Arrested Development

[Pubrick]

FG fans are not AD fans.

anyone who thinks this is the best show ever suffers from the same mental deficiency as kids who say "Family Guy is the best animated show ever! LOL omg i'm so random SPLOINK"

i get the impression that you like AD, you just think it's overrated.  I can respect that.  I disagree, but I can respect that.

well then u are a better non-confrontational man than me.

i would like to see a serious challenge to this post i made in the Curb thread, which explained clearly why AD can never be "the best show ever"..

i'm inclinded to say that they're not really comparable because of the different styles (scripted vs. improv).

haha, any excuse will do..

"oh one's jerky camera-moves seem natural and the other is trying way too hard."
"oh one's an ensemble which according to ron howard's marketing department means a larger demographic can relate, while the other has single characters with more dimensions and complexity than an entire ensemble."
"of course! one is scripted so u'd think they'd hav better dialogue/story/characters, while the other 'made up on the spot' one has almost too much genius per episode with lines that hav already entered the pop culture lexicon."

i agree, there is no comparison.

i'd like to add another: one needs narration to explain every joke and character's motivation, while the other leaves everything unsaid and is more hilarious for it.

my god, seriously, even if Curb is NOT better than AD -- which i don't doubt it is -- how can anyone honestly say that this overrated, overhyped, and over-calculated fluff is better than ummmmm EVERY SHOW EVER MADE?????????

that shit is just baffling and completely invalidating.

[JG]

i dont think it's fair to penalize the show for being scripted. It's really hard for me to say why I like AD better, because the shows are so different than one another.

I think both are brilliant in their own respect, and I'll leave the arguing to someone else.

[Ravi]

Both shows are great, but AD is no Curb.

[Gamblour.]

P, I think you're wrong on this one. AD is not Curb, so let's stop saying it's a horrible show just because it is not Curb. Let's throw out the "it's better than Curb" argument, because we know your opinion on that. Can we agree that it is one of the best shows on TV right now? Not THE best, but goddamn good. It's not trying too hard to be funny, it just is a funny show. Also, to say that the characters don't have any dimension is just illsighted. Anyway, if you set out to prove that a show is bad, you can argue whatever you want and you will end up hating it. Go with Ron Howard or the ensemble thing. I think it's a great show because it moves fast, crams in tons of hilarious jokes, and because it is an ensemble, there's so many different dimensions of humor to laugh at.

Is your hatred heightened because some kid said it's the greatest show ever made? People say that all the time, but don't hate on the show, hate on the kid.

[JG]

"best show ever made" is a strong statement, but i said that i don't watch my TV.  most shows aren't worth my time.  

i also should say that i haven't seen a curb episode in a while and i just watched arrested development, so AD is more fresh in my mind.  it might not have been a fair statement.

George Michael is awesome though

[RegularKarate]

I seriously never thought I would ever say this, but "P, you're wrong and  Gamblour is right"

[polkablues]

Comedy is dead anyway.  Serious is the new funny.

[NEON MERCURY]

i'm with p on this one.  i tried to watch this and it wasn't funny.  just annoying.


but i also own all seasons of saved by the bell including the college years. so, i guess my opinion is shit.

[Pubrick]

yeah i will concede that my opinion of AD has been getting harsher, what i wrote on page two is still basically how i feel about the show.

my main argument since then has been against those who think this is better than Curb, which i think i've proven enuff, and the general overrating that this has received. the show did make me laugh a few times per episode, on about a Family Guy ratio, so it's not BAD.

i just never understood why everyone gets so carried away with praise. seriously the character of the mother for example is about as one-dimensional as they come, wow she drinks, she says mean/racist shit, SOOOOO funny... once. the best characters save the show, the ones who keep on surprising u and are not so predictable. it's got a great cast, but the fans are killing it for me, they can't acknowledge even the blatant flaws. they're beginning to sound like ron howard spokespeople.

anyone who blind buys it like i did expecting better-than-curb brilliance, which is what all the "right" ppl said this would be, is going to be sorely disappointed. bottom line is i just don't see any "genius" in the show, at least in the first season. that's what i appreciate in good comedy.

[JG]

the way I look at it:  when you're only given 20 minutes, it's hard to make all the characters multi-dimensional.  Even if you weregiven more time, it's an unreachable goal.  With an ensemble cast, you can't focus on everyone.  The mother is just the occasional comic relief (although I do think you underestimate her).  There were plenty of characters in boogie nights that were left undeveloped.  still "genius"

[Tictacbk]

i'm confused as to where the correlation between AD and FG comes in.  FG, albeit hilarious, is usually completely random or just immature.  AD is more of a clever mix of quick wit and situational comedy coming from the characters.


PS Season 2 is brilliant
PPS I like curb better.

[Figure 8]

Yeah, I also don't really see how Family Guy and Arrested Development connect in any way because Family Guy sucks... unlike Arrested Development.

[Ravi]

Family Guy is no Arrested.

[Pubrick]

Ravi is no Pubrick?  

[Ravi]

Pubrick is no Jack Kennedy.