[TV] Arrested Development season 4, who is excite?

[Sierra85]

i think i just blue myself!

[Myrrar]

Has anyone started watching it yet?

I've been crazy excited for it but my boyfriend said he wanted to watch it with me. He hasn't seen any of the old seasons, at all. Will he be completely lost and I should make him watch 1-3 1st(since it's on netflix anyway) or will he be ok keeping up so he can go back and watch the old ones later?

[Badpaladin]

Has anyone started watching it yet?

Yes, and they're absolutely living up to the standards the first three seasons set. The first few episodes sort of explain what happens in between the seasons, but they don't really recap much. He'll probably have to re-watch from season one or he'll probably be clueless about quite a few things.

The puns are truly spectacular, too.

[apepi]

I am watching it out right now, the first episodes seems okay right now.

[Bigitybones]

not feeling it so far


seth rogen /barf

[personn5]

I prefer the first 3 to the new one. It's not bad, but its not as good as the others.

[Badpaladin]

The sheer amount of puns in Tobias' episode was spectacular. I re-watched it to see how many I could catch and I lost count.

[Dasffion]

I finished the season last night. I was not disappointed, still hilarious. I really do hope though that this isn't going to be the only season because it was really well done and the way it ended wasn't extremely satisfying, although I can deal with it if I have to.

[Youvegotfail]

But, I still do NOT like that they've got Seth Rogan. The cast of Workaholics was an awesome cameo though.

I love Seth Rogen, but he did not fit that role at all, nor did he add anything of value. Kristen Wiig on the other hand, was PERFECT for young Lucille!

I finished the season last night. I was not disappointed, still hilarious. I really do hope though that this isn't going to be the only season because it was really well done and the way it ended wasn't extremely satisfying, although I can deal with it if I have to.

Hopefully the movie is still in the works, and will pick up right where this ended. Although I'd be fine with more seasons instead of a movie.

All in all I thought season 4 was very good. A bit repetitive at times (due to the nature of the split narrative) but still marvelous for anyone who's already a fan. The Showstealer Pro gag was awesome and had me checking google to make sure it was intentional (i thought Netflix just fucked up for a second, lol). I expect it will take several more viewings before I fully appreciate the way they split up the episodes, but with how busy all the cast is, I'm glad they had that idea to be able to make the show at all.

Love Each Other!

[Dasffion]

I love Seth Rogen, but he did not fit that role at all, nor did he add anything of value. Kristen Wiig on the other hand, was PERFECT for young Lucille!

I thought he did a passable young George Sr. [shrug]

[quote]

Hopefully the movie is still in the works, and will pick up right where this ended. Although I'd be fine with more seasons instead of a movie.

All in all I thought season 4 was very good. A bit repetitive at times (due to the nature of the split narrative) but still marvelous for anyone who's already a fan. The Showstealer Pro gag was awesome and had me checking google to make sure it was intentional (i thought Netflix just fucked up for a second, lol). I expect it will take several more viewings before I fully appreciate the way they split up the episodes, but with how busy all the cast is, I'm glad they had that idea to be able to make the show at all.

Love Each Other!

The split narrative was amazing. The way that they added more to it each time was great. I'll definitely appreciate another watch through.

[Kelimbror]

Don't like the new narrative structure at all. It's nice when it comes together, but it's seriously offputting in the beginning episodes. I thought I was going crazy because it didn't seem like the same show, but reviews (probably not trustworthy as it was mtv and other similar 'news' outlets) said it was exactly like the original series....

It wasn't until Tobias' episode that it started having the same level of non stop quirks, puns, and funny awkwardness. Instead of being dry humor, most of the episodes are just dry. The individual charactesr are not strong enough to stand on their own...they certainly don't have the same interaction with the family and that's what's wrong with this new series.

Admittedly the episodes are getting better and I haven't finished, but the first 4-5 episodes I almost couldn't make it through. It's definitely missing the magic and feels more like they are trying really, really hard to both capture the same level of humor while going a totally new direction. When the characters are back on screen together and the tirade of cameos finally end, that's the only time the episodes shine.

If this is what Netflix would do to Firefly, I would die...facetiously.

[Badpaladin]

The Verge's review summed it up best for me: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/28/43...r-is-this-good

I initially enjoyed the first few episodes, but it still felt fairly disjoint until about episode 6. From that point on there's so much insane meta-humor that requires you to have paid attention to the past few episodes, and that's what Arrested Development is all about. Overall I feel it's been a triumph.

The biggest problem with it, for me, was George Michael's scenes. It looked like Michael Cera didn't want to do the series (and apparently he's been a big reason why it's taken them so long to reboot).

[Kelimbror]

I initially enjoyed the first few episodes, but it still felt fairly disjoint until about episode 6. From that point on there's so much insane meta-humor that requires you to have paid attention to the past few episodes, and that's what Arrested Development is all about. Overall I feel it's been a triumph.

