Arrested Development
| Arrested Development | |
 Arrested Development logo | |
| Format | Comedy |
| Run time | 21 minutes |
| Creator(s) | Mitchell Hurwitz |
| Starring | Jason Bateman Portia de Rossi Will Arnett Michael Cera Alia Shawkat Tony Hale David Cross Jeffrey Tambor Jessica Walter |
| Narrator | Ron Howard |
| Country | USA |
| Network | FOX |
| Original run | November 2, 2003 – present |
| No. of episodes | 45 (3 seasons) |
- For the 1990s hip hop group see Arrested Development (hip hop crew).
Arrested Development is a character-driven comedy television series about a formerly wealthy and habitually dysfunctional family. The show is presented like a documentary, complete with narration, archival photos, and historical footage. Although set in Newport Beach and Balboa Island, California, it is primarily filmed on location around Culver City and Marina Del Rey.
The show was created by Mitchell Hurwitz (The Ellen Show, The John Larroquette Show, and The Golden Girls). Television veteran Ron Howard is an executive producer and the uncredited narrator. It airs on broadcast networks around the world, including Fox in the United States.
The series debuted on November 2, 2003. Despite critical acclaim, six Emmy awards, one Golden Globe, and a cult fan base of between four and six million viewers, the show has never climbed in the ratings. In its second season, the episode order was cut from 22 to 18 episodes; in its third season, the order was further cut down to 13 episodes.
On November 11, 2005, news agencies reported that the show had been cancelled, although Fox is not expected to make an official announcement until next fall's schedule is released in the spring. As with previous threats of cancellation, several online petitions have been established, as well as more rigorous campaigns to see the show's survival (see External links). These efforts include a fan-made "National Arrested Development Day" (November 16, and another on November 28, both considered legitimate by fans), on which fans are planning to write letters about the show en masse to a variety of powerful people in the U.S. television industry.
Three unaired episodes will run in the show's regular time slot beginning December 5th, 2005. The five remaining episodes may air later this season, or possibly over the summer.
Characters
The plot of Arrested Development revolves around the members of the Bluth family, who genenerally lead excessive lifestyles. At the center of the show is the relatively honorable Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), who strives to do the right thing and keep his family together, despite their materialism, selfishness, and manipulation. His teenage son, George Michael (Michael Cera), has the same qualities of decency, but feels a constant pressure to live up to his father's expectations, and is reluctantly willing to follow along with his father's plans, which continually seem to run contrary to his own.
Michael's father George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) is the patriarch of the family. At times dictatorial, George Sr. goes to considerable lengths to manipulate and control his family. His wife, and Michael's mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), is equally manipulative, as well as materialistic and hypercritical of every member of her family. In particular, she has a tight grip on her youngest son Buster (Tony Hale), who, as a result of his mother's dominance and sheltering, is unstable, socially inept, and prone to panic attacks.
Michael's older brother GOB (abbreviation of George Oscar Bluth; correctly, but not always, pronounced jōb), played by Will Arnett, is an unsuccessful professional magician who fails at any business-related task on which he embarks. When he is not moving about on his Segway, GOB is being used by his father to undermine Michael's control of the family business. Michael's twin sister, Linsday (Portia de Rossi), is flamboyant and materialistic, continually desiring to be the center of attention. She enjoys being objectified, but also protests against such behavior. She is married to Tobias Fünke (David Cross), a disbarred psychiatrist, aspiring actor, and "never-nude" (gymnophobe) whose language and behavior have deeply homosexual connotations. Their attention-starved daughter, Mae "Maeby" Fünke (Alia Shawkat), is the polar opposite of her cousin George Michael, skipping school, cheating on homework, and stealing money from the family's banana-stand business. The ever-rebellious teen, Maeby's chief motivation is going against her parents' wishes.
Besides the aforementioned main characters of the show, several other characters regularly appear in minor roles. George Sr.'s identical twin brother, Oscar (also played by Jeffrey Tambor), is an unenergetic ex-hippie seeking the affection of George's wife Lucille. Lucille Austero (aka Lucille 2), played by Liza Minnelli, is Lucille's rival and Buster's love interest. Minnelli's character is basically a parody of herself. The same is true of Carl Weathers, who plays himself as an unemployed, impoverished actor.
