Save Our Bluths (Well, too late.)

So I'm not sure if anyone will actually end up reading this post, if any do, whether they have ever seen the show Arrested Development, but if there's anyone out there who hasn't seen this amazing specimen of a TV show, I highly recommend you stop reading this and get your butt onto Hulu.

My best friend introduced me to the Fox series that began in 2003 and lasted (unjustifiably) only three seasons. The comedy follows a formerly wealthy family whose patriarch is arrested because of "creative accounting" practices. His dysfunctional family, including the central and most sane character, Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), is left to deal with a scandal-ridden company, as well as the day-to-day antics brought about by the various ridiculous members of the family. It is told as a sort of documentary, complete with a narrator (Ron Howard) and accompanied by flashbacks and photographic evidence.

Perhaps the reason I like this show so much is its type of humor. The writers created brilliant single lines, dialogues, characters, and visual jokes in humor characterized by wittiness and, at times, ludicrousness. Characters include Lucille--the overbearing alcoholic mother to Michael, Lindsay--the self-absorbed sister of Michael, Tobias Funke--Lindsay's husband of questionable sexuality due to his oblivious use of double entendres, Gob (pronounced Jobe)--Michael's older, Segway-driving, overconfident magician brother, and Buster--Michael's socially inept younger brother with a slight Oedipal complex toward Lucille. George Michael is Michael's obedient and straight-laced son with a crush on his cousin, Maeby Funke, who is Tobias and Lindsay's rebellious, witty daughter.

With a cast of characters like that, it is no wonder the series developed a cult-following. Also responsible is the number of hilariously quotable lines including: Tobias's "I'm afraid I just blue myself," in reference to his desire to be a part of the Blue Man Group; George Sr.'s head-tilted "Pop-pop gets a treat?"; and Buster's greeting, "Heyyy brotherrr." Other memorable scenes include ill-informed chicken impressions, allusions to other TV shows and movies, Gob's magic shows amped up by his use of the song "The Final Countdown," and the one-armed man George Sr. always uses to teach his kids a lesson. Throw in recurring lines such as "Her?" in reference to an unapproved girlfriend, "I've made a huge mistake," about Gob's sexual conquests, and 15-year-old Maeby's "Marry me!" to throw off co-workers at the studio executive job she conned her way into.

It is a huge shame that a hilarious show like this got canceled so early, but fans have a movie set to be released in 2011 to look forward to. There is so much more to the show that I haven't discussed, but I guarantee that if you pick any episode at random and watch it, you will laugh out loud. Going through the entire episode catalogue is even more enjoyable, as jokes are often carried through into several later episodes, and foreshadowing is used to predict a number of important events. Visual gags provide even more humor, and since I haven't even begun to fully cover the hilarious scope of the show, I never get tired of rewatching episodes. Watch the dysfunctional Bluths on Arrested Development. You will not regret it.