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Arrested Development is a character-driven comedy series about a wealthy but dysfunctional family. The show is presented like a documentary, complete with narration, archival photos, and historical footage. Set in Balboa Island, California, it is filmed on location in the city and the surrounding area.
The show was created by Mitchell Hurwitz (Ellen, The John Larroquette Show, The Golden Girls). TV veteran Ron Howard is an executive producer and the uncredited narrator. It airs on Fox Television in the US and on BBC 2 in the UK. It debuted on November 2, 2003.
Brief outline
The premise of Arrested Development centers around the Bluth family. The Patriarch of the clan, George Sr., is Founder and former C.E.O. of the Bluth Company, which builds model homes, among other things. George Sr. was arrested by the Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding customers and spending too much of the company's money on "personal expenses". He was convicted and sent to Orange County Prison that, ironically, he had built in 1983.
Meanwhile, his wife, Lucille became C.E.O. and immediately named her youngest son Buster as the new President, but he was not prepared for the rigors of the job. Michael, the middle son and twin to the Bluth's only girl, Lindsay, then was awarded control. He maintained control until he himself became the target of the ongoing investigation into the company's records and various dealings. At that point, eldest son George Oscar was named chairman.
The show focuses on the tension that developed between the members of the Bluth family due primarily to their diminished spending power. Sibling rivalries, unresolved oedipal conflicts, sexual incompatibilities, personal identity crises, adolescent trauma, aging, pride, miscommunication, lying, guilt, subterfuge, manipulation, determination, social status anxiety, and countless other themes weave serpentine throughout Arrested Development.
Much like other dysfunctional family comedies such as Malcolm in the Middle, The Simpsons, Roseanne, and Married with Children, the family unit is depicted as necessary for the survial of the individual. Much of the comedy comes from the quirks of the characters and the patterns that developed within the family structure.
Characters
See: Characters from Arrested Development
Trivia
Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) first name is a sly reference to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) of The Godfather movies. Like Corleone, Michael Bluth is the second born son of a wealthy and powerful family who is (somewhat reluctantly) forced to take over the family business due to the incapacity of the family's patriarch. He is then surrounded by brothers and sisters who constantly ask for money or scheme behind his back. There is even a scene in Arrested Development where GOB confronts Michael over the opinion that GOB should have headed the company as first born and is tired of the lack of respect, a dialog nearly identical to Fredo's conversation with Michael over the same thing in The Godfather Part II.
Response
The show is a hit with critics but, as of the beginning of the second season, has yet to attract a sizable audience.
It won 5 Emmy Awards in 2004, including "Best Comedy", "Best Casting", and "Best Writing in a Comedy" for the pilot episode. It also won the Television Critics Association Award for "Best Comedy" and "Outstanding New Series", the TV Land award for "Future Classic", and the Golden Satellite Award for "Best Comedy". Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth) and Jeffrey Tambor (George Bluth Sr.) also won Golden Satellites for their performances.
Jason Bateman also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor In A Comedy Series in 2005
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