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Arrested Development is
one of the indisputable comedic masterpieces of our generation, a virtually
flawless showcase of character work, meta-narrative, and whip-smart humor. Created by Mitch Hurwitz and produced/narrated
by Ron Howard, the series focuses upon the borderline-sociopathic-but-still-somehow-loveable
Bluth family, played by the ensemble cast of Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi,
Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey
Tambor, and Jessica Walter. The show was critically lauded as one of the best
comedies of the decade and yet all but ignored by the viewing public during its
three year run on FOX. Ironically
enough, the show gradually gained popularity well after its death thanks to
rising DVD sales and positive word-of-mouth.
Soon there was a sizable portion of viewers that knew exactly where the
money was, what it meant to “blue” oneself, and the important difference
between a trick and an illusion.
Of course, once Arrested
Development reached those high levels of popularity, it was only a matter
of time before someone asked “When can we see more?” Rumors of a movie floated around
Hollywood for years; questions about the film during interviews with former
cast members became prerequisite, with the default answer being “Maybe someday?” It wasn’t long before Arrested Development: The Movie became what Duke Nukem Forever was to videogames, an impossible fallacy that
couldn’t possibly happen. As such, the
entertainment world was rocked when, in October of 2011, Hurwitz announced a
fourth season of Arrested Development,
with each episode focusing upon a single character in preparation for the eventual
series movie. Seven years after its supposed
death, the crown jewel of 21st century comedy would rise again. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that the
new season would be premiering in 2013 not on FOX, nor on a cable network, but
instead on the streaming service Netflix.
And so dates were made, plans were set, and a nation of longtime
viewers, fledgling fans, and anxious critics patiently waited for May 26th,
when Arrested Development would
officially return to screens. That date
has since come and gone, and with the episodes all out in the wild, here are some
thoughts on the new fourth season.
Unlike the previous three seasons of Arrested Development, which had each of the nine principal
characters in every episode in some fashion or another, the 15-episode fourth
season only focuses on one per installment.
Additionally, while the initial run had a more or less straightforward
story peppered with recurring gags and callbacks, the fourth season is
delivered in the style of an amped-up Rashomon,
with each episode coming from the perspective of one character but all taking
place in the same timeframe, character arcs intersecting and interweaving like
a comedic Cirque du Soleil. It’s quite
possibly one of the most complex season of comedy ever created, the kind of
thing that was no doubt plotted out with an enormous corkboard, push pins, photographs,
and lots of colored string. Jokes that
are made in one episode aren’t paid off until several episodes later, events are
seen from two or three or four angles; the one word I’ve seen the most to
describe this new season is “ambitious”, and it certainly deserves that
moniker. As a result of this drawn out
approach, the earlier episodes of the season are by far the weakest,
essentially the set-up with no punch line, but the season hits its stride in
the later episodes as more pieces of the puzzle are unveiled. When the whole picture is finally in view, it’s
an incredible sight, a true labor of love on the part of the writers,
directors, and cast. It isn’t always
perfect, but when it works, it’s just like having the old Arrested Development back.
Taking place in the years since the first series finale, the
season follows three central storylines: the on-again-off-again construction of
a wall between the United States and Mexico, the political campaign between Lucille
Austero (Liza Minnelli) and Herbert Love (newcomer Terry Crews), and the growth
of the supposed privacy software FakeBlock, all of which converge at the Cinco
de Cuatro Festival, a holiday made up by the Bluths to spite the Mexicans. In the time since that fateful voyage of the
Queen Mary, the Bluths have more or less gone their separate ways, with an
arrested Lucille (Walter) doing time in an ultra-white-collar jail, Michael (Bateman)
attempting to keep the family company going, Tobias (Cross) running away to
India, and so on. While this does greatly
limit one of the core elements of the show, that being the fantastic interactions
between the various members of the family, not to mention the excellent banter
between the actors themselves, it does allow us to get a magnified look at all
of the characters. They are each trying
to get away from the “Bluth” name in their own way, figuratively or literally,
and while some are relatively successful in moving forward, others can’t help
but sink even farther back into the conniving family mentality. Despite all of the plates spinning in this
grand circus, the core theme of the season is “change”, who these characters
have become in the time since we last saw them, what they’re trying to push towards
and what they want to leave behind.
