Yeah, if you put it that way, it sounds pretty depressing, but trust me - it's really funny. Most of the humor in the show revolves around the general craziness of each of the characters. Michael's mom, Lucille, is an alcoholic and thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread. Lindsay, Michael's twin sister, is just as self-centered and materialistic. Her husband, Tobias, is really socially awkward and unintentionally says lots of things that can be gutterminded. Their other brother. Gob, is an aspiring magician who dabbles in racist ventriloquist acts. Buster, the last brother, is a real momma's boy... to the point of being incredibly creepy. Maeby, Lindsay and Tobias' daughter, is a teenager who conned her way into a job as a movie executive. She and her cousin, George Michael, have awkward crushes on each other. And that's only scratching the surface.
Another funny thing about the show is the narrator, who says lots of witty things about what's going on in the show. And it's filmed like a documentary with handheld cameras and whatnot. It's really clever and topical and referential and all-around awesome.
In fact, it's so awesome that it's been ranked by a lot of legit people as one of the best TV shows of all time. It won a bunch of Emmy awards and other stuff. Though the show was cancelled in 2006 by Fox, a station with a notorious track record of cancelling good shows, Arrested Development has a cult following and is still popular today. There are even rumors that there's going to be an Arrested Development movie in the near future. (Yay!)
True statement.
Interested? Of course you are! The show is available instantly on Netflix, and it's floating around the internet elsewhere, too. There's only 3 short-ish seasons, so it's not a huge time commitment. If you're looking for a quirky, clever comedy, watch Arrested Development.
I’m up to episode 11 and I can’t stop raving about how awesome this show is. The first one is my favorite so far as it sets up the rest of the series and invests the watcher in the show. I liked “Pier Pressure” with the elaborate double lesson about drug use. There are some subtle lessons that would probably not apply to anyone that has a family since most families aren’t this messed up. Kind of like “Roseanne”, the mother of all dysfunctional shows. I’m embarrassed to say that I discovered AD while looking for “American Dad” episodes to catch up on when I have been an AD virgin before yesterday. Also even though I’m employee I didn’t realize that there are free movies for anyone to watch on dishonline.com. I guess I should read my email more often.
ReplyDeleteI know! It's super addictive like that. The show's writing is fantastic, and the actors are all super funny. My favorite characters are definitely Tobias and Gob, but my friends love Lucille. I think my favorite episode is in season 3, but I won't spoil it for you.
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