Ever since Arrested Development got cancelled after 3 (well, 2 and a half) seasons there has been talk of another season on a different network, a film or something that would keep it alive. In the meantime everyone has gone on to continue their careers and thus making it harder to pull together. Personally I didn't have any great desire for this as I think things can often stand as they are and the original seasons are fantastic and are not less fantastic for being all there is; I also felt that the third season showed indications that perhaps it was the right time to draw it to an end even if the reasons and manner of doing it were wrong. Anyway, when this fourth season finally started happening I was looking forward to it but perhaps not quite as much as those planning to wolf it down the second Netflix made it available as a complete season.
Waiting a month or so then watching it at a reasonably pace without any breathless hype in my mind was probably for the best although I didn't feel good at first. The first episode ended with a great moment of physical comedy and it drew big laughs from us (and every time when we rewatched it - so much that our neighbors asked who we had had over as they assumed we had company due to the noise), but part of the laughter was maybe relief as we had spent a lot of the first episode waiting for it to be the thing we remembered and to be as hilarious as it should have been. It took a few episodes for this to happen but thankfully it did turn into something very smart and funny, even if never quite as great as it was at its best.
The structure of the season is part of the reason for the slow start but yet also something to be commended. The previous episodes always had stories that are contrived and fold into each other in ways that are as funny as they are nonsensical but they were always contained within one episode; the same idea is applied to the whole season while each episode focuses on a specific character. I cannot imagine how it was written but while it does mean a lot of things in the first few episodes maybe don't fly, the more you watch, the more meaning it has and generally that is very funny meaning. It work very well and in addition to being so funny it is also pleasing to see how well written it is in how it all fits together.
The cast does have a slight air of this being something they made an effort to do rather than something they are doing. It is hard to put a finger on but there is the sense that schedules were stretched and people were slotted into a tight schedule rather than freely available. This is to do with time on screen though not their performances; I just noticed that apart from one or two main scenes, they didn't have many involving a large number of the cast, whereas before it would have been easy to do since everyone was on the show. Anyway, the performances are pretty much as strong as before despite this. The changes in the characters of some of the cast don't totally work but otherwise it is fine. Bateman is great when given the material but his character seems too often used in leading the plot and at times I felt he could have had more to do. De Rossi is good and Cera responds well to his character. Shawkat is enjoyable but I wanted more of Arnett, Cross and Hale - all of who seemed to be quite sparingly used. Tambor also seemed on the edges apart from his couple of episodes but Walter makes a big impact no matter how much time she has. The cast is heavy with famous faces - mostly these work well but one or two of them are more distracting than adding value.
This fourth season probably won't live up to the hype for anyone and sadly nor does it live up to the high standards the show set for itself at its best; however it is still funny and very cleverly written. It is slow to get going and the weaknesses in scheduling the cast does show, but mostly I found it a welcome turn and, if it does make another return in some form, I will be there for it.
Waiting a month or so then watching it at a reasonably pace without any breathless hype in my mind was probably for the best although I didn't feel good at first. The first episode ended with a great moment of physical comedy and it drew big laughs from us (and every time when we rewatched it - so much that our neighbors asked who we had had over as they assumed we had company due to the noise), but part of the laughter was maybe relief as we had spent a lot of the first episode waiting for it to be the thing we remembered and to be as hilarious as it should have been. It took a few episodes for this to happen but thankfully it did turn into something very smart and funny, even if never quite as great as it was at its best.
The structure of the season is part of the reason for the slow start but yet also something to be commended. The previous episodes always had stories that are contrived and fold into each other in ways that are as funny as they are nonsensical but they were always contained within one episode; the same idea is applied to the whole season while each episode focuses on a specific character. I cannot imagine how it was written but while it does mean a lot of things in the first few episodes maybe don't fly, the more you watch, the more meaning it has and generally that is very funny meaning. It work very well and in addition to being so funny it is also pleasing to see how well written it is in how it all fits together.
The cast does have a slight air of this being something they made an effort to do rather than something they are doing. It is hard to put a finger on but there is the sense that schedules were stretched and people were slotted into a tight schedule rather than freely available. This is to do with time on screen though not their performances; I just noticed that apart from one or two main scenes, they didn't have many involving a large number of the cast, whereas before it would have been easy to do since everyone was on the show. Anyway, the performances are pretty much as strong as before despite this. The changes in the characters of some of the cast don't totally work but otherwise it is fine. Bateman is great when given the material but his character seems too often used in leading the plot and at times I felt he could have had more to do. De Rossi is good and Cera responds well to his character. Shawkat is enjoyable but I wanted more of Arnett, Cross and Hale - all of who seemed to be quite sparingly used. Tambor also seemed on the edges apart from his couple of episodes but Walter makes a big impact no matter how much time she has. The cast is heavy with famous faces - mostly these work well but one or two of them are more distracting than adding value.
This fourth season probably won't live up to the hype for anyone and sadly nor does it live up to the high standards the show set for itself at its best; however it is still funny and very cleverly written. It is slow to get going and the weaknesses in scheduling the cast does show, but mostly I found it a welcome turn and, if it does make another return in some form, I will be there for it.