by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor
In 2006, FOX made a grievous error when it cancelled one of the most original and entertaining comedies that it had on its Sunday night lineup. I am of course referring to the Emmy Award Winning series Arrested Development, created by comedic genius Mitch Hurwitz. After the series was cut short during what was believed to be its third and final season, fans clamored for more antics of the Bluth Family. Many years passed, and we were told by Hurwitz himself to remain hopeful, as plans for a potential movie were underway. In 2011, the fans’ prayers were answered when it was announced that Netflix would become a new home for the Bluths, and it would even be footing the bill for a new season worth of episodes! How could this epic news get any better? We also learned that all of the installments of the new season would be released at once, defying conventional television releases. The time has finally arrived and the entire Bluth family is back in action. Get ready, because it is time for more Arrested Development!
For those of you who haven’t been following the news for this upcoming release, it was previously revealed that these new episodes would be done as an anthology style format, where each member of the Bluth family would take the focus for an installment. This would allow for the entire cast to return to the show and provide fans with a better idea as to what has transpired since the show ended in 2006. To prepare for your Arrested Development: Season Four undertaking, I would highly recommend rewatching the season three finale at the very least (watching the whole series again is never a bad idea either).
So what has happened to the Bluth Family since we last saw them?
Michael (Jason Bateman)– The most sane and rational member of the Bluth family sure has hit a downward spiral. Things started looking up when he decided to start his own company (with some help from Lucille 2) and finally completed the model homes. Due to the economic turn and real estate market crash a few years ago, his new investment was determined to be a bust. At his lowest point, he seeks out his son, George Michael, and decides to take up residence in his college dorm room. Michael has become totally oblivious to the privacy needs of a college student son, and after a comedic voting sequence, is kicked out of the dorm Survivor style. Michael is contacted by Barry Zuckercorn (Henry Winkler returns!) who informs him that Ron Howard (yes, the announcer for Arrested Development) is interested in Michael’s story and wants to make it into a movie! Michael goes to meet with Howard, and he is told to get all of his family to sign away their rights for the film (the same thing that Maeby did at the end of season three…?). This takes Michael (now a producer on the film) on a quest to reunite with his family. Along the way he meets a mysterious redhead named Rebel Alley (Isla Fisher), whom Michael decides to cast in the movie as his dying wife.
George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor)– George attempts to sell off his remaining Bluth Company stocks to Stan Sitwell, and learns that Sitwell is in the process of getting a big new contract. George gets a sneak peak at some of the plans, and infers that Sitwell is planning on building a giant wall to separate the U.S. and Mexico. George and Lucille decide that drastic steps must be taken to protect their finances and newest endeavor, and announce that they are formally getting a divorce! While Lucille is dealing with her current legal woes, George travels with his brother Oscar to a section of land along the Mexican border. Having found a special herb that only grows in this specific area, Oscar had setup a sweat lodge and living residence with a colorful group of characters. George decides to buy the land and sell it back to the U.S. government, and also decides to make even more money by creating a Five Star sweat lodge experience for wealthy patrons to come and learn his secrets to financial success. George’s newest plan seems to be working out to his benefit…that is until the economic recession which puts the creation of the wall on hold. George sends Oscar on a mission to go and fill in for him with Lucille while he tries to rectify the situation with the wall. Oscar takes playing the role of George a little too seriously, and ends up in bed with his brother’s wife once more!
GOB (Will Arnett)– Following the events of the Queen Mary, GOB ends up finding himself getting engaged to Ann! He decides to use his soon to be Father-In-Law’s Christian television program to make the wedding announcement, as well as an announcement that he will be performing the ultimate illusion during the ceremony as well. With all eyes on him, GOB arrives at the wedding to do a performance that would be more impressive than Jesus’ death and rebirth. Of course the trick goes awry, and GOB finds himself alone and defeated once again. Reaching out to his estranged son, Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade), he decides that it is time to get down to business and start taking his life seriously. Things start to look up when he befriends a new posse of young adults at a bar, and earns their admiration with some magic tricks and his ability to create distractions (earning him the title “Getaway”). GOB also ends up crossing paths with his old nemesis, Tony Wonder (Ben Stiller) and the two find that they had more in common than they once realized. Cue “The Final Countdown.”
Lindsay (Portia de Rossi)– Finally deciding that enough is enough, Lindsay informs Tobias that their marriage is over, and that she knows he is gay. Tobias quickly dismisses the allegations, but the two separate and go their own way. After finding a copy of the book Eat, Pray, Love, Lindsay decides that she wants to have a new start in life and sets out on a trip to India. She meets a shaman who tells her that she needs to find love at home, and she abruptly heads back to the United States. Reuniting with Tobias, she attempts to give her marriage one last shot…that is until she meets a man named Mark. Mark doesn’t live his life based on possessions or fake beauty, but instead focuses on political activism. Lindsay runs away with Mark to start a new life (again) and finds herself living in the middle of nowhere with Mark’s mom and his ostriches. Lindsay embarks on her new life with Mark, and meets a man named Herbert Love, who is actually the man that is helping to support George Senior’s U.S./Mexico wall initiative. Now Lindsey must choose between a man with smarts and charisma, or the political activist that she has grown attached too.
Editors Note: I have no idea why there are so many ostriches throughout the season…someone must have really enjoyed them and thought they would be funny.
