I only watched the first, and it did seem improved. It's nice its not spending so much time recapping and retconning season 4.
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Arrested Development returns March 15
- Thread starter Spectromixer
- Start date
You know what, I kind of loved this second half.
I liked the final episode and think the season as a whole tied up a lot of the bad stuff in season 4 and 5's part one.
Random thoughts:
Maeby is one of the stealth best characters, and I think she had a great role in the first half of season 5, and I think they dropped the ball with her in the second half, but she's still great. Tobias is the only one I felt floundered in seasons 4 and 5 (
). I guess I should wait until we can talk about spoilers in the open, but after feeling very uneven about season 4, and really disliking season 5's first part (minus Maeby) I'm very happy with this turned out and glad I sat down to watch it all today when I almost had written off the show.
I... even came to kind of admire the charm in the bad ADR and the ways they had to mask it with really bad lighting, or VHS scan lines, and whatever. Unlike the really bad blocking and CG previously, this felt quaint and scrappy.
But, maybe I'm just weathered down by season 4 and first part of 5 that I wanted to like this more, and so I did. Or, that I knew it was finally ending, so I wanted to like its conclusion. Either way, I went along with it this time, and enjoyed the ride.
Regarding one major thing about season 4 and 5:
I liked the final episode and think the season as a whole tied up a lot of the bad stuff in season 4 and 5's part one.
Random thoughts:
Maeby is one of the stealth best characters, and I think she had a great role in the first half of season 5, and I think they dropped the ball with her in the second half, but she's still great. Tobias is the only one I felt floundered in seasons 4 and 5 (
Classic TV show montage exception
I... even came to kind of admire the charm in the bad ADR and the ways they had to mask it with really bad lighting, or VHS scan lines, and whatever. Unlike the really bad blocking and CG previously, this felt quaint and scrappy.
But, maybe I'm just weathered down by season 4 and first part of 5 that I wanted to like this more, and so I did. Or, that I knew it was finally ending, so I wanted to like its conclusion. Either way, I went along with it this time, and enjoyed the ride.
Regarding one major thing about season 4 and 5:
Lucile 2's corpse was happy because she died having sex with Buster, I presume, yes?
Pushed myself through it.
And with that I'm done with Arrested Development. No more. Cool if it you like it but I don't anymore and I have no desire to see any further content out of the franchise.
The 5th season was a real low point of television for me. I had issues with the 4th season but at least in that season there was still that occasional spark of something really funny in some gags and scenes that made me remember what I loved about the show. Season 5 had none of that.
Most of the characters spend so much time doing unfunny stuff its insane. Tobias and everything associated with him I consider unwatchable. The gay plotline centered around Gob is just cringe-worthy. You are constantly watching callbacks to things that are no longer funny. It's not funny to make a callback if the new scene isn't worthy of what you are calling back to. The entire season feels like a kickstarter version of a TV show.
And with that I'm done with Arrested Development. No more. Cool if it you like it but I don't anymore and I have no desire to see any further content out of the franchise.
The 5th season was a real low point of television for me. I had issues with the 4th season but at least in that season there was still that occasional spark of something really funny in some gags and scenes that made me remember what I loved about the show. Season 5 had none of that.
Most of the characters spend so much time doing unfunny stuff its insane. Tobias and everything associated with him I consider unwatchable. The gay plotline centered around Gob is just cringe-worthy. You are constantly watching callbacks to things that are no longer funny. It's not funny to make a callback if the new scene isn't worthy of what you are calling back to. The entire season feels like a kickstarter version of a TV show.
I agree with it, AD is one of the few TV shows I care about and this season has been really bad. When I watch it I don't even think the actors understand the story or are even having fun making it. I can picture a deathly, laugh-free silence on set when they were shooting most of the scenes involving Tobias and his new family. David Cross is trying so hard but there is nothing funny about his role this season. We are talking about one of the best characters being reduced to a humour black hole, mainly thanks to his complete separation from Lindsay and Maebe. Without those two the character doesn't work.
