Twelve_Parallax_Seconds I used to watch Arrested Development on TV when i first came out, some fifteen years ago. At the time I thought it was hilarious, smart and edgy. When the new episodes were in the works, I started rewatching the show from season one. To my astonishment, I hated it! Sure, some of the jokes are funny, even though they're sitcom-funny, and many times can't stand on their own. There are a million references to what were going on in the news at the time, and pop culture in general, which kinda makes you feel smart when you get them. But there are two problems with this show. Firstly, and the minor one, is Ron Howard's narration. For the most part, it's unnecessary, and sometimes an obstacle for the action on-screen. Also, it's always structured the same way. It always starts with "And that's when X realized/discovered/knew that...", and that annoys me to no end. You could easily have a drinking game where you do a shot every time that trope comes along. You would pass out on your couch in no time, covered in vomit. The voice-over is supposed to make what's happening on-screen even funnier, but it's more often irritating than funny. Unfortunately, this is a problem, since the on-screen jokes sometimes actually requires the narration to be funny. But that's nothing. The major problem are the characters. They all are totally unlikeable! All the characters are selfish and greedy, and that's all they are. Not a single one has any good in them. I'm not saying that a depiction of sociopaths like that is unrealistic, but it doesn't work dramatically. Instead, it makes them flat and uninteresting. Not even Michael Bluth, who's supposed to be the good guy, really cares about anyone but himself, not even his son. The show The Office, that came out a couple of years later also had characters who were like that. But they all had heart, behind all the egoism and obnoxiousness, which made them feel alive and multi-layered.All this put together: The repeating voice-over tropes, the one-dimensional characters, and jokes that often can't stand on their own, all boils down to what it's really about: Lazy writing. This is a lazy show that people (myself included) for some reason found smart and funny. I really don't know how that happened.
alreadyseenbeentaken The spineless Micheal Bluth gets fooled over and over by his mentally and socially "challenged" family members. And all is justified with this "family comes first" bs all the time.
It has its funny moments and a few nice twists, but the characters are implausible, embarrassing and pathetic and the script is plain stupid. Every character is exaggerated in a way it's not funny anymore, but mostly annoying, except Micheal, Lindsay, Maeybe and perhaps Buster. But this back and forth with Micheal gets boring after 5 seasons. And none of the character develops.
And Micheal still hasn't grown some b...ls after 5 seasons.
Only recommended for shallow minds.
ayoobalsharif I don't get why a lot of people find this funny. This show definitely doesn't deserve more than 6. Maybe because I watched this in 2015 or I don't get it. I didn't find it funny most of the time. It is boring. How in the hell this is one of the highest rated shows??????????P.S. I don't find most of the (supposed to be comedy) funny. Not the first time
