Period.
However, I encourage you to avoid season "four" (as it's called on Netflix) at all costs. Let me explain why.
I have a theory that every show should be done by the third season (preferably the second). I stand by this belief because, from what I've seen, shows get watered down in quality by season three, simply for the sake of making new episodes. This leads to great income for the studios making the shows, but often a decline in quality. I love Breaking Bad, but I have never seen more filler than in season four of that show (e.g. the scene where Skyler White parks Walter's car somewhat far from the house and walks toward the camera for what feels like half an hour). Community also suffered from a similar problem during its season four, only that was due to a mix of the show getting too weird in season three, but also the foolish firing of its remarkable showrunner and creator.
Back to Arrested Development.
The first three seasons aired on Fox, and the show was cancelled just as it was starting to get watered down. It was still funny, but it was going to die and everyone knew it. The fans knew it, the makers knew it, it was inevitable.
And so it was cancelled after a three year run. And it was nice. It was (relatively) short and sweet. They even wrapped the main storyline up and put a bow on it. The show was done, and it was done so well, you can watch any episode over and over again and still laugh dozens of times per episode. This is not only because the dialogue is witty, but the actors just work really well off each other. This is something you can't write. Sometimes, that just happens. And that's the mark of a good show.
Arrested Development is about a highly dysfunctional, quirky family who stays together when they shouldn't, but rather than being cringe-worthy, it has a warm, welcoming vibe that makes you want to see every character interact with every other character just to see what they'll do. Really, it's one of the best things ever to have been on t.v.
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| The wonderfully talented cast of Arrested Development. |
Season four on Netflix does not have that same charm. Not even close. And it's a shame because so many people say that it's great, but they either don't understand what made the show so good, or they're kidding themselves because the show on Netflix is entirely different (or maybe they're just wonderful people who find the beauty in all things flawed. In which case, they're way better people than me).
The two biggest problems with Netflix's Arrested Development is that the style of the show does not match the original comedic style (making it a different show), and each episode is about a different character. Too much of the story is guided by narration and there is almost zero interaction between the main characters. What's worse is that the characters are extremely untrue to themselves. It's as though the writers of this season have no knowledge of the prior seasons.
There is supposed to be some sort of grand plot that's shown in different segments of these character's lives and it's supposed to all sync by the end of the season, but I'm telling you now, it does not come across well. It's repetitively, unnecessarily confusing.
Season four has great guest stars, including comedians Kristen Wiig and Maria Bamford (both of whom I adore for their unique sense of humor), but the show prohibits them from shining with its goal to tie some sort of story together.
The writers tried to reignite old laughs by alluding to old jokes, but the thing they didn't understand is that these jokes were funny because of their subtlety. One example is the running joke of the main character, Michael Bluth, in the old seasons always referring to his son's girlfriend whom he didn't approve of as "...Her?"
That was one of the best running gags. You don't read it and laugh, but when you see it, your face will crack a little smile. Season four imposed a grand joke on the audience by staging some wedding between that girl and Michael's brother, with a giant sculpture next to them that reads "Her?". I know this sounds like a minor complaint, but good comedy works best when it's not forced. It's almost as though the writers are sitting next to you this entire season, poking your shoulder and pointing at the screen every time someone makes a joke.
The cherry on top is the ending, which is simply Michael Bluth's son punching him in the face. I'm not kidding. That's how the series ends.
On the plus side, there are still three hilarious seasons from the mid 2000's for you to watch over and over again. If aliens ever come and invade Earth, I hope they stumble upon those seasons and not the fourth.
'Til next time.
