So recently I decided to watch all of Arrested Development on Hulu.com. Originally I was going to watch 1 episode a day, however Hulu announced they would remove season 3 this week and season 2 next week, so I finished viewing all three seasons in two weeks.

Before watching all 3 seasons, I had only viewed a scattering of episodes. Now, fresh from viewing the entire series I have to let out a huge, "WOW!!!" I knew the show was good, but I had not realized how exquisitely written it was. It has the fast paced writing we see today in 30 Rock, yet it still calls for more commitment and involvement from the viewer. And there were so many hilarious reoccurring jokes and sly allusions, I can now understand how this comedy was difficult to delve into unless the viewer watches it in order from start to finish.

While I thought the first half of season 3 was a bit weak, the rest of its life was simply sublime.

It is a wonder that more of its cast was never recognized with nominations (or awards for that matter). Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawka, Liza Minelli, and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss were all of nominations, while Arnett, Bateman, and Walter all should have won at least once for the series. What's worse is that it lost both SAG ensemble nods to Desperate Housewives! I can understand DH winning for its freshman year, however, AD was hot season 2 while DH began to slump. Alas, what's done is done, and what's won has won.

Some of my fave moments:

Gob and his puppet Franklin record an album:
Gob: "It ain't easy being white."
Franklin: "It ain't easy being brown."
Gob: "All This Pressure To Be Bright."
Franklin: "I Got Children All Over Town."

Buster loses his hand to a loose seal and gets a hook replacement.

Each family member's individual chicken calls (and there related Godzilla imitations).

George Sr.'s "lessons" with the one armed man, and all the subsequent lessons.

I know there are more, but first share some of yours!

Isn't it amazing how smart the show is? There are so many references to not just past episodes, but future episodes as well that viewers undoubtedly miss until second viewing of the series. For example, around half a dozen episodes before Buster loses his hand, he finds his old chair that is shaped like a hand and Ron Howard says that Buster never knew that he could miss a hand this much.

In terms of the cast being snubbed for Emmy nominations, I would have liked to have seen David Cross get in, but Michael Cera really did some excellent work in Arrested Development. Now, he plays the same role in every movie that he is in, but his portrayal in Arrested Development was perfect for the character and the first time that we had seen him play that role.

Season 2 was my favourite. It did not quite reach the heights of late season 3, but the Rita arc in season 3 was a low point for the show, whereas season 2 was very consistent. I have never understood the praise for season 1 when compared with the other seasons. I thought the the show took a long time to find itself and the first actual good episode was "Pier Pressure", by which point, we had already been through eight or nine episodes of clunky pilot issues, characters yet to be developed or comfortable and sentimental family melodrama.

One of my favourite parts was Gene Parmesan. Can you believe that he was only in one episode, albeit alluded to in many others?

I also loved the tie-in websites, like "I'm Oscar. Dot Com!", which actually was up and running when the show aired. And of course, "I'm no scar. Dot Com." was genius and also a real world website back in 2006.

Unfortunately, the actor who played J. Walter Weatherman (even that is gold) has died since the show was cancelled, so there will be no arms flying in the movie.

Recently, I was trying to remember what my favourite episodes of season 2 were, so that I could offer Noble advice on what to submit to the mock Emmys in the polls section, so I went to Wikipedia to read some synopses. I scrolled down an article and read something along the lines of "Michael wakes up from his appendectomy to hear the doctor say 'oopsie'."

I'm pretty sure that without Arrested Development, NBC's Thursday night line-up wouldn't exist.

GOD...let's revisit AD....

I have some favorite moments...

Mrs Featherbottom jumping off the stairs...
"it was the exact plot from Mrs Doubtfire"
Annyong
Charlize and the Monster picture was genius...
Charlize and the Pretty Woman bit...
Franklin...
the Cousins movie from season one and then the poster appearing on season three...
The election video with George Michael doing the light saber fight
Amigos
Pier Pressure
Top Banana
I'm a monnnsssteeeeerrrrr
HAND OFF on the bench
Jumping the shark
the wonderful whispering of: "Mr...F"
Pilot
Development Arrested
We lost him..........we don't know where he is
He's going to be all right.........no no, he's going to be all right he lost his left hand...
Heeeey brother...
Franklin
the rape horn
Everytime that Oscar heard the word "father" and the music played...
My uncle is my father? My father is my uncle?
"must have been the other George Michael, you know, the singer song-writer..."
The strippers
The Man Inside Me
"we're having a fire sale?"
The slut t-shirt that appeared in like a 100 episdoes
I've made a huge mistake...
Bob Lawbla and Bob Lawbla's Law blog
Anything Barry Zuckercorn related

I completely adore this show and I sincerely think it's the best show ever. I have no doubt about this. Insanely smart.

Can you actually believe that Julia Louis-Dreyfuss didn't get nominated?

Can you actually believe that the 6 episode rule was eliminated the year after this show was cancelled and Henry Winkler couldn't get nominated once for this show?

Can you believe Charlize managed to get nominated for Peter Sellers for doing nothing, but not for this a few years later?

