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Arrested Development |OT| Season 4 - May 26 - Netflix Unmakes A Huge Mistake
- Thread starter FantasticMrFoxdie
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Mister Negative
Member
Can we just talk about how good of a character P-Hound is? Love that guy.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
I don't know if it was the novelty of it, but I think John Slattery steamrolled every other performance.
ElectricBlue187
Member
Yeah I gotta say the Michael parts have been awkward, because he always felt self aware even if he was doing something you knew was dumb. In the first couple episodes he seems totally oblivious.
War Peaceman
You're a big guy.
Michael seems like a natural extension of how he was - despite what he said, he always needed the family. They even made this point (all too briefly) in the original series'.
BertramCooper
Banned
Just passed the midway point.
It's amazing how liberated the show feels. I love that they were able to tell season-long arcs. It seems obvious that it's something Mitch wanted to do on the previous seasons, but was never able to do because of its perpetually uncertain future on FOX.
You can just feel everything building as the episodes progress. It takes a few eps for everything to start clicking, but once it does, it's firing on all cylinders.
It's amazing how liberated the show feels. I love that they were able to tell season-long arcs. It seems obvious that it's something Mitch wanted to do on the previous seasons, but was never able to do because of its perpetually uncertain future on FOX.
You can just feel everything building as the episodes progress. It takes a few eps for everything to start clicking, but once it does, it's firing on all cylinders.
War Peaceman
You're a big guy.
The Buster intro; christ 
Just finished episode 10 and i laughed way too hard at the unfortunate cookie joke.
I still don't particularly like the new format they are using to tell the story and it's got it's slow spots but i am enjoying it. Will Netflix do anymore seasons? Or will i have to enter my no more AD depressed state after i finish this?
I still don't particularly like the new format they are using to tell the story and it's got it's slow spots but i am enjoying it. Will Netflix do anymore seasons? Or will i have to enter my no more AD depressed state after i finish this?
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
"and Jeremy Piven" is the best joke of the series. "What are we doing after?" has been officially topped.
She totally is
The format isn't exactly something they wanted to do. It's the only way they could make the new season.
It would have been great to have all of these stories interwoven and to have all of the characters playing off of each other but the logistics would have been impossible.
The first three episodes had me a little worried. But after the Tobias episode I realized just what an amazing job they had done making this format work.
bigwinnerx
Member
Loved seeing Bruce McCulloch from Kids in the Hall. He's an old man now, but, still brilliant.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Yeah, I think it's sort of, well, not unfair to treat it like a typical batch of individual episodes, but I mean, not one of them adhered to a typical episode length, so it's hard to really evaluate them on those grounds. It's one long episode of television, in a way that's truly never been done before. House of Cards had several different writers and directors.
This just had the same few dudes and Paul Rust.
friskykillface
Banned
rock monster > the thing
Micheal is taking too many L's this season, that first episode was brutal
mmmhmmm dat kitty
Well, somebody in this thread spotted a "Season 5 trailer" button, even though there is no official statement of it existing. And also, the hypothetical movie is continuously mentioned during season 4, so I'm assuming everything might lead to that.
Didn't notice that and Michael did fall at least twice when talking to Lucille 2.
Also, was
Gene's
Only seen the first few episodes but so far it's pretty bad -- worse than I expected actually. Michael's storyline is complete crap, some scenes drag on forever and the focus on one character per episode is just not working. I get that they probably kind of had to do it but that doesn't really change anything. This feels more like Running Wilde than Arrested Development so far.
I'm not a mega fan or anything, but I really enjoyed the 5 or so episodes I watched last night. I really don't mind the focusing on one character deal.
It's funny, I was watching a season 1 episode the other day, and Gob was damn near bald ha. Must have got a transplant. Michael Cera's face is so funny in the new episodes I watched.
It's funny, I was watching a season 1 episode the other day, and Gob was damn near bald ha. Must have got a transplant. Michael Cera's face is so funny in the new episodes I watched.
My friends and I watched most of this yesterday.
Amazing. We were expecting to be disappointed so badly. This is a group of friends even I loathe watching things with sometimes because they seem to hate on movies/shows for the tiniest details they don't like, they're just unforgivable.
By episode 11 though, we were laughing out loud every other minute. Wow. We were all so satisfied with this season. They absolutely nailed it. Gob's episodes were by far the best. I'm so happy right now.
Amazing. We were expecting to be disappointed so badly. This is a group of friends even I loathe watching things with sometimes because they seem to hate on movies/shows for the tiniest details they don't like, they're just unforgivable.
By episode 11 though, we were laughing out loud every other minute. Wow. We were all so satisfied with this season. They absolutely nailed it. Gob's episodes were by far the best. I'm so happy right now.
The consensus seems to be to finish the season before coming to any conclusions on a handful of episodes. It definitely gets better each episode and comes to a head in the last few.
It's like complaining about a random single episode in the middle of season 2 without having the context of all the episodes before it. If there is anything people should have learned from arrested development is that these guys are about the slow burn of a joke and not about instant gratification all the time.
