Arrested Development Review

I'm fortunate enough to have been exposed to Arrested Development last year so I didn't experience the seemingly endless barrage of potential new episodes that never happened.  So unlike most reviews you'll read that will first express shock that it's actually happening, I can't share that shock.  The one time they said new episodes would come, they actually came for me.

Anyway, thankfully Arrested Development isn't bad at all.  I don't think any sane person should have expected it to be just as good as it was in its heyday, but I was one of the people afraid it would just be bad.  And it's not bad, it's quite good in some parts.

Something feels off about these new episodes.  Perhaps its because part of the beauty of the original Arrested Development episodes was how they somehow fit all the characters into each episode with interlaying stories.  In Season 4, that doesn't happen and they focus on one character at a time.

And really not all the characters are interesting enough to cover 30 minutes.  That may be a bad way to say it.  There's just not 30 minutes of comedy to squeeze out of certain characters.  Tobias? Yeah.  Gob? Hell yeah.  George Sr.? As much as I love Jeffrey Tambor, his episode was the weakest of the ones I watched.

This isn't really a fault of Mitch Hurwitz - he was hamstrung because of actors' schedules - but nonetheless it certainly makes certain episodes better than others.  The ability to constantly rewatch old episodes of AD was part of what made it such a great show.  I don't think I could say I would skip many episodes.  Even "bad" episodes had a ton of laughs in them.  But I'm fairly certain I will be skipping some of this new season.

I've only watched four episodes up to this point, but I'm fairly certain most of this review will hold true for the rest of the season.  The quality of an episode most likely depends on how much you enjoy a character.  I think Michael has the most episodes, which is smart obviously.  The two Michael episodes I watched were by far the best.  Of course, the others were George Sr. and Lindsay, maybe my least favorite character.

The show spends more than 22 minutes it did on Fox and I think that hurts the show more than it helps it.  The Michael episodes were fine because he can hold down an episode with ease, but Lindsay and George Sr. episodes were way too long.  And some of these scenarios just fall completely flat.  I don't remember may scenes falling flat in the original.

Going forward, I feel confident in the episodes featuring Tobias, Gob, George Michael, and Michael.  I don't feel great about any Lindsay, George Sr., or Lucille episodes. (I have no idea how they will do a full Lucille episode to be honest; I don't seem to remember any episodes where she was the main story.)  Buster and Maeby could be hit or miss, but they only have one episode apiece so I'm guessing they won't waste any time on them.

Overall, some episodes disappoint, others are just as good as the original AD.  I think that's as good as anybody could have hoped for considering the entire format of the show changed. (Focusing on one character instead of many)

Side note: Kristen Wiig is very good as a young Lucille, but Seth Rogen has done nothing.  I don't see why he's here other than name recognition.  The classic recurring characters (Carl Weathers, Lucille 2, etc.) have appeared already and I'm sure more are on their way.  Isla Fisher is awesome as a love interest for Michael.  The Workaholics appearance was kind of a letdown to me.  Also, the appearance of John Slattery was welcome!

Playlist
1. "Chief Rocka" - Lords of the Underground
2. "Nina" - Anthm
3. "Deception" - Blackalicous
4. "Contact" - Daft Punk
5. "Mouthful of Damionds - Phantogram

The Americans' Season Review

The Americans closed up its first season last week, and I have not a doubt in my mind that it was easily the best show that premiered this spring TV season.  Not that there was really much of a contest anyway.  The closest competitor is House of Cards, which while entertaining, suffered from mediocre writing. (Here's the review; I'll post my thoughts on the other spring shows below)

I have chosen to make this spoiler-free, because I really want people to watch this show.  I want a person who has never seen this show to read the review and choose to watch it.  I can't do that with spoilers.

Given that information, I really debated whether or not to even write this post, because I posted most of what I would say in my pilot review. (By the way, you should read that post too!)  Ultimately, I decided to just combine this review with thoughts on other spring shows (To clarify, shows that premiered this spring.)

The premise of this show is that a Soviet couple has implemented themselves into America as spies in a long-form mission to win the Cold War.  Their marriage doesn't really start being a marriage until the first episode.  The rest of the season explores them trying to make it work.  The other players are an FBI agent, a KGB operative forced to work for the FBI when she gets caught smuggling, and the couple's boss who tells them the orders.  (My pilot post provides more background info, but you probably already know the gist of the show)

Think of a reason why you watch television.  It can be any reason at all.  Got it in your mind?  Well, this show should supply that.  It has action, sex, spy missions, the complexities of trust in a marriage, a look into a past decade, and the tensions of the Cold War.

If you literally watch TV for none of those reasons, I have no idea why you watch TV.  As far as I know, they are true to the time period of the 1980s.  I wasn't alive, but based on the critics who I follow, it achieves Mad Men levels of accuracy.  It gives a good sense of how people acted in the Cold War.  For someone like myself, this is a very cool drop into history.

Each episode has a mission for the couple to follow.  They are pretty fair in giving kick-ass stuff for the husband, Phillip Jennings, and the wife, Elizabeth Jennings.  Marriage is already hard and difficult.  But in a business where the husband and wife's job description includes being unfaithful when necessary, it complicates things to the extreme.  While Phillip and Elizabeth get closer, there's a contrast with the FBI agent and his wife who are growing farther apart.

This show hits right in my wheelhouse as I like to study history and I absolutely love spy missions.  Also, there's no episodes where nothing happens.  There's at least one action scene in every episode and I believe there's a sex scene in almost every one.  To use one example, Game of Thrones usually needs a few episodes where nothing happens in order to get to the good stuff, but The Americans always has things happening, no matter how relevant to the long-term.

