Review: Netflix's ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT - The Complete Fourth Season

written by Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely, Richard Rosenstock, Caroline Williams, Dean Lorey, Jim Brandon & Brian Singleton / directed by Mitchell Hurwitz & Troy Miller

It's relatively common for British shows to continue past 'cancellation', if only as irregular specials (The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools & Horses). Many UK shows even have long gaps between runs, too, such as Fawlty Towers--where four years separates its two series. Owing to its more business-like nature, cancelled television shows don't get revived as often in the US with the same cast or crew involved; and if they do it's usually because they were highly successful once (Dallas, 24), and not low-rated commercial flops a niche audience adored. That said, things are changing in the wake of Veronica Mars getting a $5.7m movie through Kickstarter donations, and the rise of on-demand providers looking for exclusive shows with a ready-made online fanbase...

Trailer: Netflix's ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

Fans have waited seven years for Arrested Development's return (or a year, if you're a late-comer like me), after it was axed by Fox after three seasons. It's now become the flagship resurrection for online rental service Netflix, who've taken the strange decision to release all 15 episodes simultaneously around the world on 26 May.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT returning as a miniseries, before the long-awaited movie?

The entire cast of Arrested Development attended a reunion at the New Yorker Festival this weekend, and creator Mitch Hurwitz suggested that the long-awaited movie may now be preceded by a 9 or 10 episode TV show! Each hour would focus on one particular member of the Bluth family, to explain what they've been up to in the five years the original Fox show's been off-air.

Arrested Development was cancelled by Fox in 2006 but has retained a very strong cult following. I myself watched all three seasons this year (for the first time), and have to agree it's probably the best US comedy of the '00s. Ever since it was axed amidst low ratings, talk of its return as a movie has been commonplace, but plans only recently started coming together. The long-awaited Arrested Development movie was scheduled to go into production in 2012, but that appears to have fallen to 2013, and will revolve around the idea of filmmaker Ron Howard (who's also the show's narrator) making a movie about the wealthy, dysfunctional Bluth family.

Will there really be a new TV series before this movie, as Mitch Hurwitz claims? If so, would it air on Fox, the network that axed it? That seems unlikely, so maybe a cable channel like FX (a Fox affiliate) or Showtime (who were close to rescuing the series in '06 until Hurwitz refused to return, saying he felt the TV format had run its course)? (Update: apparently Showtime and Netflix are considering producing this ten-part lead-in to the movie.) Is a miniseries being produced to increase the chances of the planned movie being a success? It could be sold as the movie version of a recent (and hopefully popular) TV miniseries, rather than a dead TV show from five years ago. Or is a brief small-screen return just icing on the cake for loyal fans, whose commitment and support has kept the chances of the show's return in influential people's minds?

Whatever happens, this new TV show will apparently film next summer for an early-2013 premiere, before the big-screen movie! Or so claims Mitch Hurwitz during a reunion Q&A with fans in New York. Do you believe him? (Update: this morning these claims have been corroborated by various press sources and actors like Jason Bateman, so it's definitely more than wishful thinking.)

'ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT' 1.1 – "Pilot"

Acclaimed comedy Arrested Development (which ran on Fox for three seasons from 2003-2006) is being repeated in double-bills every Tuesday on FX UK. It's a series that mostly passed me by, as it did many people in the UK, because it bounced around the late-night schedules, but its reputation means I'll be catching up now. Maybe I'll complete my viewing just in time for the long-awaited movie?

The "Pilot" of Arrested Development appears fully-formed, with an enviable sense of self-assurance, pace and skilled writing. Given the fact the show's about a large, extended family, there are many characters to introduce, but this premiere did a good job painting the broad strokes and setting up the premise. Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is the expectant inheritor of his family's development company from father George Snr (Jeffrey Tambor) -- who's gathered the Bluth's together for his retirement boat party, where he's due to formally handover power. We're quickly introduced to the Bluth dynasty during this marine get-together: Michael's sharp-tongued mother Lucille (Jessica Walter); his naïve teenage son George Michael (Michael Cera); his older brother G.O.B (Will Arnett), a struggling amateur magician; neurotic younger brother Buster (Tony Hale); and free spirited Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), her doctor-turned-actor husband Tobias (David Cross) and their feisty young daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat).

The twist to the situation is that George Snr's arrested by the Securities & Exchange Commission for financial irregularities, shortly after surprising everyone by handing over control of the Bluth gravy train to wife Lucille. From there it's simply a case of Michael having to keep the dysfunctional family together and focused, now their patriarch has been jailed and their money's been frozen.

Here's the rub: I didn't laugh very much. But I find that's often the case with a comedy that has to introduce a great many idiosyncrantic characters that, I'm sure, will inspire giggles just looking at them once they endear themselves to me. As a latecomer to this show, I found myself more distracted with celeb-spotting in hindsight: Scott Pilgrim's Michael Cera carrying a face of puppy fat, Jason Bateman in the role that relaunched his movie career, Todd Margaret's David Cross with a coffee stain moustache, thin-lipped Will Arnett, quirky Portia de Rossi from Better Off Ted, inveterate guest-star Tony Hale (Chuck, Human Target), and the chipper narration by an uncredited Ron Howard (erstwhile member of TV's Cunningham family in classic sitcom Happy Days, but now best-known as a director of films such as Apollo 13 and Ransom).

Overall, while it wasn't laugh-out-loud material (yet), the sheer sweep of amusing moments and quirky characters ensured Arrested Development grabbed my interest. The entwined subplots were handled very well -- inspiring a feeling of comfort that the writers know what they're doing and it'll be worth investing your time, even five years after the show's cancellation.

Arrested Development, Tuesdays, FX, 9PM