Arrested Development Season Four: I've made a huge mistake..

Eugene

When I heard that Arrested Development was to get a fourth season, I was pumped. This show is amazing, this show was the entire reason I walked to the Final Countdown for my High School, graduation. This show has three seasons, and no more have ever been made.

Okay, well there is a fourth season. I didn't like it.

It completely changes how the story is told, and while it is BRILLIANT, it isn't Arrested Development. Each episode will follow a different member of the family, through out a certain time period and tells their story of how it all lead to this one night. In true Arrested Development fashion the foreshadowing is there along with pop culture references and the classic jokes. The thing is, while the way the story is told is brilliant, it isn't how Arrested Development is told.

By itself, the season shines on storytelling but that is it. The entire season is backed up by three seasons worth of jokes, characters, and callbacks. The flow is completely gone too, seasons one-three follow the Bluth family and in-particular Michael Bluth the "protagonist" of the show. Seasons one-three flow rather well together as it all ends in an ending, that I was personally very happy with. Without getting specifics you still had a general idea where most of the characters will end up, and you felt happy for some, sad for others.

Now imagine yourself sitting down, watching this and then all of a sudden: BAM SEASON FOUR!

You get excited, aroused, bemused, whatever. WE ARE IN THE FUTURE, EXCEPT NOT REALLY!

All of a sudden, the storytelling is different. Three-six years have passed, I honestly don't know as it skips around. One character is a senior in college, one aged 7 years, etc etc. While there is a definite arc to this season, which is carried over from the last episode, it still feels forced. As I have said earlier, each episode follows around a different member of the family and tells their side of the story in this seven year but really focused on 2-3 months period. I did like seeing all of them on my screen again, doing their same old thing, but there was something missing and the thing is. These characters grew up and many of the old dynamics were gone. Sure you had some, but it was mostly sibling rivalry, and the characters became one-dimensional. In the original three seasons you had Michael Bluth who had to struggle to control his family, run a company, raise a son, and still try to have an occasional selfish moment. Most of those weren't present in Season four.

Season One-Three were: Family gets in trouble, and then they get out usually ending with a hear-felt but funny moment that made you feel everything was okay.

Season Four: The family gets into trouble, but you get to see how all of the events are related and all lead onto one big-moment with a sucker punch at the end that really leaves you feeling empty and disappointed inside.

But guys, it's okay the long awaited Season Four will be resolved in the MOVIE!

Which hasn't been green lit...

But, they might make more seasons!

If the cast is up to it...

So waiting all of these years, with an episode that gave us closure and a general sense of what is going to happen leave us (or at least me) with a sense abandonment.

I'll give it points for storytelling, and some humor but Arrested Development Season Four, took what was an exemplary work of television to just television.

A 3/5

Wang Chung · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:39 pm Post subject:

I think getting a series back on track after a seven-year hiatus is pretty impressive. With that in mind, I think they had to do something totally different. The fact that they were able to get everyone back together is pretty remarkable.

Also the new "Sound of Silence" gag is hilarious, especially when the mariachi band starts playing it behind Gob.
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atatme · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:42 pm Post subject:

I feel like a lot of your points in this rant, Eugene, can basically be surmised with WAH WAH THINGS ARE DIFFERENT!

Eugene · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 12:00 pm Post subject:

My biggest problem is that there is no segway into it, it just happens and then it all is left on a cliffhanger due to a movie season that may or may not happen.

Wang Chung · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 1:38 pm Post subject:

I feel as though every episode of the fourth season is a segue ... they always go back to what happened at the end of the 3rd season.

The one thing that does confuse me is the duration of the timeline of events, I think that isn't consistent between episodes. Obviously they really had no choice but to advance the series by several years, and it makes sense that George Michael (Boy George LOL) is now a senior in college, but it doesn't feel like several years went by for the other characters. I can forgive them for that one.
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Hirmuinen · Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:05 am Post subject:

I watched the first 3 seasons and 4th one is so far very different. It's the same kind of fate that happened with Futuramas new seasons. Humour was more straightforward and openly cynic.

But I have to tell you I was getting really tired of the same formula in first 3 seasons. It was always the same and always a new problem, it got repetive. Like it got stale because you knew "oh boy, I know this won't go well", it still had the chemistry of the characters so it worked even then.
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anonymousity · Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:17 pm Post subject:

STUPID FORGETFUL EUGENE
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♥♪!?

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