SPOILER START
If you haven't seen the new season, then none of this paragraph will make sense to you, but on a first watch, I missed the jokes about: screen-stealer software; the "loose seal" rolling over Capt. Hook's hook; the fact that Maeby is the shaman in makeup; both Michael and George-Michael saying "Gentlemen, start your engines" to a woman they don't realize is their sister/aunt; Lucille 2 getting sexually assaulted by an ostrich; and Mr. Fantastic's own stretching special effect.
SPOILER END
I guess you're right for saying a show isn't funny even though you don't realize that half the content you're watching contains jokes you're missing. I guess your opinion is informed and there's no reason to sit with the material again, getting rewarded by a subtly crafted show that meets you halfway by delivering more and more pleasure each time you extend effort. You're right. Better to talk shit and call it a day.
1
Have Some Fucking Respect
Arrested Development is on most die-hard comedy fans' short list of greatest comedy shows ever. The scripts set the standard among aspiring comedy geeks, and the performance credentials of its cast are fairly staggering in their own right. No one involved in this show is jonesing for work or without other opportunities. But there was a devoted community of fans clamoring for more, and those involved with AD wanted to do a full series to do the return right. This latest endeavor is no movie of the week, Return to Gilligan's Island bullshit. Instead, a group of wildly talented professionals got together to produce a new series that lived up to its reputation. And they did so thinking they were making something special for some of the greatest fans in the world. Fans who liked demanding comedy, fans who didn't insist on happy endings or sweet characters, fans who wanted a show that would go anywhere for its viewers.
Even a sweat lodge/Resurrection Cave.
What's more, I tend to think AD's creators believed these fans would not be happy with a weak echo of what had been done before. They had to grow the show somehow. But how do you evolve a show that by nature is about not growing? A show that's about arrested development? Well, you can't grow the characters, and for the most part, they didn't. Michael Bluth, older, still unsuccessful, and even further away from the memory of his deceased wife, seems a touch more desperate and selfish. But for the most part, all the other characters are the same. Unable to grow the characters of the show, Mitchell Hurwitz and team decided to grow the show itself.
As mentioned above, each episode follows one character's storyline. It still intersects with the other character arcs, but we as the viewer learn more about the AD universe every time we witness the same scenarios from different vantage points. Season 4 found a new, fresh way of telling the AD story. What's more, it was a storytelling style that was perfectly suited for the new medium of Netflix. Now you can watch the show over and over again. You can rewind and pore over things you've missed. Hurwitz and company made the right show in the right way in the right format, confident that AD fans -- the best fans in the world -- would meet that endeavor halfway. Those fans who do will be rewarded. Those who don't will miss out on a tremendous present. Hopefully, though, they'll keep their bitching to a minimum, because it's distracting me from my third rewatching of the series.
Be sure to follow Gladstone on Twitter and stay up-to-date on the latest regarding Notes from the Internet Apocalypse. And then there's his website and Tumblr, too.
Gladstone
Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
975 Comments