Arrested Development Season 4

LOTS OF SPOILERS HERE

I just finished watching Arrested Development, Season 4. I took frequent breaks, played around on Facebook, read some comics...tried to give them some room to breathe. Of course, I had to see how it all ended. 7.5 hours in two days...that's not...crazy, right? Plus, they demand rewatching. They are kind of designed for rewatching even more than the original series.

Firstly, wanted to get this out of the way, I really, really enjoyed this new series. I was worried that all the hype and waiting was going to ruin it but they really pushed the show in some exciting new directions.

One of the things I was worried about was fan service. I was worried the whole thing would be just repeating of jokes from the first three seasons. The only time I kind of groaned was the whole HER? thing at GOB's wedding to Anne. Otherwise, the callbacks were not gratuitous and they started enough new ones to keep me happy.

I was glad they just laid out the gay thing to Tobias right away so that David Cross could play some different hues in this series (of course, Anus Tart will be the newest inside joke phenomenon). Also, turning GOB towards the gay thing gave Arnett a new direction to play. Tambor already gets to have it both ways with Oscar and George in his arsenal but he got the added bonus of switching the personalities on these characters. The most startling development may be Michael from the sympathetic hero to the primary villain of the new season. Of course, Lucille and Buster can't stray too far from their original characterizations but even Buster got a bit of an arc. Lindsay's transformation into a Republican was also a lot of fun to behold.

I would be remiss if I didn't note all the fun new characters. Getting Ron Howard active in the mix was very nice. Isla Fisher is an actress I have been in love with since Hot Rod/Wedding Crashers brought her comedic talents to my attention. John Slattery as Dr. Norman may be my favorite new addition to the cast. Terry Crews and Maria Bamford were also a welcome addition and fit right in to the broad tone of the show. The old supporting players all got a moment or two to shine in this new one as well. Good for them.

Now, a few misgivings I have. Firstly, I think the magic of AD is in pairing these loonies off in new and interesting ways. I know it was nearly impossible to get everyone there at the same time but there were just so many interactions that never got good screentime. Of course, if all of this works out for a movie, that problem will be solved. I also felt that, the longer scenes got to run, the more potential for comedy there was (Ron Howard's narration filling/causing George Michael's lengthy pauses made me laugh both times they happened). Often, we were just given quick glimpses of scenes we saw played out in other episodes just to remind us of what happened. After awhile, those took up more and more real estate in the run time when I just wanted to see the story happen.

Speaking of, what the hell was the story? I have no idea how all the plot lines tie together or when certain things were happening. Finally realizing that Lucille was in prison when Oscar banged her was nice but a bit confusing since I swore the narration introduced her prison room as her "new apartment." I think everyone had some time in the penthouse at Balboa and everyone had some time in the model home but I have no idea when they were each there in relation to each other. Part of this might get cleared up on repeated viewings but...

Hurwitz was not lying when he said this was part one of something bigger. There was not even the pretense of closure at the end of this. I have so many questions...who sabotaged GOB's act/wedding (my money is on Anne but it is never explicitly stated, right?). Plus, there was the implication that she was pregnant at their wedding but she seemed pretty serious about the kid being Tony Wonders (unless she just entrapped the richer of the two men for money). More importantly, did Michael kill Lucille Austero? Did Buster kill Love? Will George Michael's Mexican love child be a plot point? What is going on with Oscar and George's role reversals? What will become of Sitwell's master plan (I love that Lindsay is running against her again)?

I did like how lots of people got arrested (thus letting the series keep its name). I love the Jesse Eisenberg dig that Michael Cera is doing with the Fakeblock thing. The running Fantastic Four jokes are just gravy to a nerd like me. The number one thing that blew me away was the total Prestige they pulled on me with Maebe and the shaman. I was so proud of myself for guessing that Tobias was also in India the whole time that I completely overlooked the shaman. Well, not completely. I looked in the credits and saw the fake name. I totally bought it. Bravo, Mitch Hurwitz. You fooled me.

I can't wait to watch them all again and get even more out of this. I think this season was a resounding success.