In light of the Writer’s Guild of America strike, which starts today, I decided that it was time to look back on something that I’ve written about before, but could be written about again and again. And that is the greatest show to ever grace our airwaves. Arrested Development.
Last night, for no particular reason, I put in the second season and watched about 12 episodes from it. And in doing so I realized just how good it was, and how much better it is than even the only show I watch now, The Office. I explained it to Kelly like this, more or less. The Office has heart, Arrested Development had brains. AD was so clever, and subtle yet over the top, and self referential and current yet transcendent. I just can’t think of anything that could ever come as close.
And while I’m sad that it is gone, part of me is glad that it is over. Because it never had the chance to become awful. It didn’t become a parody of itself, or simply a reminder of something that used to be. What we have is a little slice of entertainment perfection, and that will be with us forever. Especially in light of what I see as the dwindling quality of The Office, in what I assume is an attempt to pander to the greatest common denominator, I’m doubly glad that AD never sold out, never attempted to be something it wasn’t, and never really got popular.
So I implore you, if you have netflix, or some extra money, get the first season, and watch it all in a short time frame. Even if you saw part of it on TV once and didn’t think it was that great, give it another try. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed.