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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Arrested Development (UK thread)

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Regrettable Juvenilia

13:21 / 30.09.04

It's pretty fantastic, is it not? I think I was laughing solidly for most of the half-hour. So far I think my favourite character is Buster, but a lot of the humour with him seems to be quite visual - it's albout his bumbling body language and clueless expressions. Gob (is it Gob pronounced "Joab" or G.O.B.?) is probably the most quotable - all the stuff about him being a magician is priceless.

"I don't have time for your tricks!"
"Illusions, dad. You don't have time for my illusions. A trick is something a whore does for money."

"I don't think the Alliance is going to like this..."

Portia de Rossi's human is also brilliant. Also, gotta love the newscaster saying "That might fool humans, but not dogs!" There's a real life-action Simpsons feel to a lot of the script, but that could just be how crammed with gags the 30 minutes is.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

14:07 / 30.09.04

I can't work out if it's because I'm ill and nothing registers with me at the moment or not, but that kind of wasn't what I expected! In a good way, I think. Luckily I taped it so I can work it out later.

Buster is, of course, brilliant. In all, it kind of reminds me of what the Royal Tenenbaums would be like if it was an out and out comedy. But that might just be because I read that somewhere, but the Ron Howard voiceover definitely gives it that sort of feel. It's lovely idea, though, and executed in a very fun way, all the different aspects work very well together.

I do need to watch it again, though, but only because I'm so ill I don't even know what I'm thinking.

One thing though, what's up with those obnoxious "Next on BBC2" banner things? They really annoy me. I hate that so often nowadays it seems like when you're getting to the end of a show, you get bombarded with all these things that only serve to take your attention away from it/or don't allow things to fully sink in, when the end normally has the best or most important moments! Stupid channels.

14:12 / 30.09.04

is it Gob pronounced "Joab" or G.O.B.?

i believe it's "Joab," like Job in the Bible.

i love this show to pieces. it's funny as hell and the cast is outstanding. i think my favorite character has to be Dr. Tobias Funke (the always brilliant David Cross), with his whole wannabe actor shtick, but, god, there are so many great characters.

how many episodes have aired in the UK? i want to gush about this show but i don't want to spoil you folks.

Regrettable Juvenilia

14:19 / 30.09.04

Precisely 1 episode has aired so far.

I also love Tobias Funke, who for some reason I have described using the word "human" instead of "husband" in my thoughts above.

14:25 / 30.09.04

Was a little wary of this due to excessive Barbehype but it's good.
Funke seems like the easy option for favourite character at first. I'm sure the others will worm their way into my wooden heart soon enough.
This was very bloody funny, which is my number one criteria for comedy, so all is good.
"Are you trying to cry?"
"Are you worried at all about uprisings?"
However: Not. Enough. Jeffrey. Tambor.

15:12 / 30.09.04

I also love Tobias Funke, who for some reason I have described using the word "human" instead of "husband" in my thoughts above.

ohhhhhh. gotcha.

However: Not. Enough. Jeffrey. Tambor.

is there ever enough Jeffrey Tambor? the man has been an integral part of three of my favorite TV shows ever (Max Headroom, The Larry Sanders Show, and now this) and he's always brilliant.

i also love the whole deal with George Michael wanting to nail his cousin Maeby "I’m tempted to kiss again just so we can teach them a lesson!". classic.

i got into this show on New Year's Eve, i think. FOX was having some kind of marathon, and i just kind of left the TV on when my girlfriend and i were getting ready to go out. we just kept getting sucked in.

it gets even better as the season goes on. it's all about Liza Minelli.

Matthew Fluxington

17:15 / 30.09.04

There's a real life-action Simpsons feel to a lot of the script, but that could just be how crammed with gags the 30 minutes is.

That's one of the things I love most about AD - it's so incredibly dense with jokes, it has at least 40% more jokes than the average comedy program.

FOX has wised up and put the show on immediately after the Simpsons, which is a good call in expanding the show's audience. It used to follow (groan) Malcolm in the Middle.

G.O.B. is short for George Oscar Bluth, and is indeed pronounced like the Biblical Job.

If you don't mind stumbling into spoilers and such, there's a wonderful AD fansite called the Balboa Observer-Picayune.

