Amy's Robot

OK, we still want to watch Arrested Development, people

At the same time that Arrested Development fans are showing their devotion by signing petitions, doing chicken dances, and trying to get their friends to watch the remaining episodes of the show, some have started to wonder what exactly we're getting ourselves into with all the Save A.D.! stuff. FOX's announcement that they were only going to air 13 episodes this season came right in the middle of that dumb, unfunny "Wee Britain" storyline with Charlize Theron as an unfunny love interest for Michael Bluth. Was the show going downhill? Would the rest of season 3 have been a disappointment anyway? Do we even want these rumors about ABC or Showtime picking up the show to be true?

Slate does some hand-wringing over all this, wondering if maybe the greatest shows on TV just aren't meant to last. We never had to watch Freaks and Geeks slide into mediocrity, the writer notes. "If Arrested died right this moment (before we even got to see Scott Baio return next week as the Bluth family attorney, the deliciously named Bob Loblaw) at least the blow would be swift and merciful. Watching Fox let the series agonize in slow motion has been like watching the Democrats in the 2004 election."

I think this is hogwash. Arrested Development has had weak storylines before--remember last year's irritating Mrs. Featherbottom?--but they always let these drop after a few episodes, and the sheer genius of some episodes this season have more than made up for all that "For British Eyes Only" stuff. The Startled Straight tent, the Church and State Fair, pretty much every moment of the Notapusy episode, not to mention this week's elementary school reading of "New Warden" ("Nobody sells any coke in this pen without daddy getting a taste") is all great stuff.

Also, Michael Cera's formidable comic powers are getting stronger and stronger every week.

If no other network picks up Arrested Development and it really is all over, the show will have had an incredible run and ended on a high note. But I'm convinced there is a lot of life left in this show, and it's not time to say sour grapes yet.

categories: TV
posted by amy at 12:52 PM | #