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Arrested Development- Surprisingly Not Overhyped

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Alright, I chose not to watch this show when it was actually on air for some inexplicable reason. Man do I ever regret it. I finally got around to watching every episode this past week on Hulu+ and I was quite amazed. (Yeah, I'm going to go get the DVDs now.) I must say, this is probably one of the funniest shows I have ever seen on television, but I'm not entirely sure that I can pin down why. Nearly 90% of the humor is based on running gags, yet I still found myself laughing my ass off every time they appeared. One would think that running gags could not possibly sustain a show, however, AD somehow made it work. I think it may be because they were constantly introducing new snippets to be repeated over and over. The fantastic characters also helped out quite a bit. I don't think there was a single person I disliked. Crazy.

I think watching all 53 episodes one after another for the most part may have made it even funnier with everything being fresh in my mind.

One of my favorite little bits, introduced in the second season, was the random splattering of blue paint all throughout the house.

For all these years I thought it was just some extremely overhyped comedy. In fact, when I sat down to watch it, I figured I'd probably only get through a few episodes before being completely put off entirely. The gifs I had seen posted from the show were terribly unfunny and I truly believed the show would have been the same. I can't believe how seriously wrong I was. The context behind those gifs means everything.

I am very ashamed of myself for waiting this long.
 
I didn't watch it when it originally aired either but I really enjoyed it once I did go through the series.

I think my initially skipping it was partially due to the way Fox advertised it. I remember seeing spots for it during NFL games and thinking it looked like the dumbest show ever.
 
IamMattFox said:
It'll be even better the next time you watch it.
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There is so much truth to this. I've watched the entire series 5 times so far, and each time I watch it I find a few new subtle jokes and such that I haven't seen before. Plan to watch it again soon, as it's been awhile since I've seen it last.

Really an excellent show. One of my favorites. I try to recommend it to all of my friends, and they've all also loved it.
 
ConradCervantes said:
Best comedy of the last fifteen years. Its influence is felt in all single-camera sitcoms today.
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Yeah, I'm surprised that Irish couldn't articulate why it was good. I wasn't a comedy nerd when I 1st watched it, but I understood how they constructed most of the jokes. In 2011, though, it must be really obvious because of its influence. NBC's Thursday lineup is like Arrested Development's main parts split up and focused.
 
GhaleonQ said:
Yeah, I'm surprised that Irish couldn't articulate why it was good.
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I think, in theory/on paper, it really shouldn't be good. 8 out of every 10 'jokes' are ones that are simply being repeated in some form or another, with the other 2 building up into gags that will be repeated later on. However, they somehow grab you each time and I'm not sure why it works.
 
Irish said:
I think, in theory/on paper, it really shouldn't be good. 8 out of every 10 'jokes' are ones that are simply being repeated in some form or another, with the other 2 building up into gags that will be repeated later on. However, they somehow grab you each time and I'm not sure why it works.
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NeoGAF ate my comedy nerd post and I need to go to bed. Something, something, every comedy relies on misdirection, so most people agree on a "direction," so most comedy just inventively rehashes premises.
 
One of the rare show the internet doesn't overhype, if only because it's so hard to overhype. Trust me, if it weren't as good as it is there would have been a backlash point sometime within the last ten years.
 
Let me just say, anything after AD from the cast just hasn't been the same.

I didn't like Running Wilde too much, despite thinking "Oh, hey, Gob running an oil company. That should be brilliant!" :/

I really wish the subtitles didn't crap out on Hulu during the Tobias goes to an audition with Maebe. :/ Didn't complete the show because of that.

Ducky_McGee said:
Do you have anything that says "daddy likes leather?"

You mean... "leather daddy?"

Oh is there such a thing?
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Meet me down at the Big Yellow Joint. The Big Yellow Joint. The Big Yellow Joint...
 
Sharp said:
One of the rare show the internet doesn't overhype, if only because it's so hard to overhype. Trust me, if it weren't as good as it is there would have been a backlash point sometime within the last ten years.
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Yep. AD and The Wire are impossible to over-hype.

Gob Bluth is one of the greatest characters in sitcom history. Up there with Archie Bunker, IMO.
 
Haha, love this show :D I too was a recent convert. Didn't bring my DVDs up with me to uni but I suspect I'll do a third viewing over the summer...and I rarely rewatch stuff!

Also probably one of the few shows where nearly every main character is a possible favourite. At gunpoint though I'd probably go with Gob; "It ain't easy being whiiiite, it ain't EASY being broooowwwn!"
 
Really enjoy the show but I do think it's overhyped within it's fans. The best part is the continuity.

Ducky_McGee said:
You are the reason the show was canceled.

