How I Rank the Episodes of Arrested Development Season 4

This ranking is based on my first viewing experience.  I assume I will ranking things differently upon future viewings.

BEST TO WORST:  Episodes Ranked

Episode 4 - The B. Team - Michael 2

This is where the season started to really click for me. This episode was jam packed with GREAT cameos and wonderful meta-humor. Finally things started to feel natural.

Episode 15 - Block Heads - George-Michael 2

The funniest episode of the season wraps up some of the story lines, but doesn't bring things to a fully satisfying conclusion.  But since this is comedy, if it's funny, I can forgive a lot.

Episode 5 - A New Start - Tobias 1

Much like the previous episode, they seem to have found their stride. The meta-humor is flowing naturally again.  I've always enjoyed Tobias.  This episode showed a more sympathetic Tobias. So it was enjoyable to me.

Episode 9 - Smashed - Tobias 2

Another solid Tobias episode with plot lines weaving in and out with one another. We even get a nice musical number.

Episode 13 - It Gets Better - George-Michael

At this point in the season there's enough backstory established that all of the episodes have plenty of pay off.  Perhaps if this episode came earlier in the season it wouldn't have been as strong, but this episode benefits from some of the weaker episodes earlier on.  Likewise making us wait to see the answers to some questions was probably for the best.

Episode 11 - A New Attitude - Gob 2

Tony Wonder finally gets some good screen time, and it pays off. Some early mysteries are starting to be answered.

Episode 14 - Off the Hook - Buster

I wasn't particular excited about this episode because I'm not a fan of Buster.  In small doses he's humorous, but typically he's a bit too over-the-top for my taste. To my surprise, this episode really worked.  I'm not sure why, but they found the right angle to make Buster relatable.

Once again we're starting to get more answers, but there's still a few more questions to be answered.

Episode 1 - Flight of the Phoenix - Michael 1

The Bluth's have returned.  The show is still funny, but the initial episode comes off a bit forced.  And the multiple story lines are more confusing than ever.

Episode 12 - Senoritis - Maeby

While not one of my personal favorite characters, they seem to keep her out of any annoying directions.  Her episode was solid, funny, and answered some questions. Though it didn't strive to the heights of some past episodes.

Episode 8 - Red Hairing - Lindsay 2

The first half was disappointing, but once things got moving this was a solid episode.  We're starting to see just how all the story lines will cross.

Episode 6 - Double Crossers - George Sr. 2

While this episode focused on George (who I am not all that interested in), the episode worked because it felt more like an ensemble.  Likewise, this episode was the first time they started to join the stories together more and show us wearing things were going.

Episode 7 - Colony Collapse - Gob

Gob's is a personal favorite.  Unfortunately they spent too much time on the Anne storyline. Obviously as a Christian I'm biased, but I didn't find any of the Christian jokes remotely funny.

Episode 10 - Queen B. - Lucille

I'm not a big fan of the character as a lead, but once the stories start tying together this is a solid episode.

Episode 3 - Indian Takers - Lindsay

I don't mind Lindsay and I find Tobias delightfully awful.  So I went into this episode pretty excited. Unfortunately this episode was pretty disappointing.  It was mildly amusing, but the Lindsay character in particular seems to most forced.

Episode 2 - Borderline Personalities - George Sr. 1

George Sr. isn't particularly interesting by himself, and I don't find his twin Oscar pleasant at all. Therefore, this episode is an example of why I was worried about the single character idea for the fourth season. I don't want to see an episode devoted to George Sr. Therefore, this episode had little appeal for me.

Arrested Development Season 4 Review

After years of anticipation of an Arrested Development film, this past weekend we were given a fourth season of the series.  The show was picked up by NetFlix, and the producers took full advantage of  the online format.  

Almost certain for budgetary and scheduling reasons, each episode of the season focuses on an individual character. In one of the most ambition seasons of program I've ever seen, the events of each episode happen at the same time.  With each character they tell us what that person has been up to since the end of the previous season (7 years ago), and all of their stories end at an event called Cinco De Quatro.  As the season progresses the stories start to intertwine, and we realize what we thought we saw was entirely incorrect.

Things are wacky as ever, but more complicated and confusing than ever.  With the new format the story lines become very confusing at times, and the timeline is virtually impossible to follow.  However, complicated plots and call backs are one of the things Arrested Development is know for.  The show is just as funny as ever, and it's great to see these actors playing these characters again.  Unfortunately at times their ambition out shines their ability.  

WHAT DOESN'T WORK

While overall I enjoyed season four, there were a number of big issues.

