Arrested Development

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cdnchris
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Re: Arrested Development

#76 Post by cdnchris » Tue May 01, 2018 3:55 pm

I was probably on mfunk's level regarding the 4th season at first but it grew on me as I went through. But I've watched it a couple of times since and while I would still say it is the worst season in terms of humor and chemistry of the cast it is pretty ingenious in its structure and the early episodes (well, if you go in order) that I found painfully unfunny at first are now hilarious with the context of the rest of the season.

I am curious how the "remix" will work, though, if taking that "any order you want" structure out will just further enhance how the cast isn't really together.

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Re: Arrested Development

#77 Post by Ribs » Mon May 07, 2018 1:29 pm


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Re: Arrested Development

#78 Post by mfunk9786 » Mon May 07, 2018 2:18 pm

Does it? It looks a bit more engaging than the 4th season, at least the characters are together on screen.

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Ribs
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Re: Arrested Development

#79 Post by Ribs » Mon May 07, 2018 2:25 pm

I’m assuming all this footage is just from, like, one episode, so maybe things will be different in the final product (which I won’t get to see for a year or however long it takes to get released), but this looks like its seriously impacted by the Netflix shoot-everything-in-4K to look the exact same thing to the extent the actual look of the show is terrible. It’s all cheap and digital.

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Re: Arrested Development

#80 Post by albucat » Mon May 07, 2018 2:26 pm

Yeah it looks terrible (unlike the last season), but I've seen like three non-terrible looking tv series trailers in my life. No reason to suspect it's bad from that.

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Murdoch
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Re: Arrested Development

#81 Post by Murdoch » Mon May 07, 2018 6:26 pm

Yeah, the ads for the original first season that aired on Fox looked equally terrible so I don't see much value in judging the new season by the trailer.

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Ribs
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Re: Arrested Development

#82 Post by Ribs » Mon May 07, 2018 6:33 pm

I literally was discussing the look of the show

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Re: Arrested Development

#83 Post by swo17 » Mon May 07, 2018 6:39 pm

I doubt that's how most people would interpret your comment without elaboration.

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Re: Arrested Development

#84 Post by John Shade » Mon May 07, 2018 8:18 pm

I liked Season 4--the structure was bold, but the boldness and humor was undermined by the excessive narration. If they re-releaae this season with a (mostly) mute Ron Howard button, then it'll be even better.

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Re: Arrested Development

#85 Post by cdnchris » Thu May 24, 2018 1:03 pm

I've been watching the remix to catch up before Season 5 and though I'm only 7 episodes in it's actually not bad, feels more like the first three seasons. Some of the jokes also work better since we're not just being thrown pieces of them throughout the season: I recall the first few episodes of the original edit being really painful because we lacked context and all of the jokes fell flat, so this might work better for newcomers. And though the characters are still rarely together the fact that the storylines are now mixed together makes it less noticeable. But of course they're all still rarely together (and for some reason some of the green screening is more obvious now). But the best aspect: the episodes are much snappier, paced closer to the original ones therefore going by far quicker.

Though I liked the original "experiment" with the narrative and found it clever (and once the pieces started coming together I admired what it was doing), so far I am liking this version more. I do hope they don't lose the other version, though, and at least still see it there under the "trailers & more" section.

But having said that...

It's still the weakest season, and that still has a lot to do with keeping everyone separate. I thought a lot of the jokes worked better but it's still not as funny. The original structure is also still haunting it to an extent: though there is a more straight-forward storyline it's still not told completely in chronological order, and I honestly don't think it would be possible to do that considering how they originally planned it and shot it. Because the pieces of the storylines are now broken up over episodes we constantly get flash backs to remind us of what happened previously and then we get flash forwards thrown in as well for foreshadowing purposes (also, some bits just get thrown into the "next time on Arrested Development" segments, where they were in the main strand of the storyline in the other edit). Though some episodes still, more or less, concentrate on specific characters and storylines more than others you still have all of this jumping around between the characters mixed with flash backs and flash forwards, which then make the narration more necessary to tie all these ends together. I like Howard's narration and I think he's brilliant at it but there is so much. I'm not sure if it's more than the original edit (which had a lot) or entirely the same or whatever, but I found it very overwhelming here.

But I'm glad I revisited this, and if Season 5 can at least be better than the remix of season 4 I'll be happy. Not a high bar I guess but there you go.

