Cori and I are both having Arrested Development marathons tonight.
Too bad they’re, what, 1736.76 miles apart? (That’s right, I Mapquested.)
I am still rather bitter that FOX canceled this gem of a brilliantly satiric comedy. I guess it was just…too subtly hysterical and well-written for most of the American viewing population, of which my own parents are two perfect examples. They made it through 10 minutes of one episode and stared blank-faced throughout, at the end of which my father succinctly commented, “This is stupid.”
I suppose one of the contributing factors to its demise was that it was so built on in-jokes. I mean, how funny are “Hey, brother” or “Come on!” or “I’ve made a mistake” without any context? (And yet I crack up anytime I hear them.)
The AD cast — Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, and the incomparable Ron Howard as the narrator — remains as one of the best ensemble casts ever assembled.
And the writing. Holy crap. The writing was pitch-perfect and side-splittingly funny — but the majority of the humor is missed if one is not paying marked attention.
I highly, highly recommend you check out the DVDs — all three seasons are available. I promise that after you watch, you’ll wonder exactly why everyone loved Friends for 10 years. (Just kidding — I will never get tired of Friends. But the humor does seem really obvious upon comparing it to AD.)
I leave you with just some of my favorite quotes.
(Lindsay talking about the efforts of her anti-circumcision charity HOOP: Hands of our Penises.)
Lindsay: I think it looks frightening when it’s cut off. It’s a Doberman — let it have its ears. Believe it or not, we brought in over $40,000.
Michael: Unbelievable. Sounds like you saved enough skin to make 10 new boys.
(After seeing Lindsay, Tobias, GOB, and Maeby all lying around the living room.)
Michael: Is there a carbon monoxide leak in this house?
Lindsay: Did you enjoy your meal, Mom? You drank it fast enough.
Lucille: Not as much as you enjoyed yours — you want your belt to buckle, not your chair. You might want to let that fire go out before you stick your face in it.
Lindsay: Ah, that’s funny. Because I was going to say, you might want to lean away from that fire since you’re soaked in alcohol.
Lucille: Mine was better.
Buster: And I’m going to continue dating, Mom.
Michael: It sounds a little bit like ‘dating Mom.’
Buster: It’s starting to feel a little like it.
Buster: Mom is becoming a little controlling.
Michael: What tipped you off? When she locked you out on the balcony again?
Buster: That was half my fault. I thought I saw a graham cracker out there.
Michael: You baited the balcony?!
Lucille: Prove it.
Maeby: Hey, my dad wanted to thank you for the romantic getaway. Don’t tell me what that means.
Michael: Where is your father?
Maeby: He left a while ago, dressed all westerny. You can leave me out of that, too.
Narrator: And Michael realized that perhaps somebody would get hurt.
Michael: I screwed my brother-in-law.
Maeby: Well, I’m all grown up now.
Maeby: You mean you get to miss school for that?
Narrator: And that’s when Maeby decided to become a devout Christian.
Maeby: Do you know where I can get one of those gold necklaces with the “t” on it?
Michael: You mean a cross?
Maeby: Across from where?