First off, by having each episode focus on individual characters, it makes each episode feel like a spin-off staring a different member of the cast.  To some extent, you really could watch most of these episodes as if they were the pilot to a different spin-off. Since the previous seasons focused so much on the ensemble, the shows relational dynamic is hurt.  There are very few scenes in the entire season which feature the entire family.  This gives the show a different feeling.

The biggest problem with the new format is that not all of the characters are interesting enough to carry an entire episode.  Episodes starring George Sr. or Lucille struggle to be funny or compelling.  Those characters work best when they're interacting with their family.  So when they're off on their own, they're not much fun to watch.  

With the new format, it also takes the season several episodes to really get going.  After the first three episodes I was scared they'd really dropped the ball on the season. However, in episodes four things changed drastically.  They started to find their comedic groove.  Likewise, since so much of the show's humor is based on callbacks, twists of perspective, and plot twists, the season takes several episodes of setup for things to start working.  I've already started re-watching the season, and the early episodes work better on second viewing.

Lastly, the season has far too many cameos.  When they make those cameos ironic and focus on meta-humor, they work really well.  However, too many cameos are far too forced.  In particular, the younger version of two characters are re-cast with celebrity cameos. The end result is both confusing and pretty awful.  One person makes no effort to act like the person they're playing, and the other simply comes off as parody.

WHAT WORKS BEST

Once the season gets going it becomes very clear the writers haven't skipped a beat on the humor.  It's just as funny and clever as ever.  These actors are great in these roles.

As I mentioned before, this is possibly the most ambitious season of a TV series I've ever seen.  The original concept for the season was to have one episode per character and they could be watched in any order.  Late in the game the creator admitted he was unable to pull it all together.  This is slightly disappointing, but the end result is still rather remarkable.

I can't imagine a scenario where this season could have worked on a network.  The plot is so twisted and interconnected, there's on way you can follow the plot watching one episode per week for 15 weeks.  This season opens the potential for all kinds of new story telling on television.

CONCLUSION

Season 4 of manages to remain as funny as ever, but it doesn't feel entirely right.  Instead of feeling like a fourth season of the show, it feels like 10 spin-off shows which all happen to have the same plot and cast.   It's unfortunate they were unable to reach their lofty ambitions. I'm glad they aimed high and came a little short rather than simply setting the bar low.

In the end, this is a comedy show, and I thought it was funny.  

RATING - 8 out of 10

But that’s just one man's opinion.  

Arrested Development Season 4 Episodes 11-15 REVIEW

Episode 11 - A New Attitude - Gob 2

Gob's second episode picks up at a point in the season which primes him for success.  There's plenty of room for Gob to be an clueless idiot in the midst of this complex story.

Tony Wonder finally gets some good screen time, and it pays off. Some early mysteries are starting to be answered.

RATING - 7.25 out of 10

Episode 12 - Senoritis - Maeby

While not one of my personal favorite characters, they seem to keep her out of any annoying directions.  Her episode was solid, funny, and answered some questions. Though it didn't strive to the heights of some past episodes.

RATING - 7 out of 10

Episode 13 - It Gets Better - George-Michael

At this point in the season there's enough backstory established that all of the episodes have plenty of pay off.  Perhaps if this episode came earlier in the season it wouldn't have been as strong, but this episode benefits from some of the weaker episodes earlier on.  Likewise making us wait to see the answers to some questions was probably for the best.

RATING - 7.5 of out 10

Episode 14 - Off the Hook - Buster

I wasn't particular excited about this episode because I'm not a fan of Buster.  In small doses he's humorous, but typically he's a bit too over-the-top for my taste. To my surprise, this episode really worked.  I'm not sure why, but they found the right angle to make Buster relatable.

Once again we're starting to get more answers, but there's still a few more questions to be answered.

RATING - 7.25 - out of 10

Episode 15 - Block Heads - George-Michael

This might have been the funniest episode of the season for me. By this point in the season they've set so much up, there's constant pay-off. My wife who has only seen episode 1 walked in while I was watching a scene.  I was rolling over laughing, and she was just looking at me like I was insane.

Finally we get the full view of what has been going on. Well kind of.  Even as the season comes to a close, many plot lines are left unresolved.  Perhaps due to how complex the story telling was, I suspect I simply lost track of when some points were resolved.

My biggest complaint is that I didn't feel like they brought the season to a satisfying conclusion.  There wasn't any type of resolution to what happened. We simply get the next day.  As the final scene was coming to a close, right before it ended I had the thought, "O wait...this is going to be it. This is the end." And then it was over.

