Arrest Development

[Soxy]

It looks likes the season finale is on fox tomorrow (friday night)--I feel like there's been no real promos for it, but I happened to see one getting ready this morning. Anyway, I know there's a lot of AD fans on here, and thought I would put this up so no one misses it.

 

Stupid fox. They take away everything I love. Feel free to discuss that point.

[3E8]

Could be more than just the seaon finale..I think I'm gonna cry.

 

 

You taste these tears. Taste my sad, Michael.

[GoodAsGould]

the show was getting steadily worse anyways

[AssHatSoxFan]

this is the SERIES FINALE for this shows run on Fox...here is to hoping Showtime or HBO picks it up

[3E8]

the show was getting steadily worse anyways

Not easy to stay consistent when your episode order keeps changing, and you have to alter storylines, plots, characters, etc. I think season 3 was the weakest yet but they were jerked around more than ever by FOX.

[KevHead0881]

Hey, there are AD fans on here!

 

God, I hope this ain't the series finale. The good news is, there seems to be a few suitors out there to pick up the show. The bad news is, the channel that was most likely to pick it up (Showtime) has reportedly broken off talks, citing the expense of the show.

 

I mean, COME ON! There's always money in the banana stand! Anyways, I'm looking forward to 2 hours of Arrested tomorrow.

[bmags]

a friday night? Jeeze...nice send off fox

[Gene Honda Civic]

It looks likes the season finale is on fox tomorrow (friday night)--I feel like there's been no real promos for it, but I happened to see one getting ready this morning. Anyway, I know there's a lot of AD fans on here, and thought I would put this up so no one misses it.

 

Stupid fox. They take away everything I love.  Feel free to discuss that point.

At least they gave AD a few seasons. They only aired the White Sox World Series for 4 episodes!

[3E8]

a friday night? Jeeze...nice send off fox

Is Keenan wearing a star of David on that chain? Just when I thought that movie couldn't be any funnier.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I mean, COME ON!  There's always money in the banana stand!

 

[KevHead0881]

At least they gave AD a few seasons. They only aired the White Sox World Series for 4 episodes!

 

Yah, and they did a fantastic job with the World Series, didn't they? Every time I heard some goofy sound effect or lame commentary from Buck and McCarver, not to mention that stupid f***ing animated talking baseball (I forget its name), I thought about sticking a fork in my eye.

Edited February 10, 2006 by KevHead0881

[Brian]

Remember, FOX is the channel that didn't even let Married With Children get a definite series finale and that show made the network pretty much.

[Rex Kickass]

And a two hour season finale means they're squashing four episodes into one night too. Great, more room for "The War At Home" or some other lame ass future Michael Rappaport project.

[Steve9347]

It looks likes the season finale is on fox tomorrow (friday night)--I feel like there's been no real promos for it, but I happened to see one getting ready this morning. Anyway, I know there's a lot of AD fans on here, and thought I would put this up so no one misses it.

 

Stupid fox. They take away everything I love.  Feel free to discuss that point.

 

 

c'mon, showtime, help a brother out here. seasons 1 and 2 were the best thing on television, but as an insane arrested development fan, i think the pressure to persue a contract extension got to the franchise, and the show suffered in season 3. However, it was still the best comedy on television in my opinion.

 

I think Showtime should pick up the show, run seasons 1-3, then buy a 4th season to see how it goes.

 

However, one thing I dont want to happen is for them to stop censoring the swearing. There is nothing funnier than hearing Gob talk about his new community idea with curses censored... singles city-sex city-f*** city-f*** mountain... oh that s*** is hilarious! but the censoring of the word f*** makes it a little bit funnier.

[bmags]

Is Keenan wearing a star of David on that chain?  Just when I thought that movie couldn't be any funnier.

 

haha, no i don't think so

[knightni]

not to mention that stupid f***ing  animated talking baseball (I forget its name), I thought about sticking a fork in my eye.

 

...Scooter...

[watchtower41]

If this is the end, a fond arrivederci to 'Arrested'

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Sometimes the best die young.

 

Jason Bateman, left, and Jeffrey Tambor star on Arrested Development.

FOX

 

Granted, Arrested Development has not officially reached the end of its Fox run. Tonight's two-hour special installment is being billed by its network as a season, not series, finale. (Related stories: Who gets 'Arrested'? | Is the show a wrap?)

 

But even the most deluded of the Bluths (and that's an awfully competitive category) could read the writing on this wall. You don't run four episodes of a series you're trying to salvage against the opening ceremonies of the Torino Winter Olympics. Fox might as well write arrivederci over the end credits.

 

If these are the final four, at least the show is finishing just as it began, without compromise and with no slackening in its wit, inventiveness or out-there attitude. The final half-hour was not available for review, but the 90 minutes that precede it are Arrested at its best: sly, ribald and hilarious.

 

About the show

 

Arrested Development

Fox, tonight, 8 ET/PT

* * * * (out of four)

 

 

 

 

 

 

As an Olympic bonus, the show wraps up three seasons' worth of great guest roles with a gold-medal performance from star Jason Bateman's sister Justine. As befits a series that revels in sexual discomfort, Bateman's role laughingly shatters her good-girl image while tweaking every possible TV family cliché.

