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The Movie: One of the funniest sitcoms in years (along with NBC's "Scrubs") and certainly one of the best in the dysfunctional family genre, "Arrested Development" managed a cult following in its first season, excellent reviews, award wins and...ratings to the point where Fox nearly cancelled it. Thankfully, the series was eventually picked up by the network for an additional season. The show concerns the Bluth family, a wealthy bunch headed by George, Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor). In the opening episode, the police raid George's retirement party, with the SEC dragging him off to jail for scamming his investors. Michael (Jason Bateman) had arrived at the party hoping to be named the heir to the business, but it instead went to his hard-drinking, manipulative mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter). His father's reasoning for the move - "You can't arrest a father and wife for the same crime." "So why is Michael so happy?" the narrator (exec producer Ron Howard) asks in the first episode. "Because he's decided to never speak to these people again." Despite that warning, Michael eventually is won back into the fold by his family, including shopaholic (to her father, "That's all I've ever wanted, Daddy, for you to spend money on me.") Lindsay (Portia De Rossi), irritable magician George Oscar Bluth II (Will Arnett), who prefers to be called GOB, Lindsay's odd husband, Tobias Funke (David Cross), who lost his medical license after giving CPR to a sunbathing man who didn't need it; Maebe (Alia Shawkat), the trouble-seeking daughter of Lindsay and Tobias; alcoholic mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), Buster (Tony Hale), the dim son; and finally, George Michael (Michael Cera), Michael's nervous son. The performances are first-rate across the board. Bateman's biting, yet good-intentioned sarcasm makes for a winning lead performance. De Rossi fits like a glove into the role of a glam shopaholic who finds herself without a prime selection of credit cards. Arnett is charming and hilarious as the scheming brother, while Walter makes her character compelling, sharp and highly entertaining. Tambor is perfect as the father figure who slyly tries to figure out both a way out of his arrest and scheme against his family (one of the most hilarious bits of the season has George, Sr. selling tapes of his two sons fighting.) During its run, "Arrested Development" did not get the kind of ratings that the network was looking for, but it consistently earned praise from critics and its devoted fans. I loved the first season of the series and generally enjoyed the second season. However, I think the third season of "Arrested" is where the show really was at its best. Clearly aware that time was running out, the series seems at its most relaxed, confident and just plain twisted. The third season has George Sr. under house arrest and under watch from Lucille (Jessica Walter). Michael continues to try and keep the struggling family company going, with a tip leading to the possibility that a British group was behind his shady dealings in Iraq. The tip leads him to a beautiful Brit named Rita (Charlize Theron) and also, her mysterious handler. While Michael falls for Rita, he eventually learns information about her that is funny in how wrong and unexpected it is. The plot of one particular episode has Michael mistaking Rita calling him a "pussy" as an insult, when she meant it as a compliment ("Notapusy".) Another episode ("S.O.B.'s) has the Bluths putting on a fundraiser, but comments on the show's struggle to gain viewers (George: Well, I don't think the Home Builder's Organization is gonna be supporting us." Michael: "Yeah, the HBO is not gonna want us. What are we gonna do now?" Oscar: "Well, I think it's showtime." Later, narrator: "Now that's a clear-cut situation with the promise of comedy. Tell your friends.") Maeby also continues her attempt to be a studio chief and continues to attract the attention of George Michael. GOB finds out that he has a son, while Michael also finds out that he has a Sister named Nellie (Justine Bateman, Jason's sister) whose line of work is not exactly what he expected (awkward.) Ron Howard's narration also gets better, offering a few of the season's funniest lines. "Arrested Development" was one of the most widely praised network shows in quite a few years and yet, it was bounced around the schedule and never found the audience it deserved. Still, while it's disappointing that the show couldn't hold on any longer, it at least goes out on a high note with this third season, which is often simply priceless. Season 3: 41 The Cabin Show 9/19/2005 42 For British Eyes Only 9/26/2005 43 Forget Me Now 10/3/2005 44 Notapusy 11/7/2005 45 Mr. F 11/7/2005 46 The Ocean Walker 12/5/2005 47 Prison Break-In 12/12/2005 48 Making a Stand 12/19/2005 49 S.O.B.s 1/2/2006 50 Fakin' It 2/10/2006 51 Family Ties 2/10/2006 52 Exit Strategy 2/10/2006 53 Development Arrested The DVD VIDEO: Fox presents "Arrested Development" in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Shot on high-definition video, the presentations generally look quite good, aside from a couple of minor faults. Sharpness and detail are often quite solid, as while there were a few soft-looking moments, the majority of the episodes looked somewhat crisper and more well-defined than their TV broadcast. The only fault that's really noticable with the proceedings is some light shimmering. No pixelation shows up and, of course, no wear is present on the source material. Colors appear bright and natural, with nice saturation and no smearing. SOUND: The show is presented in 2.0 audio. Sound quality is perfectly fine, with clean-sounding music and effects and clear, crisp dialogue. EXTRAS: Creator Mitchell Hurwitz and most of the cast come together for commentaries on "Forget Me Now", "Mr. F" and "Development Arrested". The commentaries are rapid-fire funny, consistently entertaining and manage to provide some nifty tidbits about the show's production. However, the majority of the tracks have the group cracking up over the episodes and recalling some of their favorite moments from filming. Also included are deleted scenes, a curse-filled blooper reel and a featurette about the last day of filming. Final Thoughts: "Arrested Development" was a marvelous sitcom that boasted consistently clever writing and a terrific ensemble cast that had wonderful chemistry. It's dismaying that a series this good and this funny couldn't find success, but at least it goes out on a high note in this very funny third and final season. Fox's DVD edition is also terrific, with very good audio/video quality and a solid helping of supplements. Highly recommended. |