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Volume 71, Issue 75,
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Life & Arts 'Arrested' fails to capture Fox's eye Network should keep award-winning show in the comedy lineup by SETH MINTZ
There is a television show that is so well written and brilliantly acted that will soon be canceled. Despite critical acclaim, its base of passionate fans and pleas from publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Fox will not continue airing Arrested Development. Because of what Fox deems poor ratings, this will be the final season for arguably the funniest, smartest and most engaging show on TV. The first two seasons are now out on DVD, and the final episodes from the third season will be shown after 24, American Idol and Prison Break end their Monday night runs on Fox. Arrested Development tells the story of the Bluth family. George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) is arrested for stealing money from his company; his son Michael (the truly brilliant Jason Bateman) tries to save the company and keep his family from falling apart in every imaginable way; and Michael stays in Orange County to run the family business, which develops housing. The rest of the Bluth family includes Michael's drunken mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), her money-obsessed daughter Lindsay (Portia De Rossi), Lindsay's effeminate husband Tobias (David Cross), their prank-playing daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat), Michael's son George Michael (Michael Cera), Lucille's friend and social enemy Lucille 2 (Liza Minnelli) and Michael's brothers Gob and Buster (Will Arnett and Tony Hale, respectively). Henry Winkler guest-stars as the Bluth's incompetent lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn, and Ron Howard is the show's unseen narrator. Arrested Development will leave you feeling good about your family, no matter how dysfunctional it is. After pulling an "Enron" on his company, George Sr. is shown to have committed treason by building houses in Iraq. He is sent to prison and then escapes to live in the attic of one of the houses he built. His wife is the cruelest mother alive, functioning only through her constant drinking. Michael's son has a crush on his cousin, Maeby. Tobias and Lindsay decide to have an open marriage because neither can satisfy the other. Gob is a struggling magician, briefly becomes president of the company and marries a woman on a dare. Buster cannot escape the grasp of his mother and has his hand bitten off by a seal. Michael struggles to save his family's company from going broke, to save his family from killing each other and to be a good role model for his son. None of this comes easy for him. Even with all of the aforementioned weirdness, there are more situations Michael must face. Michael develops a crush on Gob's ex-girlfriend Marta, a Spanish TV star; dislikes his son's girlfriend; and is almost sent to prison for the crimes committed by his father. And you thought your family was weird. Throughout its two-and-a-half-season run, Arrested Development has quietly become one of the finest shows ever made. Every character is amazingly well written, well performed and very relatable, not to mention as funny as anything you will watch. There is no other show you can watch that will leave you on the floor in hysterics like this Emmy Award-winning show. Do yourself a big favor by watching the remaining episodes on Fox and go out and get the DVDs. Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu |
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