here's my hastily constructed netflix review of arrested development:
I carefully watched every episode of this series in rapid succession. I gave it three stars.
Arrested Development gave me the feeling I was in the presence of a very smart and unique show when I watched it. Problem is, the show's smart and unique aura felt forced and calculated. Arrested Development lacked a certain "incidental" smarts I was hoping for. I was given the impression that the writers were trying desperately to be smart, for it wasn't happening naturally.
Arrested Development's complex stories at times fall victim to an obviously deliberate attempt to pump out a certain product; a caricature of its self, if you will. While heralded by many for this complexity, I sometimes felt as though it was merely the result of chaos and disorganized pandemonium among pressured writers who surely knew the rug was about to be pulled from underneath them. I think this crazed panic was mistaken for revolutionary, innovative writing by unwitting fans of the show.
Those who heap unqualified praise upon this series are, in reality, meaning to say more about themselves than the series. They want to be the cool people who "understood" the show. They want to be a part of the small minority of Americans who were advanced enough to be "ready" for Arrested Development. That's all fine, and I understand it. I really do agree it's a good show, but I'd hardly call it the best series of all time. When the show ended, its time had come. The writers blew their load too quickly, and for possibly the first time in American broadcast history, a TV executive made the right decision in shutting off the studio lights when he did. I do recommend this series, but I don't see its cancellation as the greatest injustice since the Holocaust as some apparently do. Again, with confidence, I give Arrested Development three stars.
