Summary of "Season 3 - So long, my friend": I'm sad that the show is over, but it went out on a good note, cracking jokes along the way. The writers included many jokes that parodied the situation the show was in, but my favorites were the ones about HBO and Showtime, cleverly disguised to fit the storyline. Sure, they were jokes only those that followed the show closely would get, but that was always the draw of the series. Loyal viewers were always rewarded with inside jokes, and maybe that's what killed the series. People tuning in for the first time didn't "get it," and they didn't watch it again. I have one friend that described the show as a "waste of time" and said the humor was "moronic." I'm not sure what show he watched; neither of those things describe Arrested Development.
It's hard to top the first season release of the show, but Fox put together a nice set for the final season. While the set isn't bursting with bonus material, it's all great stuff. I was very impressed that they didn't edit out the naughty words from the commentary tracks, or the blooper reel. Fox understands the audience for the show, and they realize that adults can tolerate words like that. I forget which studio it was, but someone beeped the word "ass" in a commentary track, which had me fuming; 5 year old children use that word on playgrounds every day.
As the final episode ended, and the show sailed off into the sunset, I felt a bit sad, but I smiled because I enjoyed every episode; all 53 of them. (read entire review)
Summary of "Season 2 - I love this show!": I love this show, and it's hard for me to wait for the DVDs, but I enjoy watching it in a marathon session. I was so annoyed when Ron Howard (the narrator) said, "Next season on Arrested Development! I thought, "Noooo, I can't be done the season yet!" but I was.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Arrested Development set when I was in LA last January for the Television Critic's Association event (I was a speaker on a panel and got to hang out the rest of the day). We came to the set after eating with the NYPD Blue cast members, and as I walked into the stage area I saw the cast members milling around. They were all there, and we could walk around and chat with them as we explored the various sets used for the show. Everyone was extremely nice, and I had an enjoyable conversation with Michael Cera (a fellow Canadian) and Alia Shawkat. There was a frozen banana stand handing out bananas, and Michael loved trying to get everyone else to have a couple (he's a banana pusher!). It was nice to chat with the stars of such a great show, and to discover they're all very cool people.
The second season DVD set is slightly disappointing compared to the first. There are far fewer extras on the set, but some of the oddities (like the "Fox Widescreen" logo) have been eliminated, which is good. It's still a decent release, but the season 1 set was better.
This is my favorite comedy on TV, but it seems unlikely we'll see a fourth season if the rating don't improve. I'll have at least one more season to look forward to watching on DVD, but I'll cross my fingers and hope that it'll get picked up again; this year was pretty close. (read entire review)
Summary of "Season 1 - Simply brilliant!": I don't think I've ever come across a show like this before. It's so funny, but it's not the writing, and it's not the acting, it's the actors delivering the lines; the sum of the parts, not the parts themselves. I had a bunch of funny lines from the show typed out, but they just weren't funny by themselves. I'll tell you what is funny though; the excellent guest stars they brought in. Henry Winkler is perfect as the family attorney, Barry Zuckerkorn. Then there's Julia Louis-Dreyfus who plays a blind attorney that Michael has a failed one-night stand with, and a whole bunch of one-offs; Kevin MacDonald, Ethan Phillips, Richard Simmons, Bob Odenkirk and Carl Weathers. I also like Steve Holt, a teenager who feels the need to raise his hands and yell "STEVE HOLT!" every time someone says his name.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I really, really like this show. This is a great set, and it's for a show that's struggling to find an audience. It seems like for every 10 struggling shows on the Fox network there's one that they're willing to save, and this is one of them. I hope the 5 Emmy awards, and the first season being released before the second airs, will be enough of a boost for the show to find an audience and last for years to come. In 1989, NBC had a struggling show that they believed in, and it went on to become one of televisions most popular shows. With a little help maybe Arrested Development can become the next Seinfeld.
On October 19th you should pick this set up; trust me, I watch a lot of TV, and this is a great show.
Jaw-Dropping Amazon 1-Day Sale: All 3 Seasons - TOGETHER - For Just $30! ***SOLD OUT***
This one won't last long! Amazon's 1-Day "Gold Box" Sale's featured item today is a collection of all three DVD season sets of Arrested Development - sold together as a group! - for just $29.99. Total.... (read entire news item)
6/28/2006
Phew! Extras on Season 3
Fans have been sweating wondering if the third season of Arrested Development would contain any extras, and up until today there wasn't any indication of them. Earlier today Fox issued a press release,... (read entire news item)
5/16/2006
Artwork for Final Season
Fox has released artwork for the final season of Arrested Development, due out on August 29.
Thanks to Tom for sending it our way. (read entire news item)
5/08/2006
Season 3 back on the schedule!
Back in March we told you that the third season of Arrested Development would be released on June 13, then a few weeks later we posted news that it had been removed from the schedule. It's back on the... (read entire news item)
3/21/2006
Season 3 has been Arrested
A few weeks ago we brought you news of a June release for the third season, but today we've received news that the set has been postponed. We called over to Fox and were told the set is just postponed,... (read entire news item)
3/10/2006
The final (?) season announced
Producer Ron Howard's critically-acclaimed, fan-favorite series about the weird and wacky Bluth family returns for its third (and possibly final) uproarious season. Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy... (read entire news item)
10/01/2005
Finally, a list of extras!
We usually have a list of bonus features long before the street date, but that wasn't the case for Arrested Development: Season 2 which streets on October 11. My review copy has arrived, so I'm taking... (read entire news item)
7/28/2005
2nd Season Package Colored in 'Prison Orange' Box
This afternoon we have a follow-up to yesterday morning's news post with all the details of Arrested Development - Season 2. It's the cover art for the new season set, and although Michael is the only... (read entire news item)
7/27/2005
New Info About 2nd Season DVD Set!
We reported a couple of weeks ago that e-tailers had started taking pre-orders for Arrested Development - Season 2, but that we were still waiting on details from Fox Home Entertainment about the set.... (read entire news item)
7/13/2005
E-Tailer Lists Season 2
DVDPlanet.com has jumped the gun and posted release information for Arrested Development season 2; Fox hasn't announced the title yet. This 3 disc set will include all 18 episodes for $39.95, but DVDPlanet... (read entire news item)
8/04/2004
Wow, it's new cover art!
Okay, Fox has new cover art (which is different from the first and second versions of the art). I'm sure fans will like this one more than the previous ones:
Don't forget that we've got complete... (read entire news item)
7/21/2004
Artwork Updated
The original news item has also been updated with the new artwork. --->
Whoops, looks like Fox is changing the artwork again, so this has been taken down. (read entire news item)
7/20/2004
We knew it was coming, and now we know when
Our news item from early May listed a late-summer DVD release for the first season of the show. Well, it's not in late summer, but October 19th isn't that far away. The 3 disc set will contain all 22... (read entire news item)
5/04/2004
DVDs Soon? Sounds like it!
Back in January, the Home Theater Forum had an online chat with a Senior Vice President at Fox Home Video, Mr. Peter Staddon. During the chat, which we reported on here, Staddon was asked about Arrested... (read entire news item)
