Arrested to Arrested Development: S5 - Infinity War: Part I
We've made a huge mistake.
Again.
My love for Arrested Development is unmatched by anything ever put on television ever. Yes, I was mesmerized by Breaking Bad; Of COURSE I religiously clung to The Leftovers; I even very briefly devoted my entire TV-going life to the mind-f**kery that is Twin Peaks. But Arrested Development elevates my sense of humor to degrees that are unfathomable.
Folks have compared Development to LOST in its akin sense of unraveling layers of mystery after plot that are all intertwined in questions of "what's going to happen next?" only this show unwraps its mystery through outrageous fashion of lightning-fast, super-subtle, critically-acclaimed slapstick. It breaks the barriers of not just the meta humor of its entire self awareness, but it rewards audiences with references upon references that create endless Easter Eggs for even the most eagle-eyed fans, which not only ranks the show with the likes of The Office and Parks and Recreation, but when it comes to replay value, Development's self-referential humor surpasses nearly any other sitcom ever made. By sneaking in the genius number of gags that are constantly called back to, AD is like the ultimate inside joke; a joke that only grows in size and in laughs the more its embraced, making it perhaps one of the most irreverently brilliant if not one of the most groundbreaking TV series of all time.
Planting references from day one.
In 2013, it was announced that a new season would be resurrected by Netflix after a post-cable-cancellation seven-year hiatus. With this revival, I attempted to dive into an entire episode-by-episode recap of FOX's first three seasons as I journeyed towards the premiere of what would be the show's bold, risky and therefore polarizing fourth season.
Nevertheless, I only recorded journal entries through all of season one before I became too engorged in the unwrapped enigma that is this show. By season two (an all-timer season for television in general), my mind was blown at how much Mitch Hurwitz and the gang were throwing at me that I had no choice but to throw in the towel in retaliation. I literally couldn't write about it; I just had to soak it all in.
For the books, for anyone who dare question just how far my mind descends into madness, here is that entire season 1 recap.
THAT SAID, season four dropped just around Memorial Day weekend of 2013 and fans have been split on it ever since. Granted, due to scheduling conflicts, Hurwitz couldn't get the entire cast back together at the same time and so controversially wrote an entire story arc for each character that spanned seven plus years, each episode only primarily focusing on one to two characters. The big idea was to play catch up with the Bluth family; get the audience familiar with what the gang's been up to all those years since the Queen Mary capsized, and then once we reach the present day timeline, eventually drop a fan-demanded Arrested Development movie. And while fans were on board with the idea, the end-result of the experimental season four sunk all hope and expectation as folks raged against the way it was all playing out.
Fans: We'll have an Arrested Development movie in no time!
Ron Howard: They wouldn't.
Splitting up the Bluths was far and away the most daring and divisive decision Hurwitz ever made because one of the most crucial aspects to Development's charm is the chemistry of the cast bouncing off one another under the Balboa Towers roof. By taking away the family rubbing shoulders with each other you essentially lose the core of what makes this show a ticking time bomb of classic, cult-beloved gags, and so it was only inevitable that fans would become so disgustingly aggressive with their hatred for season four.
The backlash against the time-jumping, character-hopping episodes got so out of control to the point where creator Mitch Hurtwitz himself re-edited and snipped together a "remix" of season four to put the events and characters in chronological order for the never-nudes who want their Arrested Development spoon-fed to them.
And for the books, if anything, that Fateful Consequences "Remix" only proved that the events of season four were NOT intended to be watched in chronological order. Granted, some of the flow feels more natural; like the old days of the Banana Stand, but seeing the timelines bleed together the way they were shot, it's painfully obvious that the story wasn't even written to be told this way. Many of the jokes fall flat, feel underwhelming, out of place, and it all builds to a three-part Cinco de Cuatro finale that when slapped together feels bloated by part two.
Although any Arrested Development is better than no Arrested Development.
The reality is that if folks just take the banana out of their stands and stop being thick headed and desperate for nostalgia for ONE second, they'll see that season four isn't only not bad, but if any of the seasons demand replay value it's season four, making it perhaps the most unique of them all. Granted it's not flawless; You need to sit through the near-hour-long Lindsay episodes that get political, or some of the slower George Sr. Mexican-border stuff, it's absolutely undeniable that the Gob episodes; the Ann-Getaway-Tony Wonder-Jesus magic act stuff; the Tobias episodes; I mean the Thing-Sex-Offender segment alone; these are ALL-TIMER moments; peaking points for the entire series.
