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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Arrested Development - SEASON TWO!

  
  

Page: (1)23

 
 
diz
15:54 / 08.11.04
well, season two seems to have started with a bang. they did an admirable job of flipping the script on a lot of the season one stuff: Michael's reduced to begging for help from the family and trying to scam money from the corporate account, Maeby's bitchy and jealous over George Michael's girlfriend.

other welcome changes to the status quo and new gags:

- the increased prominence of Oscar Bluth: all the mistaken identity beatdowns and jokes about Buster's parentage had me howling.
- the newly open marriage of Lindsey and Tobias, which is a gold mine of material.
- Buster in the Army?
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
16:11 / 08.11.04
"Like anyone would want to 'R' mom."

Runner ups:
- The part of Tobias' back he couldn't get to.
- Oscar's Melodrama Theme
- "Family Meeting! MAYYYYBEEEEEEE!"
 
 
Aertho
16:31 / 08.11.04
Okay, so I try to stay away from shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives, because one layer below surface, I'm all elitist and competitively obscure. I don't want to watch hit shows because that's what EVERYBODY ELSE is doing. Worked well in High School and actually had myself convinced that being in Student Council was the "new way to rebel".

But I laughed out loud. While alone. I have to reconfigure my television watching schedule to include this. The show is so ...jarring. I love it. Perhaps next week I'll be able to contribute more. I'm very green to the whole thing right now.
 
 
charrellz
17:23 / 08.11.04
"One half in English, the other half in scribbly"

This has got to be one the best new shows in the last couple years. And Chad, I feel for you man.
 
 
ibis the being
17:24 / 08.11.04
I don't want to watch hit shows because that's what EVERYBODY ELSE is doing.

Don't worry, AD is struggling for viewers. Which I think is terrible, I love it to pieces. I have to give my favorite line of the episode vote to "Like anyone would want to 'R' Mom."

Also, after Tobias agrees to the open marriage and he's walking sadly along the docks, we see a couple of gay men embracing the background, ha. I always want a few more Tobias scenes....
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
17:41 / 08.11.04
"Like anyone would want to "R" her" was my favorite line too. This show never stops being brilliant, does it? So hot. So perfect.

It was great to see Ed Helms on the show!
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
18:46 / 08.11.04
Ed was a fantastic little addition, although it took me a few minutes to recognize him glassesless.

The more I reminisce, the more I remember, the more I laugh to myself.

Tobias merging into the dusk was a hilarious reveal.

There were a zillion shout outs to Season One but, thankfully (for the sake of new viewers), they're all just as funny without knowing the previous reference.

For all you recent converts, definitely check out the new box set because your enjoyment of the season premiere will skyrocket.

Specifics:
- Lucille's Wink
- Buster's Patrimony
- The entire final scene with Barry The Fucking Attorney

And many many more.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
12:07 / 09.11.04
This show loves its catchphrases.

"I've made a huge mistake" is the big one.

That recurring exchange with Michael and George Michael, "what do I always say is the most important thing?" with GM responding incorrectly.

I don't remember any "hey brother!"s in this episode, but Buster did the "R" thing, which was "S" last year. ("I am not essing around!")
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
12:09 / 09.11.04
I got the sense that they were intentionally drawing some parallels between GOB and George W. Bush in this episode.
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
12:21 / 09.11.04
Yeah, I loved the "Seven Minutes" GOB/Bush thing. The best thing about the repeated "What do we say" is GM's constantly beleaguered reaction. "Oh. The new one." He's quickly outpacing GOB as my favorite on the show. I think it was Bring Your Daughter To Work Day that sealed it. "Hey Dad, you're out of sanitary napkins!"
 
 
ibis the being
15:45 / 09.11.04
Oh my God, I'm laughing just reading this thread. I can't wait to buy Season One and watch it again. I also remembered another great bit from this past episode - "It's signed by Saddam!" "...Hussein."

You're right, Birdie, I hadn't given him as much thought before but George Michael is great - Michael Cera, who plays him, is so great at creating that slightly-bewildered, screamingly-sincere puppy dog expression.
 
 
FinderWolf
15:06 / 24.11.04
I watched this for the first time Sunday night...it seemed similar in tone to "Scrubs." I found a lot of it kind of unfunny... obvious hit you over the head jokes and people being really really stupid. Also similar to the tone of "Malcolm in the Middle," I thought. Fun actors, though. And the Gene Paresan jokes did get me every time.

Nice to see Jason Bateman all grown up and in a successful show. But after watching an episode, I find myself kind of mystified as to why everyone says it's so brilliant. (kind of like the way I felt about Malcolm in the Middle, too)
 
 
FinderWolf
16:40 / 24.11.04
I felt Ron Howard's narration also didn't help much. It felt forced a lot of times, I just felt a lot of the jokes fell flat.

Except for the repeated disguises of Gene Parmesan and the wife's hysterical reaction every time. That was wonderfully bizarre, I thought.

I feel weird in not liking this show, since everyone else seems to love it. Huh.
 
