The series debuted on November 2, 2003, but had its third-season order cut to thirteen episodes on November 10, 2005, due to poor ratings, despite a fierce, but small, cult fan base. On November 11, 2005, news agencies reported that the show had been canceled, though Fox hasn't made an official announcement. As with previous threats of cancellation, several online petitions have been set up (see External links).
Brief outline
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The plot of Arrested Development revolves around the Bluth family. The patriarch of the clan, George Bluth Sr. is founder and former C.E.O. of the Bluth Company, which builds homes, among other things. George Sr. was arrested by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding customers and spending too much of the company's money on "personal expenses". He was sent to await trial in Orange County Prison which, ironically, his company had built in 1983.
Meanwhile, his wife, Lucille became C.E.O. and immediately named her youngest son Buster as the new president, but he was not prepared for the rigors of the job. Michael, the middle son and twin to the Bluths' only girl, Lindsay, then was awarded control. He maintained control until he himself became the target of the ongoing investigation into the company's financial records and various dealings. At that point, eldest son George Oscar Bluth (G.O.B.) was named president.
The show focuses on the tension that developed between the members of the Bluth family due primarily to their diminished spending power. Sibling rivalries, unresolved oedipal conflicts, sexual incompatibilities, personal identity crises, adolescent trauma, aging, pride, miscommunication, lying, guilt, subterfuge, determination, manipulation, mutilation, social status anxiety, and countless other themes weave serpentine throughout Arrested Development.
Much like other dysfunctional family comedies such as Malcolm in the Middle, The Simpsons, Roseanne, and Married... with Children, the family unit is depicted as necessary for the survival of the individual. Much of the comedy comes from the quirks of the characters and the patterns that developed within the family structure. The show is considered by some as a faster-paced variant of the series Soap.
The show is highly intertextual and self-reflexive. Doubtless these characteristics, in addition to its fast pace and layered humor, contribute to fans' habit of watching each episode over and over in an effort to catch every single joke and reference. For example, Arrested Development often alludes to the past work of its cast and crew through the restaging of familiar scenarios (e.g., Barry Zuckerkorn is seen jumping the shark a la the Fonz) and by casting former collaborators in small bit parts (e.g., Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Scott Baio, etc.). The frequent appearance of guest stars from other lauded television comedies such as Saturday Night Live, SCTV, The Daily Show, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Simpsons is another form of intertextuality. While most of the show's intertextual references come from television culture, the famous falling wall stunt from Buster Keaton's silent feature Steamboat Bill Jr. is reenacted by Buster Bluth in the episode "The One Where They Build a House."
The show's self-reflexivity can be quite literal--with the narrator Ron Howard acknowledging the fact that he is a narrator telling a story--but it can also be subtly ingenious. In the episode "The British Bombshell," Michael tells George Sr., whom he believes is trying to convince him of a lie, "You're a regular Brad Garrett." (George Sr. is played by Jeffrey Tambor, who had lost the Emmy for "Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series" to Brad Garrett not a week before the episode aired.) The show has acknowledged its competition (Desperate Housewives), its commercial sponsor (Burger King), its struggle to go after an "idiot demographic," its use of dramatic moments as act breaks, and Fox's cutback of season two to 18 episodes.
Another distinguishing characteristic of Arrested Development is it topicality. The show fearlessly addresses the most divisive, controversial social and political issues of the day. Writers have managed to turn references to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the U.S. Army's recruiting crisis, the non-existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo-op into running jokes. It has also poked fun at the decadence of American white collar criminals (a party once thrown by George Sr. bears a striking resemblance to Dennis Kozlowski's extravagant party on the island of Sardinia), religious right protest campaigns, controversy over public display of the Ten Commandments, and the restriction of protesters to "free speech zones." But not all topical references are so weighty, as evidenced by jokes about "Girls with Low Self-esteem" and low-carb diets.
Identical twin brother to George; ex-hippie and recreational marijuana user; had a gorgeous head of hair; had an affair with Lucille years ago that may have produced Buster
Struggling, incompetent magician; creator of "Bananagrabber"; appears in "Girls with Low Self-Esteem" videos, created a CD with his black puppet named Franklin. He also helped create the Alliance of Magicians - a society that removes magicians who reveal their tricks - only to be blackballed by the alliance due to his habit of explaining his own tricks.
