Arrested Development - Season Three
by Arlene Sanford, John Amodeo, John Fortenberry, Lev L. Spiro, Paul Feig
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alia Shawkat, Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will ArnettDirector: Arlene Sanford, John Amodeo, John Fortenberry, Lev L. Spiro, Paul Feig
Brand: Fox
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.1; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.1
Format: Color, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 286 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Arrested Development - Season Three
Movie Review: Tops the list of shows taht ended too soon
Summary: 5 Stars
Warning: A world of spoilers
We just learned on Mar. 24 that Michael Hurwitz has declined to run ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT on Showtime, which means that the show as we knew it for the past three years truly has ended. Showtime's offer to renew the show on their network was contingent upon Hurwitz staying with the show. If they stick with that requirement, the show truly is done. Executive Producer (and Narrator) Ron Howard has indicated that he would like to keep the show alive and that Hurwitz has agreed to stay on as a consultant if Howard is able to work out a deal with Showtime to continue the show on other terms. So, while things are looking bleak, the Fat Lady hasn't sung quite yet. She is, however, warming up in the wings. And to be honest, I'm not sure how I would feel about ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT without Michael Hurwitz. It would be like BUFFY without Joss Whedon or LOST without Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse (forget J. J. Abrams, they are the ones running the show). Still, I'd definitely give it a try. A show isn't made by only one person, and it is possible that if the cast stayed with the show and much of the rest of the creative team, the show might yet continue to catch lightening in a bottle.
With one qualification, I utterly disagree with those who saw a decline in Season Three. To me the plot lines were getting better, not worse. The episodes involving Charlize Theron were for me among the finest in the entire run of the show, funny both as a general plot line and hysterical in the almost impossible number of details. These, like those of the first two seasons, are episodes that you can watch repeatedly, picking up new details along the way. For instance, when Michael and Rita go to the "American" restaurant in Little England they are served what I imagine to be their version of "authentic" American cuisine. In front of each of them is a plate filled with impossibly sugary looking donuts. The brilliance of the show is that they don't call any attention to the absurd "meal" but leave it in the background. I will grant, however, that in the final four episodes the plot lines started feeling a bit rushed, as they were forced not only to collapse the season's plot into only a few episodes but create an appropriate ending for the series as a whole in case they decide not to continue the show on Showtime. In that sense the third season falls a tiny bit short of the others, but I have to cut them some slack here. If they had had a full 22 episodes or even the 18 that Season Two had I think it would have equaled the first two in every way.
Season Three, in fact, is in some ways the funniest of the three seasons. The jokes became even more cutting and painfully funny. Even now I can't think of Bob Boblaw (if you haven't seen those episodes say the name out loud) without snickering, let alone Tobias's comment: "Bob Boblaw's web log. Wow, you're a mouthful." Our learning of the mysterious "Mr. F" and the eventual denouement is one of the best moments in the series, as well as one of the saddest. A host of images from the season are impossible for me to forget. Gob's puppet with the sign reading "George Bush doesn't care for black puppets" hanging around its neck. Tobias's unhappy experience in getting hair plugs. Or Michael asking George-Michael, in a wonderful parody of the first episode:
Michael: What have I always said is the most important thing?
George-Michael: Family.
Michael: No, breakfast.
Other funny moments include Lindsay's stating that she had to finish a bottle of vodka because, as her mother had taught her, if you didn't drink a bottle once opened it would go bad. Also, that wine turned into alcohol if you didn't drink it quickly. Funniest of all, and perhaps the scene that caused me to laugh harder than I have on anything else I have ever seen on American TV, was the utterly strange, surreal encounter between what appeared to be looking out the window of the model home a fight between a gigantic mole monster and some strange massive alien with a jet pack.
One thing that wasn't always commented on was the fact that unlike situation comedies, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT did have a definite story to tell. The story wasn't the main point, but it did structure everything that was done in the three seasons. Briefly, we learn that George Bluth was falsely arrested for having committed treason through building houses for Saddam Hussein. We also learn that Michael and Lindsay were not really twins as they had always imagined and that George-Michael and Maebe, who accidentally married one another, were not biologically related. By the end of the day, it was one heck of a wild ride.
I sincerely hope that Michael Hurwitz will take Showtime's offer. In my opinion this truly is the finest comedy in the history of American TV and can only be rivaled by MONTY PYTHON and FAWLTY TOWERS in British television. The show is still incredibly fresh and full of potential for more insanity and nuttiness. With so many bad things in the world, the human race could stand a few more laughs.
The whole ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT debacle adds another chapter in the tacky history of FOX. The network has done a great job of development fascinating and innovative shows, but all too often abuses them. FOX truly has become the network that a host of people absolutely loathes and detests. I am still bitter over the early cancellation of FIREFLY, which might have become one of the most fascinating shows in the history of TV. Ditto with WONDERFALLS, cancelled after only four episodes were broadcast, though thirteen were filmed. Or going back further, the cancellation of DARK ANGEL after only two seasons, or the cancellation of FAMILY GUY and FUTURAMA (though massive DVD sales did bring FAMILY GUY back). Now we can add ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT to the list. How FOX could fail to value and promote and treasure what is quite probably the finest comedy America has ever produced is beyond me. You would think that a show that in only two seasons had won a shelf of Emmys and Golden Globes would have been immune to cancellation. But never put anything past FOX. It isn't just the shows that FOX disrespects: they disrespect us fans.
Summary of Arrested Development - Season Three
In this Emmy®-winning comedy's hilarious third season, Michael Bluth finally realizes that it's his Uncle Oscar serving time in prison, not his father. Reluctant to spring Oscar due to the effect it may have on the family business, Michael decides that the only fair thing to do is to find his father and place him under house arrest. Yet once found, George Sr. insists he was tricked into working with the Iraqis, leaving Michael no choice but to investigate his father's outrageous claim. But it isn't until Michael and Buster go to Iraq on a rescue mission to save Gob that the depth of the devious plot is revealed...and Michael learns which family member is the real brains behind all the madness.Similar DVD Movies
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