What really brings the show and makes it great is the phenomenal acting.  I have never seen Matthew Rhys in anything before this, but he's a fantastic actor.  Keri Russell is similarly great in this role.  I cannot emphasize enough how important great acting is in a show where actors have to play different characters within the show.  They kill every scene they are in.

Noah Emmerich, who plays Stan Beeman the FBI agent, is also amazing in this.  He was incredible in two episodes of The Walking Dead he was in, and he does not disappoint here either. The KGB double agent is played by Annet Mahendru who is gorgeous and holds her own in acting as well.  The child actors are actually good at acting, so no need to worry about them holding down the show.

The pilot is a great episode of television, but it's not even the best episode in the season (that would go to the finale!).  So watch the pilot, enjoy it, and carry with you the knowledge that it gets better or more fulfilling.

Other Shows that Debuted in Spring
1. The Following - Congratulations to Kevin Bacon and Kevin Williamson for creating a ratings hit, but this show sucks.  Bacon is great in his role, but James Purefoy is unconvincing as a charming criminal mastermind.  Not totally his fault, the dialogue in this show is subpar.  Edgar Allen Poe is used to defend his serial killer antics, which is ridiculous and certainly starts the show on a bad path.  What got me to stop watching was when it was clear that anybody not named Kevin Bacon could be a follower, which is dumb.  Like I said, it doesn't help that I don't get why everyone wants to follow Purefoy.  The script and Purefoy don't do a good enough job.  Given that apparently even FBI agents might follow his word, that's kind of important.

2. House of Cards - I have a season review of it, but to summarize that review: Everything's great but the plot, which has a few too many implausibilities and inconsistencies for my liking.  Problems not bad enough for me not to tune in for the second season.

3. Carrie Diares - I'll admit I only watched one episode, but that episode was surprisingly good.  It's way too girly for my liking and I think they over-exaggerate 80s fashion.  But AnnaSophia Robb is so engaging and great that I want to watch more of this just for her.

4. Bates' Motel - I've also only seen one episode, but that episode was also pretty good.  I don't have much else to add, that my review doesn't already cover.

5. Hemlock Grove - Yeah, I was hoping Netflix would have a string of shows that were great, but this show breaks that run already.  Just atrocious acting holds back any potential I had for the show.  Unlike the previous two that I hope to watch some time, I gave up on this show and do not plan on continuing.

Playlist
1. "Portrait of Red" - Virginmarys
2. "Lost that Easy" - Cold War Kids
3. "I Will Wait" - Mumford & Sons
4. "When Worlds Collide" - Ces Cru
5. "Smooth" - Santana ft. Rob Thomas

The Sopranos: "Down Neck"

This is a weekly feature.  I'm reviewing The Sopranos episodes starting from the beginning.  This is the seventh episode of the first season.  

Past Episodes
Pilot
46 Long
Denial, Acceptance, Anger

Meadowlands
College
Pax Soprano

This isn't a great episode - by Sopranos standards - but it's kind of necessary.  The questions raised in this episode are what made this such a great show.  It's also what made it revolutionary and different than any other television show.

Anthony and his devious friends decide to steal wine from the church.  Maybe because it's aged badly, maybe because I didn't really do anything that bad when I was that age, but that threw me off right away.  Even at that age, I don't think those kids are stupid enough to steal alcohol and drink it DURING school.  This could easily just be a problem of me just not relating to that situation at all.

Anyway, this justifiably gets him suspended and he needs to see a school therapist.  This show really rides on that line between saying therapy is useless and therapy is helpful.  I think this episode didn't condemn or praise therapy, which is tough to do.

I guess my problem with this episode is that Anthony stealing wine seems contrived to me - I mean it comes out of nowhere and seems out of character for me.  This gives the show a reason for Tony to reflect on his upbringing.  I wish I didn't think the beginning was contrived, because his son getting in trouble is a great excuse for him to reflect on his childhood.  It's a great utilization of flashbacks that is central to the story and gives us information on why Tony is the way he is.

The flashbacks themselves?  I love everything about them except the actor who plays a young Tony.  Yeah, his acting was... not great.  I just generally don't like child actors a lot.  They aren't very good at acting generally speaking.

Livia finds out that Tony is seeing a therapist, which she will use against him.  She attempts to not so subtly tell Junior about it.  She has a weird tendency to beat around the bush and make the other person want to know what she was planning on telling them the whole time.

Anyway, this show asks how Anthony will respond to Tony if he ever found out the true details of his life.  It never answers the question, because Tony doesn't tell him so they are back where they started.  Anthony basically knowing about Tony's mafia life and Tony acting like he does nothing wrong.

Tony is starting to realize the true influence of his mother.  His mother kind of was able to control his father and impact some of his decisions as the flashback reveals.  We knew she did that now to Junior and sometimes Tony, but this episode shows it's been happening forever.

It's a testament to this show that I consider this a weaker episode when it achieves all it achieves.

Surprise Guest Appearances
I didn't recognize any.

Deaths
No deaths surprisingly

Quotes
"Intimate feelings?  I think I said I was in love." - Tony, getting straight to the point

"His belt was his favorite child development tool." - Tony on his father

"I take a licking, but keep on ticking" - Christopher, after stealing the watches

"She had a stroke.  Now half her brain is gone" - Livia, whose delivery is the only reason this is funny.

"Maybe I'd be selling patio furniture in San Diego or whatever." - Tony's idea of a normal life

"I could stick this fork in your eye." "She wasn't gonna do it!" - Amusing contrast between flashback and therapy session

"I'd rather smother them with a pillow than take them to Nevada" *cue terrible acting face from kid*

"And it's a sickness, to fidget?  What constitutes a fidget?" - Tony raises a damn good point

Playlist
1. No Vaseline - Ice Cube
2. Jasmine (demo) - Jai Paul
3. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
4. Madness - Muse
5. Security - Royce Da 5'9