So Memorial day weekend is now over. <sad face> and I
did enjoy relaxing. There is a slight bit of greed in me that wishes it was
memorial week instead, but hey, 3
days weekend is nice after a 5 month stint of no days off. At least the extra
day was nice to have.
There were a few activities this weekend that I enjoyed. One
of them cooking based, but I will get to that one later. And I put my flag out
every day this weekend too!
Really the main thing I wanna explore today is the arrested
development marathon I had!
So before starting it I (naturally) wanted to re-watch the
series (3 seasons) over again. But sadly by the time the bell came - a –
tolling for me to start season 4, I had only gotten about half way through
season 2. But that’s ok. It’s not like I haven’t seen them before.
Season 4 came out Sunday “morning” as it were but I didn’t
start the marathon until Sunday evening. And then finished (eventually) on Monday.
So I must say to start off that I give major props to
Netflix for doing this. I think it was smart on their end. I just don’t think
TV is the exact right place for the show, BUT I do think it is the right format
if that makes sense. I don’t think a movie would work as well with the way the
show flows. And this way people can watch it WHEN THEY WANT. Which is the best
thing about on demand in general. I don’t have to wait until 8pm wed night to
see my fav show. I can watch it at 2am when I can’t sleep or 5:30pm when I get
home from work. It does not matter! And that is the kind of grouping I think
arrested development fits in. It fits in a more non-conformist kind of crowd.
So I am in hopes it will be successful on Netflix. I’m certainly happy they did
it.
Now I gotta say with a show that has been off the air for 7
years, there are just going to be some things that are different. And one of
those being - how people look. So I can’t help but comment on it. However I was
surprised at the people who… kind of didn’t age. The dad – George Bluth looks
the same, as does Michael, GOB, Buster, Tobias (well, he looks like he’s gained
a tiny bit of weight, but not really noticeable.) The mom has aged a little,
and of course so have the kids (by the way- you don’t want to watch it on super
HD. It looks far more scary!). Really Maybe’s voice totally threw me off since
it got so much deeper!
The high and lows of looks? Unfortunately the one who looked
the most different of the main characters was Lindsey. Enough that it was
almost unsettling and distracting to look at her. She looked a lot better with
short hair…. But still. It would really only look like her when she smiled. And
Steve Holt? I didn’t even recognize him!
The high? Liza Minnelli looked great! She looked better than she did in
the original series I thought actually! Way to go Liza!
The first episode is rough. Not that it is poorly written or
anything, just that it is rough to watch this character become a bit more like
the rest of the Bluth family. And you can’t help but feel really bad for the
guy. Still enjoyable none the less. But ugh. I think it was a bit of a tough
start. And as the series gets going you can feel the flow of the show come back
more and more. So a little bit of a rocky start (because they are trying to
explain things) but it starts to get it’s groove back. I don’t know what my fav
episode of the season is yet, but I squeal with delight several times at
different episodes.
All in all there are a TON of characters who re-appear. If
only for a few brief moments or up to several episodes. Which is awesome. It
continues to self reference itself as always, as well as make Andy Griffith show jokes
(which I just can’t help but love), along with other shows as well. Ron Howards
voice is back narrating, and his presence is in the show as well. The only
character that felt a little differently written to me was the mother. But I
could be wrong. But all in all, it’s very similar. The structure is a little
different. It’s focused on some
members of the family more for some episodes than others (which thinking about
how they much have had to budget things out makes a LOT of sense) and it all
kind of leads up to this one big night. Which does make the structure a bit
different from the other seasons, but I’m ok with that. So instead of being
linear, it’s very go back in time each episode to explain what is going on kind
of thing, and then leads up to this one night.
BTW: the music is the same (meaning the quirky little songs
they use for sequences they had before, get recycled in this season.) which I
am so happy about. Sometimes you worry they won’t get the rights to things, but
thankfully that was clearly not an issue here. There is some slight advertising
in the series, but once again - I get you gotta do what you gotta do to make
the show. I was very ok with it.
I think it was done well though, and I want to go back and
re-watch season 4 so I can get more of what I missed! It’s a fun ride and it is
clearly left open for more seasons. More-so than when the show was originally
cancelled. And I will happily come back for more. I hope it has done well for
Netflix. I will love to see the stats on it when they come out. How many people
joined up for it, and how many watched it this weekend.
Hope I didn’t spoil anything for you! But I will say, if you
are a fan of the series, you will enjoy season 4. Not life shattering awesome,
but totally enjoyable none the less!
And for your pleasure:
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