I never watched the Fox series Arrested Development when it aired from 2003-2006. When I heard that there was a Kickstarter campaign to bring the series back, I was curious why it had such a following. There was much fanfare this past spring when the new season debuted as a “semi-original” series on Netflix. Sister gave it a thumbs-up but because I had never seen the series, I didn’t want to only watch the new season 4.
I finally waded through the episodes, binge-watching for hours. A selfish, self-absorbed family with few ethics are put into silly scenarios. There were a few laugh out loud moments, many puns, and commentator meta-communications about the story itself. Someone (minus the niece Maeby) in every episode mutters “I’ve made big mistake.” This is a main theme in the show, thus hilarity ensues.
One night I had fallen asleep while watching and Son listened in. The next day he asked me why I was watching it because to him, from the tone of voice and what was going on, it sounded like a “really bad sitcom.” I had to admit that I could understand that but then I had to point out all of the awards it had received in its short run.
Side note: I had to look up 2003 TV to see what I was actually watching: Star Trek Enterprise, Scrubs, David Letterman, HBO’s Carnivale, Six Feet Under and Sex in the City, USA’s Dead Zone and Monk.