And so, "on the next Arrested Development," here we are five years later, and Mitch Hurtwitz has surprise-dropped half of season five. To cut to the chase, the half-season itself instantly feels underwhelming, but there are a few bizarre notable occurrences that must be documented before really diving into the madness...
For starters, there's a scandal currently going around in regards to a now infamous interview with the cast that pertains to Jessica Walters declaring that she felt harassed by fellow co-star Jeffrey Tambor. The scandal itself pertains to the fact that many of the other male co-stars, notably Bateman, not only don't back up Walters but they sort of rally against her (if you will), spiraling a very ugly backlash from fans and critics alike.
The real shame here is that this news story is affecting the way folks are watching season five, some even declaring that the incident has tainted the show as a whole. Personally, it needs to be very clearly noted that this scandal today is going to be treated individually and completely separated from the criticisms of the season itself.
As for other interference with season five, Portia De Rossi announced just days before the new season dropped that she has retired from her laundry list of acting, so that she can focus on her own personal matters. She apparently agreed to return very minimally for the new season and that afterward she would hang up the acting coat forever. This instance is mentioned because Portia's exit is painfully noticeable in the new season as Lindsay is not only not present for most of the time, but when she IS around she's either poorly green-screened in or hidden by debatably un-clever methods which are excused if only due to the show's self aware nods to the absurdity of Lindsay's absence (as her character arc is a major plot for the new season).
In harsh reality, Portia's exit is primarily notable because if there has been any indication that Arrested Development is on its last legs, if only due to scheduling conflicts, that time is now. Between the scandals surrounding Tambor and losing one of only three major leading ladies, the cast is dwindling down both on screen and off. And if time has been least kind to Development at all, it's entirely noticeable in these first eight episodes of what will most likely be the very last development of Arrested we'll ever see.
It's sad but it's also a blessing to be able to say that after all this time, the show still has the legs that it does...
(Muscular legs)
...Because I'm here to tell you folks that season five, while critically mixed at best, initially seeming underwhelming, un-funny, disappointing, and straight up treading water, is actually quite good.
Season five, if jarring only due to its slow start and jaded attempts at tying up loose ends from the exhausting plotting of season four, is very rarely but very clearly still flat-out and utterly brilliant. Granted many of the jokes feel stringed together by past references rather than moving forward with new energy, the biggest beef is that there's no real narrative focus. In contrast to season four's pacing of plot-plot-plot, season five very much so slows things down and reflects on the Bluths in a sort of sad, strange way that moralizes them as a true American dysfunctional family for however much time they (and we) have together before we bid the Bluths bon voyage for good.
Granted some of the jokes of season five are just simply not funny and fall flat, but when the humor does hit, it is solid GOLD.
I mean for one thing, look at the references...
OH, COME ON
The worst part of this whole season is that JUST when the audience starts to resonate with the Bluths again; the moments where all of this starts to feel like the old stuff; right when we're hopping back on the hop-ons and getting the groove back again, season five's own stair car comes to a screeching halt. If anything, the season is underwhelming not because of lack of content but lack of episodes.
I mean. Having Netflix order 16 episodes just to have them slashed in half (for Emmy awards consideration nevertheless) is just cruel. It almost feels inappropriate to even comment on the new season at all, because it's an incomplete story. Much like our Avengers' own Infinity War, the Bluth family isn't just headed towards a (most likely) grand finale (we hope), but they also face their greatest obstacle yet:
Selling half of a whole season.
Now the story of a cult-favored TV series that lost its cable network, and the one streaming service that had no choice but to keep it going...
No matter how divisively they do it.
Upon the season five premiere, picking up where we last left off, folks will immediately notice some stark differences in even just the last five years since we last saw the Bluth family. Where season four concluded (in both cuts) with George Michael punching his father in the face, we start our story in "Family Leave" with a somber Michael, only the episode circles around him taking care of Buster of all people.
*Cue the Terminator hand*
The episode sort of slugs along while the family slowly rolls themselves out. Tobias introduces his season role of dressing up to play the part of multiple family members for the Bluth family award ceremony; a role which not only makes for the best running sight gag of the entire half-season but also the flat-out funniest. If any character stands out during the first half of season five's run, if only for physical slapstick, it's Tobias. And if we're talking Mitch Hurwitz being meta about not having the cast together again, just look at Tobias' role. He literally pretends to play a range of characters who are totally absent, either from the present scene (Buster) or who haven't returned at all (Lucille II - Although to be fair the plot does surround her disappearance).
Granted, David Cross and his pink mustache is pure slapstick at his finest, albeit there is another character who ironically outshines him (We'll get there momentarily).