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Re: Arrested Development

#86 Post by cdnchris » Fri May 25, 2018 2:06 pm

I have a couple of episodes left but I feel it's safe to confirm the remix is a big improvement and, though I still do like the original edit and want it to stick around, when I have my Arrested Development marathons I'll be watching this one when I get to season 4.

Again it's still not perfect and a lot of problems that existed before still exist here and that has to do with the original construction. The narration can still be a bit much because of the constant linking of storylines thanks to the more frequent flashbacks and flash forwards (and there are moments where we get the alternate perspective to scenes we saw before, a left over from the original edit) so it gets overwhelming. Also, the weaker storylines are still weak and can be a bit more deadly here due to how they all just happen to fall at the same point on the chronological timeline: unfortunately all of the weak aspects of the Gob/Michael/Lindsay/George Sr. storylines all just happen to line up during the middle episodes, so they become a bit of a slog to get through, aided by only a few moments of brilliance.

Getting past those, though, the show picks up again and is a real breeze to get through. As I mentioned above the editing is far tighter and the chaotic spirit from the earlier seasons shines through and the episodes do go by far quicker and don't overstay their welcome (outside some of those middle episodes). It also again really helps that the episodes mix in most of the characters instead of just focusing on one. Yes, it's still not as good as having everyone together but it feels less noticeable. I also feel I laughed more and harder than I ever did with the original edit, even though the jokes become clearer after you've gone through it the first time.

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Re: Arrested Development

#87 Post by pzadvance » Fri May 25, 2018 4:27 pm

Agreed, for the most part. Somehow the re-edit does play funnier, the jokes land better, and it's less of a chore to get through.

That said, it does feel structurally sort of half-assed. It's just so unfocused, and storylines are seemingly thrown together randomly, with few thematic links or connections drawn between them. The idea of "episode arcs" is almost completely thrown out the window, as many episodes feel like they just end after the mandated 22 minutes is up.

It's also true that because of how it was scripted and shot, they can't fully commit to the chronological retelling and have to keep doubling back in the early episodes, which feels messy. By the last few though, the recap padding gets to be absurd-- nearly 4 minutes of the 22-minute episode are taken up with rehashing things that have come before, and while that could have been a boon given how convoluted it gets towards the end when every storyline starts mixing together, the recaps are done in such an hurried, slapdash way that it somehow doesn't even help to clarify the plot.

Sad to say I have a sour taste in my mouth with this show as a result of all the cast's recent idiocy, but despite myself I'm still eager to check out S5. Can anyone explain to me why that season's getting split up? Something about Emmy consideration... but why would releasing less of it upfront affect that?

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Re: Arrested Development

#88 Post by Werewolf by Night » Fri May 25, 2018 5:23 pm

pzadvance wrote:
Fri May 25, 2018 4:27 pm
Can anyone explain to me why that season's getting split up? Something about Emmy consideration... but why would releasing less of it upfront affect that?
The eligibility dates for the next Emmys run from June 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018. Maybe they haven't finished production or post-production on the back half of the season but wanted to get out what they had available? Perhaps more importantly, it also means that superfans who only want to see this show and nothing else on Netflix will have to subscribe in two separate months, boosting subscriber rates and revenue.

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Re: Arrested Development

#89 Post by Ribs » Fri May 25, 2018 5:43 pm

Netflix's model has never been successful; they now force all their shows out at the end of the eligibility period in the delusional hope they'll get Emmy love so that when nominations are announced they can promote the show as having any kind of success when they've made like, less than five shows that have actually been successful. The two-part seasons thing is a crippling admission that the binge-watch model is actually terrible for business, and I'm not shocked at all that the fawning media still thinks Netflix have saved TV and not discussed this at all. I have no idea what Jeffrey Tambor has on them that made them have to honor his part of the press tour for this entire thing, but it plainly has made any idea of this show as still an Emmy player totally unimaginable (Bateman's weird nomination for Season 4 was great, though).

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Re: Arrested Development

#90 Post by felipe » Sun May 27, 2018 9:46 am

Ribs wrote:
Fri May 25, 2018 5:43 pm
Netflix's model has never been successful; they now force all their shows out at the end of the eligibility period in the delusional hope they'll get Emmy love so that when nominations are announced they can promote the show as having any kind of success when they've made like, less than five shows that have actually been successful.
What??

