Behold: ‘Arrested Development’ Documentary in the Works
by Guy BensonAs Big Hollywood’s self-proclaimed Arrested Development Superfan, it is my sacred obligation to make fellow enthusiasts aware of The Arrested Development Documentary Project, which just recently came to my attention. The film’s website is a bit confusing, especially when it comes to ascertaining where and when one might actually see it, but the trailer seems promising (be forewarned, Keith Olbermann makes an appearance):
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Hopefully the finished product will explore subjects beyond the (understandable) bellyaching about Fox’s shabby treatment of the show, abysmal ratings, regrettable lack of audience, etc.
Note to readers: This documentary is not to be confused with the Arrested Development feature film, reportedly in production.
Note to self: Perhaps a separate post featuring a full-fledged ode to this brilliant show is in order. Stay tuned for that, and join the fan club in the interim.
[This blog post was sponsored in part by the Law Offices of Barry Zuckercorn, and by "Caged Wisdom," now available on DVD]
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31 Comments
It's good that attention be drawn to the way networks under-appreciates their best shows that have dedicates fanbases. Freaks and Geeks comes to mind.
That show was such a guilty pleasure. Highlights include an aunt and nephew singing "Afternoon Delight" karaoke. That song's ick factor was increased exponentially…Brilliant.
I started watching the show in its second year and it was one of those things where, within five minutes, I was a fan and by the end of the episode, I was already quoting it. To this day, just a single word or two will trigger memories.
"Her?" "Come on!"
Oh, the TV show! Oops, I thought it was a documentary about Michael Jackson or maybe Hussein Obama. In Jackson's case, well that's classic "arrested development", Obama, since his "eyeball molestation" of a teenager in Rome, that tells me all I need to know.
"Like anyone would ever 'R' her"
I seem to be one of few people who thinks this show was really, really bad. Non-sequitur humor, sight gags worthy of "Airplane! 2: The Sequel", and tiresome, smarmy voice-over work just doesn't do it for me. And I liked Mr. Show (to an extent) and even David Cross' stand-up (to a lesser extent). But this show was way too hyped.
That was the best show on TV…..
Tobias painting himself blue to join the Blue Man Group was a comedy atom bomb. Too bad Olberdork got his crusty fingers in this….
I didn't catch the show until it came out on DVD, and wow is it a tragedy that it was so short lived… It does everything about comedy right, and the writers of many other shows would be smart to start emulating.
For example whenever Arrested Development did a cutaway it actually had relevance to the episode at large, and on top of that they would cut away to previous episodes as well. Even in one episode when they did a cutaway it went to "Clip Missing". Now contrast that with Family Guy.
They also understood very well how to write out characters in a comedic series and give them unique personalities rather then just having one or two unique characteristics that define them as characters. A good example of this would be Buster and the way the overparenting given to him by the family matriarch warped him. Or even better, Gob, because of his narcissism and the way he tried to run the company.
I still can't believe Tobias's business cards trying to combine the words analyst and therapist and coming up with "analrapist"! How the heck did they ever get that on the air? I miss this show so much.
some great lines, sadly its not like Seinfeld where you can throw a line into a normal conversation and people will get it.
it was an amusing show and i watched several episodes in the first year (in whole or in part), but it aired during a period of hyper-partisan Hollywood attacks on a sitting president and it seemed to me that practically THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION TEAM of the show from cast to producers to writers was a) ultra leftwing, and b) vocal about being ultra leftwing and anti-Bush, so i lost interest in it.
this is the problem with Hollywood. those of us in "flyover country" don't care about "your" politics until "you" start forcing them on us (e.g., Bateman, Howard, Arnett, Cross, Winkler, Grazer, etc.), and then we use that information to make an informed choice about what entertainment is worthy of consumption and what isn't. if they really wanted Arrested Development to stay on the air, perhaps the people involved in the show shouldn't have made such a concerted effort to alienate a portion of their audience… just a thought.
It's good that attention be drawn to the way networks under-appreciate some of their best shows despite their dedicated fanbase. Freaks and Geeks comes to mind.
I started watching the show in its second year and it was one of those things where, within five minutes, I was a fan and by the end of the episode, I was already quoting it. To this day, just a single word or two will trigger memories.
"Her?" "Come on!"
I still laugh at Carl Weathers teaching Tobias about acting: "Baby, you got a stew goin'!"