Now go watch Deadwood.
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This joke is ridiculously old now it's just stupid. Yeah, people didn't watch the show originally but when more people buy the DVDs there's a better chance for the movie.
 
I also recently watched the show back to back on hulu and found it hilarious and could see why there was so many Arrested Development thread here.

However, I probably would not have had the patience to wait and watch all the episodes on weekly when the show aired originally few years back. I would forget so many jokes or references to earlier episodes. Even watching all episodes back to back I didn't remember everything that was shown earlier even with flashback explanations.
 
I also recently watched the show back to back on hulu and found it hilarious and could see why there was so many Arrested Development thread here.

However, I probably would not have had the patience to wait and watch all the episodes on weekly when the show aired originally few years back. Continuity is what made the show funny for me and I probably would not have watched all the episodes or remember everything spread out over 3 years.
 
hayejin said:
I also recently watched the show back to back on hulu and found it hilarious and could see why there was so many Arrested Development thread here.

However, I probably would not have had the patience to wait and watch all the episodes on weekly when the show aired originally few years back. I would forget so many jokes or references to earlier episodes. Even watching all episodes back to back I didn't remember everything that was shown earlier even with flashback explanations.
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Yup. It's a show that really thrives in the DVD format. I think it's gotten more and more popular over time to the point that if they did begin airing a fourth season it would probably do quite well, but they sort of wrote themselves into a corner at the end of season 3. The movie, if it ever comes out, will be a good gauge of how much the show has expanded in the public consciousness since it was canceled.
 
Yeah, I only got to watch it this year. And LOVED every bit of it. It's a crime that it got canceled :(. Well, there's that rumored movie...... Yeah it'll happen one day, BELIEVE.

IamMattFox said:
It'll be even better the next time you watch it.
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Exactly.
 
TheSeks said:
Let me just say, anything after AD from the cast just hasn't been the same.

I didn't like Running Wilde too much, despite thinking "Oh, hey, Gob running an oil company. That should be brilliant!" :/

I really wish the subtitles didn't crap out on Hulu during the Tobias goes to an audition with Maebe. :/ Didn't complete the show because of that.



Meet me down at the Big Yellow Joint. The Big Yellow Joint. The Big Yellow Joint...
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Well the biggest problem with Running Wilde is there was absolutely no chemistry between the two co-stars. That and the child narrator that telegraphed half the jokes.

hayejin said:
I also recently watched the show back to back on hulu and found it hilarious and could see why there was so many Arrested Development thread here.

However, I probably would not have had the patience to wait and watch all the episodes on weekly when the show aired originally few years back. Continuity is what made the show funny for me and I probably would not have watched all the episodes or remember everything spread out over 3 years.
Click to expand...

Even if you don't get every reference, it's still hilarious, so the fact that there are so many things you might miss is part of its greatness. It's one of the most rewatchable sitcoms of all time. Most comedies lose some of their edge on a second viewing. The sitcom is already the kind of structure that's so heavily telegraphed, and then a second time through you know absolutely every beat. With AD, that's really not the case as there are so many dots you might not have connected. Like people say, it's even better the second time.

So no, it was still an incredibly rewarding experience watching it live every week. And then the next day. And then a year later.
 
I enjoyed it until about halfway through the second season. Then Michael's character became extremely repetitive and it ruined the show for me.
 
TheSeks said:
Let me just say, anything after AD from the cast just hasn't been the same.
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Better Off Ted surpasses AD for me. But that's because I find Tobias incredibly lame, and Lem and Phil to be awesome.
 
I love this show. I could watch it a thousand times over and never get bored of it.

Too bad the movie will probably never happen.
 
OuterWorldVoice said:
Egg?
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As Ann as the nose on plain's face :)

WanderingWind said:
Better Off Ted surpasses AD for me. But that's because I find Tobias incredibly lame, and Lem and Phil to be awesome.
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I think Tobias is incredibly lame as well
and that's why he's so awesome
 
I watched the first episode and wasn't impressed. It'll get its second chance soon though.
 
On my third rewatch, its dangerously close to dethroning Seinfeld for favorite sitcom ever. Seinfeld still wins due to sheer volume of greatness, but if AD gets damn close for only having like 50 episodes.
 
"It's as Ann as the nose on Plain's face."


‎"Oh, it’s so cute. She sometimes takes a little pack of mayonnaise, and she’ll squirt it in her mouth all over, and then she’ll take an egg and kind of... Mmmm! She calls it a “mayonegg.” Are you okay?"
lvVLi.gif
 
Lucille needs more love. Great character, great actress. She doesn't even have to say a word to get a laugh. Most expressive glances ever.
 
I think the best scene of that entire series was when they all do their godzilla impressions. Just perfect.
 
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