Arrested Development, which Entertainment Weekly calls "the funniest show on television," begins its third (and possibly final) season Monday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. With its intelligent humor and complex plots, Arrested Development can be hard to jump right into, but to catch you up to speed, here's what you've missed if you haven't been watching.
The show stars Golden Globe winner Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth, heir to the Bluth Company, a real estate development company founded by his father, George Bluth Sr. (Emmy nominee Jeffrey Tambor). The plot of the show revolves around Michael's attempts to keep his extended family under control and out of prison after his father was arrested for conducting illegal business dealings with Saddam Hussein.
Last season, the show ended with Michael being falsely imprisoned for hiding his father, George Sr., who escaped by drugging his twin brother, Oscar, and using Oscar's body as a stand-in for his own. Michael was arrested because his brother Gob, an unemployed magician-turned-puppeteer, unwittingly incriminated him while attempting to turn in his father. Michael's sister, Lindsay, and her questionably gay husband Tobias (Mr. Show's David Cross), were in the middle of a fight when Tobias decided to leave for Las Vegas to audition for the Blue Man Group.
Michael's awkward teenaged son George-Michael and Lindsay's daughter Maebe experienced a strange romantic encounter after George-Michael found out that Maebe was a scientifically-engineered fetus and thus is technically not his cousin.
Sound like too much information? It's not. The brilliant writing and characterization in Arrested Development ensures that you will never be caught confused. Also, it uses voiceover by producer Ron Howard to clarify the plot and comment on the action.
Obviously, this show strays away from typical sitcom plotlines, instead developing real characters from unreal situations to create memorable and often cathartic moments. There are no easy jokes to be had in this show, as the writing is purposely complex.
Arrested Development has featured such guests as Martin Short, Liza Minelli and Ben Stiller; this season will include appearances by Charlize Theron and Scott Baio, among others.
Described by star Jason Bateman as "the Royal Tenenbaums shot like Cops," Arrested Development has won numerous honors including the Emmy for Best Comedy Series.
Despite its unprecedented critical success, the show still has not found a wide commercial audience, leading Fox to consider canceling it for the last two seasons. However, Arrested Development's DVD sales and recent 11 Emmy nominations prove its audience is small but dedicated. Find out why Mondays at 8 p.m.
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