I'm in the minority for thinking this was the weakest episode this year. Martin Short ruined it for me, and the episode's humor level was more stupid than sharp.

Of course, it still did have its moments.

Tobias would suggest you stop picking at it.

It's not the same one, I did this one, but whatever.

Thanks!

Loved the chicken dance, didn't like the pointing out of Tobias' double entendres (felt they stood on their own without calling attention to them.)

I've just watched the episode again (as I always do with this show) and something caught my eye that may be way off base.. but, was that Gilbert Gottfried with Tobias when he was doing his "dry run"? It looked like him, but not doing his "schtick". I could be high ...

I did not notice, but I am watching this again tonight. Which part of the dry run? The horse, massage, hot tub or lunch?

It was 'lunch', if I recall.. Tobias said "I'll take it" and the Gottfried guy replies "You just did" (or something close to that)

FOX has pulled this weekend's (2/20) episode and is running another King of the Hill in prime time instead. It has also scheduled Arrested Development's "Finale" for the middle of April. Things are not looking good for the survival of this series. Too bad, I think it's genius.

Was this weekend's episode supposed to be new?

This is horrible news!

It will make it past this season.

i hope your right Jack.

what they need to do is get AD off of sundays. it seems so out of place sandwiched between cartoons. what i hope/think they'll do is take AD, and pair it up with either Malcom or Bernie Mac and put em on Tuesday nights. Hopefully, that way, they can get in on some of that American Idol action.

Ah Fox...it's just so refreshing...

Jackskeleton - I think it'll get cancelled (or buried in time switches until no one can find it) by midseason next year.

This isn't news. They said in the promo back on Sunday that there wouldn't be "Arrested Development" for three weeks.

It's not surprising there wont be any Arrested Development for three weeks. IN two weeks, the Oscars is on and I know they don't want to compete against that.

Yet another great episode this week. I thought some of the stuff with Tobias was just too funny.

So they've got 8 episodes left, they're coming back March 6th and are ending by mid-April?

we'll be getting an hour block of AD on March 6th.. basically a 2-part episode..

Out on a Limb (1)
Hand to God (2)

That is a solid idea, and see, they would probably gain a Bernie Mac viewer in me. It would give me an excuse to watch that show. I agree, sandwiched between cartoons is not the ideal show time.

Wasn't it paired with Malcolm the first season? In my mind the audience for the Simpsons is a better lead-in then Malcolm was. Though apparently the numbers don't show that.

But what they didn't promo is that they made the decision at the last minute. Trust me, it's never a good sign when a show gets pulled during a sweeps period. It means the network has no faith in the show.

Damn, one my favorite shows on TV, too. Friggin typical.

Here's a link: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/10916730.htm

Low-Rated Series Struggle for a Future

LYNN ELBER
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - "Arrested Development" star Jason Bateman and the sitcom's creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, were assessing the cuddle quotient in a show that viewers may soon lose the chance to embrace.

"There are a surprising number of hugs in the show. We just make jokes about how they (the characters) never hug," said Hurwitz. "So even when Michael's mother hugs him, he says, `What are you doing? Why are you squeezing me with your body?'"

Bateman, who stars as Michael in the acerbic Fox comedy about the dysfunctional Bluth family, offers a solution: "You've got the Pax network if you want a good hug."

But he and the rest of the "Arrested Development" clan might be in need of comfort: Fox is halting production after 18 episodes, shy of the usual 22, bringing the season - and maybe the series - to a premature end April 17.

"American Dad" takes its 8:30 p.m. EST Sunday slot starting May 1. The animated comedy about a CIA agent and his family scored in a post-Super Bowl preview and Fox awarded it the premium real estate after "The Simpsons."

With the football extravaganza as launching pad, "American Dad" drew 15 million viewers. For its sophomore season to date, "Arrested Development" is averaging 6 million weekly viewers, down from last season's average audience of 6.2 million.

The lack of interest persists despite rave reviews and awards: a Golden Globe for Bateman in January and a best-comedy series Emmy last year.

It's not the only program suffering a gap between quality and ratings. "Jack & Bobby" (9 p.m. EST Wednesdays), the WB's drama about the formative years of a future U.S. president, can't stoke viewer interest despite a critically acclaimed first season.

