Arrested Development
(Series)
Very minor spoilers- no plots mentionedā¦
I finally finished the series!
When the show first aired I saw a couple episodes but due to my hectic life I didnāt watch more than that. I always thought it was really funny though.
All the characters amuse me but my favourites were/are Gob & Michael.
Iāve meant to watch the series when it came on Netflix for years but I apparently completely forgot about it.
Recently I came across it so I binged the whole series.
As expected I found it hilarious!
For those that arenāt aware, the series aired originally on tv (Fox station). And the network does what it always does and cancelled a great series too soon. It aired on tv from 2002-2006.
Then Netflix picked it up years later from 2018-2019.
I appreciate the commitment of the actors, cast & crew. 99% of the original cast returned & there were a ton of cameos.
I think they did a decent job overall of the second half. I liked some of the meta jokes & the show was still amusing.
However, the second half was very different:
1. There was way too much recapping. In the first hand that aired on tv there was some but it was more like a quick few seconds at the start or a randomly thrown in reminder of what happened previously. Ie) when Michael says he wonāt come back the voiceover says something like āhe did come back as he always doesā and threw in a 5 second clip.
In the continuation itās like a full minute or so of recap at the beginning of each episode. That actually started to get on my nerves.
2. The episode length is slightly shorter. I think most episodes in the first 3 seasons were between 25-27 minutes with a couple being around 30. In the second half of the series each episode is about 21 minutes⦠including the recap at the beginning. I think it did influence the quality of the episodes a little.
3. I feel like the writers had no idea what to do with the second half of the series. Though, it also felt like some of the actors were coming and going a lot so maybe the writers just had a hard time working with their schedules? In any case, the writing wasnāt as good. Still entertaining though, it just felt different.
4. It may sound stupid and an overreaction but I hated what they did to one of the characters in the final episode. It made me cringe & sort of slink into my seat. I felt cheated & little uncomfortable. It was clearly done to get a reaction but at the same time, that is not the reaction they shouldāve gone for⦠it changed the entire tone if the series.
5. The lack of character development I think was a disservice. I get itās supposed to be āarrested developmentā but the series couldāve ended with some development. While I wouldnāt expect a full 180 of its characters, I think the lack of growth had me bored. I think Michael, George Michael & Gob had the most growth which is one of the reasons I liked most of their storylines in the continuation. The other characters had me a little bored.
Though having a secondary character like Barry Zuckerkorn being the same old ridiculous person actually worked because he wasnāt a main character.
I was a little bummed that Liza Minnelli wasnāt in the continuation but the show did a good job of still trying to include her.
I donāt want to spoil anything for people who havenāt watched yet but Iāll just say that the storyline for Lindsey was really short & went in a weird direction.
Tobias was always weird but I had hoped for him to get a clue by the end. He didnāt.
Buster, sometimes amusing & sometimes just awkward. I donāt even know what to say.
George & Oscar, I was pretty indifferent to them in the second half.
Lucille Bluth, while she was still in character I just didnāt like that of all things to do with her, they chose that? It felt like a waste of talent. Not terrible just not good either.
Maeby - sorry but I thought her storyline was really bad. In the first part of the series I thought her character had an amusing glib attitude & sass. The continuation just had me wondering how her storylines made it past the brainstorming stage. Iām glad the actress returned but it was justā¦so weird.
George Michael - Iām glad we got see him in a different element & changing up the dynamic a little. But somehow it felt like things were dragging a little plot wise. I think they couldāve had the 2 seasons in 1 then a separate plot for the final season.
Michael - I also feel like they couldāve condensed things into 1 season for him then write another plot for season 5. As always he was amusing. I like that one of his major flaws is that he doesnāt listen to his son while also trying to be a great dad. So everything felt pretty in character. For the most part. But there was still more they couldāve given Jason Bateman to work with.
Heās a great actor with a lot of range so it sort of felt like waste.
Gob - though ridiculous I like most if what they did with his character except I think the finale shouldāve just pushed his platonic friendship a little more. And yes because I feel bad for fictional characters I did want to see him better his relationship with a certain family memberā¦
Now I gotta say itā¦what is with all the incest?
Seriously. The first season, I thought the crush was funny. But it ended quickly and just felt icky.
Then itās brought up over and over again. Then another character flirts with a relative⦠actually a new character does this with a relative as well in the continuation. A few one off jokes here and there too.
And they bring in Jason Batemanās sister Justine for an episode & characters make implications about them⦠she does some flirting too. Thank god (spoiler) they donāt get physical. But seriously I was already cringing in that episode.
Then, all the mother-son comments in the continuation. Maybe itās just me but felt like a different tone compared to the first half of the series.
The writers couldāve come up with better jokes instead. The constant incestuous comments just felt lazy after awhile, not to mention they stopped being funny.
All of that said, the series is amusing & funā¦if you skip the finale. Tbh that episode kind of ruined the series for me.
But again I do appreciate the actors, crew etc came back to try to finish the series properly.
It is worth a watch.
Since thereās too many actors to go in depth on their other work Iāll just mention my two favourites & you can check IMDB fir the rest:
Jason Bateman (who plays Michael) , is amazing in the series Ozark, and is amusing in Game Night (2018), Office Christmas Party (2016), Horrible Bosses 1 & 2 (2011 & 2014) etc . Heās supposed to be in the Clue reboot so Iām excited to see what he does with that.
&
Will Arnett (who plays Gob Bluth), honestly I havenāt seen a lot of what heās been in yet but so far I like him in everything. He was really funny in Murderville (2022), Blades of Glory (2006), and Up All Night (2011-2012) which I thought was hilarious.


















