Arrested Development is exceptional, it was too smart for FOX, thats for sure. I however felt that as Season 3 progressed the quality of the writing started to take a bit of a nose dive and it seemed like they were frantically trying to come up with a new plot line and failed miserably.
Or it could be because they were being canceled it screwed up alot of things. Seriously, how can Arrested Development not be funny? Try watching it without subtitles. If you miss some jokes, you'll catch them the next time you watch it through.
yeah what he said. I can't help but think that if you're watching a show with subtitles on... a) You're trying too hard to "find" the humor rather than just getting it and b) If you're reading at ALL...you're missing some of the body language and facial expressions that help make the show
Arrested Development is funny, but for me It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is in a new league of funny. Charlie Kelly has to be the funniest character on television right now.. After watching the first show of the first season, I finished season all the shows up to season five in a week. Time well spent and I am still anticipating the release of 6 eagerly.
I'm gonna check out Six Feet Under soon... what can you guys tell me about that show? and how about Rome? Thanks.
The Wire season 4- best season of any show. And you have to watch the wire with subtitles to catch everything.
Arrested Development is incredibly overrated, I checked it out after so many people said it was one of the best shows ever. It's funny, but it doesn't rank anywhere near Seinfeld, Newsradio, Sunny in Philly, Curb, or other truly great shows.
Arrested Development is funny the first time through. It's hilarious the second time through. And it's the greatest show on television the third time through. I'm on my fifth rewatch of Arrested Development and I'm still picking up on smaller details that make the show what it is: the best comedy to ever air on television. If you don't enjoy the show, then there is something severely wrong with your funny bone. AD hits all facets of comedy - subtlety, blatancy, sarcasm, wit, stereotypes, brief cameos, long-running gags, and fantastic writing. Sunny, while still an incredibly funny show, is all blatant, in-your-face, chuckling-throughout-the-episode humor. And while it's fun to watch Charlie talk about his troubles, Dennis talk about tea-bagging, or Mac talking about his karate moves, I'd much rather watch Gob make an ass of himself, Michael questioning his son's girlfriend, or simply Tobias.
My wife absolutely got hooked and loved Battlestar. It was great to be able to watch nerdy TV with my wife.
Repped for reading my mind. I was actually watching some of Arrested Development season 1 (maybe the 6th or 7th time through these particular episodes) as I stumbled into this thread. That's how good it is.
Reading dialogue is not a substitute for a quick wit. And as others have said, if you're focusing on subtitles to any degree, you're missing the subtleties in the actor's facial expressions and interactions, which are a big part of the show's charm.
I've watched Seinfeld, Newsradio, Curb, and Sunny more than 5 times, the first 2 probably 100 times. I've never felt like rewatching an AD episode. They were fine the first time, but nothing groundbreaking. The individual performances in all the shows I listed are much better and the writing is definitely better in the first 3 I listed.
Arrested Development was a great show, used to watch it with the family everynight it came on. Battle Star Gallactica was as slow as molasses. Never watched it after the first episode; same with Stargate SG-1 and Lost.
I don't think there was anything nerdy about Battlestar except for the title. It was not much of a Sci-Fi show really. Well, at least you gave it a reasonable try. As everyone knows, shows usually peak with their first episode, so if that's slow the whole series will probably suck.
When Sunny is on, it's hysterical. The downside is, when it's off, it's on par with SNL. And Sunny is off nearly half the time. IMO, of course. Kitten mittens for the win. This. I think my wife and I have watched Motherboy XXX at least 18 times, Sword of Destiny, etc. "It looks like you're hunting dragons.....in the future."
This pretty much sums up AD for me. The details -- both flashback and flashforward -- are so intricate, it's virtually impossible to catch them on the first couple of viewings. Arrested Development is the logical next leap forward from Soap. That alone makes it the greatest show to air on network television.
Six Feet Under and Rome are both awesome, especially Rome. Rome is one of the best shows I have ever watched.
Sunny in Philadelphia and Curb Your Enthusiasm are great but there's no way they're on the same platform as Seinfeld or News Radio. IMO: Seinfeld News Radio Curb Your Enthusiasm Arrested Development It's Always Sunny...
Don't listen to all these people about BSG, I personally thought it was one of the best shows around from start to finish, there are some dead parts and changes throughout but I enjoyed it right through the end. Arrested Development is the type of show that really takes a few viewings to catch everything, it's so well written and the jokes go by so quickly you are bound to miss a handfull. Seaosn 1 of Rome is just greatness, the truncated season 2 is good too but you could tell they were in a rush to wrap up storylines after they got the news they were canned because of cost.
