Alex Reid

I don’t watch television much, but there’s about 12 shows (so far) I really like. Arrested Development is one of them. It’s a demented fast-paced comedy built around a dysfunctional family, that uses brilliant gimmick parodies.

It reminds me alot of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’m not exactly sure why, but maybe it’s the constant narrator reminding you that everything doesn’t make sense. Like how every episode ends with a fake “On the next Arrested Development…” preview of events that don’t actually take place in the next episode.

But FOX started slowing killing this genius idea in its second season in favour of Family Guy and American Dad. Four episodes were axed from the second season. And then the episode-order for Season Three was cut from 22 to 13. THEN.. a month ago, FOX stopped airing it altogether, leaving an awkward episode 9, pulling all the stops to parody their own demise. Well, now FOX has returned Arrested Development back to its schedule, but for one night, tomorrow night, to play off their last four episodes of the third season, back to back. Watch it if you can; it’s one of the funniest shows on Cable.

I like what the Boston Globe says:

The deeper problem for ”Arrested Development” was its identity as the antithesis of ”Everybody Loves Raymond” at a time when family sitcoms have retreated from the edge. To be a hit domestic comedy, you have to be as fangless and traditional as ”According to Jim,” or else leave domestic humor behind for the dating realm. Arguably, as global threats become more harsh, viewers prefer to see home life as a safe haven and not as the hyperactive battlefield it is on ”Arrested Development.”