Arrested Development

Why did this tv series never do very well in the ratings? It seemed like one of the smarter, funnier shows around at the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_Development_(TV_series)



• Too smart for the average "Two and a Half Men" and "Yes Dear" viewer.

• Too many Jews probably for middle America...

• People were like "I don't get it!" or "This is weird!" I think you need a certain level of education/cultural understanding to understand the show. Most people are at a King of Queens level.

• You're asking a question that answers itself.

• Too self-referential for viewers starting mid-series.

• I think it was one of those shows you had to watch from the very beginning or else it was hard to pick up or understand all the running gags.

• Agree with R3, the majority of TV viewers like simple minded comedies such as Two and a Half Men, where the jokes are so dumb anyone can get them. Arrested Development requires an appreciation for irreverence and satire, things that force the viewer to pay close attention to, much more than hit-you-over-the-head lowbrow comedies. Examples: Two and A Half Men Rose: What's the name of that hemorrhoid cream again? Charlie: Fire in the Hole. Arrested Development Lucille: How am I supposed to find someone willing to go into that musty old claptrap? (Long pause, Michael stares at her awkwardly] Michael: The cabin... yes! That would be difficult, too.

• "Arrested Development" owes a huge debt to "Soap."

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DAsFLCxH7N2U

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• They have no taste

• .

• Looks at the homosexuals. Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire.

  Lucille%20B.

• Along with what others have already said, Fox kept moving it around, preempting it for sports etc. without a regular time slot, it had a real hard time getting an audience.

• the chicken dance

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dk4qOKybOKXs

• R12 is right. Networks suits are quite skilled at killing off good shows. Nobody know when the show is on because there's no promotion and it's getting bounced around. Then the same suit who's bouncing the show all over the schedule and not promoting it will shrug and say "Nobody's watching it. Get rid of it."

• it was too smart and I believe it had a lot of competition.

• Faux sophistication with muggy overbaked acting. It is amazing that this smug little piece of preciousness lasted as long as it did.

• They really did a great job casting it. Everyone was superb.

• Do you guys know where I could get one of those gold T-shaped pendants?

  Maebe%20Funke

• I liked Ann Egg who's now on Parenthood. Very talented.

• I Love Lucy set the bar low and for better or worse, any show since then that exceeds the one liner sense of humor doesn't appeal the majority of the viewing audience. Ricky Ricardo: Lucy's actin' crazy. Fred Mertz: Crazy for Lucy, or crazy for ordinary people?

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• It's not like you had to have a graduate degree to laugh at Mrs. Featherbottom crashing through the coffee table, but I think you did kind of have to pay attention for it to be really funny. Some shows are about as entertaining as they're going to get when half-watched while you're doing the dishes, but AD wasn't.

• R16 = Big Bang Theory fan

• I don't understand the question, and I won't respond.

  Lucille

• What r16 said. That shit was only funny to poseurs who think they're smart.

• It was before it's time. It was a single camera half-hour comedy with no laugh track that premiered at a time when Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Will & Grace were still the TV standard. Viewers didn't get comedy that didn't have laugh tracks telling them what was supposed to be funny.

• Uncomfortable with implied incest?

  Mother

• GOB: "My God, what is this feeling?" Michael: "Well, you know the-the feeling that you're... that you're feeling is-is what many of us call 'a feeling.'" GOB: "But it's not like envy, or even hungry." Michael: "Could it be love?" GOB: "I know what an erection feels like, Michael."

• R24, why are you so threatened? My God, you sound insecure.

• It was good until the third season when it went completely over the top with Buster losing his hand as if it were no big deal and a retarded Charlize Theron.

• Buster losing his hand always bothered me because it is such a tragedy but they all acted like he just chopped off his ponytail or something. In real life, it would be a huge deal. Not a "oh well, he lost his hand." Buster himself didn't even seem to care.

• r28, why do you assume I'm threatened? I'm not threatened at all. Rather, I'm insulted and appalled that people actually thought that show was "smart" and "funny." It was not.

• R31's insecurities can be seen from space.

• And r32's intelligence can't even be perceived by the gnat that crawled up his ear canal into the chasm of his skull.

• Wasn't that the joke though, r30? That no one really seemed to care or were too self involved to care that he lost his hand?

• [quote]I liked Ann Egg who's now on Parenthood. Very talented. Her?!?

  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Mae_Whitman_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/220px-Mae_Whitman_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg

• Yes, r35. Is there a problem?

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• Her??

