Arrested Development - Season Three (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Unfortunately, I didn't get into Arrested Development until late in its second season. However, I was immediately hooked. I could see that it was a completely new kind of show, and far from your average sitcom. It's one of the few comedy series I've seen that is serialized, meaning that events of one episode carry over into the next episode. Also, it is probably the only comedy I know that, in addition to constantly referencing past jokes, it actually references FUTURE jokes! The show is done without a laugh track and is shot as a documentary, so the characters in the show sometimes react to the camera, and the camera sometimes reactions to situations in the show.
The second season ended brilliantly with George Bluth, Sr. (Jeffry Tambor) fooling authorities into arresting and incarcerating his twin brother Oscar (also Tambor). George's children Michael (Jason Bateman), GOB (Will Arnet), Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), and Buster (Tony Hale) vowed not to visit their "father" in prison for a few months so that he couldn't manipulate him. Meanwhile, Lindsay's husband Tobias (David Cross) left for Vegas with George Sr's secretary Kitty (Judy Greer) to join the Blue Man Group. Also, cousins George Michael (Michael Cera) and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) shared their first passionate kiss. Season three starts off Michael going to prison to visit his "father" for the first time in 3 months to tell him that the Bluth Developing Company is bouncing back. While there, he realizes that it is really Oscar behind bars, so he takes his son George Michael on a hunt for the real George Sr. Upon finding him, the government allows George Sr. to remain under house arrest so that he can reconnect with his wife Lucille (Jessica Walter). George immediately regrets the decision. Meanwhile, GOB is unknowingly reunited with his illegitimate son Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade), a classmate of George Michael and Maeby who began searching for his father in the previous year after GOB made fun of him for not having a father (IRONY!). This starts a great arc involving GOB and Steve who are the perfect duo until GOB realizes who Steve really is.
Soon, Michael starts dating a British woman named Rita (Charlize Theron) whom he meets while investigating his father's claim that a British building company set him up to take the fall for building some houses in Iraq. As Michael's relationship with Rita develops, we learn that there may be more to her than she is saying, especially since her creepy "uncle" Trevor (Dave Thomas) follows the couple around everywhere.
As the season develops, viewers finally find out the (most probable) cause of death for Michael's late wife Tracy, Tobias gets hair plugs, which nearly kill him, J. Walter Weatherman (Steve Ryan) makes his triumphant return, and one of the greatest "gimmick" episodes of televions ever is created. The episode S.O.B.s, which stands for Save Our Bluths, is a parody of the various gimmicks that television shows use to get more ratings. There are numerous guest stars, most of whom are only on-screen for about a second, numerous references to the much-more-popular Desperate Housewives, a live segment, some 3D segments, and even a death! In the commercial for the episode right before it aired (which is fortunately included in the set, because it adds humor to the episode and not seeing it would make one of the Narrator's lines a little confusing), announcers said that "one of these characters would die", and there was a quick montage of most of the main characters and a few side characters. Turns out that the person who died was introduced in that episode and may not have even had a line of dialogue. Also, a lot of fans were hoping that HBO or Showtime would pick the show up, and there were allusions to that speculation in the episode.
The last four episodes of the season may be some of the best in the show's history. Featuring guest stars such as Judge Reinhold, William Hung (in probably his greatest use ever), Justine Bateman (Jason's sister), Richard Belzer (playing his Detective John Munch character), and Ron Howard, making his first on-screen appearance on the show, we finally find out the truth about George Sr's crimes, and Annyong Bluth (Justin Lee) delivers one of the finest twists imaginable.
While the season started off a little slow, it became amazing, and, despite it's brevity, may be the best season of the show. Every episode from "The Ocean Walker" to "Harboring Resentment" (also known as "Development Arrested") were pure gold. The show's writers are all geniuses. I don't know where some of the jokes were coming from, but they sure know how to come up with some hilariously bizarre situations. The year, in addition to coming up with great new jokes, expanded a lot on past jokes. One of my favorites was that GOB's puppet Franklin became an actual character in a sense, as opposed to a gag. Franklin even has his own fanbase now (I'm one of them). Unfortunately, due to the fact that the season was cut down to 13 episodes, there were plenty of things that the writers weren't able to do. In the season premiere, there allusions to Buster getting a new hand, after losing it to a seal last year (pay attention to the scene when GOB and Steve Holt meet up for the first time).
After all three seasons of unsuccessful ratings, FOX finally killed the show. While I am very upset, I guess I have to hand it to FOX for sticking with the show for so long (from a ratings stand-point, it should have been killed after season 1). They believed in its greatness enough to give it so many chances (oddly, they didn't really advertise for it, which probably hurt the ratings), and at least it went out still at the top of its game. There are still rumors going around that Showtime is planning on picking it up, so we may yet see some more of this great show. If not though, at least the writers tied up all the loose ends and even hinted at a possible movie. If you've never seen Arrested Development, it is beyond worth checking out. It is my favorite comedy show of all time, surpassing even mainstream hits like The Simpsons and Seinfeld as well as the quirky and underrated Scrubs. You will not regret buying this set.

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In this Emmy®-winning comedy's hilarious third season, Michael Bluth finally realizes that it's his Uncle Oscar serving time in prison, not his father. Reluctant to spring Oscar due to the effect it may have on the family business, Michael decides that the only fair thing to do is to find his father and place him under house arrest. Yet once found, George Sr. insists he was tricked into working with the Iraqis, leaving Michael no choice but to investigate his father's outrageous claim. But it isn't until Michael and Buster go to Iraq on a rescue mission to save Gob that the depth of the devious plot is revealed...and Michael learns which family member is the real brains behind all the madness.

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