God I hope so. I just hit the first Michael centric episode after gaining hope with Tobias' episode and it started getting the familiar vibe, but it was so strange with the whole movie thing. Though seeing how they wove in Tobias and Lindsey's stories together made her episode much better...so I can see how the meta humor is what will make the earlier episodes have a little more weight.

I still stand by the fact that when the characters are apart the show is much, much weaker than it can be.

[Dasffion]

The biggest problem with it, for me, was George Michael's scenes. It looked like Michael Cera didn't want to do the series (and apparently he's been a big reason why it's taken them so long to reboot).

Which is lame because, at least in my opinion, he would have been nobody without AD.

[Kelimbror]

Which is lame because, at least in my opinion, he would have been nobody without AD.

Somehow I have a feeling Superbad had much, much more to do with his movie casting. Maybe the only casted him because of AD, but he had been in a lot of random stuff around then too. Also, that article says Tony Hale was the most difficult person to plan around and that it was because all of the actor's were so busy.

That doesn't sound like anything that can be blamed on anyone. Making a TV show that has been off the air for so long is a logistical nightmare and is pretty amazing that all of the actors came back at all.

[Dasffion]

Somehow I have a feeling Superbad had much, much more to do with his movie casting. Maybe the only casted him because of AD, but he had been in a lot of random stuff around then too. Also, that article says Tony Hale was the most difficult person to plan around and that it was because all of the actor's were so busy.

That doesn't sound like anything that can be blamed on anyone. Making a TV show that has been off the air for so long is a logistical nightmare and is pretty amazing that all of the actors came back at all.

Superbad was 2007, Arrested Development was 2003-2006 before that he only had bit parts on TV shows, the longest he'd been on a show was 12 episodes of an animated show called Braceface. He didn't really take off until after Arrested Development.

[Kelimbror]

Superbad was 2007, Arrested Development was 2003-2006 before that he only had bit parts on TV shows, the longest he'd been on a show was 12 episodes of an animated show called Braceface. He didn't really take off until after Arrested Development.

He would have filmed Superbad during filming AD. Additionally, he was typecast as the character specifically from Superbad. Granted he can't really act any other way, so it's easy to think he was chosen for roles based on George Michae;.

I hate to break this to you, but Arrested Development wasn't popular just like Firefly wasn't popular. It had horribly low ratings. Just because we love it and it received awards doesn't mean it did anything for anyone. You could make the same claim about Jason Bateman's revival or whatever. I'm sure it helped, but it wasn't some magical platform to greatness as starring on cancelled shows doesn't exactly do wonders for you in and of itself. Indirectly I'm sure it was good for all their careers, much like being on any TV show is always good.

But anyways, the point is to not try and place blame on someone when you don't know facts about anything and then make assumption about how x show did y thing for z person just because you think it's awesome. That's always a silly thing to do. And anyanyways, this is OT so I'll stop 'arguing' with you.

That review did echo many of my concerns and makes me reassured I need to just slog through it to aprpeciate it as a whole work.

[Badpaladin]

Which is lame because, at least in my opinion, he would have been nobody without AD.

I agree, although from his perspective he's pretty much been typecast because of his roles in AD and Juno. Can't blame the guy for wanting to do something else.

I hate to break this to you, but Arrested Development wasn't popular just like Firefly wasn't popular. It had horribly low ratings. Just because we love it and it received awards doesn't mean it did anything for anyone.

I'd argue that along with Firefly it's been incredibly popular, but only after it was cancelled. Both shows have been very successful in DVD and digital sales, and the sheer number of people tuning into Netflix on Sunday seemed to indicate the show's popularity.

[Kelimbror]

I'd argue that along with Firefly it's been incredibly popular, but only after it was cancelled. Both shows have been very successful in DVD and digital sales, and the sheer number of people tuning into Netflix on Sunday seemed to indicate the show's popularity.

You misunderstand what popular TV means. When it aired, it was not popular. It had extremely low ratings and was summarily cancelled. A cult following is not popularity. I'm not sure if you just didn't realize that had to be what I was talking about, as it was the only thing that mattered when the show was airing, or if you were intentionally ignoring it.

I'll point out the same argument was made about Firefly, to which they lobbied to make a movie because everyone said how popular it was and that it should have never been cancelled (even though ratings indicated no one watched it). You know what happened? No one watched the movie either. Ticket sales were awful and I'm not even sure if it made back the money they spent to make it...

It's the same thing that happens to all cult shows. We think because we love them and know a bunch of other geeks who love it, that it's the most amazing thing on Earth. Better to just enjoy things at face value than portray it as something it isn't.

Edit: Actually it didn't
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=serenity.htm

[Badpaladin]

Netflix's streaming traffic jumped by 10% on Sunday, compared to the previous Sunday. It is incredibly popular, and it's been performing just as Netflix intended it to.

Granted some of their stock dropped from 250-something percent to 240-something percent after some big media outlets posted reviews after watching the first three episodes, but I don't really consider the knee-jerk reactions of the stock market worth looking into in the short term anyways.