I miss Arrested Development

I'm not going to put a lot of effort into this post because mostly I'm writing to get my sister off my back who thinks I don't post enough.

However, I do want to lament the disappearance of Arrested Development. I'm sad that because I was in an Ohio shaped cocoon, I never had the opportunity to witness on live T.V. the incredible genius that the writers of this show displayed in every episode. I did not discover it until I escaped and was once again able to see and enjoy humor.

My most favorite character is George Michael. The actor who plays this character (Michael Cera) is perfect at it. It is hard to believe that Michael himself is not actually a mumbling, nervous, high-strung teen-ager because he plays the part so well. His nervous chuckle and his jumpiness at any statement that he perceives might be directed at his taboo desires have my hands at my sides trying to keep them together and help me not die with laughter.

I also love Tobias. Granted he freaks me out a little, but I love how this character is in so much denial about himself and his life - not only sexually but also how others see him, how his professional life is going and how he's doing as a father and husband.

One of my favorite parts of the series is in the first episode of Season 1 after he explains that the homosexuals (that he was mistakenly put on the same boat with) weren't pirates but were actually actors in the local theater. He pauses to look around at the family and states that he's been waiting for the universe to provide a path for him and he now thinks it has. His wife, Lindsay, says "You're gay." (Favorite part is next) - Tobias says "No.....No! I'm not gay. Lindsay, how many times must we have this...No. I want to be an actor." I just love the insinuation that this is a topic that they go over all the time. And his frustration that people keep accusing him of this always cracks me up.

Most of the humor is so subtle that I catch something different each time I watch an episode.

To say these are my favorites in no way means that the rest of the cast is not just as excellent. Each member plays their part so incredibly well, so perfectly that it would be easy to believe that each actor actually had these quirks and dysfunctions in their own lives.

So I grieve that its over. I grieve that I was never able to contribute to the ratings. I grieve that so many people never had or gave this classically humorous piece of art a chance.