Then again my problem with this episode wasn't so much the episode itself so much as what came before it. While the season built great comedic setups, the plot didn't follow suit.

RATING - 8 out of 10

Arrested Development Season 4 Episodes 7- Review

Episode 7 - Colony Collapse - Gob

I really wanted to like this episode.  Gob is a personal favorite. So I was highly anticipating this episode. Unfortunately I was let down.

THE NEGATIVE

The plot spends a lot of time focusing on Gob's romance with Anne.  The show portrays her as dull and forgettable for a reason. She's just not pleasant. Then to make matters worse, they played up her Christian background. As a Christian, I'm certainly biased, but I just didn't find it remotely funny.

THE POSITIVE

The rest of the episode was exactly what I was hoping for.  Gob getting into all kinds of clueless situations.  Tony Wonder makes a welcome return.

The season is in full swing, and the plot lines are starting to cross each other and making things interesting.  By this point in the season I'm convinced I need to re-watch the season as soon as I finish watching it.  That may be a first time I've felt that way.

RATING - 6.75 out of 10

Episode 8 - Red Hairing - Lindsay

The first half of the episode spent far too much time focusing on the things I don't like about this season.  Scenes about single old characters spending time with single new characters aren't terribly interesting. Those moments feel like they're just a spin-off.  So it was a bit dull to me.


However, once the episode got going things got much better. The last half of the episode actually moved the story forward, and we learned a bit more about what's going on. The call backs are in full swing and the cameos are paying off.  

On the flip, at this point we've barely seen Buster!

RATING - 7 out of 10

Episode 9 - Smashed - Tobias

Another solid episode. Perhaps it's because my expectations have reset, but the season seems to be getting much better as it goes along.  

Tobias continues to seem far more empathetic than ever before, and he's found a wonderful new role in life: MUSICAL DIRECTOR.

I think for the first time ever, I'm watching a season and wanting it to be over just so I can quickly watch it again.


RATING - 7.5 out of 10

Episode 10 - Queen B. - Lucille

Lucille like George Sr. is not a terribly interesting or funny character to me.   She's written to be unlikeable  and unrelatable. In the ensemble she serves a distinct purpose, but alone she's just her unpleasant self.  So an episode dedicated to her was always going to be an up hill battle with me.  

In the end my skepticism towards the episode was both affirmed and disproven.   When the episode focused on her alone I was usually disappointed.  When it tied together the web of story lines, I was hooked.  The episode was always enjoyable, but it works best when tying stories together.

By this point in the season I'm starting to wonder if I will like the early episodes a lot more upon a second viewing.

RATING - 6.5 out of 10

Arrested Development Season 4 Episodes 2-6 REVIEW

Episode 2 - Borderline Personalities - George, Sr.

This episode emphasized my fear about the new season.  New episodes about characters we don't care for as much will fall very flat.  I'm not all that interested in George Sr. and I really don't like Oscar. So an episode all about those two characters isn't particularly interesting to me.

Part of the problem with George Sr. is that since season 1, they've taken him in weird directions.  I don't want to watch him as a guru in a desert. It's just not interesting. Likewise, it added some weirdness that just didn't work.

RATING - 6 out of 10.

This show emphasizes the weakness of the new format.  But there's still some laughs to be found.

Episode 3 - Indian Takers - Lindsay

I enjoy Lindsay as a side character. Tobias always makes me laugh. So I had pretty high hopes for this episode. Unfortunately it left me pretty disappointed.  The jokes didn't work as well as I wanted.  The storyline was odd and moved too quickly.  But I still prefer these characters more than the others.

RATING - 6.5 out of 10

Episode 4 - The B. Team - Michael

Now that's more like it!

This is the show I fell in love with.  The jokes work. The meta-jokes finally feel natural, and there are some great cameos.  In particular I enjoyed Carl Weathers part.  There were lots of great little clever moments of the show commenting on it's self.

RATING - 8 out of 10

Episode 5 - A New Start - Tobias

I've always had a soft spot for Tobias.  He's just funny to me.  My wife doesn't enjoy him at all, but this is my review not hers.  What I loved about this episode is that it made Tobias more sympathetic.  Likewise, they built some great meta-humor which came naturally.

RATING - 7 out of 10

Episode 6 - Double Crossers - George Sr.

As I said earlier, George Sr. is not my favorite character. However, this episode seemed to deal with a George centered episode well.  In fact, it managed to be one of the stronger character specific episodes thus far by including more characters.  I didn't fee like I was watching a George episode. I felt like it was just an episode.