 
Sir Real
16:50 / 24.11.04
Watch it again next week. If you don't like it more I'll give you a dollar.
Hell, I'll even give you a euro.
It's really less a joke writer's kind of show than an absurd situation type show.
 
 
Aertho
17:38 / 24.11.04
And what's with the ice cream?

Along with the "I've made a huge mistake" catchphrase, ice cream is a recurring element in the show. Per someone's command, I went ouot and bought the first season and watched it all in one sitting. I love it I love it I love it. Finder, I get what you're saying, but damn kid.
 
 
ibis the being
19:38 / 24.11.04
Yes, Finder, do watch it again. I thought Sunday's episode was one of the weaker ones, but even on a bad day the comedy and writing are way beyond Scrubs & Malcolm. There are layers of wit that you're just not going to catch if you isolate one episode. And listen very carefully to the dialogue - I've started noticing some extremely subtle puns and wordplay (obviously I'm not talking "I blue myself") - can't think of an example at the moment, unfortunately. Maybe I'll take notes next time.
 
 
RadJose
11:26 / 25.11.04
best dialouge so far, had my brother and i rolling before the rest of our crowd even caught that it was a joke...

Micheal: GOB, get rid of the Seaward.
Luciel: I'll leave when I'm good and ready.

that's right up there w/ season one's

GeorgeMicheal: hey Uncle GOB, has Aunt Lindsay ever been pregnant?
GOB: sure, dozens of times.

the best part is that these were said in quick passing to dialouge towards the devolpment of the plot, thusly easily missed as jokes. man, i love this show, party every Sunday at mi casa for my friends and i.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
18:41 / 25.11.04
.it seemed similar in tone to "Scrubs."... Also similar to the tone of "Malcolm in the Middle," I thought.

We're not watching the same show. That can be the only logical explanation.
 
 
FinderWolf
17:24 / 27.11.04
I guess by the Scrubs/Malcolm comparison, I mean it seems to have lots of over-the-top random humor and puns. Like a bunch of sketch-comedy type scenes...It's like a rapid-paced random humor thing. I didn't find it funny when the stupid brother kept butchering the word (I forget what the word was) in the beginning of last week's ep, for example. I just thought, "Wow, that's stupid. They're showing us the brother is dumb, but I'm not finding it funny." Someone doing something dumb or screwing something up and then Ron Howard dryly saying something like "Joe had problems navigating this obstacle" just didn't seem that funny to me.

I'll check it out a few more times. 90% of the time I agree with what most critics with good taset think are uproariously funny shows/movies/etc., maybe this is one of the times I'm just not into a show that's critically acclaimed.
 
 
FinderWolf
17:39 / 27.11.04
Ladies and gentlemen, I draw your attention to the following post, which I read after I posted the above in the Arrested Development UK thread, from our very own Cameron Stewart: (I don't mean to be snarky and combative here, just showing that there's someone else out there who felt as I do after watching the show once, someone who you feel has good taste.)

>> Cameron Stewart: 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?
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
21:12 / 27.11.04
I think it's cumulative, Finder. At this point, I'm laughing at every word that comes out of GOB's mouth, whether its circumvrent, circumverent, or, you know, whatever.

One thing I realized about the show, and why it's so far from Malcolm and Scrubs (both of which I enjoy for entirely different reasons), is that a) it's based firmly in reality, and those shows are 100% not and b) it's focused much more on character-based comedy as opposed to situation-based comedy. It dawned on me how thorough the relationships between every single character are. And that's where most of the comedy is. Watching GOB inadvertantly mentor George Michael, the perpetually wrong-headed parenting of Michael, Buster and Lucille (of course), but really every set of two characters has at least been given a scene together where they can play off of each other.

Malcolm and Scrubs are based completely on cockamamied situations that often break into musical numbers (Scrubs) or Simpsons-esque absurdity (Malcolm). Like I said, I like both of them but, in a very real sense, they're not about people. They're cartoons.

Arrested Development is much more about the spectacular-to-watch interpersonal relationships. Even the most absurd moments are based in some kind of real-world logic, framed as it is as a "reality show".

Also, the Narrator has never had any of my favorite lines or moments, really, but I like the tone he provides. It's so, I don't know, not quaint. What do they call like, 'Home Sweet Home' samplers? Our Town? What is that fucking adjective I'm thinking of. Maybe starts with a "P"? Help, please.

Anyway. I guess that if you don't find GOB inherently funny, you might not at all find the show funny. I remember when AD first premiered, I saw the commercials and it looked completely unappealing to me. But, here we are. I'm on, like, my third go through of the first season DVD set.
 
 
Billuccho!
21:57 / 27.11.04
I find the show completely hilarious. There's at least one part in every episode that has me rolling, and there's not a single other show out there that can do that. I totally like the Ron Howard narration, especially that Opie joke that current slips my mind.

David Cross is brilliant on this show, though. But personally, my favorite is Carl Weathers as himself ("Baby, you got a stew goin'!")
 
 
Aertho
22:39 / 27.11.04
So maybe whereas the humor of Malcolm and Scrubs comes from cartoon people trying desperately to act real, the humor of AD is of real people trying desperately to act like cartoons.