The first two episodes sort of drudge on with a strangely unfunny absence as to what makes Development usually tick. Sure, we're seeing most of the family together again in each episode but at first there's a lack of genuine humor, and not necessarily because the jokes are lame, more so the characters kinda just feel tired. This "getting old" aspect is far and away the heaviest weight the show suffers from during its first few episodes and the fact that the Bluths don't hit it right out of the Banana Stand with the first episode shows immense signs of worry for the remainder of the season.
THAT SAID, once season five does pick up from its loss of steam, it revs up the gas of the old stair car and starts to feel warmly familiar.
For starters, with "Self-Deportation" what begins as a simple set-up to show what Michael and George Michael have been up to in the time since they last spoke (and when GM struck Michael in the face) is also secretly a ploy for their hallway fight; the first truly comical gag moment of the show that pays off.
It's a brilliant moment that takes ordinary scenarios, whether it be Michael training for self defense, or George Michael trying to gain a YouTube audience with his throwback "Star Wars kid" routine, and the show slaps these seemingly unrelated moments together in a coarse action between two meek, loving, and otherwise totally harmless characters.
Watch the scene again. The real comedy factor is the aspect that Michael nor George Michael are attacking one another, rather than acting on self defense based on what they've learned in the last episode.
As for the other characters, fan favorite GOB takes the backseat in favor of some of the other folks getting more development (PUNS) but with that, the entire story line between GOB and George Sr. attempting to regain their masculinity after the events of S4 make for some of the best chemistry and some of the flat-out funniest character moments of the entire eight episodes. It's just a shame it couldn't be explored more.
"Daddy NOT horny"
might be the most subtle season one callback of the entire eight episodes.
Then again, if GOB's closeted homosexual feelings for Tony Wonder = Suspended disbelief that Ben Stiller is supposed to be spending MOST of the half-season hiding in a travel suitcase, then by all means whatever keeps the absurdity at an all-time high.
And while "hiding" most of the cast is very much so a feat for Hurwitz and the gang, no one is more hidden than Lindsay Bluth. As discussed, Portia retired from acting but the way they hide Lindsay is both absurd and in the fantastical realm of the Bluth family entirely acceptable (spoiler alert: They hide her under a bed sheet).Where most sitcoms find lazy ways to "write off" characters off screen, even temporarily, we're talking about the show that heavily relies on crappy CGI and self aware jokes to imply the real-life situations that impact the show (i.e: Tobias' character this season).
That said, while Lindsay does share very minimal scenes mostly with her alleged parents, her scenes are sort of sweet as both Lucille and Father B. unintentionally (and therefore comically) say nice things about her for the first time in her life. It's character development but it's also a clear indication that we're getting ready to send Lindsay off for good.
As for the Bluth youths, while George Michael plays out the impartially-placed Rebel-Alley-Howard story line, it's his dangerous cousin who steals the show...
"¡PRIMOS!"
(not this cousin)
Granted, when it comes to the George-Michel-Rebel story line, the Howard family cookout (which included Ron Howard's real-life family - plus a bunch of red-headed extras), was something I never knew I needed until now...
(Ron Howard taking self awareness to the next level, here.)
But with all that said, MAYBE... Maeby just might be the stand out of this entire eight-episode arc.
I mean, here's a character who went from angsty teenager, never properly raised, running around causing mischief with her cousin who is undeniably in love with her, to a devious con-artist who faked her way into the film industry. Even as she became an adult in season 4, her character has always been known to doop people for her own gain and yet she's always been one of the show's most charming characters. That said, if there's any takeaway from season five it's that perhaps only now has Hurwitz been able to channel Alia Shawkat's talent in being adorably criminal; taking full advantage of life; He's found her purpose.
I mean, her entire story arc of living in the Austero retirement home with Stan Sitwell is gold if nothing for just the fake teeth. Shawkat's ability to disappear into her multiple costumes and wigs this half-season proves just how much she truly is a Funke, no matter how much she wants to abandon her heritage.
The torch has been passed.
As for other developments (PUNS), in "An Old Start," Michael has a sentimental story that involves him stumbling upon his old family beach house which held place where his former wife had passed away; a family home which has secretly still been in use by all of the Bluth family members with only one rule.
Well... Two rules.
This story while yes is a crux for more Bluth character development is also a good use of a new location for the family to hang out as opposed to only so much of the model home. Albeit it's also where Lucille spends most of her time and Jessica Walters still proves to be comedy gold, even if just for ironic political relevancy.
