The Great Entertainment that is 'Arrested Development'
 

....Arrested Development. I've had all the seasons for a couple of years, I have watched them before, but lately I have been going back through them, and I don't think a comedy has as many layers of story and humor. (EDIT: I enjoy the show, but I don't literally believe it is the smartest show. The title is a hyperbole to show my love for the show. No debate about this is necessary :) )

I literally pick up on stuff and laugh at different things everytime I watch an episode. Just amazing stuff, and I hope this movie gets made. Ron Howards narration, the editing, and the acting is stellar. Never will there be a more perfect casting.

And Will Arnett as Gob...is phenomenal. Just watched the episode again last night with the company softball game...just awesome.

Discuss.

Smuggest show? Definitely. Along with many of the fans that are condescending towards those of us that just do not like the show. If I have one more AD fan insinuate that I don't like the show because I just am not smart enough to "get it," I'm going to clobber them with a baseball bat.

The acting by Jeffrey Tambor was top notch as always, but the rest of the show was good. Not horrible, but certainly not the godsend of modern television that people try to make it out to be.

I can respect that. The pilot and first one or two after that were 'meh.' But as soon as the relationships with characters were built, it REALLY picked up (to me, anyways).

Do you like The Office? If not, its simply because you don't get smart humor either. :)

On it's best day Arrested Development doesn't even approach being even half as smart or funny as The Simpsons was during it's peak, say, seasons 3-8. And that's well over 100 episodes, more than double the episodes AD produced.

Okay, I don't want this to erupt in a debate over smartness/humor, its basically a thread to talk about Arrested Development, not to debate its greatness or lack thereof.

The threat title is an opinion of mine, no need to debate that.

Cheer's also is pretty smart.

While Arrested Development would be near the top, I'd have to give the nod to Seinfeld, with Frasier probably coming in at number three. A show that influenced society as much as Seinfeld did had to be playing with a full deck.

Getting the show has nothing to do with being smart. It's either your type of comedy or it isn't. It has nothing to do with intelligence.

One problem: there have been about a thousand threads about "Arrested Development"'s "greatness".

Now I know how people felt when I was praised "Scrubs" all the time when I first joined.

I like AD, but we don't need all these "praising" threads. Ok, we get it, it's the greatest comedy ever and nothing has been funnier. We "get" it.

I didn't care too much for Scrubs, but LOVE The Office. Should I check out 30 Rock? I haven't heard a lot of negative stuff about it.

I highly recommend you check out "30 Rock". It's kind of like "Arrested Development" actually. :lol:

If you don't like it, it doesn't mean you don't "get" it, it just isn't your show. It isn't like "Scrubs" at all really, so you might like it. I'm not a fan of the US version of "The Office" personally (I'm a fan of Jenna Fisher, however), but the UK (the original) version was pretty good. The US version has a very talented cast, however. The US version of "The Office isn't bad by any means, and I might love it after it goes off the air (like I did with "Seinfeld"), but I don't watch or buy the DVDs right now.

If you're going to watch "30 Rock" from the beginning; give it a couple of episodes. It's funny from the start, but it really transforms into a brilliant comedy within the first season.

Flight of the Conchords

/end thread

All In The Family

The Beverly Hillbillies.

Fawlty Towers

That was his point. Many fans of the show do not treat it that way though.

I definitely agree on that. I just remember the many threads here and elsewhere that contained people berating those not liking the show as "too dumb to understand it."

I consider myself above average intelligence, I have a sense of humor that ranges from old slapstick of 3 Stooges to the more "intellectual" stand-up comics. For some reason, AD just never clicked with me. I watched the entire first season when someone traded it in to my store. Even though I didn't particularly care for it after the first disc, I stuck around hoping things would develop, but it just didn't click for me.

I'd have to say that if someone traded in the second season I would watch it, if only for the (as I mentioned originally) phenomenal acting by Tambor. It's just one of those shows I never understood the fuss over though.

The Office (UK) has to be up there. But I'm sticking with Arrested Development.

Her?

What exactly are the qualities that make a comedy 'smart'?

Is it that they don't follow the typical sitcom routes? Is it the quality or style of the writing, acting, etc.? Is it the lack of a laugh track? All of the above? None of the above?

Interesting question. I'd say all of the above, but more importantly, unconventional. A show that ditches all preconceived notions of what a sitcom should be.

I think AD takes the crown though because of the sheer volume and layers of jokes thrown at you. You would have the typical one liners(dialog), site gags, jokes in the background, lots of call backs to previous gags, even cues that forshadow future gags, and even musical bits that add to the complexity. At any given time you have one or more of these going on all at the same time while a typical sitcom will throw one at you and wait for the laughter to subside before lobbing another at you.

Seinfeld is right up there though because it too, took the sitcom manual and threw it out the window. Who else would have done an entire 22 minutes waiting on a table at a restaurant? Crazy. Seinfeld paved the way for AD and most shows on the air today.

Third would have to be the Office (UK) that took the mockumentary and used social awkwardness as it's ace-in-the-hole. Sure there have been awkward characters through time, but the lack of a laugh track intensified and amplified that awkwardness to unrivaled levels. Something no other sitcom had ever done before.

Of course there is nothing wrong with a traditional sitcom, it's worked for decades. I always think back to (James Burrows?) discussing Cheers about how it was literally... setup-setup-punchline, setup-setup-punchline, repeated for 22 minutes. It's crazy watching episodes after hearing that. You can totally see that in action and it works, brilliantly.