Fuck it. I've had too mcuh.
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
12:42 / 29.11.04
Provincial, thanks.
 
 
FinderWolf
13:15 / 29.11.04
I tried to watch it last night to give it some more chances, but it was pre-empted by other stuff. Ah well, I'll check into it next week. I appreciate the discussion & perpective.
 
 
Pariah
20:05 / 29.11.04
Prosaic?
"Matter-of-fact; straightforward. Lacking in imagination and spirit; dull."

Seems to fit the narrator's qualities.
 
 
Billuccho!
20:23 / 29.11.04
Shit! Was it on last night? I thought they just skipped it completely this week to show "Ice Age" or something.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
11:57 / 30.11.04
Season Two Episode Four is this coming Sunday. It's titled "Good Grief."
 
 
ibis the being
15:55 / 30.11.04
FinderWolf, note that what you & Cameron have in common is that you've each only seen one full episode. That's not enough! Birdie is right in saying that much of the humor comes out of the character development & their relationships to each other. The "jokes" do seem clunky or obvious, only until you get into the show. As I recall the first episode my roommate watched with me & my bf he couldn't figure out what we were laughing at - but now he's just as big a fan. In a similar way, the first time I saw The Office I was pretty unamused, but after another episode or two I loved it.
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
17:57 / 30.11.04
But personally, my favorite is Carl Weathers as himself ("Baby, you got a stew goin'!")

"Tell me, do you like ham?"
"No. I love it."

Sorry, but when AD quotes pop into my head, I've got to share.

And yeah, the single or just infrequent view does seem to be the common denominator. I don't fault viewers for being used to the Plug And Play sitcom. It takes some commitment. Same thing with The Wire. I've never known anyone who devoted some significant time to either of those shows who didn't come away loving them both.

I look at it this way. Pretty much every single episode of The Simpsons, up to and including this "Sixteenth Epic Season" has contained at least a few moments that made me laugh out loud. This is pretty much indicitive of most of the comedy I watch on television. Good for some laughs, and it's immediately flushed down the brain pan afterwards. The thing that's different about AD, at least for me, is that the first time I saw the pilot, I hardly laughed at all. Around about the time Pier Pressure aired (The Pot/Lessons Episode) the show looked interesting enough for me to stick with and I kept watching and caught most of the episodes I missed on an FX marathon. It honestly takes a few go arounds before the show sinks its teeth into you, but once it does, there's no going back. Practically every single thing said by every single character will make you laugh. For example, I had "Justice Is Blind" on last night and for some reason, the following line by Lindsay made me crack the hell up: "You should threaten to sue. It’s free if it’s just a threat, you know." Now, it never pays to analyze why one thing or another makes you laugh, but a lot of what made me laugh about that line (aside from Portia's ever so sincere delivery) is the Bluth's longstanding tradition of completely misunderstanding the American Legal System.

So, as opposed to those shows I watch for the chuckles, AD is a different experience entirely. It's a comedy virus that nags at you all the fucking time, making you call your friend Mike "Michael" whenever you talk to him.

Its most potent analogue is that of Tobias sneaking through Maggie's house, catlike in his agility, and ready pounce at any moment. That's what this show is. A repressed homosexual sneaking around the Blind Lawyer's House that is your brain.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
19:15 / 30.11.04
I don't know. I loved the show immediately.

Still, yeah, the show is designed for repeat viewings, and there are dozens of running jokes that casual viewers won't get. It's kinda like the tv version of the Fiery Furnaces - it's almost as though part of their motivation was the intention of building a rabid cult following that would put every little thing under the microscope.
 
 
FinderWolf
19:29 / 30.11.04
>> FinderWolf, note that what you & Cameron have in common is that you've each only seen one full episode. That's not enough!

Fair enough - this makes sense to me and it's why I sat down to watch it this past Sunday, only to find fucking Shrek or some shit. I'll have to check it out again soon.
 
 
RadJose
10:23 / 06.12.04
Last night's episode "Good Grief" was hands down, so far, the best episode this year. If you're not a fan after this one, i don't know, maybe the show isn't for you. all i know is my house was filled w/ laughs from only 3 people, so take that how you will.
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
13:00 / 06.12.04
It was, to my mind, a 9.999998 to Amigos' 9.999999, but yeah, an incredible episode.

Buster chucking the Dustbuster at the Bus, and his attendant motives, was the highlight of the episode, so much so that I missed the next couple of gags.

And Poof! is the perfect title for a "Magazine For Magicians".

And "Christmastime Is Here"...wow.

And GOB's interactions with Gary, amazing, culminating with that "I should be in this Poof!" as Gary slinks by in the background. Brilliant. Those are my favorite types of bits on the show, see: the many times references are made to frustration with Latinos while Lupe can be seen in the background nervously throwing out whatever she is eating. (GOB: If I have to smell another dish made from fish or beans or rice, I'm going to kill someone!)
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
13:27 / 06.12.04
My favorite Lupe bit is in the first season, when Buster is angry about Anyonng and says "watch your back, my little immigrint friend" while Lupe is stealing something in the background.
 
  

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