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Second season of "Arrested" develops nicely |
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Written by MICHAEL JAMES ALLEN
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Monday, 17 October 2005 |
Without a doubt, I think "Arrested Development" is one of the finest shows on television today. If only mass audiences agreed with me. Despite unanimous critical praise (and, clearly, we critics are never wrong), the show, now on its third season on Fox, has never been able to drum up stable audience numbers.
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"Arrested Development: Season Two"
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 Entertainment
 Art
Created by Mitchell Hurwitz
Starring Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, and David Cross
Released October 11, 2005
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No doubt the show’s quirky and sometimes edge-pushing sense of humor is not for everyone — I’m looking at you "Will & Grace" fans — so it’s no real surprise that the show has not been universally embraced. Still, it is unfortunate that a show this unique and well-crafted may soon find itself on the network chopping block. On the upside, DVD has often been a bastion for unique shows in search of their fans, and "Arrested Development" is no exception. When Season One was released in 2004, it was met with impressive sales. Hopefully, the recently released Season Two will follow the trend.The show follows the chronicles of the troubled Bluth Company and the even more troubled Bluth Family behind it. The anchor of both the family and the show is Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the president of the company. He is sometimes assisted, but more frequently desisted, by his older brother Gob (Will Arnett), a struggling magician; his sister Lindsey (Portia de Rossi); his younger brother Buster (Tony Hale), a perpetual momma’s boy; his cold, drunken mother Lucille (Jessica Walters); his brother-in-law Tobias (David Cross), whose sexuality is always a bit of a gray area; his son George-Michael (Michael Cera) and George-Michael’s cousin Maeby (Alia Shawkat), with whom he harbors a secret crush; and the head of the family George, Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), who in the first season was in prison for tax fraud, and in this second season is now on the lamb.
As you can see, "Arrested Devlopment" harbors a very large cast of characters, not to mention the immense number of guest stars and recurring characters that constantly enter the mix. It is, therefore, a credit to the show’s writers that they are able to juggle so many characters and plot lines while keeping it both coherent (most of the time) and hilarious. The real joy is in watching this eccentric group act and react off of each other, and the jokes are crisp and multi-layered, making the show perfect for multiple viewings. Special credit should be given to the pitch-perfect cast as well, with the standouts being the always-reliable Jason Bateman, the always-awkwardly-humorous Michael Cera, and the always-hilarious Will Arnett and David Cross.
Hopefully, the current third season of "Arrested Development" will finally find audiences tuning in to this brilliant comedic exercise in droves. But hey, if they don’t, at least we’ve always got the DVD to look forward to. EXTRAS The DVD is far from stacked in the extras department, but there are a few modest joys to be found. Commentary by the show’s creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, and a handful of actors can be found on three random episodes. There’s not much information to be taken from these, but they are entertaining and, at the very least, give off the impression that everyone involved is proud of the show and enjoy each other’s company. There are a few deleted scenes, most of which are just slight extensions of scenes and are not sorely missed. Also included is a humorous but short Blooper Reel, and a featurette entitled “Season One in Three Minutes,” which is not as informational as you’d think. The back of the box claims that a couple of campaign videos from the episode entitled “The Immaculate Election” can be found, but I wasn’t able to find them. So hats off to you if you can. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
Other Recent Articles by MICHAEL JAMES ALLEN:The Top Ten Movies of 2007An Interview with Diablo Cody and Ellen Page of “Juno”An Interview with “The Savages” director, Tamara JenkinsBang! Kapow! BOOM! ‘Nuff said.2 stars for “3:10”
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