While some of these journeys simply don’t work, such as the strange role
reversal between George Sr. and his twin brother Oscar (Tambor) and the
meandering adventures of a lost Lindsay Fünke (de Rossi), others hit both
comedic and dramatic highs. Lucille,
while still as conniving as always, begins to truly examine her relationship with
her family, specifically her husband, while George Michael (Cera), once the
relatively-sane member of the group, begins to awaken the latent Bluth powers
within him. Again, the stories that hit
well hit really well, producing some
of the series’ best material.
On top of the ensemble players,
much of the original supporting cast also swings by to say hello in roles both
big and small; from favorites like Henry Winkler’s Barry Zuckerkorn to Mae
Whitman’s bland Ann Veal to the incomparable Carl Weathers, a large amount of
background characters return to let us know what they’ve been up to in the last
few years. Additionally, the season
introduces some new faces to the mix, most of which work well. Isla Fisher puts in an enthusiastic turn as love
interest Rebel Alley, the semi-ditzy daughter of producer and director Ron
Howard, while Maria Bamford gives a both endearing and concerning performance
as DeBrie Bardeaux, Tobias’ addict/actress girlfriend. In fact, now that Arrested Development is a phenomenon inside and outside of the
critical circle, the season is a veritable “Where’s Waldo” of the entertainment
industry in terms of guest stars and bit players; on your second run-through,
see if you can spot Community creator
Dan Harmon, Cougartown’s Busy
Phillips, or the mysteriously elusive Martin Mull. On the whole, the series is made through its
characters, and the fourth season has no shortage of them.
While the newest batch of Arrested Development is certainly
quality entertainment, better that the majority of what’s on network television
now, there are some elements that keep it from being as flawless as the
original three seasons. As mentioned
previously, the first few episodes are easily the weakest of the season,
perhaps of the series as a whole. While
it is understandable that the jokes and situations do need to be set up for the
pay off later on, the first four are still noticeable grinds compared to the
stronger episodes of the latter half. With
the series cutting its ties from the standards of regular television, the
individual episodes are able to range in length from 28 to 37 minutes, somewhat
detracting from the comedic tightness that the initial run had; additionally,
some characters are treated to two episodes while others only get one, and
while two episodes of GOB’s (Arnett) antics are more than welcome, the two
episodes of George Sr. are surprisingly boring, bordering on unwatchable. However, one of the biggest distractions in
the season is the unbelievable sound mixing.
Hurwitz, along with some of the actors, have admitted that green screen
was partially in use in order to create the illusion of cast members being in
certain scenes. Unfortunately, said
illusion is often broken through noticeably poor ADR, from mismatched dubbing to
strange increases and decreases in volume.
These moments are not a constant plague in the season, but they do occur
more often than they should. Overall, it’s
these issues in pacing and sound that keep the new season of Arrested Development from completely
matching up to those that came before it.
Two years ago, a fourth season of
Arrested Development would have been
a pipe dream, a fantasy along the lines of a Firefly renewal or a new Wonder Woman property. Today it is readily available for viewing
through Netflix, on laptop screens, smartphones, and yes, televisions. In that regard, hats off to the cast and crew
for making the impossible possible, for pushing the show farther along in its
evolution, even if it does stumble a bit along the way. It brings back favorite characters, takes storylines
in unexpected places, and does it all in a fashion that is nothing short of
audacious. Unlike the first final
episode, which ended cleanly on Hurwitz’s terms, the second final episode ends
with a plethora of loose ends, more cliffhangers than an episode of Lost, and yet series is now in the
familiar yet unenviable position of limbo.
The rumored film continuation of Arrested
Development has yet to be greenlit, but considering the amount of chatter
that this revival has created over the past several weeks, it’d be hard to
imagine this being the last we see of the Bluths. With any luck, it won’t be long before we see
Michael and his insane family on the big screen, and we all know that when the
gang’s all together, it’s nothing short of a treat.
Season Grade: A-
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