Comments on: 12 Observations On What Worked & What Didn’t In The New Netflix Season Of ‘Arrested Development’

By: jeeem

jeeem — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Correction: The opening credits narration begins with: "Now the story of a family whose future was abruptly cancelledâ¦ " It's a wee meta-joke.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

While I agree that some of the character's episode are uninteresting (George Sr. and Lindsay) I don't know how you can say Gob's are, particularly his first episode which for me may be the best of the season. Spot on with George Michael though, because his two episode run is probably the best overall. That last four episode run of Maeby, George Michael, Buster, and George Michael really is fantastic.

And yeah, I kinda loved the season. It certainly has its ups and down, but I admire it so much for taking chances and not just resting on what may the show work before. I expected nothing less from Mitch Hurwitz. Looking forward to the movie if it happens!

By: KG

KG — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Yeah I have to disagree with this. I'm only on episode 12, but I've pretty much loved or highly enjoyed every episode except the Lucille one. I think what it's trying to attempt is extremely clever and ambitious and I applaud the show for having the balls to come back and go all out on its ambitions. I think it's been a very rewarding experience. I agree that a lot of the episodes are too long, but everything else has been pretty much a non-issue for me. I also think it'll be very re-watchable.

By: tristan eldritch

tristan eldritch — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Always felt the show was over-written and artificial to begin with; it used to make me long for an episode of Cheers. But that just me, obviously.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Not only was I confused and bored, but I couldn't get over how ugly and strange the show looked. The green-screen and CGI was atrocious (Sometimes the shots looked so surreal for no reason other than the actor's difficult work schedules)., the new HD-photography looked dull and flat (It even resorted to artificial snap-zooms), and the lethargic "cinematic" style felt incongruous with the reality-TV-parody nature of the original show. Did Netflix blow their entire budget for programs on "House of Cards" because this looked cheap as hell, almost like a 12-hour-long funny-or-die sketch. What a disappointment.

Also, the cheesy new background music (which seemed oddly, genuinely bad for a show this self-aware) was mixed way too high and was flat-out incessant (to mask audio problems or just boredom?).

By: yer

yer — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

The new season was awful. Too many "look at the cameo!", too much time spent referencing the past 3 seasons and too much change in the characters. Since when was Michael such an oddball clueless idiot?

By: shackett

shackett — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

All of these characters are on an inner Odyssey. GOB no longer has the "i just want to prove to my brother that I'm not a failure" vibe. Tobias is no longer desperately trying to prove to the family that he wants his marriage to work. Lindsey finds a man that will sleep with her. Maebe's all but given up on her attempts to startle her parents. When you take out the character motivations that we love…. then you hurt the show. Without Michael… they can no longer be kept together.

By: jeeem

jeeem — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Correction: The opening credits narration begins with: "Now the story of a family whose future was abruptly cancelledâ¦ " It's a wee meta-joke.

By: Wes

Wes — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

I agree with some of these things, but overall I found it to be enjoyable, and it is better with reviewings (I've already started!). My biggest issue though is with how cheap it looks sometimes. Having said that, I have no issue with most of the things you point out like the length (really?). I also though that Lindsay, George Sr., and Lucille episodes were not as fun. However, I suspect most of your criticisms will seem petty to the hardcore Arrested Development fan.

By: Rodrigo

Rodrigo — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Duh. I had this written down in my doc, but somehow… Don't write and have a newborn, thanks.

By: Robotboy

Robotboy — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

UHHHH. How can you say little Fonzy playing Young Zuckerkorn did not work? That was th most brilliant part of the entire series, besides regular Barry.

By: John

John — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

and people thought the plot for UPSTREAM COLOR was hard to follow.
should have never been made if the cast's schedules didn't gel. so disappointing!

By: what

what — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

If you were confused I suggest watching a show more your pace.

By: jeeem

jeeem — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Correction: The opening credits narration begins with: "Now the story of a family whose future was abruptly cancelledâ¦ " It's a wee meta-joke.

By: jeeem

jeeem — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Correction: The opening credits narration begins with: "Now the story of a family whose future was abruptly cancelledâ¦ " It's a wee meta-joke.

By: Hans-o

Hans-o — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Most great pieces of art aren't recognized until long after their release. This show is innovative and although the popular opinion of critics are against it because it doesn't fit the classical "hollywood" mode of TV series, it is extremely intelligent. So, all I have to say about this article is: please chill out, sit back, and laugh at the simpler jokes that you'll actually understand.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

I don't understand why you are being so negative with these observations

By: F@ckYou.com

F@ckYou.com — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

COME ON. This season was stranger than the first 3, but its still the best show not on tv

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

So I usually maintain a level of positivity in the comments section, but for an article titled about the positive and the negatives, or what worked and what didn't, it seems every point is about something that didn't work, rather than what actually did this season. Why is that rodrigo?

By: Knox B

Knox B — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Oh Come On! You've made a huge mistake.
This season is a perfect evolution of the show that broke barriers. You've obviously missed SO many nuances that makes this show great. The airport mural, all the references to wee-Britain, the subtle indications that another family member is present. The characters motivations have changes, that's why the show seems different. People grow, some regress, but this is about moving on.
You seriously need to watch the episodes again.

By: c'mon

c'mon — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

BTW, I think that Steve Holt's 'aging' was a part of the joke. Gob didn't recognize him because he started losing his hair (like Gob). I'm sure that the actor doesn't look that old in real life, it was mostly make-up.

By: Zinjo

Zinjo — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Yeah, I mean yeah. I felt the same way and it is nice to see another articulate my observations.
Netflix has the wonderful benefit of having the inspired original series available for viewing before the new one. I have little doubt most of us watched the original or re-watched before committing to watch the new season. Good thing too!
If it were to return to regular TV I am sorry to say the new season would have bombed. Non-fans would not have the patience to sit through the complexities of the episodes and the relentlessly repeated plot points.
I'd suggest they go back, run a new season with the original creative limitations that made the original show so appealing to get their groove back. I too found myself wondering where the show I loved had gone.

By: James

James — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Testing Testing

By: Yea Yea

Yea Yea — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

I just browsed this article, but found myself mostly agreeing with the points.

Yes, this season definitely had its moments. But it definitely was fundamentally flawed. Three reasons for that in my estimation:

1. A lack of a linear progression. Instead of telling one long, twisting, exciting story and allowing for a series of exciting developments; they showed the same story from different points of view and after you've seen the same plot points told 14 or 15 times; you just want to scream! It's like watching a bad Saw movie that is made for stupid people instead of an advanced comedy for brilliant minds.

2. A lack of character cohesion. The characters were largely on their own islands and frankly some of them (Maeby, Buster, Lucille 1, Tobias, Lindsay, George) cannot carry full episodes; not by AD standards anyhow.

And I'm guessing that the script was written the way it was due to scheduling issues; but the lack of serious character interaction seriously hurt the story; particularly as it relates to Michael Bluth being a satellite character for everybody else.

3. The humor was more coerced. Rather than search new episodes; the humor was clearly risk averse and reliant upon past formulas to a fault.

By: Andrew S

Andrew S — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:48:59 +0000

Agree with your assessment (although I do like Gob's first episode).

After reading this I thought – what if they re-edited this? I wonder if some brilliant editor could actually fix this jumble? Just an interesting thought. I don't think they would ever do that, but it's possible that with the exact same footage they could assemble a much better 4th season. It wouldn't solve all the problems (like the family dynamic, and Michael being too dark) but it could certainly solve the problem of it being too dense, confusing and repetitious.