Our Memorial Day weekend ended up being packed with work, so we had to wait until this past weekend to indulge in the fifteen episodes of Arrested Development waiting for us on Netflix. The season started off a little slow for me, but once we watched everything, I can confidently say I loved it as much as the old episodes. There were still a few classic things I missed, so here's my very loose review of the newest season.
*Note, there may be some spoilers ahead, you've been warned*
Things I loved about the new season:
So many guest appearances
Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogan as Lucille and George Bluth
Whoever was in charge of casting is a genius. These two were perfect for the roles of a young Lucille and George Bluth. Kristen Wiig as Lucille/the Grinch was one of the funniest moments of the first episode and was perfect to get right back into the show.
Anustart
Arrested Development is known for its hilarious visual gags, and this season was no different. The best gag by far was the A-nu-start (or anus-tart) license plate on Tobias' car. I cannot stop giggling over it. Brilliant.
Intersecting Story Lines
Arrested Development excels at creating multiple story lines that seem to go no where and end up combining expertly. The writers had a long, long time to write a this season and what they came up with was intelligent and witty. Because the stories were told over the span of several years, they were purposefully difficult to follow until the end when everything finally made comedic sense. I really loved how everything came together and I can't wait to watch it again so I can pick up on the little things I missed from the first viewing.
Things I missed from the old seasons:
Banana Stand
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There's always money in the banana stand! The banana stand was such an integral part of the original series, I was so disappointed when it didn't make a single appearance in the new season. It's where the Bluth family was both made and destroyed. It's a staple. It should have made an appearance!
Lack of interaction with characters
While the intersecting story lines were a large part of this season, I really missed the interaction between the members of the Bluth family. Obviously the family members interacted with each other, but there were times when one character wouldn't bee seen for episodes on end. Simply unacceptable. I need Gob and Tobias in every episode.
Franklin Delano Bluth
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I know Franklin was accidentally bleached at the end of season three, but I was secretly hoping he would make an epic comeback for this fourth season. An insensitive song duo would have perfected the show for me.
Never Nude references
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Probably one of my favorite gags of the entire show, I really hoped that Tobias' signature cut offs would be appearing with a vengeance during this season. Alas, this still unrecognized syndrome was not a part of this season. At least we still got to see a blue Tobias.
Any other Arrested Development fans out there? What did you miss or love about this season?
There was a part about Tobias being a never-nude, they just didn't say anything in reference to it! It was the episode where he was playing The Thing from the Fantastic Four, and he totally had jean shorts on over his rock costume.
ReplyDeleteI haven't finished watching all the new episodes yet, but I'm glad they eventually tie in together. I'm about halfway through, and disappointed that there's not more whole-family-together gags. Maeby's only been in like two episodes!
We're only 5 episodes in, so I just skimmed through this post in case anything was spoiled, but the part about the lack of character interaction is my biggest problem with this season. I know they had a hard time with scheduling, so I think the single-character episodes were their solution, but it's just not the same. Where is George Michael? Where is Gob? I hope things get better in the later part of the season, but it's bumming me out right now.
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