Can you seriously believe how bad Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett submitted their episodes?

Can you believe these people never won an Ensemble SAG?

CAN YOU F-CKING BELIEVE NOBODY WATCHED THIS SHOW AND THEY GOT CANCELED?

quote:

Originally posted by MissyGal:
I'm pretty sure that without Arrested Development, NBC's Thursday night line-up wouldn't exist.

let's not say it wouldn't exist, but you can definitely spot Arrested Development in that lineup in A LOT of episodes...

quote:

Originally posted by Benito Delicias:

The slut t-shirt that appeared in like a 100 episdoes

If only it were in 100 episodes... that'd mean we have 100 episodes instead of just 53 .

But yes this show is my all time favorite. I've spent many a weekend just watching it straight through.

gene parmesan was hands down the funniest part of the show and will arnett should have def won an emmy for his work on the first, along with most of the rest of the cast

i was one who only recently found it on dvd, and i guess shame on me for having an impact in the show getting cancelled

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Mosby...Architect:
i was one who only recently found it on dvd, and i guess shame on me for having an impact in the show getting cancelled

Don't worry, so long as you are not a Nielsen household.

The first season is possibly my all-time favorite season of any show.

I still can't believe it to this day how this cast never won Ensemble at the SAGs.

I could beat the tar out of you people that didn't watch it then, and now think it's so awesome. *shakes fist* I cried during the finale. And then two weeks later, after the Olympics when there was nothing to watch Monday night, I cried again.

My favorite episode is Afternoon Delight. That whole sequence when Gob gets out of the taxi in the banana costume to Lucille running over Tobias to Buster dropping GOB. Just absolute perfection.

If I went over all my favorite moments, we'd be here for ever.

My favorite moment on the show:

Lucille starts praying for Buster with Ann for Buster and the narrator goes: "this was a big get for God"

One of my favorite exchanges from the show:

Mabey: "Do you guys know where I can get one of those gold necklaces with a 'T' on it?"
Michael: "That's a cross."
Mabey: "Across from where?"

Brilliance!

Favorite Episodes by season:

Season 1: Pier Pressure

George, Sr.: Why?! If someone had left a note, this innocent man would still have his arm! Why?!
J. Walter Weatherman: And that’s why you always leave a note.

Season 2: Good Grief!

George Michael: I have Pop-Pop in the attic.
Michael: What? The mere fact that you call making love "pop pop" tells me you're not ready.

George Michael: It's the girl who ripped my heart out. The girl whose face will always be etched in my mind.
George Sr.: Her?
George Michael: She's really funny.
George Sr.: Well let's hope so.

Michael: I think George Michael is hiding Ann in the attic.
Lindsay: From who, the Nazis?

Season 3: Development Arrested

Michael: So, it's embezzlement, bribery and conspiracy.
Lucille: And a whole lot of love.
Michael: Oh, right: and perjury.

Michael: Where is Gob?
George Sr.: Oh, who knows? I don't even know where he lives.
Buster: He doesn't live at Michael's?
Tobias: I've always pictured him in a lighthouse.

Tobias: Although, perhaps I should call the 'hot cops' and tell them to come up with something more nautically themed ... 'HOT sailors' ... or 'hot sea-ma'.
Michael: I like 'hot sailors'.
Tobias: Me, too ...

Oh, I loved this show. I definitely watched when it was on. Although I was never a Nielsen house, so it didn't matter.

I, like G Penn, love that narrator line "This was a big get for God".

"Afternoon Delight" is one of my favorite episodes.

I also love GOB attempting his illusion at George Sr's "funeral", with Buster dressed up in that stupid military outfit. Every time I hear "Final Countdown" I picture GOB and Buster in front of that casket.

I loved how they all called the adopted Asian boy "Inyan" and he would always reply "Inyan" and it would show a caption of "Hello".

I am sitting in my office laughing so hard. "I have pop-pop in the attic" so funny!!!! "Hot Se-ma" Truly the funniest show ever.

This is the best comedy of the last 10 years in my mind. Nothing is really even close.

The Out on a Limb/My Hand to God Season 2 episodes with Maggie Lizer are my favorites.

I recently did a re-watch of the entire series. It is still hilarious.

Oh, I am so sad Julia Louis Deyfuss did not get an Emmy nomination for this.

Yes, "I have pop-pop in the attic" still makes me laugh, too.

Ironic, I've been re-watching the series with someone who had never seen it before.

It's better than 30 Rock, better - albeit in a different way - than The Office, or anything else I can think of that's been a top comedy series on TV since it went off. It's ridiculously smart writing; the storylines are genius and converge at the end of each episode in miraculous manner, and the jokes come from the freshest, most unexpected places.

It's a shame it lasted 2.5 seasons. I really think there might never be anything else like it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: R2684,

quote:

Originally posted by R2684:
I really think there might never be anything else like it.

I agree that 30 Rock is not as good, but I do think it's the closest thing to it on TV today. 30 Rock is not quite as manic and nowhere near as layered, but tonally I think it's got the most similarities.

For anyone interested on rewatching some eps., Season 3 expires in 9 hours on hulu.com!