Join me as I flashback to a time not so long ago, a time when television was at it’s funniest, a time when Arrested Development was still on the air! With all the news about an Arrested Development movie surfacing, I thought it was an appropriate time to wax poetic about the funniest show ever to be on television, at least in my opinion.
From cornballers, never-nudes, Bob Loblaw, great voice-overs, and blind lawyers, every bit in this show hit it out of the park.
When talking with people unfamiliar with Arrested Development I usually compare it to 30 Rock. I think there are several parallels between the two shows. Like 30 Rock, Arrested Development was a critical darling when it aired between 2003-2006 on FOX. It was well reviewed and won tons of awards, yet was never a hit in the ratings. I like to think that both shows have a cult following, it’s just a shame that networks never seem to understand how powerful a cult following can be. I also think that both shows share a very similar sense of humor. They both feature off-the-wall absurd characters who are often put in larger than life situations. I think Liz Lemon and Michael Bluth serve the same purpose, as the (somewhat) straight character surrounded by a bunch of wacky people that they strive to keep in control.
Enough about 30 Rock, though, this is a post about Arrested Development. One of the greatest things about Arrested Development, and also one of its biggest problems, was the huge collection of running jokes and references throughout the show. I think it made it a little difficult for new viewers to jump in and watch any episode out of order, but definitely rewarded loyal viewers. Nothing illustrates this better than the Wikipedia entries for each episode. Most episode pages have a whole section dedicated to recurring jokes.
Arrested Development featured an excellent cast. Michael Cera seems to be the Hollywood comedy It Boy right now, but he earned his chops on AD. The show also featured comedy veterans like Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, and Jeffrey Tambor. The guest star list included names like Liza Minnelli, Charlize Theron, Henry Winkler, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Begley Jr, and Ben Stiller, just to name a few.
If you’ve never given Arrested Development a chance, or only saw one or two episodes out of order, I encourage you to give it a chance. The best news of all? All 53 episodes are available for free on Hulu. Go check them out!
Now for a list of some of my favorite jokes and gags from AD, join me in some nostalgia:
This list could go on and on, and I’m sure I missed so many great bits. What did I leave out?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 04, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Thumbs up Bob :-)
It’s too bad that when you read “analrapist” you don’t get Tobias pronounciation with it (I don’t know how to either, sorry). That’s what makes it so priceless because he doesn’t even notice :-)
“Afternoon Delight” – the moment when they both notice halfway through the song what they are singing – for me as a german native speaker this was double the fun for you can sing a song without actually understanding the lyrics when it’s sung in another language and understanding the lyrics for me was about the same as for them *snicker*
Steve Holt! STEVE HOLT! ^^;
One thing you didn’t mention: Blue Man Group. Those blue smudges everywhere in the next episode was a gift that kept on giving :-)
It was kind of like UH-NOWL-RUH-PIST, IIRC.
I liked that the most important thing, the thing that comes before everything else for Michael changed from “family” in the pilot to “breakfast” in the last episode.
Oh, why do you have to rip up old wounds?!
I’ve seen every episode at least four or five times, they never get old… My favorite joke: Certainly Tobias being an “Analrapist”. I believe I had a near death experience when I first heard that joke, I was laughing so hard.
Also: Tobias trying to join the Blue Man Group. I LOVED how even like six episodes later there would still be blue fingerprints all over the house.
I’m getting nostalgic…
One of the funniest exchanges of the show:
Tobias: “I blue myself”.
Michael: “There has got to be a better way to say that.”
I can’t decide if Michael Cera did earn chops on AD. He’s funny and I enjoy watching him but has to stop playing the same type of character in every movie. His characters are pretty much interchangeable. Michael, if you’re reading this, please choose some diverse scripts. Thanks.