Other notable characters include the following: Annyong (Justin Lee), Lucille's adopted Korean child and Buster's rival; Kitty Sanchez (Judy Greer), George Sr.'s former secretary; Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler), the family attorney; Ann Veal (Mae Whitman), George Michael's deeply religious girlfriend; Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade), Maeby's love interest. Other notable recurring appearances are made by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Charlize Theron, and Scott Baio.
Plot synopsis
First season
Template:Spoiler George Bluth Sr., patriarch of the Bluth family, is the founder and former CEO of the Bluth Company, which markets and builds mini-mansions, among other activities. George Sr. is arrested by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding customers and gross spending of the company's money for "personal expenses". His wife Lucille becomes CEO, and immediately names as the new president her youngest son Buster, who proves ill equipped for the rigors involved. Seeing no other options, the family turns to Michael, the middle son, and twin to the Bluths' only girl, Lindsay, giving him control of the company. In order to keep the family together, Michael convinces his son and sister's family to live together in a Bluth model home.
Throughout the first season, different characters struggle to change who they are. Buster works to escape from his mother's control through brotherly bonding and love interests such as Lucille Austero. George-Michael nurses a forbidden crush on his cousin Maeby, while continually trying to meet his father's expectations. Lindsay's husband Tobias, a disbarred psychologist, searches for work as an actor, with the aid of Carl Weathers. Michael falls in love with Gob's girlfriend Marta, and is torn between being with her versus putting "family first". After he quarrels with Gob, Marta realizes that they do not share the same family values, and she leaves them both. Through an escalating series of dares, Gob gets married to a woman he just met, but cannot get an annulment because he refuses to admit that he did not consummate the marriage. Kitty, George Sr.'s former assistent, tries to blackmail the company, and survives an exploded yacht from Gob's magic act. After previous failed attempts, and a stint with Judaism, George Sr. finally escapes from prison by faking a heart attack. It is also revealed that George committed "light treason" by using the company to build mini-palaces for Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Second season
As a result of his father's latest lie about a heart attack, Michael decides to leave his family and company behind. Lucille appoints Gob to be the new Bluth Company president, but he proves unable to handle the pressure and the position reverts back to Michael. George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar moves in with Lucille in an attempt to rekindle a previous love affair. After faking his death in Mexico, George Sr. returns to the family model home, where he hides in the attic. Meanwhile, Buster joins the army, but escapes serving in Iraq when his hand is bitten off by a seal. He bonds with his uncle Oscar, who is revealed (to the viewers, but not the characters) to be Buster's true father. George Michael dates a deeply religious girl, Ann Veal. His father does not like Ann, and tries to disrupt their relationship. Michael fails to break them up, but George Michael realizes that Maeby is his true love and the pair kiss just before the model home collapses around them.
The second season also features Maeby becoming a film studio executive, and Tobias repeatedly painting himself blue in a futile attempt to join the Blue Man Group. Kitty returns to steal a sample of George Sr.'s semen to make her own Bluth baby. In the end, George Sr. flees again, but not before framing his twin brother in revenge for the affair between Oscar and Lucille. Oscar is mistakenly sent to prison in George Sr.'s place.
Third season
In the third season, Michael finds out that his father is nowhere to be found. Gob gets an invitation to a father/son reunion outing, and believes it to be George Sr. trying to contact him. In reality, it is Steve Holt, son of Eve Holt, one of Gob's former loves. Meanwhile, George Michael and Maeby deal with their previous kiss by avoiding each other; Maeby becomes more interested in her former crush, Steve Holt, who is also her cousin.
George Sr., in an attempt to remain in disguise, joined the Blue Man Group. Michael discovers this, and arranges to have his father placed under house arrest. George Sr. claims that he was set up by an underground British group. Michael goes to Little Britain to investigate, and meets Rita (Charlize Theron), a new love interest. Michael and the audience are led to believe that Rita is a mole for the underground British group, working for a man named "Mr. F" The true spy, Tobias Fünke, thought he was acting a part by dressing up as a mole. In the end of the episode titled "Mr. F", it is revealed that Rita is an MRF ("mentally retarded female").
Themes and other characteristics
The show focuses on the tension that developed between the members of the Bluth family due primarily to their diminished spending power. Sibling rivalries, unresolved oedipal conflicts, sexual incompatibilities, personal identity crises, adolescent trauma, aging, pride, miscommunication, lying, guilt, subterfuge, determination, manipulation, mutilation, social status anxiety, and countless other themes weave serpentine throughout Arrested Development.