Although a relatively new network like WB doesn't demand "American Idol"-size ratings, the 2.7 million average weekly audience for "Jack & Bobby" is scant compared to the nearly 6 million watching WB's most-watched series, "7th Heaven."

Worthy shows have come and gone many times before, but the irony is acute for the latest endangered pair. "Arrested Development," which is ferociously clever and daringly breaks the laugh-track, multicamera sitcom mold, arrived as the genre cried out for rejuvenation.

With the passing of "Friends," "Sex and the City" and (at the end of this season) "Everybody Loves Raymond," observers have lamented the mostly uninspired retreads that are left.

"Arrested Development" wasn't entirely startling - "Seinfeld" reveled in the crassness of its characters; "Curb Your Enthusiasm" saw its cynicism and raised it.

But the Fox show was asking a sitcom family to be received as something other than inherently warm and loving, and derived its dry humor from the characters' odd, morally suspect behavior.

That audiences would take awhile to adapt was understandable, Bateman said.

"If anybody says this show is not accessible, which I think is not really accurate or fair or deserved, perhaps that's what they're talking about," the actor said. "It's around the side door for laughter. You have to watch two episodes to understand what our joke is. Then, if you're in that gear, it delivers nonstop."

Adds Hurwitz: "I think people understand dealing with adult parents and adult siblings, and that's at the core of every show."

Relationships also are central to "Jack & Bobby," which stars Christine Lahti as the loving but eccentric single mother of a boy destined to be a leader (Logan Lerman) and his older brother, Jack (Matt Long).

Along with family and romantic skirmishes, the series created by Greg Berlanti explores how Bobby's childhood shapes the character and moral sense he ultimately brings to the presidency.

It's a sophisticated twist on popular youth-oriented dramas such as "Everwood" and "Smallville," and arrived in a season of renewed viewer interest in scripted shows ("Lost," "Desperate Housewives") after the reality flood.

"Jack & Bobby" also appears to have the potential to attract the somewhat older audience that WB executives have said they want to cultivate as the network focuses on 20-somethings as well as teenagers.

Berlanti knows how to make appealing dramas, with "Everwood" and "Dawson's Creek" among his credits. He searches for an answer when asked why his latest effort isn't getting traction.

Maybe there's audience fatigue from too many family dramas, he suggests. Maybe it's the political element that's putting people off.

"I'd very much be looking forward to a second season when we didn't have an election," Berlanti said. "I think it was a case of people being oversaturated with that."

He expects "Jack & Bobby" to go the full season with 22 episodes and have a fighting chance to build its audience. With the truncated run for "Arrested Development," it seems unlikely that Fox (which gets points for bringing it back after the first low-rated season) will find a reason to renew it when the 2006-05 schedule is announced in May.

Veteran actress Jessica Walter, who stars as the cold-fish Bluth mother, Lucille, is dismayed by the show's peril.

"I think it's awful that art or creative entertainment is made for some formula of Nielsen ratings, and I don't buy into that," she said. "I'd rather be on something good watched by 1 million people than something awful watched by 20 million."

Berlanti strikes a more philosophical note.

He and his writers are working "to tell the best stories we know how to tell and hope that some point down the line people look back on the series, whether it goes for five years or just one year, and want to buy the box (DVD) set."

What's wrong with Fox? they have great shows like Family Guy and Arrested Development and then can't market them for shit. And yet shows like Who Wants to Screw My Mom and whatnot are in the primetime slots. This shit pisses me off!

Based on the title alone, I would set up a season pass for "Who Wants to Screw My Mom."

"You have to watch two episodes to understand what our joke is. Then, if you're in that gear, it delivers nonstop."

Couldn't agree more. My TV watching is erratic, and I find this show funnier if I see 2 or 3 in a row. I have just decided to pick this up on DVD. That may be the best way to watch it. Other shows don't fit that so well. I remember watching a borrowed 24: Season 1 and it suffered from watching back-to-back episodes. It began to feel very repetitive with so much plot rehashing. But Arrested really is a series, and seems to play better as one.

Bravo.