They tried to make classic AD this season but the golden era was possible because it was a 22 minute network show with all the actors locked into the shoot. You simply cannot make a proper AD season with the cast constraints they have now, as well as the complete drain of talent from behind the camera. They are also less restricted by runtime which leads to these self-indulgent, overly convoluted plots that would never have made it into the show during the first 3 seasons. They might call these "episodes" but really they are just a sequence of scenes that run for 30 minutes and then stop, the structure of the show has completely broken down and with it the energy of the old seasons.
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arrested development finally ending because it runs out of steam is... disappointing. i'm reminded of community losing core cast members and replacements for core cast members and it was clear that things were over even before it could finish out season 6, but community had a lot more energy and heart as they were working with those problems - and while it never managed to hit what seasons 1-3 did, season 6 still goes out on a real high note, with its last episode being my favorite ending to a sitcom that i can remember.
the rushed ending in arrested development season 3 felt better than the show rusting at the end of season 5. and put me in the camp that likes season 4. season 4 was an interesting way to approach a difficult situation of not having all the actors together at once. more than that, it was pop culture around the same level as the first three seasons with 'hello darkness, my old friend' alone. season 5 just kind of spins its wheels in leftovers from season 4 and wrapping up the plot feels more like an obligation.
the rushed ending in arrested development season 3 felt better than the show rusting at the end of season 5. and put me in the camp that likes season 4. season 4 was an interesting way to approach a difficult situation of not having all the actors together at once. more than that, it was pop culture around the same level as the first three seasons with 'hello darkness, my old friend' alone. season 5 just kind of spins its wheels in leftovers from season 4 and wrapping up the plot feels more like an obligation.
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Enjoyed.
- First episode of Part 2 was full of little amazing moments and felt like a classic episode.
- Noticed a few editing mistakes throughout though (characters talking without actually moving their lips... unless I'm missing meta jokes...)
- A bit too much 'recap footage' for me but suppose it works if you're watching them as one-offs.
- The sound mix still feels off to me, sometimes can't hear Ron due to the footage audio being too loud.
- Ending scene made me do a big laugh.
- First episode of Part 2 was full of little amazing moments and felt like a classic episode.
- Noticed a few editing mistakes throughout though (characters talking without actually moving their lips... unless I'm missing meta jokes...)
- A bit too much 'recap footage' for me but suppose it works if you're watching them as one-offs.
- The sound mix still feels off to me, sometimes can't hear Ron due to the footage audio being too loud.
- Ending scene made me do a big laugh.
It really is sad how bad Tobias has been for the past two seasons. DeBrie has to be the worst AD character ever right? With MurphyBrown in a very close second.
Weird fun fact though, not sure how many people know this, Barkhad Abdi, the bad guy in Captain Phillips, was originally supposed to play the Murphy Brown character. The filming of season 5 sounds like it was a total disaster.
Weird fun fact though, not sure how many people know this, Barkhad Abdi, the bad guy in Captain Phillips, was originally supposed to play the Murphy Brown character. The filming of season 5 sounds like it was a total disaster.
It really is sad how bad Tobias has been for the past two seasons. DeBrie has to be the worst AD character ever right? With MurphyBrown in a very close second.
Weird fun fact though, not sure how many people know this, Barkhad Abdi, the bad guy in Captain Phillips, was originally supposed to play the Murphy Brown character. The filming of season 5 sounds like it was a total disaster.
That original casting seems incredibly misjudged.
Tobias is pretty funny at the beginning of season 5, when he's imitating Michael, and I thought DeBrie and Murphy Brown sort of worked. The latter looked funny and the name was funny, but I'm not sure why he was ever there. Tobias' plot in 5.2 was basically DeBrie and Brown follow him around in isolation from the rest of the cast, there's an extended callback which isn't very funny, and then they're written out off-camera. Cross does what he can, but Gob steals all of his gay innuendo this season, and I can't believe any of this is what Hurwitz originally planned for Tobias. There must have been a dropped plotline with Murphy Brown.
Wasn't he supposed to discover his African American heritage? That was foreshadowed in the first 3 series and was going to be a bigger plot point in the original run.
