Arrested Development'- It's Back and as Great as Ever

Arrested Development" is back after a hiatus that lasted too long for anyone who loves great television. And with the premiere of its fourth season Sunday on Netflix, it proves that there is still hope for sitcom genius from the TV industry, especially if it's created by Mitchell Hurwitz, narrated by Ron Howard and features one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time. With expectations as high as they are among "AD" fans, do the new episodes live up to those of the first three seasons which ended in 2006? Yes, and then some: The new season is not only as smart and absurdly funny as ever, but also reflects the rapid changes in how we watch television. Netflix and other new content providers get that people want to watch an episode of a show when they want to watch it. And if they want to watch two, give them two to watch. Three? Why not? For that matter, why not the entire "season." Yes, you can do this with any television show, including those in a traditional weekly format whose full seasons are now available on platforms like Netflix and Hulu. But the fact that the new "AD" episodes are even more self-contained than those of the first three seasons makes them an even better fit for new content providers. Hurwitz gives each each character his or her own episode in the early part of the new season. I don't mean that "Michael's 'Arrested Development'" only features Jason Bateman, but that the episode catches us up on how the character got from where he was in the third season to becoming a producer on a Ron Howard film about the Bluth family. When the show ended in 2006 with the episode titled "Development Arrested," it seemed at first as though Michael Bluth (Bateman) had finally succeeded in making his self-indulgent family's crooked business enterprise at least profitable enough to offer some hope for the future. But the episode ended when matriarch Lucille (Jessica Walter) commandeering the long-docked Queen Mary to escape the police boats, and Michael's alleged twin Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) learning she was actually adopted, which meant that Michael's son George Michael (Michael Cera) wasn't committing incest when he made out with his supposed cousin Maeby (Alia Shawkat). The eternally terrified Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) tumbled overboard and was confronted immediately by his greatest fear in life- a live seal- as Michael and George Michael happily sailed away into the sunset, leaving the rest of the clan to their own devices. The fourth season begins with an episode called "Flight of the Phoenix," which refers in the show's context to both the city of Phoenix and the online University of Phoenix. However, the myth of the phoenix is that it was a bird that rose from the ashes, and that pretty much describes the history of "Arrested Development" too. I don't want to spoil too much for anyone who didn't stay up all night binge watching the 15 new episodes, but they quickly establish that while some things have changed, the Bluth family's craziness is as rampant as ever and Michael has little hope of escaping them. The umbrella story arc has to do with getting the family together to testify on Lucille's behalf at her upcoming trial for stealing the Queen Mary. Meanwhile, George senior's twin, Oscar (both played by Jeffrey Tambor), has set up a sweat lodge on the US-Mexican border that George commandeers and turns into something he calls "Sweat 'n Squeeze"-- a way to con money out of rich guys. The compound includes "visitor yurts." Lindsay goes off to India to find personal awakening, but comes back with fake designer bags and a willingness to work on her marriage to Tobias, but instead falls for another guy whose girlfriend, DeBrie (Maria Bamford) had a brief role in a quickie film version of "The Fantastic Four." For his part, Tobias wants to make a new start. In fact, he orders specialized license plates announcing his new start. Except that the guy who once thought he could find success by combining being a therapist and an analyst, and advertised his trade as "Analrapist," comes up with a similar new word for his license plate, "Anustart." Among the many pleasures of watching the new episodes is spotting cameos. Between the guest stars in recurring roles and the cameos, it's as though everyone in Hollywood wanted to get in on the "Arrested Development" action. Guest stars include Kristen Wiig Seth Rogen as younger versions of George and Lucille, as well as Christine Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Amanda de Cadenet, John Krasinski, James Lipton, Andy Richter, Isla Fisher, Ed Helms, Bernie Kopell, Max Winkler playing a young version of his dad Henry's role as Barry Zuckerhorn, Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw, John Slattery, Debra Mooney, Conan O'Brien, Brian Grazer, John Beard, Ron Howard(in addition to narrating) and the three guys from Comedy Central's "Workaholics," Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson and Anders Holm, as three extremely passive aggressive airline ticket agents.

 News source: www.sfgate.com

Posted in: Arrested Development