Also, the US dvd of the first season will be out in three weeks, and will contain LOTS of extras, including the original unaired pilot, commentaries, a lot of deleted scenes, etc.

Goodness Gracious Meme

22:38 / 30.09.04

It's pretty good, and I second the 'Tannenbaums' comparison. And is that Jason Bateman?(missed credits and TV reception was lousy). As if is, I will *die* of happiness.

Matthew Fluxington

10:45 / 01.10.04

Yup, it's Jason Bateman. He grew into quite the deadpan genius, didn't he?

14:00 / 01.10.04

I'm afraid I haven't yet understood why Arrested Development is so beloved - I've only seen one episode and part of one other, but what I saw didn't strike me as funny at all. I think the cast is uniformly excellent but it's just not coming together for me.

I HATE the Ron Howard voice-over - it never seems to add anything to the narrative, it just flatly describes the on-screen action. "Michael decided he had to go to the bank," and then voila, there's a shot of him entering the bank. There's no purpose to it and it seems entirely redundant and really gets on my nerves.

Comedy is so subjective, but so far this show really falls short of the mark for me. Should I give it another chance?

18:55 / 01.10.04

It's by far the best thing on american television, imo.

Including cable.

Matthew Fluxington

21:31 / 02.10.04

Cameron, definitely give it another chance. You may just need to see the right episode for it to click. Given your taste in comedy, I think that you will probably get into it and maybe even draw some kick-ass portraits of GOB and Buster.

I don't mind the Ron Howard voice over - there are some occasions when it's redundant, but it is a good framing device (especially for new viwers - it's a dense show with a lot of characters, and sometimes things need to be spelled out for the sake of clarity), and in a lot of cases the voice is really dry and funny. I can think of a lot of cases in which it is used as a device in service of setting up a joke which couldn't be done otherwise.

05:33 / 03.10.04

Make you a deal, Fluxy me lad - I'll buy the dvd set of the first season when it comes out in a week or so, if you buy a copy of the Seaguy trade in January.

Matthew Fluxington

21:30 / 03.10.04

Are there going to be extras and stuff in the trade? I already bought all of the individual issues.

02:58 / 04.10.04

Oh you did? Sorry, I thought you had said that you didn't.

Never mind then.

14:00 / 04.10.04

Never mind then.

i'll tell you what. i'll buy an extra copy, one for myself, and one for a non-comics reading friend of mine, if you buy the Arrested Development DVD. deal?

14:02 / 04.10.04

Yup, it's Jason Bateman. He grew into quite the deadpan genius, didn't he?

between this and Dodgeball he's been on fire this year.

I don't mind the Ron Howard voice over - there are some occasions when it's redundant, but it is a good framing device (especially for new viwers - it's a dense show with a lot of characters, and sometimes things need to be spelled out for the sake of clarity), and in a lot of cases the voice is really dry and funny. I can think of a lot of cases in which it is used as a device in service of setting up a joke which couldn't be done otherwise.

agreed. the best example of this in my mind is the counterculture history of the banana stand in the 60s. i still catch myself humming that song from time to time.

Regrettable Juvenilia

11:26 / 25.11.04

I thought last night's was the best episode yet. From dad's religious conversion to "the magician called Gob!" and his dancing, to the sheer awesome pricelessness of Tobias and the leather.

"I'm looking for something that says 'Dad likes leather'."
"You mean something that says 'leatherdaddy'?"
"Oh, is there such a thing?"

And the Gothic Arsehole!

I find Michael very easy to relate to sometimes:

"I'm a saint, a living saint, and what do I get out of it?"
"A false sense of moral superiority?"
"That is nice, but it's not enough this time..."

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

16:59 / 25.11.04

"No. No I didn't get a job. Unless, wait, is World's Coolest Dad a job, because -- *HACK* *CHOKE*"

Matthew Fluxington

18:39 / 25.11.04

I love when George Michael is walking around in the awkward leather jacket.

Matthew Fluxington

20:19 / 21.12.04

C'mon UK people! What episodes have they aired for you recently? Talk about it!

18:02 / 22.12.04

Oh, UK brothers & sisters, you have so much delightful derangement ahead of you.....

