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Arrested Development |OT| Season 4 - May 26 - Netflix Unmakes A Huge Mistake

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D

diggmcbadass

Member
Don't get all the hate. I'm up to episode 14 and I enjoyed it. I do think focusing on the same character for an entire episode can be a bit heavy at times, but overall I think the show is good. It's been a while since I saw the first three seasons, so I can't really do a comparison in my head. It feels like a better revival than futurama though.
 
B

Bossun

Member
I'm at episode 8, I tried to keep myself in the dark for the new season, I didn't hype myself at all, and this season is good!

Though one character per episode do feel weird...
 
A

A Human Becoming

More than a Member
TheExodu5 said:
What the hell...episode 6 they set up a really good joke, and then ruin it.

Oscar: Does Maisy even know about this?
Lindsay: No, thank god. [and then they ruin it with] And her name is Maeby.

It's like they're afraid of delivering anything that the audience might not understand right away.
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I agree things like this happen. They can really oversell jokes as well, such as with Ann:
Michael and GOB continously call her different wrong names in the same scene and at the wedding it blatantly spelling "Her?" above where she stands.
 
N

Nitemare1

Member
Coming in here and seeing all the hate!

IDK_zps2a293c67.gif


Really is there anything gaf actually likes? anything at all?
The show is perfectly fine. They did a great job picking up where season 3 left off.
 
M

Mononoke

Banned
Well this was okay. Definitely feels like an aged/forced version of what the show used to be at times. But what did people expect? It's been so long since its been off air. Any show that stays on too long is going to age as the writers themselves get older. Very rare a show keeps a consistent tone/quality the entire run. So that + the fact the writers were actually away from the show makes this expected.
 
B

Bacon

Member
I'm thinking this will be a season that will be looked back on in a good light. Especially when the next AD thing comes out, the tune will be, "Why isn't this more like seasons 1-4? What were the writers thinking?" That's how these things usually work, no?
 
A

Ape Gone Insane

Member
Nitemare1 said:
Coming in here and seeing all the hate!

IDK_zps2a293c67.gif


Really is there anything gaf actually likes? anything at all?
The show is perfectly fine. They did a great job picking up where season 3 left off.
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I really like 53 episodes. Does that cut it?

Most people aren't saying it's completely horrible, just that it feels off. And others are saying it hits its stride in ep 4 and 5. I personally feel that whilst it is reasonably good, it will be looked back as the weakest season.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
baconbm said:
I'm thinking this will be a season that will be looked back on in a good light. Especially when the next AD thing comes out, the tune will be, "Why isn't this more like seasons 1-4? What were the writers thinking?" That's how these things usually work, no?
Click to expand...

Nailed it.

I'm on my rewatch and it's better the second time.

People forget that every new episode in Season 2 and 3 was met with "this show isn't as good as it used to be" until the next week. Almost without fail.
 
B

bananas

Banned
This whole season built up to
George-Michael becoming more like his father and the "sane" member of the family, while Michael slowly becomes just as morally (and financially) bankrupt as the rest of the family.
 
D

def sim

Member
I don't think some of the characters should carry or be the focus for an entire episode. Getting used to that took some time, but the season picks up two or three episodes in for me. They definitely over reference some jokes, though I can let those go well enough.

I'm enjoying myself, so far.
 
B

bananas

Banned
oatmeal said:
Nailed it.

I'm on my rewatch and it's better the second time.

People forget that every new episode in Season 2 and 3 was met with "this show isn't as good as it used to be" until the next week. Almost without fail.
Click to expand...

So take that and multiply it by fifteen.
 
K

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
Friedreich said:
I don't think some of the characters should carry or be the focus for an entire episode. Getting used to that took some time, but the season picks up two or three episodes in for me.
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It would probably work really well if some of these episodes were 15 minutes long.
 
F

Foxy Fox 39

Banned
3 episodes in. Meh. Some good jokes here and there. I will watch the season all the way through and do a rewatch. It feels less like a continuation of the series and more like....something else.

I don't know. The comedy beats are off, and it feels different. Like a doppleganger.
 
S

Snowden's Secret

Banned
I liked Ep1 but didn't really care for 2 or 3, but after watching episodes 4-6, I already remember the first three more fondly than when I actually viewed them. I think this will good up over time.
 
C

criesofthepast

Member
oatmeal said:
Nailed it.

I'm on my rewatch and it's better the second time.

People forget that every new episode in Season 2 and 3 was met with "this show isn't as good as it used to be" until the next week. Almost without fail.
Click to expand...
Seriously. AD is always better on re-watches. People need to calm down a bit. For a show that's been off the air for 7 years, the logistics behind getting this thing made - I think they've done a damn good job with this.

The episodes are too long though. That's my only criticism right now. It doesn't flow as well as old AD but it still is AD.
 
A

ATF487

Member
This was never going to meet people's extremely high expectations

Starting the fifth episode now, it's been a mixed bag so far but not nearly as awful as some in here are describing. You just get the feeling that it's been a little too long since they were in the rhythm of their characters, and the longer episodes lose that sharp, quick feeling

It's kinda like when Swans got back together and put out My Father...
 
