Arrested Development: Season Two

(Above [L-R]: Jason Bateman and Michael Cera)

One of television’s best shows pushes limits in its sophomore season

Creator: Mitchell Hurwitz
Starring: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter
Studio information: Fox Home Entertainment, 396 minutes on three discs
Special features: Anamorphic widescreen, audio commentary, deleted scenes, bloopers

Like Seinfeld before it, Arrested Development impressively combines cultural touchstones with an innately clever humor that avoids being too witty for its own good. And the show’s jokes are unrelentingly fast-paced, making it almost impossible to catch them all on first viewing, which is why having the DVD is such a plus.

What separates Arrested Development from most other shows on television is that it plays by its own rules. From the documentary feel of its cinema-vérité camera work to executive producer Ron Howard’s well-placed narration, the series stands high above typical sitcom fodder.

Season two gets the nod over its predecessor for several reasons—especially that the running gags are more frequent and elaborate. To give you an idea, Tobias (played by the hilarious David Cross) joins artsy performance collective the Blue Man Group thinking it’s a support group for depressed males. With a bit of luck—to go along with its excellent writing and a cast that can pull off this kind of comedic absurdity—Arrested Development will be around for a long time.