Tobias (David Cross)– Following the end of his marriage to Lindsay, Tobias stumbles onto her copy of Eat, Pray, Love, and also decides to set out to India to start his new life. Not knowing that his ex-wife was traveling to the same destination, a comedic series of events leads the two to unknowingly cross paths on several occasions. Tobias eventually returns and, reunited with Lindsay, attempts to give their marriage another shot. The couple decide to go to one of Tobias’ acting classes at the Methadone clinic (you did read that correctly), where Tobias meets a woman named DeBrie Bardeaux (Maria Bamford) who apparently starred in a low budget 1990’s adaptation of The Fantastic Four (not the ACTUAL 1990’s low budget adaptation that happened in real life though). The two actors connect and decide to leave their other relationship behind in hope of a new life. After being falsely accused of being a child predator on national television, a series of events leads Tobias to set out and reignite his new flame’s talents, and works to create an illegally produced Fantastic Four Musical.
Buster (Tony Hale)– With his parents divorced and dealing with their own situations, Buster is left unattended. Surviving on his own in the family penthouse for an undisclosed amount of time, Buster eventually seeks out another Lucille to take care of him: Lucille 2! Unfortunately for Buster, she doesn’t want to take care of a son, but wants a lover instead. Realizing that this was not a path that he wanted to go down again, Buster turns to someone else to take care of him…ARMY! ARMY helps buster out and gives him a new bionic hand, and sets him up as a drone pilot, using his child like enthusiasm and skill at video games to their advantage. Buster is released from ARMY after he has an incident, and meets the Love family, who reluctantly decide to take him in. Can Buster get over the idea of being a monster, and find a family that truly accepts him?
Maeby (Alia Shawkat) – Of all of the character stories that I was looking forward to the most, it was an easy tie between Maeby and George Michael. Would these two former cousins be linked romantically several years later? Would Maeby still be working at the movie studio? It does take a while to get some answers, but we do learn that Maeby was released from her job at the movie studio since she hadn’t completed High School. In an attempt to get attention from her parents, Maeby decides to not only fail her senior year once, but several times. Eventually Maeby is signed up for a tutoring program with a college student, and she is unknowingly reunited with George Michael! While the two reconnect, Maeby learns that she is being given a Life Time Achievement Award for her work at the studio, and invites George Michael to join her at the event. In an effort to get once again gain more attention, she decides to use this moment to help plug George Michael’s current software project: FakeBlock (more on that in a minute). Maeby also falls for a high school student named Pronto, who she believes is an undercover cop. If all of these things weren’t enough, Maeby is also dealing with her mother, who is now seeing Howard Love. Love’s campaign manager is treating her mother like a prostitute, and Maeby becomes her pimp! Seriously. Not making that last part up.
George Michael (Michael Cerra)– Finally making it to college, George Michael has set out to redefine himself in the world. Having returned to the U.S. following a study abroad session in Spain, he finds himself with an unlikely new roommate when his dad comes to stay…indefinitely. We learn that George Michael has become increasingly interested in developing his skills as a musician and studying the woodblock at Juilliard, and he sets out to create a fully versatile digital application for the musical instrument with his roommate. After his father comes crashing into the room, he lies and says that they are working on privacy software to get his dad to mind his own business. This lie begins a spiral that would take him (and his family) on an interesting journey. Maeby learns of his new “privacy” software, and thinks that this could be the next big thing and attempts to help him market it. Before he could come clean about what FakeBlock truly did, major investors were lining up to support the newest app. These lies also lead to George Michael meeting a beautiful young girl at Maeby’s awards event, and cause the two young adults to hit it off.
Believe it or not, the character stories above are just the tip of the iceberg, and there is a lot more going on besides what has been mentioned. By using the anthology format, we are treated to a very intricately woven web of stories that do cause the character to cross paths multiple times throughout the season, leading to further comedy.
Although seven years have passed since the last episodes of Arrested Development, this new season demonstrated that it was business as usual for Hurwitz and the gang. The season does have a slow start with the first few episodes, but once you get past the initial reintroduction of the characters, it feels like old times. I did have a few double take moments with the season, primarily when it came to some of the returning actors. While most of the cast look identical to their 2006 counter parts, a few people have definitely gone through some changes. You might not believe it upon first glances, but Lindsey Bluth IS still being played by Portia de Rossi. When I saw the Entertainment Weekly Arrested Development cover (pictured below), I actually thought that they had recasted the roll, but in reality, Portia has had a lot of work done. Other than the obvious changes since Michael Cerra and Alia Shawkat have grown up, the most surprising reveal was that of Steve Holt, played by Justin Grant Wade. I won’t get into specifics, but just wait until you see him show up.
While the Bluth family remained front and center for the entire season, their lives were enriched with cameo appearances by Kristin Wigg, Seth Rogan, Andy Richter, Ben Stiller, Scott Baio, Ed Begley Jr., Jeff Garlin, Judy Greer, James Lipton, Liza Minnelli, Alan Tudyk, and many more. I want to applaud these actors for their contribution to the show, because having all of these reoccurring character appear definitely helped to make this a fantastic season.
So after all this time, was it worth it to see more Bluth adventures? Without a doubt. It takes some time to get things in motion, but ultimately this new Netflix sponsored season proves that Arrested Development went out before its time. There are many more stories to tell, and things are not wrapped up with the nice bow at the end of the 15 episode endeavor. If we aren’t getting more after this, I would be very surprised. The new style format for the episodes might throw some people off initially, but as things progress and the individual stories become more intertwined, it is obvious that the humor and wit that Arrested Development was known for is still present and accounted for.
If you haven’t made your way through the episodes already, make sure you do it soon. I guarantee you that your friends have been watching it. Your co-workers have been watching it. Your family members have been watching it. You do not want to have this season spoiled for you. Season Four of Arrested Development sets the stage for further adventures of Michael, GOB, Tobias, Lindsey, George Michael, Maeby, Buster, and Lucille, and I sure as hell can’t wait to see what comes next.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Arrested Development: Season Four – 4 out of 5 times to remember that there is always money in the Banana Stand.
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