Middle Bluth son; twin of Lindsay; father of George Michael; savior of the Bluth Empire; hopes to bring company back from the dead, while putting up with the rest of the family.
Son of Michael; loves his bike; loved his teacher and lusts after his cousin, Maeby; terrified of prisons and midgets; always on time; has new girlfriend, Ann (aka Egg, Hog, Wall, Plant), a plain-Jane type with extremely religious parents
Oedipally disturbed biological baby boy; loves juice; career student; scared of sheep, sex, girls, and so on. Formally an archeology student, he signed on to the United States Army by his mother on a dare from a Michael Moore impersonator; had his left hand bitten off by an escaped trained seal, which he replaced with a hook (ala Captain Hook)
Twin of Michael; unhappily married to Tobias, who she married to spite her parents; mother of Maeby; pseudo-liberal; loves to cage dance, protest various causes, shop, and flirt
Sort-of husband to Lindsay; former psychiatrist who lost his medical licence because of his application of heart massage when it wasn't necessary; perpetual loser; "never-nude"; has turned to acting; student of Carl Weathers; may be gay; world's first "analrapist" (analyst/therapist); aspiring member of the Blue Man Group; briefly became Mrs. Featherbottom, an amalgam of Mary Poppins and Mrs. Doubtfire, to spend more time with his daughter
Daughter of Tobias and Lindsay; possible product of artificial insemination; created fake charity for rare disease B.S.; created a false persona named Surely who was dying of disease; currently a major movie executive at the age of 15, also admits having a crush on George Michael
Season 2 was originally supposed to run 22 episodes, but the order for the last four were cut by the network, reportedly due to low ratings. The network claimed it was strategy to "protect" the show from cancellation since the last four episodes (were they to have been produced) would have aired during sweeps. The writers made light of this reduction by having an order for a tract of houses the Bluth company was supposed to build cut from 22 houses to 18.
This season of the show is currently in progress. Although the series' episode order was cut again, a total of thirteen episodes are expected to be produced.
Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) first name is a sly reference to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) of The Godfather movies. Like Corleone, Michael Bluth is the son of a wealthy and powerful family who is (somewhat reluctantly) forced to take over the family business due to the incapacity of the family's patriarch. However, after assuming power, both are subsequently surrounded by brothers and sisters who constantly ask for money or scheme behind their backs. There is even a scene in which the eldest Bluth son GOB confronts Michael, claiming that, because he is older, he should have control of the company and is tired of not getting respect, a dialog nearly identical to Fredo's conversation with Michael Corleone over the same thing in The Godfather Part II. Equivocation is a recurring theme throughout the series. Another reference is when Gob hides the front fork from Michael's bike in his bed while he is sleeping, parodying the infamous severed horse head scene in the Godfather.
The name Bluth may be a contraction of the words blurred truth, as lies and the truth are a common theme in the show. In episode "Spring Breakout", Tobias's show ScandalMakers' episode about the Bluth Scandal is called "Blurred Truth: The Bluth Family Scandal".
In "The Immaculate Election," it is revealed that Steve Holt is GOB's son. This means that both of the men that Maeby is interested in are her cousins. She may have a third cousin in the works as well, since her uncle Michael was intimate with the compulsively-lying shyster Maggie Lizer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who first feigned blindness, then pretended to be pregnant by him, later confessed after her ruse was exposed, and then learned she had actually conceived a child and Michael may be the father.
Alia Shawkat and Mae Whitman play Mae 'Maeby' Fünke and Ann Veal respectively. George Michael Bluth is attracted to both characters. Shawkat and Whitman are friends in real life and played friends in the short lived show State of Grace.
The episode "The Immaculate Election" pays homage to the movie Star Wars in several ways: When George Michael tapes his lightsaber moves, he is paying homage to/mocking the internet fad Star Wars Kid in which he emulates the awkward lightsaber combat. Steve Holt is revealed as being GOB's son, and in Buster's footage, which foreshadowed his missing hand.File:HenrythefonzZuckerkorn.JPGHenry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn homaging the Fonz
In the episode "Motherboy XXX," Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler, the Fonz on Happy Days) hops over a dead shark, in a reference to the now-infamous jumping of the shark from Happy Days. In the third season, the role of the Bluth family lawyer was taken over by Bob Loblaw, played by Scott Baio, who costarred with Winkler on Happy Days. This parodies the fact that Baio was brought into Happy Days to attract younger audiences. Baio even makes the jab, "Look, this is not the first time I’ve been brought in to replace Barry Zuckerkorn. I think I can do for you everything he did. Plus, skew younger. With juries and so forth."