She definitely is in AD.
That's not entirely true. They love the slow burn joke but it still remained funny throughout. I've laughed three times. Tumbleweed, airport nuts and some other time I've been forgetting. My girlfriend and I are sitting there stone faced the whole time otherwise.
What happened?! :'O
forgeforsaken
Member
As someone who just watched the show for the first time recently, I think Season 4 is better than season 3. Also, I think the Uncle Jack episode from season 2(?) is the worst the show has done, but I'm also not a fan of Martin Short. I offer this opinion as someone coming to the series fresh as a contrast to those with a lot of nostalgia.
Eh, I rewatched the first three seasons over the course of the last two months, so it's not like I don't really remember them. The difference is that every episode was funny by itself and the running gags / slow burning gags added an extra payoff in the end but they weren't the main focus.
I obviously can't argue that there won't be some kind of payoff by the end of season 4 but that's not what I'm critical of anyway -- the episodes themselves feel really slow with the focus on one character, the running gags / mysteries seem to be the real focus and Michael's story in episode 1 for example is just pathetic.
I think Hitfix was pretty spot-on with this: "In this case, though, somebody took five or six stories that could have been told in 22 minutes, or at least in 66 or 88 minutes, and deconstructed it down to 15 episodes of component parts. There's nowhere near enough plot to justify that."
Maybe I will like the "mysteries" better once I've finished watching the whole season but I doubt that will change my opinion about the first few episodes and the focus on one character per episode.
toadsworth
Banned
It seems like the only reason they added music behind scenes with dialogue was so they could play the music in slow mo when they do a freeze frame and the narrator explains something. Its not even funny and is pretty annoying.
Other than that, the new episodes are great, so glad netflix picked this up.
Other than that, the new episodes are great, so glad netflix picked this up.
My goodness this season is disappointing. I'm on Episode 7 right now.
The odd focusing on 1-3 characters per episode leaves characters out (there was hardly any GOB the first 6 episodes) and although the actors are stellar as usual, the writing is pretty awful. Only a couple of memorable jokes inbetween the 6 episodes.
At least the story's interesting.
I just started watching this series last week so I'm also new to it.
The odd focusing on 1-3 characters per episode leaves characters out (there was hardly any GOB the first 6 episodes) and although the actors are stellar as usual, the writing is pretty awful. Only a couple of memorable jokes inbetween the 6 episodes.
At least the story's interesting.
I just started watching this series last week so I'm also new to it.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
LOL
Tony: Hey, you... (can't remember her name)
Ann: - ANN. Awfully funny time to see you.
Tony: Yes, AN awfully funny time to see you too... you...
So good.
Tony: Hey, you... (can't remember her name)
Ann: - ANN. Awfully funny time to see you.
Tony: Yes, AN awfully funny time to see you too... you...
So good.
Gozer the Gozerian
Member
Debris sucks. Stop shitting on my Tobias episodes!
Fantastical
Death Prophet
slightconfuse
Banned
Second GOB ep might be better than the first one .
SAME
SAME
Fantastical
Death Prophet
I wish Maria had played a high-strung neurotic person instead of a depressed druggie. Her impressions of the former is much funnier, and I was hoping that would be her role.
I'm starting to come around on Kristen Wiig in this. She definitely studied the character, and the impression is pretty good. It just feels like a weird choice for both her and Seth Rogan. I kind of wish young George Sr. was a lesser known actor because it's kind of distracting to see them together.
I'm starting to come around on Kristen Wiig in this. She definitely studied the character, and the impression is pretty good. It just feels like a weird choice for both her and Seth Rogan. I kind of wish young George Sr. was a lesser known actor because it's kind of distracting to see them together.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Oh, COME ON! I was trying so hard to figure out where I recognized him from. Yet I can never place him! Don't forget Moe from the Three Stooges movie.
I said she's cute. As The Office proved in season 5, there's a difference between hot and cute.
I prefer cute.
Garrett 2U
Member
Don't put all your anns in one basket
I miss this season already
I miss this season already
Dave Meltzer
Banned
No. No, no, no, no, no. No.
Zoramon089
Banned
YES. Started off slower but the highs were so much higher. The second Gob ep was incredible
Snowden's Secret
Banned
I'm not quite yet done (halfway through the Maebe episode) but I feel this new format would have worked brilliantly if the writers had been more subtle (aka didn't spell everything out).
A perfect example is Johnny Bark:
It's an awesome little a-ha for the astute viewer. Unfortunately, for most of the season, they explain the jokes/references, which doesn't let you feel clever or special for picking up on them.
A perfect example is Johnny Bark:
In Lindsey's first episode, Marky says he got stung by bees, fell out of a tree, and died.
Later in the Gob episode, it shows Johnny working at Gob's bee farm, but never show the actual death
Later in the Gob episode, it shows Johnny working at Gob's bee farm, but never show the actual death
It's an awesome little a-ha for the astute viewer. Unfortunately, for most of the season, they explain the jokes/references, which doesn't let you feel clever or special for picking up on them.
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