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"Arrested
Development" gives television fresh
comedic outlook
Bluths
• "Arrested Development,"
FOX's show about a family that has fallen
from grace, can be seen following "The
Simpsons." Fans of improvisational
comedy will love the show and its quirky
style. FOX Television
By
Brian Spiegel
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
As
somebody who spends way too much time watching
"the tele" I must admit that I
don't watch a lot of network television.
What can I say is 95 percent of it is crap.
Outside of "24," "The Simpsons,"
"King of the Hill" and a few other
quality shows, there is no excuse not to
turn to your cable channels as soon as the
boob tube has warmed up.
There
is one show that trounces every other show,
cable or network, on television. This show
is "Arrested Development," a show
so funny that it is destined to be cancelled
by stupid network heads who believe that
"According to Jim" deserves a
fourth season. And sadly, this is about
to happen. According to sources springing
up all over the Internet, FOX heads are
ready to pull the plug on the year-and-a-half
old show (while "According To Jim"
comfortably comes back for its fourth season
on ABC). Of course I've come to expect this
from a network that cancelled "Get
a Life," and the utterly brilliant
"Futurama" and "Family Guy."
Folks,
it might not be pretty but I am about to
plead with you. OK, I'm getting down on
my knees. Here I go: please, please start
watching this show. It is the funniest show
on television.
And
folks, this show is made for people like
us! We are the 18 to 49-year-olds. Hell,
most television is made for us. I'm not
going to bore you with a long synopsis or
anything but the story follows the Bluth
family, a family that has fallen from grace.
It also contains one of the best ensemble
casts television has ever seen: Jason Bateman,
Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor and David Cross.
Honestly, has David Cross ever done anything
unfunny? The answer is no.
There
are several other factors that make this
show watch-worthy. First of all it's wonderfully
twisted without losing its heart. In a particular
episode you might have incest humor (trust
me, in this show it's funny), gender confusion
and subtle political jokes, yet the show
always ends with a life lesson learned by
the Bluth family. The chemistry between
father Michael (Jason Bateman) and son George
Michael (Michael Cera) is not only hilarious,
but also a little bit moving. The show is,
in its simplest form, a story about a rich
family who loses all their money and the
painful process they go though when they
finally have to grow up.
What
really separates this show from the other
40 million prime time sitcoms on television
is how it is shot. This show is shot with
a personal touch, "Royal Tenenbaums"
style. It's not shot on a giant studio stage
with a live audience like most sitcoms are;
it is shot on location in cities in and
around Orange County. The show also lacks
an annoying laugh track, something that
will instantly turn me off to any show.
Here you are allowed to laugh at what you
really think is funny. Finally, a show that
trusts its audience to get the jokes they
tell.
Still
there is more praise I can heap onto "Arrested
Development." The writing and directing
is second to none. Most people don't really
seem to take notice of the directing in
a sitcom; here, however, you can't help
but notice it. The scenes are shot as if
the viewer is just another person in the
room taking in the comedy that occurs in
their everyday life. Furthermore, the writers
take care to write the characters with wonderful
human characteristics and emotions. While
laughing at the characters, the viewer also
tends to care about them. A lot of the human
sides of the characters come from the fact
that the actors tend to improvise during
the show, something that is shunned in other
shows. Writers are on hand to change the
script as noted by the actors.
I
might sound overly excited here, but I'm
really not. This is just a great show that
people haven't been watching. People will
look back at this show in 20 years and wonder
what the hell this generation of TV watchers
was thinking. So do yourself a favor and
take a break from homework Sunday nights
at 8:30 p.m. and watch. I guarantee you
will laugh. It probably won't save the show
but you might just squirt milk out your
nose.
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