ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
Finally here is a comedy that matches upto the likes of Seinfeld, Friends in terms of originality and the humour. Arrested Development is one of the best comedies around and should get you hooked from the get go. As of now, this series can be viewed on Star World - Thursdays 10 pm (I think). I however took the easier way out and got it from my friend.
Outline
The story is of the Bluth family. The Bluth family is a rich and affluent family on the brink of troubles they never imagined, that is all except George Bluth Sr. George Bluth Sr is celebrating his retirement when he is arrested and charged with everything from fraud to treason. That is where the series starts - and so does the fun. The main cast of the series are :
Jason Bateman - Michael Bluth (george sr’s son)
[was in Hogan’s family as David, as Vince Vaughn’s sidekick and as a wacky commentator in dodge ball]
Portia de Rossi - Lindsay Bluth Fünke (george sr’s daughter and maeby’s mom)
[played Nell Porter in Ally Mcbeal]
Will Arnett - George ’’Gob’’ Bluth II (george sr’s eldest son)
Michael Cera - George-Michael Bluth (michael’s son)
Alia Shawkat - Mae ’’Maeby’’ Fünke (lindsay’s daughter)
Tony Hale - Byron ’’Buster’’ Bluth (george sr’s youngest son)
David Cross - Tobias Fünke (lindsay’s husband, george sr’s son in law)
Jeffrey Tambor - George Bluth Sr./Oscar Bluth (yes he plays twins!)
Jessica Walter - Lucille Bluth (george sr’s wife)
The cast of this series is really good and the acting comes naturally to them. The best however is that this series is made documentary style and there is no recorded laughter! I repeat there is no recorder laughter ! The effect is better than what you imagine. With recorder laughter or live audience you feel obligated to laugh at things you may not find that funny but here you can still keep laughing from a previous joke/gag or choose not to at all! The thing is until you watch it you wont know. The series features very high profile guests some of whom are:
Ron Howard - Narrator of the series
Other whose role I dont want to give out are:
Henry Winkler - Fonzie from Happy Days, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor (Ben Stiller’s wife and actress), Charlize Theron, Carl Wethers, among others. The addition of these guests gives credibility to the series and also a lot of occasions to laugh.
I definitely recommend this series for two reasons - it is that damn good and I am a victim of arrested development! Happy viewing!