Much like other dysfunctional family comedies such as Malcolm in the Middle, The Simpsons, Roseanne, and Married... with Children, the family unit is depicted as necessary for the survival of the individual. Much of the comedy comes from the quirks of the characters and the patterns that developed within the family structure. The show is considered by some as a faster-paced variant of the series Soap.
Intertextuality and self-reflexivity
The show is highly intertextual and self-reflexive. Doubtless, these characteristics, in addition to its fast pace and layered humor, contribute to fans' habit of watching each episode repeatedly in an effort to catch every single joke and reference. For example, Arrested Development often alludes to the past work of its cast and crew through the restaging of familiar scenarios (e.g., Barry Zuckerkorn is seen jumping the shark a la the Fonz) and by casting former collaborators in small bit parts (e.g., Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Scott Baio, etc.). The frequent appearance of guest stars from other lauded television comedies such as Saturday Night Live, SCTV, The Daily Show, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Simpsons is another form of intertextuality. While most of the show's intertextual references come from television culture, the famous falling wall stunt from Buster Keaton's silent feature Steamboat Bill Jr. is reenacted by Buster Bluth in the episode "The One Where They Build a House."
Tobias: "It's a wonderful restaurant!"
Narrator: "It sure is!"
The show's self-reflexivity can be quite literal–with uncredited narrator Ron Howard acknowledging the fact that he is a narrator telling a story–but it can also be subtly ingenious. In the episode "The British Bombshell", Michael tells George Sr., whom he believes is trying to convince him of a lie, "You're a regular Brad Garrett." (George Sr. is played by Jeffrey Tambor, who had lost the Emmy for "Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series" to Brad Garrett not a week before the episode aired.) The show has acknowledged its competition (Desperate Housewives), its commercial sponsor (Burger King), its struggle to go after an "idiot demographic," its use of dramatic moments as act breaks, and Fox's cutback of season two to 18 episodes.
Topicality
Another distinguishing characteristic of Arrested Development is its topicality. The show addresses the most divisive, controversial social and political issues of the day. Writers have turned references to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the U.S. Army's recruiting crisis, the non-existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo-op into running jokes. It has also poked fun at the decadence of American white collar criminals (a party once thrown by George Sr. bears a striking resemblance to Dennis Kozlowski's extravagant party on the island of Sardinia), religious protest campaigns, controversy over public display of the Ten Commandments, and the restriction of protesters to "free speech zones." Other less controversial topical references include "Girls with Low Self-esteem" (à la Girls Gone Wild) and low-carb diets.
Continuity
One fact about the show that particularly pleases fans is its constant and complex use of continuity. The plot will regularly feature callbacks to previous episodes, both in the form of references and with scenes parodying those in early episodes.
Similarly, the show will often use what creator Mitch Hurwitz has termed "call-forwards", wherein plots or events will be foreshadowed in subtle ways. For example, numerous references are made to the loss of limbs to foreshadow the loss of Buster's hand in the second season. In particular, the first season episode titled "Pier Pressure" has several flashbacks to George Sr. hiring a man with a prosthetic arm to teach his children lessons by staging elaborate scenes in which the man has his arm cut off as a result of the children's improper actions.
Oftentimes these running gags, such as none of the characters knowing the Spanish word for brother, or each family member having their own "chicken dance" (that looks and sounds nothing like a chicken), or background jokes (like a Cornballer machine shown in Maggie Lizer's apartment) will be lost on new viewers, and sometimes even missed by regular viewers until repeated viewing. These jokes now are regularly discussed on internet forums.
Music
Besides the short theme song composed by David Schwartz, which is also used as Lindsay's cell phone ringtone, there are only a couple songs featured prominently in Arrested Development. The first is Europe's 1986 hit single, The Final Countdown. Gob uses the song in his magic acts, attempting to increase the audience's excitement through improvised dancing and rapid-fire magic tricks. The dramatic, synthesized chords, combined with GOB's high energy and overacting are a clear parody of modern magic acts. The Final Countdown is also GOB's cell phone ringtone.
Another recurring song in the show is "Free at Last", written by David Schwartz and Gabriel Mann, and performed by Mann and Maxayn Lewis. The song is used in conjunction with parties, protests, or other events involving gay men, transvestites, or male strippers, often featuring one recurring gay crossdresser holding a "Freedom" sign of various sizes.
