MovieChat Forums > Arrested Development (2003) Discussion > Thoughts on Season 5

Thoughts on Season 5

posted 7 years ago by [deleted]
11 replies | jump to latest

Well, Mitch Hurwitz & Co. luckily give us something of the optimistic spirit of the first three seasons which many found lacking in the wildly ambitious but not very funny Season 4. It isn't perfect, but it zips alomg nicely and some of it can actually make me laugh out loud like the original seasons. It is hard to evaluate it properly because we know we are seeing only the first half of an entire season. And so I present some scattered notes on stuff that worked and stuff that didn't.

-Portia is scarcely in it (semi-retirement after Scandal and too busy counting Ellen's millions in her spare time) even though one of the important storylines of season 5 involves Lindsay running for Congress. Most of her scenes use green screen and one gets the sense she had very little contact with the actual cast.

-Michael Bluth's cynicism returns after taking a detour through a dark night of the soul in Season 4. Jason Bateman echoes his delivery from the original seasons, quipping about his family's absurdity and getting laughs from the cleverness of the lines.

-Gone except in flashback: Ann Veal, Lucille 2 (with the strong possibility she'll be back in future episodes since her Season 4 story remains unresolved), Argyle Austero, Mark Cherry, Perfecto Telles, Marky Bark, Herbert Love, P Hound. This was a strength as some feel many of those characters added little (though I do confess a fondness for Terry Crews as Herbert Love). Mitch couldn't resist using Maria Bamford again, and so methadone addict Debrie Bardeaux is brought back into the story impersonating Lindsay (for reasons I didn't quite catch). Most viewers will be pleased to hear Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig are nowhere to be found in this season.

-I despised the soft focus and darker color pallette of Season 4 which I assumed at the time was meant to flatter the aging cast. The visual look of it did not recreate the bright sunny look of the first seasons. (Devotees will remember the very first shot of the pilot episode is of the sun). Mitch must have sensed this, and I noticed in Season 5 more sharp visuals with bright primary colors and no soft focus. I admired this amendment from the previous season, even if it means you can count every single one of Jessica Walter's wrinkles.

--The funniest performance this season for me was......Alia Shawkat!!! I never thought that would happen!

-Though Hurwitz & Co. Might have omitted some storylines from Season 4, one that stubbornly remains involves Rebel Alley which I personally found not very interesting, though there is an amusing sequence in which George Michael meets the entire family of Ron Howard (I had to look them up to verify this was on the level).

--David Cross is poorly used. An attempt to pair him up with his bastard son Murphybrown doesn't yield any appreciable laughs. One positive development: the new season alludes to Tobias as a sex offender only once (a cruel joke on that character that seemed grotesquely unfair in Season 4), and gone completely are the sex offender neighbors who live in Sudden Valley.. Mitch probably realized there was only so much comic mileage he could get out of that dark subject.

These are preliminary impressions from Season 5 and I would be curious what other people feel are its strengths and weaknesses.

[–] mrwitticism (162) 7 years ago

I watched the eight episode when Netflix first put them out, but not since. I'll watch them again and then comment.

I will say though, one thing that sort of left me puzzled was how did George Sr. manage to drop himself and that heavy anchor way out in the middle of the bay?

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

That part took me by surprise too. Supposedly George Sr. Is attempting suicide for reasons that aren't exactly clear to me. Jeffrey Tambor was not used well in this season, though I was glad they skirted past his growing transvestism from Season 4 since it would have been too close to his role on Transparent. Also---where was Oscar in this new season?

[–] Frogarama (12942) 7 years ago

Did you also happen to watch the Season 4 remix? I'm wondering if it comes across better.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Yes, I already watched the Remix twice. Hurwitz has syndication dollar signs in the eyes and is desperately trying to make the magic number of 100 episodes so it can be aired on TV Land until Doomsday. It's a lot easier to watch those 22 minute episodes rather than the original ones for Season 4 that ran 35-40 minutes. It's quick and feels closer to the vibe of the original seasons on Fox. However, even deft editing can't save some of the season's worst jokes if Mitch refuses to cut them (e.g., the four person voting situation with Michael getting kicked out of his son's dorm room, which is repeated multiple times and is never once funny.) Sometimes I sensed there were some things that were omitted because it would give the show a less workable mature rating when it goes to syndication--e.g., in the original version, Kitty offers to acquire various drugs including Special K for the then-underage Maeby, but the new version merely has Kitty say she would be willing to get her alcohol. It's easier to watch the season in this Remix form, but it also doesn't seem.as clever and sophisticated as it did in its original 2013 incarnation. There was something thrilling about the structure of the original Season 4 which told its multiple stories not sequentially, but simultaneously which was a bold narrative choice, though to appreciate it you have to watch how the stories unfold from multiple perspectives over the entire season, and gradually the stories all converge and come into focus, but that was a heavy demand for many viewers which is why that original cut remains controversial. The Remix is much more congenial for casual fans who prefer straightforward narrative.

[–] mrwitticism (162) 7 years ago

"Hurwitz has syndication dollar signs in the eyes and is desperately trying to make the magic number of 100 episodes so it can be aired on TV Land until Doomsday"

Do you actually know that for certain, or are you just speculating?

As for the Original Cut vs. the Remix, there were some things in each that worked better. I actually found the "four-version-voting-situation" funnier in the Re-mix as we "saw how the sausage was made" - to borrow a phrase from Tobias.

A few things that didn't work in the Remix, in my opinion: The scene where Lucille was smoking inside the condo and then blowing the smoke into Buster's mouth, went on for far too long. Also, there was too much of the Narrator talking over characters and saying the exact same thing that they were. Some of the jokes got lost when they were split off into separate episodes (unlike in past seasons, where I felt the callbacks were stronger and more easily recollected) - jokes like in the first episode of season 4:

Tobias singing "Who's that gal I see/No it's just a fallaceeeeeeee!" and then asking what that was from, and the Narrator replying "It was from nothing." And then, when George Michael, across the room, hears Tobias singing this and also wonders what it's from. Maeby says it's from nothing. That, and Maeby's coughing, got lost when separated across many episodes in the Remix.

Both versions got better as the seasons progressed and plot lines came together.

Regarding season five, as you say, George Sr.'s reason for attempted suicide isn't clear, I think it has to do with his loss of manhood. During the next part of the season, I'd like to see George Sr. return to his former awful self. (PS: There was a winking nod to Transparent when the Narrator said that George Sr. would not win any awards for his portrayal of a woman - Jefferey Tambor won a Golden Globe award and two Emmys for his role on that show)

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Bump

[–] TandyMan (11327) 7 years ago

Well for starters I found the the 8 episodes far too brief. The storyline was only just getting going. I quite enjoyed the episodes but this isn't the same show it used to be. It's not nearly as clever and quick witted and most of the characters are bit off. Job most especially. But that was certainly not the worst way to spend an afternoon. Murphybrown wasn't a great addition for me. That guy only does that one character and i'm already sick of him from SNL. I didn't really get the jarring use of the stand-in for Ron Howard's scenes. Was he really not there that day or was that some inside filmmaker joke?

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Nicely worded!

[–] ChipDouglas (1607) 6 years ago

The storyline is just getting going because these 8 episodes are only half of season 5. There are still 8 more to come!

[–] the_sculptor_1 (27) 6 years ago

Any idea when?

[–] ChipDouglas (1607) 6 years ago

David Cross was quoted saying "at the beginning of the new year." That's all I know at the moment.