Being a college student often means being on a budget, which can unfortunately mean that paying for cable isn’t an option for many of us. But the universe is finally working in our favor, giving us Netflix, the cheaper alternative to cable.
Now, Netflix is trying something different by creating its own original TV series. One such show is the fourth season of Arrested Development. But the devoted fans of the show already knew this was coming. They were anticipating the new season for months, and they were the ones begging for this to happen a long time ago. Now that it’s here, I can say, it was well worth the wait.
Because of the actors’ tight schedules, this season was constructed differently than past seasons.
Each episode focused its attention on one character at a time. Viewers got things from each character’s point of view, making the characters seem even better or worse than previously thought. But because of this focus, the entire season takes place along the same time frame – about a week – from each character’s point of view. This is especially interesting for characters who don’t often have their own voices on the show.
For instance, in “Episode 14: Off The Hook,” Buster’s episode, we see Buster in a different light. He gets left alone at home to drink all the juice he wants and he even gets a love interest. Perhaps the funniest part is that even though he admits to himself that he needs to get away from his overbearing mother, Lucille, he always seems to treat his love interests like they are his mother. In the end, we see the product of Lucille’s lifelong conditioning on Buster come into full fruition, but this time, without much of Lucille’s interference.
While some claim that this new season was not as funny, it may have simply been denser than previous ones. But dense doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The humor is there, but it’s different, and it may take some digging to find it. If you watch an episode more than once, you can find things you missed before and end up finding comedy gold. This is exactly the reason why Arrested Development, especially this new season, is the perfect show for Netflix. Such moments include Ann, formerly known as “Egg,” consistently being called “And,” continuing the running joke of people forgetting her name.
Another hidden joke is that every episode’s introduction is slightly different, fitted to each character. Many may have already noticed that the narrator introduces the character the episode will be focused on, but didn’t notice the slightly different instrumentals used for each one. For example, George Michael’s introduction includes a woodblock, while Tobias’ is a trumpet for innuendo purposes. There are many more to catch and because Netflix allows you to pause and re-watch, catching the jokes is much easier.
The season has many surprises, including an actual appearance by Ron Howard, but these surprises all make sense in the run of the season and are not without purpose.
It all ends on a cliffhanger, perhaps as a dig to the viewers or hinting at the possibility of a movie. Though it has not yet been confirmed that there will be a movie, many fans, including myself, are hoping for one. In fact, the idea of an Arrested Development movie was what the creators told the fans could happen a while ago, even before the idea of a new season was what was on our minds.
This season of Arrested Development has plenty of surprises, lots of detail and the same goofy characters that everyone loves (or loves to hate). The season was not as I expected it to be, but for me, this is a good thing. I was pleasantly surprised and will be re-watching much of this season in the future to see if there are any other gems I’ve missed, as I’m sure many others will.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
