasp the very heavy, yet brisk, plot movement.

Other shows that have pulled me in from Netflix.. the Battlestar remake, Venture Bros., Lost, and Breaking Bad.

javeryh · « **Reply #20 on:** March 31, 2011, 11:41:47 am »

Quote from: shmokes on March 29, 2011, 07:16:18 pm

I totally disagree. Almost without exception everyone I know who has seen it, loves Arrested Development. They come from every facet of the spectrum, young, old, liberal, conservative, intelligent, not . . . so . . . bright. It was totally accessible. It was extremely smart writing, but smart is not the same as inscrutable. You don't have to be especially bright to laugh your ass off that Michael was dating a retarded girl without realizing it, or that Toby is a nevernude and an analrapist, or Lucille's amazing alcohol fueled dysfunctional mothering style.

You must hang around smarter people than I do. Pretty much everyone I know has watched it a little and says they "don't get it".

SNAAKE · « **Reply #21 on:** April 17, 2011, 08:42:14 pm »

east bound and down is pretty hilarious. in case anyone missed it. check it out right now.

crashwg · « **Reply #22 on:** April 17, 2011, 10:34:55 pm »

Quote from: SNAAKE on April 17, 2011, 08:42:14 pm

east bound and down is pretty hilarious. in case anyone missed it. check it out right now.

I'm not sure how anyone can watch anything with Danny McBride in it. He always plays the same character and that character is annoying.

As for the original topic. Arrested Development is frikin hilarious! I'm almost done with the second season and am not looking forward to it ending. I really hope the movie fixes whatever Fox has broken by canceling this gem.

amendonz · « **Reply #23 on:** April 18, 2011, 01:00:48 am »

$10 says there will be no movie.

SNAAKE · « **Reply #24 on:** April 18, 2011, 04:07:52 am »

Quote from: crashwg on April 17, 2011, 10:34:55 pm

I'm not sure how anyone can watch anything with Danny McBride in it. He always plays the same character and that character is annoying.

might wanna watch before jumping into conclusion. there is more than just danny mcbride. personally I dont have a problem with his character at all. he was also good in pinapple express imo.

emphatic · « **Reply #25 on:** April 19, 2011, 07:30:36 am »

Parks And Recreation is very funny as well, although it of course has no Thobias Fünke.

Hoopz · « **Reply #26 on:** April 19, 2011, 08:14:42 am »

Quote from: emphatic on April 19, 2011, 07:30:36 am

Parks And Recreation is very funny as well, although it of course has no Thobias Fünke.

So no Analrapists on Parks and Rec? That's gotta be the best business card ever.

SNAAKE · « **Reply #27 on:** April 29, 2011, 01:09:01 pm »

Id also recommend "hung". its about the punisher having a big weiner. show is weird and hilarious lol..

amendonz · « **Reply #28 on:** April 29, 2011, 07:46:09 pm »

finally watched an episode of louie, was better than what i expected, ricky gervais was a cool bonus too

SNAAKE · « **Reply #29 on:** April 29, 2011, 10:53:44 pm »

louieCK is godlike

you should check out his standups too while you are at it


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