In the episode "Altar Egos", Barry Zuckerkorn does the Fonz pose in the bathroom mirror.
The program has aspects of a documentary (tripping cameramen, not filming inside a courtroom), but it isn't confirmed as a mockumentary.
Since the show airs on network television and aims to resemble a documentary, all swearing must be bleeped out. However, the producers must find ways to obscure the mouths of the characters who are swearing so that their mouths don't also have to be blurred out. This is often accomplished by cutting to a shot of another character reacting to the swearing, or by blocking the mouths with objects. Sometimes the characters resort to just covering their mouths with their hands. However, it is usually obvious from the context what the characters are saying, making the whole exercise pointless.
George Sr. and Tobias were never meant to be regulars, but positive test responses kept them in the cast.
David Cross improvises a large percentage of his character's dialogue.
Lindsay's cell phone ringtone is the Arrested Development theme.
As the narrator, Ron Howard makes several references to both The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days (on which he played Opie and Richie Cunningham, respectively).
In the episode "Public Relations", Jessie calls George Michael "Opie." The Narrator says "Jessie had gone too far and had best watch her mouth."
In the episode "For British Eyes Only", George Bluth schemes to get Andy Griffith to appear with him at his trial, hoping that his role as Matlock might sway the jury. Griffith never shows up at the court, because he believed they were making fun of him. The narrator adds, "No one was making fun of Andy Griffith. I can’t emphasize that enough."
As a reference to Tobias' membership of the Blue Man Group, blue handmarks can occasionally be seen around the 'model home' as well as in another scene in which Michael meets Rita in Episode "The British Bombshell". Her hand is covered with blue paint and the different meanings of the word blue lead to misunderstandings - Tobias also initially thought of the blue men group as a group of depressed men.
Continuity
One fact about the show that particularly pleases fans is its constant and complex use of continuity. It will regularly feature callbacks to previous episodes, both in the form of references and when scenes will often parody scenes in early episodes.
Similarly, the show will often use what creator Mitch Hurwitz termed a "call-forward", wherein plots or events will be foreshadowed, for example: there are several references to the loss of hands in the first and second seasons, even before Buster actually loses his hand.
Oftentimes these running gags, such as none of the characters knowing the Spanish word for brother or each family member having their own "chicken dance" (that looks and sounds nothing like a chicken), or background jokes (like a Cornballer machine shown in Maggie Lizer's apartment) will be lost on new viewers, and sometimes even missed by regular viewers until repeated viewing. These jokes now are regularly discussed on internet forums.
Response
The show is a hit with critics but has not yet gained a sizeable audience. Despite its low ratings, the series has been renewed by Fox and has returned for a third season during 2005-06.
Due to low audience turnout and to promote their highly anticipated re-broadcast of the animated series Family Guy, Fox announced that it would halt the production of the second season at 18 episodes, 4 episodes short of the planned season. (This cutback was satirized in the episode "The Sword of Destiny", in which the Bluth Company had an order to build 22 houses reduced to 18.) Despite fears that this was a prelude to cancellation, the network defended its actions claiming that the show would fare poorly during network sweeps period, and that it was simply a procedural matter.
November 9th 2005 FOX announced that the show would not be airing in November sweeps and that they are cutting the episode-order for Season 3 from 22 to 13. This has led to many fans of the show to be convinced that the show may possibly be cancelled.
Nominations and awards
It won five Emmy Awards in 2004, including "Outstanding Comedy Series", "Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series", and "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series" for the pilot episode.
In 2005 it was nominated for eleven Emmys in seven categories and won one, "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series", by Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely for the season two finale "Righteous Brothers".
Jason Bateman also won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy" in 2005.
Celebrity guests on Arrested Development
The show frequently brings in celebrity guests. A partial list is included below.
