On the Next Arrested Development..

Yesterday Netflix announced that they were raring to go on season 5 of Arrested Development (link for those too lazy to google: http://www.cnet.com/news/arrested-development-to-return-to-netflix-for-another-season/), and as a fan of the show I could not be more excited.  I wish I could say that I proudly championed the show during its original run and sent letters to protest a rather premature ending, but that would be a very poor lie.  I, like many viewers, was late to the Arrested Development game and only started watching the show when I heard about it getting a fourth season on Netflix (I know, I know).  Initially I resisted watching the series because of my own foolish pettiness.  A bunch of my friends and associates would come up and ask if I had seen the show and would implore me to begin viewing saying that I would love it.  I hate when people say that something is right up my alley or that I would love it so I stayed away from the series to spite these said people and to remain a petty contrarian.  In short, I was being a fucking idiot.  So during one of those numerous empty weekends in Stony Brook, I decided to play a few episodes to see what all the hype surrounding the show was.  After barreling through 53 episodes of pure Bluthian madness and brilliance, I couldn’t get around thinking about how there must be a better way in proving I am a petty contrarian.  I was like Squidward when he ate his first Krabby Patty; all the wasted years melted away as I quickly watched and re-watched the series.  In the Jason Thompson pantheon of television shows, I would rate Arrested Development as my favorite non Simpsons show (so my second favorite show of all time).  I quickly quoted lines to any semi-relevant circumstance and even performed GOB’s magic act at an open mic night (the video is on this very blog, oh curious traveler).  I had morphed into what I had originally feared to become: an obsessive super fan and I could care less.  It was fun to find a new obsession and be in on the craze. 

I had already watched the series a few times by the dropping of the fourth season, so needless to say I was very excited.  I watched the fourth season in bunches and enjoyed the season on a whole and a bit more than other people I spoke to.  Like most viewers I had a few complaints about the season and they generally lined up with what others had said.  I felt that the real weakness of the season was that the family wasn’t together to bounce off each other and I didn’t like the extensive use of green screen which contributed to a fake feeling in some scenes.  The early episodes fluctuated in quality and the season didn’t hit its stride until the appearance of everybody’s favorite gentleman honey farmer.  Every episode after that point was great and I ended the season with a positive feeling.  There was no way that they could ever match the hype that surrounds a six year hiatus, but the fourth season mostly delivered and that was good enough.  With news of a fifth season, my hope is that these shows will feature the Bluths interacting more with each other like in the good old days.  Reading interviews with Mitch Hurwitz seems to suggest that he agrees with this criticism and will work to get the whole family back in the model home/penthouse.  So I say huzzah to new episodes of Arrested Development and can’t wait to see what else happens to our favorite family of rich fuck ups.  It will most likely be off the hook.