I watched the first two episodes and is surprising how good is it in comparison to 5.1
The plot is still a mess but there is good jokes
And there is no weird editing or crappy CGI
Even gob is a lot more funny now
BTW I can't stand Tobias's girlfriend and son
They are so pointless and boring
The plot is still a mess but there is good jokes
And there is no weird editing or crappy CGI
Even gob is a lot more funny now
BTW I can't stand Tobias's girlfriend and son
They are so pointless and boring
I love s3. Mr. F and the 1 episode about being cancelled are top tier AD to me.
I'm not going to get to this last batch anytime soon. Cancelled Netflix and it's last day was yesterday and I was out of town over the weekend. I'll buy a month whenever Jessica Jones s3 is released and catch up on AD then.
As others have said, I think it's intentional because
they were fake films produced by Lucille.
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I really like that The Guilty Guys joke has that classic AD second layer for rewatching
I was also really surprised that...
I'm glad they got to conclude their story, and my girlfriend and I rewatch all of AD constantly, but I agree with everyone saying this should be the end. I'm disappointed we'll never get to experience the original full story as Herwitz envisioned it, maybe he can write a book or something in the future, but once everyone got famous and scheduling became this much of a nightmare they could never do whatever the original vision was justice. At least they got to finish it at all though.
I was also really surprised that...
they straight up called Michael out for being a shitty Bluth all along, and not only that, but had Micael call himself out on it. During Season 4 I remember so many people crying about character assassination against Michael because he was always supposed to be the good one, the family's moral compass. But he isn't and he never was, he was always a shitty Bluth just like the rest of them. It just took pulling him away from the others for people to see it, which was the entire point.
I'm glad they got to conclude their story, and my girlfriend and I rewatch all of AD constantly, but I agree with everyone saying this should be the end. I'm disappointed we'll never get to experience the original full story as Herwitz envisioned it, maybe he can write a book or something in the future, but once everyone got famous and scheduling became this much of a nightmare they could never do whatever the original vision was justice. At least they got to finish it at all though.
Series finales tend to be longer than normal episodes, yeah?
Just got to that reveal but even so, regardless of if they were intentionally bad as a gag, I still didn't find most of the content funny.
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Oh no worries, it's all good. I figured something would come of it seeing as it's very bizarro. I did enjoy the gentleman caller gag even though I think there could have been something better to it.
On the whole this season has gotten a few chuckles out of me at least. I'll openly admit I haven't given it my full attention so maybe I missed some screamers but the quality on the whole has dropped. I'm trying my best to view it and judge it as standalone to the initial run and as difficult as that may be, it's not necessarily terribad but it's definitely got a feeling like it's limping on for no reason. I thought Season 4 was quite good on the second and third viewings and that there was life in the characters still but these two halves very much make me think it's time to hang it up. Such a shame too as nothing comes close to the original 3 seasons for sitcoms imo.
On the whole this season has gotten a few chuckles out of me at least. I'll openly admit I haven't given it my full attention so maybe I missed some screamers but the quality on the whole has dropped. I'm trying my best to view it and judge it as standalone to the initial run and as difficult as that may be, it's not necessarily terribad but it's definitely got a feeling like it's limping on for no reason. I thought Season 4 was quite good on the second and third viewings and that there was life in the characters still but these two halves very much make me think it's time to hang it up. Such a shame too as nothing comes close to the original 3 seasons for sitcoms imo.
I enjoyed it overall, thought it was better than the first part of season 5. Made me laugh a few times, and it still had moments of that clever writing I loved in earlier seasons. But I feel like it's time to let go. If they made yet another season I wouldn't be upset, but I would be totally fine with them ending it here.
Would be nice with a new show from the same creators though, with a similar style of humor.
Would be nice with a new show from the same creators though, with a similar style of humor.
I wonder if killing off her character at the beginning of S5 would have been a better send-off for her character. Too dark even for Arrested Development, maybe, but it would have made a far more compelling season arc than Lucille II's death. But the hope for a 6th season must have been too strong.
Michael finally went away cause George Michael made out with Maybe in front of him?
Anyways, its sad that AD ended like this. The first and final episodes were fine. With those ugly reports behind the scenes and scheduling, it really made feel like it was very forced. Im happy its over.
Yeah, but to have a season so caught up in trying to explain shit from five years ago that it became a slosh of info that I didn't really care about only to end it with a double length episode to finally wrap up these plot lines that felt thin last year... I didn't enjoy it.