Response
The show is a hit with critics but has not yet gained a sizeable audience. Despite its low ratings, the series was renewed twice by FOX. Due to low audience turnout, and to promote their highly anticipated re-broadcast of the animated series Family Guy, FOX announced that it would halt the production of the second season at 18 episodes—4 episodes short of the planned season. (This cutback was satirized in the episode "The Sword of Destiny", in which the Bluth Company had an order to build 22 houses reduced to 18.) Despite rumors that this was a prelude to cancellation, the network defended its actions, by claiming that the show would fare poorly during network sweeps period, and that it was simply a procedural matter. On November 9th, 2005, FOX announced that the show would not be airing in November sweeps and that they are cutting the episode-order for Season 3 from 22 to 13. Although FOX has not officially stated it, news agencies have been reporting that the show has been cancelled.
Critical reviews
The following are reviews of the series from prominent entertainment critics.
- "Is it beating a dead horse to once again state that this underappreciated gem is the best sitcom on TV? Too bad. 'Arrested Development' is the best sitcom on TV! And the season 2 boxed set only offers further proof."
- —Tim Stack, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Oct 2005, p.133[1]
- "If you're not watching this series on Fox, the least you can do is buy it on DVD. You'll love it, and it's such a dense show (in the best sense of the word) that it rewards repeated viewing. Like "Scrubs" and the British version of "The Office," it's the sort of show that truly deserves to be seen uninterrupted, several episodes at a time, for maximum enjoyment. The laughs-per-minute quotient here is insanely high, making it great value as a home library purchase."
- —David Bianculli, New York Daily News, 12 Oct 2005[2]
- "There's a lot to like in its savage satire of corporate-think, greed and sanctified notions of the American family - particularly in the inspired and original performances of Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor."
- —David Zurawik, Baltimore Sun, 9 Oct 2005[3]
Nominations and awards
For the first season, the show won five Emmy Awards in 2004, including "Outstanding Comedy Series", "Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series", and "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series" for the pilot episode. In 2005, the second season brought eleven Emmy nominations in seven categories and one win, "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series", by Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely for the finale "Righteous Brothers".
Other awards include the following:
- The Television Critics Association Award for "Best Comedy" and "Outstanding New Series"
- The 2005 Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy" for Jason Bateman.
- The 2004 Writers Guild of America Award for best teleplay in an episodic comedy, for the first season episode, "Pier Pressure".
- The TV Land award for "Future Classics".
- The Golden Satellite Award for "Best Comedy".
- Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth) and Jeffrey Tambor (George Bluth Sr.) also won Golden Satellites for their performances.
DVD release
The first season was released on DVD on October 19, 2004. Extra features include the unaired, extended pilot episode, commentary by creator Mitchell Hurwitz and other members of the cast, and various behind-the-scenes featurettes [4]. The second season was released on DVD on October 11, 2005, and includes such featurettes as commentary, deleted scenes, bloopers, and the campaign videos featured in the episode titled "The Immaculate Election" [5]. Fans of the show hope that DVD sales will influence FOX's decision about the fate of the show, as was the case with the previously-cancelled series Family Guy (which is now back in production) and Firefly (which was brought back as the feature film Serenity).
Trivia
- The name Bluth may be a contraction of the words blurred truth, as lies and the truth are a common theme in the show. In episode "Spring Breakout", Tobias's show ScandalMakers' episode about the Bluth Scandal is called "Blurred Truth: The Bluth Family Scandal".
- The episode "The Immaculate Election" features a video tape of George Michael reenacting scenes from Star Wars. This is a parody of the internet meme video of Star Wars Kid, in which a young man had recorded himself performing similar stunts with a makeshift light saber.
- In the episode "Motherboy XXX", Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler, the Fonz on Happy Days) hops over a dead shark, in a reference to the now-infamous jumping of the shark from Happy Days. In the third season, the role of the Bluth family lawyer was taken over by Bob Loblaw, played by Scott Baio, who costarred with Winkler on Happy Days. This parodies the fact that Baio was brought into Happy Days to attract younger audiences. Baio even makes the jab, "Look, this is not the first time I’ve been brought in to replace Barry Zuckerkorn. I think I can do for you everything he did. Plus, skew younger. With juries and so forth."