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Re: Arrested Development

#91 Post by DarkImbecile » Sun May 27, 2018 10:15 am

Netflix has always been at war with Eastasia

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Re: Arrested Development

#92 Post by Ribs » Sun May 27, 2018 11:32 am

There is basically no evidence whatsoever that any of Netflix's shows have approached anything resembling success (meaning, return on investment through subscriptions being renewed/restarted/began due to the show's existance) except for Fuller House and Stranger Things. This isn't really shocking: they're $20-billion in debt, because it is an impossibility that new or continuing subscribers could possibly make up that deficit even if they had dozens of shows on the level of success of those two shows. But all of it's irrelevant, because people assume Netflix is wildly successful that they've drowned the entire market into replicating a model Netflix itself clearly knows doesn't work, allowing them to gain an even stronger foothold in the market. I cannot fathom why anyone would continue to pay them one cent when considering all this, but I'm also a crazy person.

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Re: Arrested Development

#93 Post by MongooseCmr » Sun May 27, 2018 3:59 pm

I think you’re a crazy person over Moviepass but I agree with you here. I can’t see where their quantity over quality mindset starts to payoff for them, when billions are being spent on making/buying shows and films next to nobody sees. Do they just cut spending at some point and leave a huge chunk of their library as shows from 2015-202x?

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Re: Arrested Development

#94 Post by Murdoch » Wed May 30, 2018 9:46 am

Has anyone watched the latest season? I've watched four episodes and I feel the same way I did with season four: a few good moments but nothing that in anyway matches its Fox run. I have only a passing recollection of season four's plotlines so I was going into this in a bad position to start, but it still has that zombie feel of a show brought back after its prime and struggling to match the early magic. I'm having a hard time remembering any new gag that wasn't a callback to the Fox seasons, which is the exact problem I had with season four.

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Re: Arrested Development

#95 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed May 30, 2018 10:55 am

Tried to watch the first episode and it was so laborious in how it approached recapping the fourth season that I just skipped it and went onto the second episode before my brain started leaking out of my ear. The second episode, I'm afraid, was wooden and unfunny, and the show still seems to suffer from characters being paired off because of (probable) scheduling issues, etc. It's glaringly obvious and makes the show feel really lifeless in a way it never did in the first three seasons when it was truly an ensemble piece. I don't think I'll continue with it.

Imagine how legendary it would have been had they never rebooted it?

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Re: Arrested Development

#96 Post by cdnchris » Wed May 30, 2018 11:10 am

The first couple of episodes suffer primarily from what was the 4th seasons biggest problem: going on too long. The first episode had a couple of good laughs (the best probably being recounting Lucille's raper/murderer analogy) as did the second but things are getting stretched out and it murders the pacing.

The 4th season remix fixed that problem at least but I'm disappointed they didn't seem to learn from that. I'll finish it but hopes are pretty dashed.

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Re: Arrested Development

#97 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed May 30, 2018 11:30 am

Also, all the meta Ron Howard stuff continues to be oh so dull - I cannot believe they decided to double down on it. Who is looking for Brian Grazer hair jokes from their sitcoms?

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Re: Arrested Development

#98 Post by Murdoch » Wed May 30, 2018 12:03 pm

Yeah, once Howard became an actual character in the 4th season my interest in the plot sank. I can't imagine this show going much longer after two disappointing seasons, or at least I hope it won't. I'm fearful this will become a Simpsons situation, where the good will the show had will be lost as it's stretched out far past the expiration date (not that I see this continuing for 30 years, but with its release schedule maybe!).

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Re: Arrested Development

#99 Post by John Shade » Wed May 30, 2018 12:32 pm

Only a few episodes in and I can really only reiterate what has been said. My biggest problem with season 4 was over-narration; Ron Howard's presence in these episodes is also over-bearing and I'm just not sure who thinks this a good idea. So much was fit into a 21 minute episode fifteen years ago, and now they seem to greatly struggle to get much going with 25-28 minutes; meandering seems to be the word, though I don't really mind a hang out with these characters (though they are quite weird at this point).

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Re: Arrested Development

#100 Post by albucat » Wed May 30, 2018 2:34 pm

I decided to rewatch the old seasons before jumping into the new one, so I'm not there yet, but I do recall feeling that season 4's main letdown for me was that almost every episode could've been tighter and pulled back on the narration (sometimes greatly so in both respects). A lot of shows seem to have stumbled with a lack of time constraints, and this seems to have hurt comedies more than any other genre.

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