Trump: "I will build a great wall on our southern border."
Lucille: "That was MY idea!"
Trump: "And I will make Mexico pay for that wall."
Lucille:
For me the biggest character arc, and the most "Arrested Development" the half-season ever got, was during the episode "Sinking Feelings," if only for the culmination of what has become of Michael and George Michael's relationship.
We get to the moment where the Bluths present the "Family of the Year" award to themselves; Gob absolutely butchers his speech and it's an all-time awkward and embarrassing moment (as expected).
Meanwhile, the audience is roped back into the Michael-Rebel-George Michael love triangle which became tired by the end of season four. Granted, it IS the singular event which split up father and son and if there's any emotional arc in this silly show at ALL, it's in the fruition of Michael and his George Michael. Their relationship is literally the humanistic glue that holds all the shenanigans together, from the opening scene of the Pilot until now.
And perhaps that's why that tender scuba moment was one to behold.
By having Michael and George Michael shout their true feelings of love for one another, only to be unable to hear each other, is VERY Arrested Development. Hurwitz is brilliant in keeping the empathy and compassion to a bare minimum, which is why both the humor and the Bluth character development is at perfect balance. Something goofy or outrageous always tends to cut genuine, emotional elements short...
...Which is why once Michael and GM DO have their precious "secret language" moment underwater, they are interrupted by a literally sinking George Sr. who clutches to his giant, golden anchor statue.
*Cue the mystical sign language*
But it doesn't just stop there. We have the devious Maeby who writes up a political speech for Lindsay to say to the public what a good daughter Maeby has been - Obviously there could only be a mix-up, as it's Lucille who ends up saying the speech and it's directed towards her daughter...
And that's how Lindsay Bluth felt moved by her mother's words for the very first time.
Due to the mix-up that foiled Maeby's plan, young Funke does the only thing left that she could:
Teach her family a lesson.
IT'S ALL COMING FULL CIRCLE
The way the episode culminates in the end will remind viewers of the classic S1 episode "In God We Trust," in the Seinfeldian way of random events seemingly coming together all in one moment. It's a small, subtle feeling but if "Sinking Feelings" is any indication of any feeling at all, it's that THIS is as close to the original show that Arrested Development has felt since the initial FOX run.
Granted, there are other fabulous moments that pay off in regards to waiting to see all the Bluths on screen together again.
For one, in "Rom-Traum" that three-car-pursuit to the Mexican border (the one with the cart vendor) is VERY classic Arrested Development.
"My hands are tied up at the moment."
(LITERALLY.)
Even the new character Murphy Brown (as played by Kyle Mooney), the revealed bastard-son of Tobias, is a flawlessly casted companion to David Cross in terms of just being painfully awkward in all the right ways.
His prison story is necessary if only to fit the bill for one of the Bluths serving time in order to deliver on the show's titular premise, but you can't help but wish there would be more of the hook-handed monster.
Granted, his small screen time is gold, especially the moments where George Sr. is teaching Buster all the survival tips of how to get through prison.
"STILL NO TOUCHING."
In the end, the half-finale "finale" "Premature Independence" inevitably builds to more cliffhangers.
We're treated to some old faces, some new...
Bob Loblaw: I have the punniest name on the show.
Lottie Dottie DA: Hold my beer.
This was perhaps one of the funnier play-on-word gags of the season.
(and Buster busting out of prison was only inevitable.)
We close out with Father B. busting Buster out of a phony prison float for a political parade (there's much clever play on words during the episode) and we're left with some theories as to where Lucille II is (although the odds of Liza Minnelli returning are about as slim as her character actually being dead).
Personally, this show always has been and, if this half-season is an indication of anything, always will be a show that truly gets me. The pure punny absurdity of the situations are nothing short of genius, even if season five is showing signs of the Bluth family becoming tired. The reality is, Tambor and Walters are getting old; Portia is exiting the stage; Michael Cera and the gang have actual careers; they're all committed to other projects; they want to live their lives. So with that, getting the Bluths back together AGAIN is not only welcomed but it's nothing short of a top banana of a miracle. Even when the show is at its lowest points, this has been a comedy goldmine time and again, so if this truly is the beginning of the end, we can only give the Bluths our best. As for the outrageous character development; the timeless gags and references, we'll always have a history of callbacks to connect all the brilliant dots and as the trailer suggests, there's always something there to remind me.
All of that said, we must bid the Bluths bon voyage until later this year.
So until part two drops, for where we stand with the show right now, me I'm pretty satisfied to hop back on.