The First Season DVD is terrific, including the expanded (about 40 minutes), uncensored pilot episode.

LOTS more of Jeffrey Tambor. Another Lucille (poor Buster).
James Lipton. Martin Mull. Blue Man Tobias. George Michael learns things about life. Maeby learns things about manipulation. Buster, GOB and Lindsay learn -- basically, nothing.

And is Michael as sane and stable as you think? BWA-HA-HAAAAA!!!! Stay tuned . . .

Disco is My Class War

05:42 / 23.12.04

For some reason AD is also screening here now. I've missed a few episodes, but what I've seen so far I've loved. It's one of those shows that I try to remember to record and watch twice, because otherwise I miss half the gags.

George Michael is currently my favourite character. Haven't seen the leather jacket episode, but what about the muscle suit? I'm also pleasantly surprised by Portia de Rossi -- ACTING!

Matthew Fluxington

12:09 / 23.12.04

I've seen a lot of the episodes ten times by now and I still find new gags in them. It's the most joke-dense show ever.

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

12:21 / 23.12.04

Absolutely. I just watched Bringing Up Buster for like the fifth time and it only now dawned on me that the bird Buster is chasing through the apartment is a metaphor carried through the entire episode. That, and I used to laugh at the ridiculousness of Lucille's "You let him in the sun?" as if she actually believed that he had gone into the sun, but I laughed even harder this time as I realized that she was simply pointing out that, pretty much, Buster is never allowed outside without supervision.

Regrettable Juvenilia

13:11 / 23.12.04

Carl Wethers! "Woah, what are you doing? Don't throw that away - there's still meat on that bone!"

00:08 / 04.02.05

I just wanted to point out that I bought the Season 1 dvd set yesterday, so....SOMEone has to go buy some Seaguy trades.

I only watched the extended pilot so far, but I did actually enjoy it. I'm now looking forward to the rest of it.

02:15 / 04.02.05

i bought one. i will go buy another =)

18:04 / 06.02.05

I just wanted to update this thread and point out that despite my earlier reservations, I am now completely in love with this show. I'm only about 9 episodes in but I see now that it is utterly brilliant.

I STILL think that the Ron Howard narration is 95% redundant, however.

But yeah, consider me hooked.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

18:27 / 06.02.05

I've come to think the voiceover is completely integral to the show now - I had some reservations about it at first. But it just fills in all the blanks so the jokes keep on hitting, and it allows them to come thicker and faster. And sometimes just adds a little detail after the joke, which couldn't be shown/is best left alluded to that wouldn't happen in a regular format. I think it's a very useful little device, condensing the show down so the laughs just keep coming.

I would offer up a couple of examples, but I can't remember which shows they were from, and I don't want to spoil anything for you.

19:07 / 06.02.05

Yes, there are definitely a few times when the voiceover contributes to a joke, but it still seems like so much of it is along the lines of:

Narrator: "Michael went to see his mother to talk about Gob..."

Michael: "Mom, we need to talk about Gob."

I do understand what you are saying about it providing a buffer/segue between the gags, but it's still my least favourite thing about the show.

Fortunately there's so much to love about the rest of it...

D Terminator XXXIII

15:12 / 15.03.05

Everything airs later and later here, but thank god for Swedish telly.

In one single episode - I don't know if the wetlands one is the first - I have been won over in a major way. So, so, so funny a comedy series I haven't seen in years.

This, along with 6FU, is the only worthwhile tv at the moment.

elpis eutropius

11:56 / 16.03.05

First season DVD out on Monday 21 March!

One of the very few things I would actually be bothered to buy on DVD. I can imagine it getting even better when you watch the episodes over and over again.

14:57 / 16.03.05

It actually does get better on repeat viewings, I've watched every episode in both seasons several times now (I'm quickly becoming obsessive about this show) and there's always some little nuance that either I missed earlier, or is only apparent when you know what's to come in later episodes. Season 2 is full of clever little bits of foreshadowing that I only picked up when I went back and watched them all again.

And I've even come to love the narrator.

22:40 / 16.03.05

Actually the great bit about the dvd compendium isn't the re-watching; it's watching six episodes back to back in little more than two hours.

A serious assault on your seventeenth gland. The funny gland.

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