tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35679196.post5372820604192853739..comments2024-01-12T00:43:38.932-08:00Comments on TheSophomoreCritic: Ten Best Websites of 2010sophomorecritichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320637485303592977noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35679196.post-17364301047667403952013-07-22T00:00:47.002-07:002013-07-22T00:00:47.002-07:00arwsome, my whole family is addicted into it,Arres...arwsome, my whole family is addicted into it,<a href="http://www.dvdspecialonline.com/dvd/Arrested-Development%3A-Seasons-1%252d3-DVD-Boxed-Set.html" rel="nofollow">Arrested Development</a>: Winner of the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy its first year out, <a href="http://www.dvdspecialonline.com/dvd/Arrested-Development%3A-Seasons-1%252d3-DVD-Boxed-Set.html" rel="nofollow">Arrested Development</a> is the kind of sitcom that gives you hope for television. It's one of those shows where you can watch over and over and still laugh at every joke.<a href="http://www.dvdspecialonline.com/dvd/Arrested-Development%3A-Seasons-1%252d3-DVD-Boxed-Set.html" rel="nofollow">Arrested Development Seasons 1-3 dvd box set</a> follows the fictitious Bluth family, a formerly wealthy and habitually dysfunctional family, and is presented in a continuous format, incorporating handheld camera work, narration, archival photos, and historical footage.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16559504061806993432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35679196.post-31749185648024292772013-07-20T09:42:16.310-07:002013-07-20T09:42:16.310-07:00Nicely done essay and it raises an interesting que...Nicely done essay and it raises an interesting question about whether or not positive changes and insights leading to character growth might be completely antithetical to what made the series a success to begin with. For instance, I was reflecting on the Tobias-Debrie plot from the new season and saw a possible way the story could go: Debrie might redeem herself by using her skills as a lawyer to win a multimillion dollar lawsuit for Tobias for his wrongful sex offender humiliation. A lesser sitcom would no doubt go for the usual happy ending like that for those characters, but we've been primed to expect an optimistic cluelessness from Tobias, and he's funny precisely because we don't expect his lot to improve substantially. We love these characters because they stay the same, in keeping with series' title.<br /> But Hurwitz must have seen ways in which the characters could change while still remaining true to the original concept. This partially explains the "blowback" to season 4. I personally found it beautifully intricate and undeniably ambitious. It's out there taking chances and not all of it works, but there were many bits that didnt work in the original either (Graft vs. host comes to mind). Still it's easy to forgive the occasional stumble because it's still so much more clever and superbly acted than practically anything else out there. I recently watched Hurwitz's Running Wilde and the David Cross series The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margert. Both had humor and characters similar to AD but lacked the charm that AD magically possessed that made people fall in love with it. Hurwitz has not been able even remotely to approach the level of devotion AD generated. Netflix offered him and the cast a golden opportunity that allowed for creative freedom Hurwitz never had with Fox, which was always breathing over his shoulder. This often led to the "subversive" humor in the Fox original (as in Pier Pressure, concocted because Fox execs felt Michael should teach George Michael "a little lesson").<br />Some suggest the new season's pacing is off and it will be interesting to see if Hurwitz takes this criticism to heart when mapping out Season 5. Still, I trust Hurwitz's vision for these characters, and the dream cast playing them, that I will gladly follow AD in any direction it chooses to go in the future. George Moshe Metatronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02543831154375339831noreply@blogger.com