06.30 Arrested Development
07.00 The Border
03.00 Arrested Development
Arrested Development. Episode 1. "Extended Pilot" Michael's dad is arrested and the family falls apart.
The introduction of each character is perfect. When Michael first appears on screen, the narrator tells us: "This is Michael Bluth. He’s a good man." When Michael's mother first appears on screen, her first words are: "Look what they’ve done, Michael. Look what the homosexuals have done to me."
And on and on it goes, as each character is unveiled for the first time, their first moment on-screen is a pitch-perfect introduction. Each character being odder/funnier than the next. And if that wasn't enough: they have Jason Bateman as their straight-man. Perfect.
Much of the comedy in Arrested Development comes from running gags and throw-backs to earlier episodes, so this pilot is a bit of strange beast. It's funny, yes, and clever but it only achieves out and out hilarity on a couple of occasions. Michael Cera is laugh-out-loud funny for every second he's on-screen. With David Cross running a very close second.
The Border. Episode 3. "Bodies on the Ground" A plane crossing Canadian airspace comes down, three terrorist prisoners escape and there's a big chase through the forest.
Mixed bag. The hero of the show - Mike - spends all his time arguing with politicans and officals about the fact that there shouldn't be planes like this flying, illegally, over his airspace. Fine point, yes, but going on and on about it during a crisis makes him seem like a dick.
He and his American liason - Bianca - spend the whole episode fighting over this and they are the worst part of the show, the boring part.
All the stuff out in the woods is pretty cool. Standard action fare, but well done. Graham Abbey and Nazneen Contractor are likable leads.
Out of the woods the show has two more things going for it: the fun of watching the conspiracy/cover-up go into action and the perfectly-pitched drama of watching Mark Wilson's character deal with the wife of a murdered police officer.
Arrested Development. Episode 2. "Top Banana" Michael puts George Michael in charge of the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand, Tobias tries out for a commercial and Gob kills a dove...
Jeffrey Tambor plays a much larger role in this episode, but all the big laughs come from David Cross who continually runs away from everyone else to have a little cry for himself.
Structure-wise, the episode is built around Michael's quest to find some documentation that his father has hidden from him. Michael goes from his father to his mother, asking questions, and stops at home every so often to scold his siblings.
The scenes are short, the narration is constant and the visual style is unique (with constant interruptions to show CCTV footage, or news broadcasts, or Highschool Yearbook Photos, etc.)
Funniest moment of the entire episode comes from Gob. He, being a magician, buys a dove and kills the poor thing on his way out of the store. Wonderful.
Highlight? Arrested Development (Gob kills the dove)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Thu, Jun 18, 09 - Arrested Development, The Border
