Yes, I know. I should have gotten to this sooner. And in my defense, the episodes I've seen of Arrested Development over the years have been pretty great, but it's always been a show I felt like I needed to watch in order to fully appreciate it. And having finally managed to sit and watch the entire first season, a) I was right to wait, and b) everyone was right in telling me I would love it. Arrested Development is silly, absurd television for smart people, layering in dozens of jokes, setting up punchlines episodes in advance, relying on people to know the characters and pay attention, and being more than willing to let some of the jokes only work if you notice them. (Lucille Bluth's "Guess who's coming to dinner!" line is a great example of this.) But as much as that sounds like brainy stuff, Arrested Development is gleefully silly, tossing in physical comedy, cutaway gags (which set the stage for Family Guy's non sequiturs in years to come, although they're far better done here - more character driven, more committed), sight gags, and so much more. Yes, you can feel the tension between the showrunners and the sitcom model, and sometimes the "happy endings" of the episodes feel a little forced. But that's completely forgivable when you have something as absurdly funny as Tobias's silent infiltration of a house, or Gob's battle with a sheet of paper, or Buster's sugar rush...the list goes on and on. The short version is, it's every bit as funny as I've always heard and then some; yes, I loved it; yes, I plan on starting season 2 as soon as I can; yes, you were all right.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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