The advantage of this episode is that Gob and Michael were given a large amount of screen time. Seeing the ensemble makes it feel like how the used to feel.  Some of the other episodes have felt like spin-off TV shows about individual characters.    This episode features a good number of the characters from the show.

Likewise, this episode is starting to not just show story lines criss crossing but also starting to build the bigger story. We're starting to see how everything comes together, and the big call back jokes are starting to happen.

RATING - 7 out of 10

Arrested Development Season 04 Episode 01 - Flight of the Phoenix

I won't give each episode this through of a review.  This particular review is giving both my review of the episode and my first impressions about the season as a whole.

FOCUS - Michael

PLOT

Several years after the events of the previous season, Michael has hit his lowest moment. Everything in his life has fallen apart, and he's even struggling to connect with his son George Michael.

FIRST IMPRESSION

As the first episode of the new season, it affirmed some of my fears, assured me it's still funny, and sparked my interest in he new direction.

THE NEGATIVE

By focusing on a single character instead of the ensemble robbed the show of some of it's appeal. I want to see the Bluth family together.  This is almost certainly due to budget issues and the difficulty of working with the actors schedules.

Another problem with the new season is the humor and insanity feel forced for the first time.  In the past they were simply writing what they thought would be funny. However, in the shows seven year hiatus, it grew a reputation and legacy.  As the writers and actors have matured, the show must remain the same.  Thus, they're trying to write and act like a previous version of themselves.  They're trying to capture the magic of the past. It doesn't always work.

Lastly, not all of the cameos worked. I don't want to spoil anything, but certain celebrity cameos are playing some of the main cast at a different age.  The actors are fine, but since the cast are so distinct the performances come off as parody.

THE POSITIVE

With all that said, the show still works.  These guys have a knack for writing intricate, cross-crossing story lines. These actors careers were launched by these characters for a reason.

One of the nice things about the new season is there a sense of mystery throughout. We're not really sure where things are headed, and there are some genuine mysteries established. We're left waiting to for another characters episode to discover what was really happening.


RATING - 7.5 out 10

The show is still funny, but it doesn't flow as naturally as before.

Arrested Development Season 4: Why I'm Skeptical

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

My first exposure to Arrested Development came sometime in the middle of the first season.  I was visiting some friends in college, and they insisted that I watch a new show called "Arrested Development."  While I did enjoy it.  I didn't immediately suck me.  At this time I don't recall if we started with the first episode or not.

My buddies however went on to become rabid Arrested Development fans.  To put their fandom into perspective, two or three years ago they went to a statewide Arrested Development trivia contest, and won first prize and $1,000s.  To be entirely fair, they're somewhat infamous for being undefeatable at trivia contests.

A NEW DISCOVERY

Jump forward five or six years, and I re-discovered the show on NetFlix.  Arrested Development seems like one of the first shows designed for the NetFlix era. It just happened to pre-date the technology by five or six years.  If ever there was a show which benefits from watching episodes back to back and having the ability to re-watch earlier episodes, it may be Arrested Development.

Upon re-discovering it, I was immediately fascinated by the unique story telling, subtle humor, and the writers assumption the audience aren't morons.  They want you to really pay attention, and they assume you will pay attention.  Subtle actions or hints in one episode would become extremely important a few episodes down the line. Few TV shows have managed to do that without it coming off as forced or contrived.

One of the great joys of the show is introducing it to a new friend.  They're almost always instantly amazed by the number of TV and movie stars in it.  For a show which did poorly on it's initially release, it launched the careers of a number of big name stars and gave early cameos to many more.

A FOURTH SEASON...

After years of rumors of a movie and the cast dropping hints of a future, I was shocked when they announced a fourth season.  NetFlix was the perfect match for the show's unique style.

Then they gave a few more details about the season...

With season 4 of Arrested Development, they decided to dedicate each episode to a specific character, and focus on what each person was doing during a specific set of events.  I suspect that this was to accommodate the busy schedules of most of the cast.

I went into the season skeptical of the effectiveness of this approach. Arrested Development is inherently an ensemble show. The only character written to a lead is Michael, but by himself he's a fairly dull character. He's the voice of reason in a chaotic family.  When responding to their insanity, he's perfect.  Removed from their hijinks, he's not terribly interesting.  On the flip side, the rest of the characters weren't written to lead but to fill an ensemble.  Too much focus on them becomes overbearing. Everyone will end up having an episode they really don't care for because it focuses on their least favorite character.

Finally, much of the appeal of the show centers around the interactions of the entire family.  With the new format, much of what we love is lost.


With all that said, I will now start watching season 4...