The entire Netflix run feels like something that would've been told in one proper network season. With a bunch of fat cut out like almost the entirety of Tobias' various abodes and the scenes about Fakeblock being a fraudulent.
But then you'll be left with the court room scenes for the murder which the series has already done in much better form.
Well I finished the season. Some decent gags and I thought the ending was relatively satisfying.
They shouldnt bring it back after this though. It's clear that everyone has moved on and the actors have checked out. It feels like forcing a friendship you had in High School when you're in your 30s.
They shouldnt bring it back after this though. It's clear that everyone has moved on and the actors have checked out. It feels like forcing a friendship you had in High School when you're in your 30s.
Well, it was an okay season with some occasional great moments. It's a pretty quick watch so I don't regret giving it a go. It's a better conclusion than I ever expected to get with this series so I'll take it for what it is and hope that's the end of the series.
That's probably the most apt description of the Netflix run.
On a different note, there was a lot of weird ADR in these episodes with hidden mouths and turned heads.
Despite the massive flaws of S5 I am glad that it ended with the family actually being together, especially with Portia De Rossi being there in person and not greenscreened in. Although it does feel like they had to edit out Michael and George Michael for some reason. They just disappear suddenly.
I wonder if we'll ever find out what the original plot for S5 was, its blindingly obvious that they had a massive change of plans after releasing the first batch of episodes. The show has always had some clumsy looping but the last two episodes go beyond parody with the ADR, there's a point where it stops being charmingly cheap and just makes you wonder how poorly scripted it must have been to start with.
I wonder if we'll ever find out what the original plot for S5 was, its blindingly obvious that they had a massive change of plans after releasing the first batch of episodes. The show has always had some clumsy looping but the last two episodes go beyond parody with the ADR, there's a point where it stops being charmingly cheap and just makes you wonder how poorly scripted it must have been to start with.
Yeah, that was terrible. It's just so unfunny for the most part. I honestly enjoyed the fouth season a lot (even pre-edit), but this last season is just an empty shell of its former self.
After seeing some comments above celebrate that the show finally "called out Michael for being just as shitty" as the rest of the family, I think I would rather skip the remainder of Season 5. Honestly I've rewatched the first three seasons of Arrested Development more than any other series in my life. I know more about it then I should.
I'm just tired of arguing with the people who claim that Michael's character in S4 is "no different" and that he's "been awful the whole time".
It's a completely different character and if Season 5 doubled down on it and ends with him being pushed away after being "outed", I'm all set. His relationship with George Michael was always the heart of the show for me. It was an anchor, a foundation and a grounding that made the insanity more fun to get lost in.
I think I'm good to remember this as being a three season series.
I'm just tired of arguing with the people who claim that Michael's character in S4 is "no different" and that he's "been awful the whole time".
It's a completely different character and if Season 5 doubled down on it and ends with him being pushed away after being "outed", I'm all set. His relationship with George Michael was always the heart of the show for me. It was an anchor, a foundation and a grounding that made the insanity more fun to get lost in.
I think I'm good to remember this as being a three season series.
I'm no fan of season 5 and I won't say that I agree with everything they've done with Michael's character but his resolution and his relationship with George Michael is one of the least shitty things in season 5. In other words, I think it still may disappoint you somewhat but its probably not as bad as your fearing.
User Warned: Derogatory language.
Michael was always a true Bluth. He tells an extraordinary amount of lies, especially to his son, he's constantly coming up with schemes to teach him "lessons", he commits multiple criminal acts (one time even sending George Michael to burgle someone's house), he's a narcissist obsessed with being the hero, he has tried to pimp out both Gob and Lindsay, he is just as dumb and oblivious as the others (he dated a retard, hired a prostitue for the office), he treats Ann with the same contempt George Sr treats Tobias etc.
That was the intended irony of the show, that this "good guy" was no better than the rest of his family. Without the other Bluths as a backdrop in S4, of course Michael looks like a complete prick. They are all sociopaths, that's what it is to be a Bluth.
It's definitely better than the first half. It's not particularly funny but it's a mostly pleasant viewing experience as long as DeBrie and Murphybrown aren't involved.
