You know how it works. A new show appears, and it is brilliant in a way you didn't think possible. Perhaps it will make you roll on the floor, laughing. Perhaps you'll be crying by the end of it. Either way, you will know that this show is great, and that it would be a crime against mankind to cancel it. Then, the show will be unceremoniously cancelled. For some reason, most of these shows pop up on the FOX network. Look at "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" and "Futurama" for perfect examples.
This year, "Arrested Development," sadly, could be that show. Don't get me wrong; if the first episode is like the rest that could be shown, I want this show to be on the air for a very long time. I just have a bad feeling that this show, like the other unsung treasures, will be dropped like a brick in due time.
It would be a pity, though. "Arrested Development," which can be best summarized as The Royal Tenenbaums meets "The O.C.," is on its way to being one of the funniest shows on television.
Jason Bateman, a man who's making a comeback, I guess (what's he coming back from?), stars as Michael Bluth. Michael is the only sane member of the very rich Bluth family. The patriarch is George Bluth, an arrogant, not-very-bright tycoon whose arrest by the SEC immediately after he gives the reins of his company to his wife, Lucille, sets the plot in motion. Michael was expecting the promotion and now plans to move away, with his son George Michael (ha, ha) Bluth, far away from his family.
The other family members are activist Lindsay, her failed psychiatrist husband Tobias, their daughter Maeby (Yes, it's pronounced "maybe"), magician George Oscar Bluth (or GOB - pronounced "Job," like in the Biblical character) and Byron "Buster" Bluth, a panic attack-prone graduate student. Obviously, this family is completely nuts.
Once the family realizes that Michael is the only proper heir to the throne, he's almost forced to take the job. The only reason why Michael chooses to stay with his nutbag family is to please his son, who seems to have an unhealthy attraction to Maeby, his cousin.
If nothing else, "Arrested Development" is one of the most ridiculously inventive shows ever put on television. Luckily, creator and writer Mitchell Hurwitz has put loads of humor to stick with the creativity. It also helps that Ron Howard, one of the executive producers of the show, functions as narrator of the storyline (filmed in a documentary style), with his matter-of-fact tones.
The pilot episode, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, is teeming with glorious, goofy jokes. One minute, you might see comedian David Cross (as Tobias) dressed as a pirate on a boat filled with gay protesters; the next, you'll see Jeffrey Tambor (as the patriarch) being stuffed inside an "Aztec tomb" to hide from the SEC. The performances on the show are just as goofy.
Bateman brings a dry, sly sense of humor to his role (try not to laugh when he attempts to explain the concept of a job to his family), but it helps that the ensemble cast pulls their weight as well. Aside from Cross and Tambor, we have Portia De Rossi as the haughty Lindsay, Jessica Walter as the priggish Lucille, Will Arnett as the inconceivably arrogant GOB, Michael Cera as the sexually confused George Michael, Tony Hale as the manchild Buster and Alia Shawkat as the spontaneous Maeby.
If you didn't watch "Arrested Development" when it was on Sunday at 8:30 on FOX, make sure you do next week. Perhaps we can all try to keep the shows worth being aired on television, starting with this comedic gem.
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment reviewer for the Web Devil. Reach him at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
