It seems that every time you turn around, another television favorite is being put out on DVD. Though such TV gems as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Sex in the City” and even the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” have all been made convenient for us to watch anytime and anywhere, no other television program is more worthy of your purchase than “Arrested Development.” If you are unfamiliar with the five-Emmy-winning, sidesplitting, comic genius masterpiece that is “Arrested Development,” I implore you to make yourself aware of this truly incredible sitcom. It airs on FOX every Monday night at 8 p.m. Critics have been raving about the show ever since its first season, and now that it’s in its third, it just keeps getting better. A brief synopsis of “Arrested Development” would go as follows: the very wealthy Bluth family falls apart after their father’s company collapsed because they embezzled money from investors for their personal needs. All the family members are disgustingly yet hilariously selfish and have obscure personal problems ranging from an Oedipal complex in the youngest brother to the older brother’s fantasy life of actually being a successful magician.
They all lean on the reliable, smart and “willing-to-work” middle brother, Michael, to save not only the company, but the family itself. As expected, things are never as easy as they may seem, and every week has some sort of ridiculous problem that all seems to wind together in a strangely linked sequence at the end of each episode. Reoccurring themes and problems also last throughout the entire length of the sitcom which leads to continuous hilarity. The first season DVD was highly anticipated and did very well, not only sales-wise but also in a rise of regular viewers.
Though the first season DVD is extremely funny, season two tops it. Every episode leaves you wanting more and I guess that’s a good way for a show to be, seeing as how all the critics have seemingly acclaimed “Arrested Development” to be “the best sitcom on television.” Entertainment Weekly went as far to say, “Once in the history of time comes a sitcom like ‘Arrested Development’-smart, unruly and very fast. ‘AD’ is the ultimate TV series.” Season two, specifically, has been noted by The San Francisco Chronicle as a “One season-long piece of genius.”
If that’s not enough for you, I don’t know what is. If after the third disc you find yourself craving more comedy, then the extras are sure to tickle you pink, as well as the commentaries, deleted and extended scenes and the blooper reel. Created by Mike Hurwitz, on board with Ron Howard, “Arrested Development” honestly does deserve the praise of anyone who can realize, understand and appreciate real, smart humor. An excellent cast including comedian David Cross, Jeffery Tambor, and Jason Bateman and an indubitable script and story-line, makes “Arrested Development” the “new ‘Seinfeld.'” It’s the only show on television worth watching, you can bank on that.