• I don't think Seinfeld would have been popular if it didn't have a laugh-track...

• Seinfeld was filmed in front of a studio audience. AD is not.

• I was about 11 when the show started airing, and I loved it. (even only getting about 1/3 to 1/2 of the jokes) It's hard for me to think that adult's out there just couldn't get it, but i often under estimate the stupidity of the general population.

• I didn't get it.

• Wasn't this the first US comedy without a laugh track? That threw people, along with the fact that it was way too smart for broadcast television audiences.

• [quote]Wasn't this the first US comedy without a laugh track? No, there were numerous comedies that didn't have one before that, the biggest one being "The Simpsons." And, wow, R33 needs some therapy. I can understand if you don't like the show, but hating people who do like it seems a bit much.

• The show's fans are amusingly self-congratulatory.

• They have reason to be; they enjoy a superior television product.

• R45: It's a fucking sitcom, not Proust. Get over yourself.

• Simply put; Arrested Development was funny as hell. There really is no debate. The cast were all seasoned pros (maybe excepting Maeby and George Michael). The stories were crazy, ridiculous and entirely possible. (most of us have 1 or 2 certifiable lunatics in our families). Also as quiet as it is kept, Ron Howard has a WICKED sense of humor (watch Night Moves). Last but not least, Jason Bateman was a pleasure to watch. Being a straight man to every single other character is not easy. Bad actors CANNOT carry any kind of show that well for three seasons without jumping the shark after show 3.

• R33 needs some Temocil.

• He just never got that trip to dad's cabin, r48.

• R49, maybe some candy beans will help change his mind?

• It was trying too hard for me to get into. Sometimes a show's target audience is not specifically for you but you still reluctantly watch it for other aspects but not this one. Never thought I was missing out on anything. It's an "all or nothing" program.

• He'll have to eat a whole thing of them.

• It was a production clearly pleased with itself. NBC tried everything to get people to watch, but it was about as likeable as post-9/11 Dennis Miller.

• Because it's WAY over most people's heads. It's just too smart.

  DLer

• I watched this montage of quotes. The one at 0:57 made me laugh out loud.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dv7oBAnEmklk

• R53, NBC didn't do a thing to keep this show on the air. It aired on FOX.

• It was supposed to be revived on Showtime and all the cast was ready to go back but the lone holdout was Michael Sarah. He was doing movies and thought going back to TV was beneath him. They finally convinced him to sign on to the Arrested Development movie after a few years. What a cunt.

• R16? You just made a fool out of yourself in front of T-Bone.

• Actually, Ron Howard wanted a 3 season deal with Showtime and that has never been done before. Cera was apparently a holdout for the movie, though. Or do I have it wrong? Btw r58 T-Bone is a flamer.

• Who would want to "R" her anyway?

  Buster%20Bluth

• Will Arnett was so sexy in this! Even though GOB was a ne'er-do-well, he had charm and charisma and oozed sex. In short, Michael was the one I'd like to settle down with, but GOB was the one I wanted to fuck me hard! haha

• R47, that's one of the things I loved the most. Jason Bateman seemed to be the straight man to the other crazy characters, but he wasn't. He was just as disordered as his family. That is why this show is amazing. George Michael was more the 'straight man' to the others, including his dad.

• The movie is being filmed currently. There will be 13 new episodes to bridge where the show left off and the movie, and they will air exclusively on Netflix in March of next year, with the movie being slated for release in summer/fall of 2013. I agree - this show was just too smart for most people. I can't wait to see how it all ends.

• R63, is the movie going to be a theatrical release? If so, I don't see how that will translate to the big screen. I'm still mourning "Strangers with Candy," which was crucified on the screen.

• Yes, theatrical release. I know what you mean about it maybe not translating well...but then I remember it's Ron Howard and I stop worrying. Strangers with Candy was also great. However, unlike Arrested Development, Strangers with Candy had an end. A finale episode. Arrested Development was never able to tie anything up. It just wasn't on anymore. I think the people who liked it, like me, will want the answers to the questions we were left hanging with when the show was cut, and hopefully that will translate into good numbers for the film.

• Bumping for the impending (May 26) release of all 15 new episodes on Netflix streaming. EW has a cover story (three AD covers with the main members of the cast) on the new episodes, along with a good article about what shows are best for different types of "binge watching."

  http://www.ew.com/ew/inside

• Also, looks like Liza is back as Lucille 2, and there will be guest appearances by Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen.

• Will Seth be doing this on set?

  http://pinupsmag.com/sethdetail2.htm