Arrested Development

Ultimate Houde said:
I got the free month membership for this.
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Totally
On board to see this
Rent and
Regulation-free,
Each episode with
No interruptions during my watching of
This fantastic show.

Then I'm going to buy the DVD whenever it comes out, so I don't wanna hear it!

Tomorrow! I'll be busy all afternoon watching it.
 
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So just finished watching the first two episodes. Pretty good stuff. Honestly starts off a little flat, but there's plenty going on nonetheless. Love how they're sort of taking the characters out of their element (at least so far in the first two with Michael and George Sr.). Michael's at a very low point, and George is losing his "mojo". I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm pleased with what they're doing. Just can't wait to see more Gob and Tobias, easily my two favorite characters. Also, Kristen Wiig as a young Lucille Bluth is just ****ing awesome. Yes, the bad language is necessary to truly do the compliment justice. Seth Rogen as a young George Sr. is meh, but Wiig knocks it out of the park.

Also, watch closely at the end of the first episode. Towards the end, just after Michael gets off the place and is on the moving walkway thing he passes a mural in the airport which basically realizes prominent events and locations from the first three seasons. Loved that little self-referential Easter Egg.

Now, onto Episodes 3-15! Huzzah!
 
So I'm done. I literally watched all 15 episodes of Season 4 last night, and it was glorious. Like catching up with an old friend.

Season 4 had a lot going on, lots of layers, like television lasagna. It definitely did a great job of exploring each character's character, if you will, and twisting it on its head. It was also decidedly dark in many ways, but surely as a way of setting up for something more (probably that long discussed AD movie). There was also a kind of funny trait of each character temporarily (or not so temporarily) taking on the aspects of a certain other family member.

My only real complaint was that the season retread the same ground a bit too much, but merely as a plot device to explore the same times/scenes from each different character's point of view, but each time added, expanded, or revealed more of each scene as a way of advancing the plot and character development, and certainly the humor. The way each episode focused on each character was a bit detracting too. Granted there's still plenty of the usual dysfunctional family interaction the show is known for, but the characters spend a lot of time apart in the first half of the Season, "finding themselves" but unsuccessful in the endeavor. It could be that it's got a slightly different feel than the first three seasons due to that, but again its not necessarily bad, just different, and does work in the sense it allows each character to play off and interact in lots of interesting and humorous ways with the people they meet along the way (played by a variety of guest stars, old and new).

Now spoilers:

The entire season revolves around Cinco de Cuatro, a local holiday propagated by Lucille years before as a way to sort of rob the local Latin population of Cinco de Mayo, since this interfered with the Bluth's household chores from being done by their maid on May 5th. This sets in motion a series of flashbacks, of which the majority of the season is made up of, which catches up on the 5 years which passed between Seasons 3 and 4 and what each character was up to, then focusing on the few days/weeks before the Cinco de Cuatro celebration. Michael is at a low point in his life, starting the season having to crash in George Michael's college dorm room due to the Sudden Valley development not being successful and leaving the Bluth Company in serious debt. George Michael, meanwhile, is feeling cramped with Michael's interference in his life in general, which is complicated by a lie he falls into about developing a major anti-social media program as a way to impress Maebe. Maebe meanwhile has been pulling a Steve Holt (who also appears later on in the season and gained a lot of weight) and been repeating her senior year of high school for 5 years, but by choice (sort of). Lindsay went to India after leaving Tobias, to find enlightenment, fails, returns home and to Tobias (again, temporarily), they buy a mansion far beyond their means (just before the housing market crashed) then lose it when the market crashed. Tobias also traveled to India, returned home, and begins attempting acting lessons (unfortunately mistaking a Methadone clinic as an acting class), and he and Lindsay each meet a couple of weirdos who they each shack up with (after leaving each other again). Lucille is arrested and spends 5 years in a high class prison, all the while still manipulating and controlling her family from "jail". George gets involved in a plan to build a wall between Mexico and California, and another failed land deal to do so with his brother Oscar, who over the course of that 5 years steals George's mojo, while George becomes more like Oscar much to his dismay. Gob almost marries Ann Veal, doesn't, becomes a wannabe Hollywood Entourage-like groupie, then devotes his energy to getting revenge on Tony Wonder, and eventually they become lovers. Buster does some Silence of the Lambs stuff, rejoins the Army, becomes a drone pilot, gains a mechanical hand to replace the hook, discharged, and moves in with a politician (who Lucille 2 is running against in the local election), and has an affair with the politician's wife, then is kicked out. Michael and George Michael each end up dating the same woman (Ron Howard's daughter, who surprisingly shows up a lot in the show as Michael is attempting to get a movie made of the exploits of his family at his studio), which leads to a confrontation at the end of the season. Maebe gets arrested for sleeping with an underage guy (who she thought was an undercover cop taking advantage of her since she was posing as still being 17 instead of actually 23), Buster also gets arrested for supposedly killing Lucille 2, Tobias is charged as a sex offender after mistakenly being caught up in a "To Catch a Predator" type program, and by seasons's end George is cross dressing (though its revealed much earlier since the episodes jump around in time so much).

