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Best TV Show of 2004:
That you're not watching...
Even though FOX is probably the last station anyone thinks of when they think "good, quality programming," the television channel that, in the words of Marge Simpson, would eventually become a soft core porn station without anyone ever noticing, is not without its kudos. Although it consistently places fourth among the six major stations (after CBS, NBC, and ABC, and trumping the WB and UPN), it has taken its rank with a grain of salt, allowing it to program shows like "The Swan," "Wife Swap," and "The Complex: Malibu" unabashedly, but also hosting such cult faves as "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Melrose Place," and most recently, "The O.C." and "House." With a fourth place rank, you can't go wrong either way.
And then there was the story of "Arrested Development," a show that no one really expected to do much but fill its awkward 8:30 Sunday night time slot, sandwiched between "The Simpsons" and "Malcolm in the Middle." It starred a washed up sitcom actor, Jason Bateman, who hadn't had a decent role since 1988's "The Hogan Family" (obviously, he went on to do other roles in straight-to-video fares and cancelled television shows). It also tapped an ex-"Ally McBeal" star, Portia de Rossi, to play his sister, and "Dr. Phil" look-alike character actor Jeffrey Tambor (whose acting gigs range far and wide, from "The Lary Sanders Show" to "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" to "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie") to play his father.
But the show was better than average. Although the ratings were dismal, it still went on to win an Emmy for Best Comedy Series in its first year. By then, the characters were fully flushed out, and the show headed into its second season with a win under their belt, and the promise that their show would, at least, last for another season.
"Arrested Development" is a smart family comedy that stars the Bluth family, a wealthy clan who have lived off their father's company fortune for years. In the pilot, it is revealed that Papa Bluth (Tambor) is not as ethical as one would expect, and the real estate development company quickly becomes the subject of an FBI investigation. Meanwhile, steadfast and moral Michael (Bateman), the only one in the clan who actually works for his father (and as we later learn, the only one who really works), expects to be named successor in his father's company. Crushingly, that special promotion goes to his mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), which his father explains, from a jail cell no less, is a decoy to keep Michael from investigation.
From the get-go, it's clear that the Bluths are not all there. There's sister Lindsay (de Rossi), who spends her time floundering the family's money on bizarre charities in an attempt to add meaning to her life, and who is unhappily married to aimless Tobias (David Cross), an ex-psychiatrist and wanna-be actor. There's older brother Gob (Will Arnett, who some might recognize as Miranda's one-episode exhibitionist boyfriend in "Sex and The City"), who is an amateur, and very bad, magician. There's younger brother Buster (Tony Hale), a meek and shy thirty year old that still lets domineering Lucille pick out his underwear. And just to add more drama, there's George Michael (Michael Cera), Michael's teenaged son, who is rather inappropriately crushing on his cousin, Maeby (Alia Shawkat).
Despite the superficial and self-involved desires of these people, they are still family, and no other show captures the dysfunctional dynamics of it as well as this. The most touching moments are often found in hilarious scenes of misunderstandings - in one episode, after Lindsay and Tobias decide to have an open marriage, luckless-in-love Lindsay starts hitting on her daughter's high school crush. Maeby, in turn, tells him that her mother used to be a man. Lindsay overhears Maeby confiding in George Michael, and out of guilt and love for her daughter, backs off - although she doesn't stick around long enough to find out what Maeby has done.
And then there are the guest stars. No one would think Henry Winkler, of Fonzie fame, would ever find steady work again, but here he is, playing incompetent family lawyer Barry Zuckerman. Liza Minelli, finally using her kookiness for good and not evil, guests as Lucille Austero, matriarch Lucille's rival who eventually starts dating Buster. Judy Greer, as a crazy receptionist who blackmails the family, Malik Yoba, as bounty hunter named Ice who also moonlights as a party planner, and Ron Howard as the show's narrator, round out the rest of the excellent cast.
In a year without any breakout television shows, it's worth revisiting some returning gems. And for all its cleverness and ingenuity, Arrested Development is at the top of the heap. ¤ C.Ho.