I totally agree with Michael. It's the 'smart' stuff that he describes that makes a show so rewatchable. The formula is broken, forcing you to have to look for the hidden jokes that aren't that obvious. These 'layers' make it difficult for some people to get into. Since the joke isn't so obvious, a lot of people don't like that. Another example is The Office: you might laugh at what Michael says, but on a second viewing its even funnier seeing Pam's reaction as he says it. It's not 'lol' funny, just makes something else that much funnier.

Not saying they are dumb, just saying only certain people are going to enjoy doing that. I, personally, love it.

Simpsons did all that and more, for far more episodes. :)

But I guess it doesn't count because it's animated... :sad:

Not quite the same since anything can be done in animation. You want Homer abducted by aliens while Chopin's funeral march plays in the background while you see the power plant get nuked from orbit? Done. Totally forget about it by next week? No problem. Not quite the same restraints as live action.

I never could get into the Simpsons. I watched the first few seasons but didn't buy into the phenomenon it became. I catch an episode here and there and am still left scratching my head. Having missed the so called "pinnacle" my opinion probably doesn't count for much though.

Canadian show "The Newsroom" for me, but humour is very subjective.

Mr. Show hasn't been mentioned yet, which I find to be mind-numbingly smart.

I was one of the people that just didn't "get" AD while it was on. I'd watch an episode here and there and have a few laughs but never remembered to tune in next week. I started catching episodes on HDNet and fell in love with it. Picked up all 3 seasons and I'm currently watch them for the second time through.

I do get why some people wouldn't like it though and I don't think it has anything to do with not "getting it". It's a strange type of humor that you either find funny or don't find funny.

Every time I watch I simply can't believe that Ellen has that on "lock down"

I'm a huge Simpsons fan (seen every ep, most repeatedly, watch it twice daily), and have to disagree with this.

The Simpsons was a smart, funny series for sometime, but it was never as smart or laugh out loud funny (or quick witted) as AD. It's charming, enjoyable, and generally well written but I feel AD out did it during it's short lifespan.

Isn't it more of an accomplishment to have three brilliant seasons rather than five brilliant seasons and 14 mediocre ones?

I'd think that earning your keep is more of an accomplishment than not being invited back after just three seasons.

Listen, I'm a Newsradio fan. We're a bitter lot because it's just the type of show NBC could have really used if they had sense enough to stick it on Thursdays in a consistent time slot instead of wasting it on The Single Guy or Veronica's Closet. In the end, it's still about Newsradio and AD not pulling their weight for whatever reason. Do you think American Idol would die due to a few crappy scheduling ideas?

Andy Griffith (the Barney years). Deceptive in the seeming 'ease' of the comedy, which was actually the result of a collaborative approach between a highly talented team of writers & Griffith himself. The show proved that comedy could be multi-layered...combining warmth, satire, strong characterizations, naturalistic dialogue & situations, etc....and still make it palatable & highly accessible to the general public. Not an accident that the show (first five seasons) have held up so well over the years & produced so many iconic characters who are still quoted & impersonated to this day).

Also agree that the first season of The Beverly Hillbillies had some of the sharpest social satire ever. I feel confident that many of the 'sophisticated' types who laughed at the country bumpkins didn't even realize when the joke was on them (through the show's lampooning the absurdity of many social conventions & materialism).

Two vastly underrated shows...snubbed even in their heyday by urbanites (including network executives who were 'embarrassed' by the rural-based humor).

For those who like snarkier, modern humor, I'd vote for Grosse Point.

I'll toss out another one: Sports Night. Discuss. :)

When annoying hipsters start quoting it, it becomes smart.

What TV comedy do you enjoy? Add some flavor to your threadcrap.

Not a threadcrap. Your first post is about your opinion. My post is about mine.

Mine invites discussion about a TV show, or comparable shows. It contributes my views on the show, and subsequent posts invite discussion on other smart shows. Your post adds nothing substantial to the discussion in this thread, its merely a sarcastic remark that no one could really respond do, or base anymore discussion off of.

In addition, my remark isn't to piss you off (sorry if you got that idea), but I really wanted your example of a 'smart comedy.'

That's fine if you throw in an opinion, just add something relevant or substantial to the existing thread.

"Seinfeld" paved the way for comedies like AD, "30 Rock", "Scrubs" and "The Office", but "The Larry Sanders Show" was really the comedy that perfected the unconventional sitcom.

If we were going to do an AD vs. "The Simpsons" debate; "The Simpsons" would win every time. Yes, AD might be a "smart" comedy and beloved by a niche, but passionate audience, but "The Simpsons" will always be a superior show for 2 reasons:

a) "The Simpsons" has had so many memorable episodes, and even though some of them might not be as funny as a select episode of AD (I think any episode of "The Simpsons" is funnier than AD, except for the newer episodes); its "memorable" factor outweighs that, IMO.

b) It's a pop culture icon and if you went "Jaywalking", and asked people to name a very popular sitcom; It would most likely be "The Simpsons", "Seinfeld", "Cheers", "The Cosby Show" or "M*A*S*H". I doubt AD would come up once.

As much as I am a fan of The Simpsons, I don't see how being "very popular" equates to being superior. By that logic, the greatest shows of all time are American Idol and Wheel of Fortune. Although some people might name both of those shows as "greatest of all time", I think many would disagree.

I also just don't see a direct line between Seinfeld and AD, 30 Rock, The Office, etc. Seinfeld was a pretty pedestrian sitcom, though done in a smart way.

In fact, I think you could look at Parker Lewis Can't Lose (at least, the first two seasons) as progenitor of the no-laugh-track, cut-aways, strange-camera-movement, satirical, pop-culture-laden style of AD, Scrubs, etc.

What a strange first reply to an AD appreciation thread. No wait. Let me rephrase that: "What a overreactive condescending threadcap generalizing AD fans for an AD apreciation thread..."