T

ThisWreckage

Banned
The decision to focus on one character per show was a daring one, but it simply doesn't work. Part of what made AD what it was the character interactions.
 
B

Bacon

Member
criesofthepast said:
Seriously. AD is always better on re-watches. People need to calm down a bit. For a show that's been off the air for 7 years, the logistics behind getting this thing made - I think they've done a damn good job with this.
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Listen to this man. Half of the fun is going through AD a second and third time and picking up on jokes you missed the first time through. Whenever I see people talking about AD on a message board I inevitably see people say that they find something new every time they rewatch a season or episode.
 
S

Squall5042

Member
Just finished up the season.

I thought it was both good and bad. A lot of old jokes were shoehorned in, and as Wayne Jarvis would say, "it felt contrived." In some ways it felt like watching old episodes, but in other ways it felt totally different. I think it was tonally closest to Season 3.

Sometimes I think they valued plot complexity over actual humor. I definitely need to give it another watch through before I definitively judge it.
 
D

Dave Meltzer

Banned
The second half of the season is pretty good. It's at least watchable. The two Gob episodes are obviously the highlights. I thought Buster's episode was the only terrible one after episode 7 or so. Episodes 1-4 are complete shit.

The structure ruins it. I understand there's an element of that being out of their control but I think trying to make the whole thing a Lost like convoluted story with flash backs and jumping around time frames held back the potential comedy greatly. It also ended without any real sense of conclusion. And only Gob and, surprisingly, George Michael and Maeby were characters I actually enjoyed seeing for a whole episode.


Overall it ended well enough that I'm not angry but it didn't meet my expectations. And the whole rewatching argument doesn't mean much to me cos I didn't rewatch any of the first seasons until this month and loved them all from first watch.
 
D

David H Wong

Banned
oatmeal said:
Nailed it.

I'm on my rewatch and it's better the second time.

People forget that every new episode in Season 2 and 3 was met with "this show isn't as good as it used to be" until the next week. Almost without fail.
Click to expand...

No. You're pulling that completely out of your ass.
 
T

The One Who Knocks

Member
I'm up to episode seven (after watching seven). I still think it's the weakest season, so far, but the narrative structure is incredibly daring and while it doesn't have as much 'laugh out loud' jokes, it's still very amusing but in a very different way. I expected a different show, and that's what has been delivered for better or worse. I'm interested in seeing what happens, I'm sure the season will be much better on a rewatch.

EDIT: Oh and also, the pacing is... odd. I'm sure it's just the structure but the other season was faster paced, more concise and editted with precision. In this one, the pace is completely different and the scenes sometimes last too long which prevents the mometum from being carried across. The entire season is one huge episode but the show doesn't work as well in this format I feel.
 
F

Foxy Fox 39

Banned
Yeah. AD worked because of the actors chemistry. These episodes where they follow one person instead of the whole family is the problem. These characters arent that great by themselves. They're only really special when you stick them all together.

Again, by episode 3 I was tired of seeing one character run around for 35 minutes.
 
V

V_Ben

Banned
The One Who Knocks said:
I'm up to episode seven (after watching seven). I still think it's the weakest season, so far, but the narrative structure is incredibly daring and while it doesn't have as much 'laugh out loud' jokes, it's still very amusing but in a very different way. I expected a different show, and that's what has been delivered for better or worse. I'm interested in seeing what happens, I'm sure the season will be much better on a rewatch.
Click to expand...

A lot of the moments in this season feel like those great revelations in a heist film when you figure out what the fuck was actually happening. The way everything is woven together is amazingly well done.
 
D

DirtyManos

Member
Also, being from Los Angeles, I love all the John Beard cameos and references. The most insular one is his recurring appearance on morning shows complaining about the trite stuff (which references his reasoning for leaving Fox 11)
 
D

Dave Meltzer

Banned
V_Ben said:
A lot of the moments in this season feel like those great revelations in a heist film when you figure out what the fuck was actually happening. The way everything is woven together is amazingly well done.
Click to expand...

But is that funny? It's certainly an achievement in planning and editing but its not like these are great mysteries being explained to us here. The show seems to be a little too preoccupied with making everything seem intertwined rather than just setting up funny scenarios for each episode to me.
 
T

ThisWreckage

Banned
The time jump nonsense was designed to detract from the fact that the family is rarely with one another and hardly ever interacts. It's painfully obvious that they had to work around shooting schedules for other shows and movies.
 
F

Foxy Fox 39

Banned
Dave Meltzer said:
But is that funny? It's certainly an achievement in planning and editing but its not like these are great mysteries being explained to us here. The show seems to be a little too preoccupied with making everything seem intertwined rather than just setting up funny scenarios for each episode to me.
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Because the little tie-ins (and I say little) from s1-3 got such a great response, for some reason they decided to make that the focus, instead of the jokes and chemistry.
 
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