 

Yet if these episodes exemplify why Arrested fans adore the show, they also illustrate why the vast majority of viewers have ignored it, awful scheduling aside. As funny as Arrested may be, the show tends to be all head and no heart, and that combination is usually a tough sell on TV. Seinfeld aside, Americans like to like their sitcom characters, and the Bluths are a tough bunch to love.

 

Considering the tenor of the times, it probably didn't help that Arrested doesn't just flirt with bad taste — it embraces it full-force. Incest, torture, mental illness, disabilities, dirty pictures and dirty politics have all been fodder for Arrested jokes.

 

This is a show that interrupts tonight's running plot about the family's alleged illegal activities in Iraq to showcase Gob's disastrous attempt to become the Muslim world's first Christian street magician (a particularly timely bit of social satire).

 

Still, my guess is that time will be kind to Arrested and that more people will come to appreciate its willingness and ability to bounce from the cerebral to the silly on a moment's notice. Almost certainly, they'll come to better value the show's superb ensemble, led by Bateman, whose laid-back delivery is the happy antithesis of TV's normal slam-the-joke-home sitcom style.

 

There is still a chance that this great show will carry on elsewhere. But if tonight is the end, we should let go without complaints. Arrested's death may be untimely, but it's not unfair. Fox gave Arrested three seasons and multiple chances. The creators were able to do the show they wanted. They just weren't able to persuade enough viewers to want it.

 

When that happens, the best you can hope for is a proper farewell. Tonight, that's what you get.

[watchtower41]

Showtime or ABC could get 'Arrested'

By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Can Showtime get Arrested?

 

 

That's the question on the minds of Arrested Development's small cadre of ardent fans, gearing up for tonight's finale on Fox (8 ET/PT) with four remaining episodes from its shortened third season. (Related stories: Finale review | Is the show a wrap?)

 

It's also of keen interest to the pay-cable network, which is eager to import a show whose 4-million-plus fans would amount to a sorely needed runaway hit.

 

Fox entertainment chief Peter Liguori last month uttered the inevitable: Two-time Emmy comedy winner Arrested is "extremely unlikely" to return for a fourth try because of low, then lower, ratings, from 6.2 million viewers in Season 1 to 4.2 million so far this year.

 

Though Fox hasn't officially canceled the series, producer 20th Century Fox Television already has found two potential takers in Showtime and ABC.

 

The studio dreams of a multiyear deal that would yield 35 new episodes, which — added to the 53 already completed — would mark enough to sell the comedy into syndication. While ABC views its bid as a long shot, the Showtime scenario is plausible.

 

"It's an established name. It's critically acclaimed. It's been deemed one of the best shows ever created for this medium," Showtime president Robert Greenblatt said last month. "And I think having that in with our other shows has a bit of a halo effect" that also could spark growth in paying subscribers.

 

Struggling series have switched networks before, but the migration is rare and problematic. Most notably, CBS picked up JAG from NBC after one season and turned it into a solid hit that lasted nine more years.

 

Yet, "there are few shows that have the ratings track record that Arrested does, where the passion burns so strong among loyal viewers," says 20th Century Fox co-president Gary Newman. "If we can find a way to do this show that economically makes sense, we will."

 

While the actors and creator/executive producer Mitch Hurwitz remain under contract, in practice no one's holding a gun to their heads.

 

"I'd be a moron to wish it away," says Jason Bateman, who plays Michael, the son who holds the family and its real estate business together. But he's also a realist, hardened by the "interesting ride" writers and actors have faced. Arrested has aired in three time slots and cheated death each season.

 

It's the "loud minority" of fans, critics and Emmy voters who have kept the show around, Bateman says. "This show has a very specific tone, humor and appeal, and we happen to be showing this in a medium that's geared for the masses," whereas Showtime would be content with even a fraction of that audience.

 

If a financial deal can be hammered out, the main sticking point is the will of Hurwitz, a veteran sitcom writer. "A lot comes down to how passionate Mitch is to keep it going," Newman says.

 

And Hurwitz? He says he's interested, but exhausted from the show's labor-intensive editing. He wants to pause before making a move. "I'm really torn. It's a really important show to me, but on the other hand, maybe it has lived the life it needs to live. What weighs against it is it's a soul-crushing amount of work."

[KevHead0881]

So, AD fans, who watched the final 4 episodes? What did you think?

[orangekrush88]

I thought the last 4 eps were fantastic. If it doesn't come back, I am happy that it went out the way it did.

[3E8]

I have to watch them each like two more times to catch everything then formulate a final opinion. But as a first impression, they wrapped everything up quite nicely (although a little obscurely in the last minutes) for losing so many episodes.

[KevHead0881]

I thought they finished it off quite well. Problem is, they finished all the subplots so well, it leaves me with some doubt that they have any intentions of bringing it back on another network. Maybe Ron Howard's comment about a movie was some sort of hint. Wouldn't surprise me.

[jackie hayes]

I've never been a huge fan, I just watched it when it happened to be on, but I enjoyed it. So take it fwiw, but those were some of the best AD shows I've ever seen. Some random thoughts:

 

I'm leery of ABC taking over the show. Fox's 'edge' gives you trash like 'Who wants to marry a millionaire?', but it's the same thing that buffers Family Guy and AD from politeness monitors. I hope the show'd have the same freedoms at ABC/Disney/etc, but I have my doubts.

 

It was a nice gesture by The Daily Show to get AD some publicity on Thursday night, even if it was last minute, and Stewart wasn't there.