Why I Hate Fox (and I'm not even talking about Fox News)
Arrested Development got cancelled a few weeks ago, and I am still simmering about it. One of the best sitcoms of all time in my opinion, clever on many levels. Each episode was so packed with subtle humor that you could watch it several times over and find new things to laugh at each viewing.
Some critics claimed Arrested Development had no likeable characters, which in their reasoning was the reason it failed to attract an audience. This is a ridiculous statement - almost all of the characters were likeable, despite their eccentricities. For that matter, Seinfeld's main four characters were all despicable, irresponsible people, yet the audience liked them just fine.
The main character is (was?) Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman. Who would have thought Jason Bateman could be so good? On the show, he was a hilarious straight man to the many weird characters around him. When later generations deconstruct this show, he will be seen as the Ward Cleaver of Generation Y (or perhaps the white, less-annoying, postmodern version of Cliff Huxtable - can I overwrite this sentence any more?). Unlike his sitcom predecessors, Michael's life is a struggle (arguably a failure). The show put a another shovel of dirt on the grave of the American Dream. It showed crass materialism and ambition in a much uglier light than we usually see on American television. That is probably why it failed to draw a mass audience.
Barring a miraculous revival on another network (my dream would be for it to be on a pay TV channel like HBO or Showtime), Arrested Development will be forced to end prematurely (that title sure is ironic now, huh?).
For you Arrested fans that like to get angry, here is a list of the truly, truly shitty sitcoms that are still on the air (as of November 29, 2005):
According To Jim
American Dad
Freddie
Joey
Out of Practice
Stacked
Still Standing
The War At Home
Yes Dear
That doesn't even count the dreck on UPN and WB. To add insult to injury, some of these shows have been on a long damn time. According to Jim is in its fifth season, and Yes Dear is in its sixth. Of course, the incredibly overrated Everybody Loves Raymond is remembered as a classic, so I obviously live in Bizarro World.
Some critics claimed Arrested Development had no likeable characters, which in their reasoning was the reason it failed to attract an audience. This is a ridiculous statement - almost all of the characters were likeable, despite their eccentricities. For that matter, Seinfeld's main four characters were all despicable, irresponsible people, yet the audience liked them just fine.
The main character is (was?) Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman. Who would have thought Jason Bateman could be so good? On the show, he was a hilarious straight man to the many weird characters around him. When later generations deconstruct this show, he will be seen as the Ward Cleaver of Generation Y (or perhaps the white, less-annoying, postmodern version of Cliff Huxtable - can I overwrite this sentence any more?). Unlike his sitcom predecessors, Michael's life is a struggle (arguably a failure). The show put a another shovel of dirt on the grave of the American Dream. It showed crass materialism and ambition in a much uglier light than we usually see on American television. That is probably why it failed to draw a mass audience.
Barring a miraculous revival on another network (my dream would be for it to be on a pay TV channel like HBO or Showtime), Arrested Development will be forced to end prematurely (that title sure is ironic now, huh?).
For you Arrested fans that like to get angry, here is a list of the truly, truly shitty sitcoms that are still on the air (as of November 29, 2005):
According To Jim
American Dad
Freddie
Joey
Out of Practice
Stacked
Still Standing
The War At Home
Yes Dear
That doesn't even count the dreck on UPN and WB. To add insult to injury, some of these shows have been on a long damn time. According to Jim is in its fifth season, and Yes Dear is in its sixth. Of course, the incredibly overrated Everybody Loves Raymond is remembered as a classic, so I obviously live in Bizarro World.
posted by David Bowden at 11/29/2005 04:08:00 PM
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