CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 08/25/06

Truly Arresting Writing

by dennis sampson

The bizarre, but consistently hilarious adventures of the grandly dysfunctional Bluth family came to an end in its third season. Despite its Emmys, critical acclaim and status of a breakthrough documentary-style sitcom loaded with cutting-edge, original characters, dialogue, and plot, the show couldn't land a large enough audience. Yet another sad reminder that to the networks, the numbers will always speak louder than the words.

Arrested Development:
The Complete Third Season

Richard Day, Karey Dornetto, Jake Farrow, Mitchell Hurwitz, Sam Laybourne, Dean Lorey, Tom Saunders, Chuck Tathem, Jim Vallely, Ron Weiner
Created by Mitchell Hurwitz

Narrated by Executive Producer Ron Howard, Arrested Development's third season focuses again on the inter-relations (or lack thereof) of the Bluths, a once-wealthy family still pretending to have money. The season's serialized arcs, such as George Sr.'s (Jeffrey Tambor) identity mix-up with his twin brother Oscar (also Jeffrey Tambor) and Michael's (Jason Bateman) dating a woman (Charlize Theron) who may or may not be a British spy (who then may or may not be mentally challenged) were slightly less grounded than those of the previous seasons, but cheerfully amusing in their own right. Guest star appearances (familiar faces range from Scott Baio to Richard Belzer to Ben Stiller) were often fleeting and always placed to support a joke.

The show's writing -- characterized by razor-sharp, character-defining dialogue and a style of labyrinthine storytelling that always dovetailed to play into its layered themes -- never faltered, nor did it vastly differentiate from that of its prior seasons. Reaching far beyond stereotypes of the wacky neighbor or a jump-the-shark plot device (insert writer out-of-ideas crutch here: marriage, divorce, new baby…), Arrested's characters were multi-dimensional and anything but stock. From Buster's (Tony Hale) unnatural, incest-skirting relationship with his mother to Tobias' (David Cross) closeted, but ever-apparent homosexuality, the world of this sitcom was elevated beyond the norm of its medium to true wit and extreme cleverness in television. Therein lies the true brilliance of the show. The characters' motivations and actions ring so true (despite the fictitious circumstances they're often in) -- Gob's (Will Arnett) quest for his father's approval, George Michael's (Michael Cera) pining for his cousin's love and anything Tobias does -- that if Arrested was a drama, we'd never stop crying for these people.

The show saved its attempts at shameless promotion for outright addresses to the audience ("Tell a friend," Howard instructs us in one episode). The series' self-referential humor -- the writers were clearly aware and quite vocal about the show's fledgling status -- managed to escape cutesy by being bitingly clever. The wordplay used in both dialogue and narration soared past the Harvard Lampoon to achieve a truly rhythmic cadence. And even in this face of ratings defeat, the writers didn't give up; when the show knew it was being cancelled, it dedicated an entire episode to its fledgling status, without ever becoming self-important or climbing onto a soapbox. It even went so far as to ridicule itself.

Like I Love Lucy, The Cosby Show, and Seinfeld before it, Arrested Development turned the sitcom on its ear, continually twisting jokes and storylines to dizzying lengths. It boldly challenged its audience through inspired verbal jousting (the difference between semen and seaman, however juvenile, has never been used so cleverly) and ultimately its own network (Fox is sporadically called out in the middle of shows for repressing specific show elements) in an attempt to redefine a format of television that has grown overwhelmingly and painfully tired.

- Creator and Cast Commentaries on selected episodes
- Deleted/Extended Scenes
- Blooper Reel
- Featurette: The Last Day on Location

The deleted scenes give a glimpse into further Bluth insanity, but a number are in need of commentaries to explain why they didn't make the final cut (presumably time constraints). No great revelations are made or subplots uncovered, but the jokes in these scenes are just as strong, smart, and deft as their aired counterparts. Several commentaries from the creator and cast celebrate the show and revel in its humor, but they fail to deconstruct the series from a writing standpoint.

Arrested Development's final episode, "Development Arrested" manages to encompass the series by being touching and hilarious, as all its storylines eventually wrap up and unite into one climactic crescendo of comedy. Despite a cast of severely therapy-deprived characters who are underhanded, self-serving, and at times downright loathsome, Arrested never became boring, nor did it stray from being true to form (no matter how warped that form was). In fact, it was the show's unwavering dedication to these highly complex personalities -- some of the greatest collective neurosis television has ever seen -- that kept it so engaging, and will be the element most missed from the upcoming primetime lineups.

Arrested Development: The Complete Third Season
20th Century Fox Home Video
Not rated; 286 min.

Buy it now

Dennis Sampson is a commercial production coordinator and unproduced screenwriter. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his better half, Susan, and their dog Tripp.

Arrested Development: The Complete Third Season courtesy 20th Century Fox Home Video

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