Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Arrested Development
Monday
October 18, 2004
On Saturday, FX (the cable channel) ran a 10 episode marathon of the excellent comedy Arrested Development. I knew the show was funny from the bits and pieces I had seen last season, but I had never had the chance to really check it out in long-form... until now.
And the payoff? It was well worth the DVR space, and my time, to be able to check it out. There's a reason that the show earned honors for Best Comedy. Cleverly written, with characters that act ludicrous and yet strangely believable, the show fits together nicely with some great laughs. With characters with names like "George Michael" and "Maeby", you can tell that it was crafted well from the start. And with Ron Howard as one of the executive producers... well the show has everything it needs. The fact that Fox didn't cancel it (with so-so ratings, it was actually on the fence there for awhile) is one of those good things that happen from time to time in TV.
What's more, the show features David Cross in the cast, and he managed to get bit roles for several former members of Mr. Show (including former Mr. Show co-star Bob Odenkirk). As if the show needed anything better, they add those cameos to make it that much more fun.
The Red Sox won last night to avoid being swept by the Yankees, but Boston is just prolonging the agony. They might win again today, just to give some naïve fans that hope that maybe the BoSox will be the first team ever to rally from 3-0 to win a series. And then they'll have their hearts broken yet again. As a Yankees fan, I take a perverse pleasure in this. I really do...
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