- George Sr. and Tobias were never meant to be regular characters, but positive audience test responses kept them in the cast.
- David Cross improvised a large portion of his character's dialogue.
- As the narrator, Ron Howard makes several references to both The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days (on which he played Opie and Richie Cunningham, respectively).
- As a reference to Tobias' membership in the Blue Man Group, blue paint marks can occasionally be seen around the 'model home', as well as in another scene in which Michael meets Rita, in the episode "The British Bombshell". Her hand is covered with blue paint, and the different meanings of the word blue lead to misunderstandings.
Celebrity guests
The show frequently brings in celebrity guests. A partial list is included below.
Recurring characters
- Scott Baio -- as "Bob Loblaw"
- John F. Beard -- as himself in numerous episodes
- Ed Begley Jr. -- as "Stan Sitwell"
- Rob Corddry -- as "Moses Taylor" a.k.a. "Frank Wrench"
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus -- as "Maggie Lizer" in "Altar Egos", "Justice Is Blind"
- Jeff Garlin -- as "Mort Meyers"
- James Lipton -- as "Warden Stephan Gentles" in "Altar Egos", "Missing Kitty"
- John Michael Higgins -- "Wayne Jarvis"
- Super Dave Osborne -- as "Larry"
- Amy Poehler -- as "Wife of G.O.B" in "Altar Egos", "Justice Is Blind"
- Christine Taylor -- as "Sally Sitwell"
- Dave Thomas -- as "Trevor"
- Charlize Theron -- as "Rita"
- Leonor Varela & Patricia Velasquez -- as "Marta Estrella"
- Carl Weathers -- as himself in "Public Relations", "Marta Complex"
Cameo appearances
- Dave Attell -- as himself
- Zach Braff -- as "Phillip Litt"
- Jim Cramer -- as himself
- Heather Graham -- "Beth Baerly" in "Shock and Aww"
- Clint Howard -- as "Johnny Bark" in "Key Decisions"
- Thomas Jane -- as himself
- Bob Odenkirk -- as "Dr. Gunty" in "Visiting Ours"
- Andy Richter -- as himself
- Martin Short -- as "Uncle Jack"
- Ione Skye -- as "Mrs. Veal"
- Ben Stiller -- as "Tony Wonder"
- Alan Tudyk -- as "Pastor Veal"
See also IMDB for more guest listings.
Broadcasters
- US: Fox Television
- Canada: Global Television Network
- Australia: The Comedy Channel and Seven Network
- UK: BBC 2 and 4
- Sweden: TV4
- Ireland: TV3
- Arab World: One TV
- Philippines: Entertainment Central (ETC)
- Asia: Star World
- Italy: SKY Italia
- Norway: TV3
See also
References
- Arrested Development. Created by Mitchell Hurwitz. 2003–present. Broadcast and DVD.
- "Arrested Development official site". November 18, 2005.
- ^ "Amazon.com Arrested Development Season 1 DVD: Product details". November 18, 2005.
- ^ "Amazon.com Arrested Development Season 2 DVD: Product details". November 18, 2005.
- "IMDb.com Arrested Development (2003)". November 18, 2005.
- "Balboa Observer-Picayune Reference section". November 19, 2005.
- "Arrested Development Television Show - TV.com". November 19, 2005.
- ^ "EW DVD Review". November 21, 2005.
- ^ "New York Daily News: Box sets that make great gifts". November 21, 2005.
- ^ "Arrested Development Reviews: Boston Sun". November 21, 2005.
External links
- Official Fox websites
- Fox's Official Arrested Development Site
- Official Forums
- Fox's Official Arrested Development Merchandise Site
- FreeAnnyong.com
- TonyWonder.com
- Never-Nude.com
- ImOscar.com, mentioned in "The Cabin Show" episode.
- Get Arrested: Official Online Petition Site
- Fan sites
- Arrested Development Fanwear
- Balboa Observer-Picayune: Detailed Fan Site with Transcripts, Quotes, Video, Images, Commentary, and more
- The Banana Stand - An Arrested Development Fansite with Quotes, Images, Character information and Episode summaries
- Arrested Development Drinking Game
- The Arrested Development Drinking Game
- Brief clips from the show
- Save Arrested Development on Myspace
- Other show sites
- Petitions