There's far more going on, but those are just the major plot points. The humor is still just as sharp as the original three seasons, and in large part it was like an Arrested Development reunion, as literally EVERY guest star from the original seasons shows up at some point, as well as a fair amount of new ones.

As said, the series ends with A LOT of unresolved plot threads, so I'm really hoping that movie happens now even more than before seeing Season 4. Based on the ratings this is getting (or the Netflix memberships bought just for this), I could possibly see them getting into the movie arena and financing it (I wouldn't expect it to cost more than the price tag for these 15 episodes).

I am definitely looking forward to more, in whatever form in comes in, and based on the ending it definitely all but ensures that will happen.
 
I just watched the first episode. I don't understand the hate its getting with some fans. It's pretty fun. it's hard to say it's worse than 1 to 3 but the new format is different, not bad but different. However i'm still loving it.
 
Wow.

I'm on episode 14, and I'm sure I have missed some stuff because I should know what's happened to
Lucille II
by now, but I don't.

It's been good, started off slow, but that's only because you aren't too sure what is actually going on, as the story fleshes out, it gets much better.
 
This is all good information to know, because I've seen the first four episodes and I'm finding it very lackluster. It doesn't seem to have the pace the previous seasons had. At first GOB doesn't even feel like GOB, and neither does Lindsay for a time. George Michael is the biggest change for me because he doesn't feel like George Michael.
 
Been looking forward to your opinions. Also looking forward to seeing what E and Bass think of it. As you guys said, it is different, but not in a bad way. The format is just slightly different with the focusing of each episode on a specific character to catch up on their lives during the 5 year span. It's a show that inherently has always been about family dysfunction, and this season continues that trend while maintaining AD's signature social, political, and character satire.

I think a lot of fans are probably just turned off by the quite serious predicaments the characters end up in by seasons's end. But that's in a way the cherry on top. These folks are ****ed up, how could they NOT end up in dire circumstances? I'm sure a follow up will resolve and bring to a close all these situations and in a satisfying and justified manner.

Also enjoyed the opening credits being slightly altered and tailored to fit each specific character that episode focuses on.
 
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I liked the first episode, was unsure about the second and third and really liked the fourth. It made me laugh as hard as the old Arrested Development. I'm looking forward to watching the rest over the week.
 
I'm up to episode 10. They are all great so far except in my opinion the Torbias episodes. He's a great character when he has the other characters to play off. On his own he just cant carry it I feel. I am however loving how everything links up slowly. My favourite episode so far was number 7 the Gob episode. That was great to be honest. I hope he has another episode in the 5 I've not seen.

Honestly this proves above all this concept of Netflix (and the Amazon exclusive pilots they showed this month) is great for shows that can be great but don't have the viewers to back it up. I'd love to see more shows follow suit.There's even talk of a new series of star trek enterprise. I know i'd love a few shows back like Firefly season 2 anyone? or terminator the sarah connor chronicles season 3? Or the one i'd want the most is if Joss can make the "Spike" movie or mini series they wanted to do a year or two ago.
 
I watched the first 3. Everything so far is brilliant.

The only thing that's weird to me is that Michael seems...dumb. I never really thought he was that dumb or clueless before. He had his moments but he's supposed to be the lucid one. All of the stuff with him living in George Michael's dorm was funny but it was kind of confusing because of how dumb Michael is the whole time.
 
E said:
I watched the first 3. Everything so far is brilliant.

The only thing that's weird to me is that Michael seems...dumb. I never really thought he was that dumb or clueless before. He had his moments but he's supposed to be the lucid one. All of the stuff with him living in George Michael's dorm was funny but it was kind of confusing because of how dumb Michael is the whole time.
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I wouldn't classify him as being "dumb", just depressed and kind of broken as the series begins. You'll see later on that he becomes more like his old self as he finds a new project to work on...which links back to the very last scene of Season 3 (IIRC).
 
I can't believe I didn't notice it the first time, but in Michael's first episode, where he's arriving at the model home at the very beginning he's wearing a different shirt than he was with Lucille 2.

This relates to something feel I have missed.
 
Ultimate Houde said:
I can't believe I didn't notice it the first time, but in Michael's first episode, where he's arriving at the model home at the very beginning he's wearing a different shirt than he was with Lucille 2.

This relates to something feel I have missed.
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It may make more sense by the time you're finished with all the episodes...and if you have finished all the episodes, I'm assuming
its a red herring that'll be explained--or not--in the proposed AD movie.
 
DIrishB said:
It may make more sense by the time you're finished with all the episodes...and if you have finished all the episodes, I'm assuming
its a red herring that'll be explained--or not--in the proposed AD movie.
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See, I'm thinking he is more involved Lucille 2's death than he knows, cause of the Forget Me Now
 
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