And fan-made documentaries are becoming a force to be reckoned with. A group of filmmakers has done a Jaws documentary titled "The Shark is Still Working" and another group has done one on the Back to the Future trilogy titled "Looking Back at the Future." Universal even included some of the interviews on the last DVD release.
NBC needs to dump Olberman if they ever want me to watch their network again.
one of the most original comedies ever made…a riot..if you have never watched all episodes, you owe it to yourself. You may have to watch several times to catch all the jokes and sight gags. Gob the best character ever written
I've never seen a network strive as heroically to get people to watch a show few people wanted to watch. I absolutely loved AD, but the ratings justified it being killed after a season (if it lasted that long), and Fox kept it on for three. They gave it some of their best time slots. They ran entire nights of AD episodes, hoping to getting viewers caught up in its complicated continuity. They ran episodes after the local station's news hours, again with that hope. Why should a network struggle and lose tons of money keeping a great show on the air if they aren't even going to earn any goodwill from the show's fans?
It's pretty inane (and sort of liberal-ish) to complain that a show was "only" taken off the air because it was losing money and the ratings continued to grow ever tinier after three years. Maybe a government subsidy of good TV shows? I'm sure President Obama would take the idea up.
still don't have a clue huh?
That remark makes no sense out of context bud.
I too thought it was a really, really bad show. I tried to watch it but could not. Not even a laugh track or Portia DiRossi in a bikini could save this stinker.
I loved this show, even though it made nasty jokes about Bush and conservatives. But unlike most of the media, they were clever, integrated jokes and not out of no where cheap shots. And they did take some shots at liberals as well.
Which I think is sort of funny because I find David Cross' stand-up to be one of the most painfully unfunny things I've ever seen, but as a comedic actor I think he's solid gold.
Ever hear of Firefly? Space: Above And Beyond? Sarah Connor Chronicles? Quit your whining and get in line. It's a true stamp of Entertainment Quality to be canceled by Fox.
Maybe that's because Fox keeps trying to put quality shows on the air in the first place, even if nobody wants to watch them.
(Sarah Connor Chronicles? Really?)
Your namesake comes to mind ("The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." is in my top three favorite shows of all-time)
THERE ARE DOZENS OF US! DOZENS!
Great Show. I have a feeling the movie will suck. Also i won't watch anything that has Keith Olbermann involved
Martin Short as their fake Uncle Jack = comedy gold. "To the nuts! THE BRIDGE MIX, YOU FOOL!" Likewise one of the best character names ever has to be Bob Loblaw.
There was some good physical comedy in the show as well, and I'm a sucker for physical comedy. But as others have mentioned, two of the best characters are Gob and Tobias, but there really wasn't a weak link in the whole bunch. If I were pressed to pick, I'd say Maeby.
I also loved the episode that subtly poked at the different ratings stunts shows typically pull to get more viewers.
The one thing I disliked about the show was the low blows it took towards conservatives in general, but the really cheap shots it took towards Christians specifically through the character of George Michael's girlfriend Ann (her?) and her family. That always left a bad taste in my mouth. Otherwise, great show that shall live on forever, so long as I have my DVDs.
I agree, the jokes were light hearted, not bitter or vitriolic like every other show. I just rewatched the Sopranos series on DVD, and i forgot how poorly written and anti Bush the 6th season was.. I guess i wasn't paying attention the first time i watched to it. That is a major problem with TV shows these days. I watch shows to escape politics, but you can find almost no shows on tv that aren't politically saturated.
I love the show Dexter, and it has yet to fall into the politics trap, but i am sure it will at somepoint.
If a show does have political jokes, i don't mind them as long as they aren't mean spirited. AD has funny political jokes.
Don't forget about the Bob Loblaw Law Blog!
You mean Egg, not Ann.
Also, remember vodka only turns into alcohol if you let it sit
No, I mean Annabelle, because she's shaped like a… she's the belle of the ball!
Thank you so much for providing the link. I was one of the few fans that watched the show nearly from the beginning and began tapping every episode that premiered before I was able to get a hold of the DVD box sets. I've actually walked through many of the locations that the show was filmed at since I live in-between Marina Del Rey (where the frozen Banana stand was located) and Culver City (Where to begin? The Culver Hotel where Michael Bluth carries Maggie Lizer out of the restaurant, the movie theater where Ann convinces George Michael to picket the kissing cousins movie premiere, the City Hall where Michael, G.O.B. and Buster get into their first fight during the first season). They even filmed the episode of Tobias promoting his book at the book store I walked by every day while going to high school (which happens to be the high school from "Grease").
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