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