Monday, July 13th, 2009
07.30 Arrested Development
03.30 Wings
Arrested Development. Episode 18. "Justice Is Blind" Maggie Lizer, part two.
This is also my favourite episode of Arrested Development. It's a direct continuation of the previous one so I'm going to call them One Episode for now and regard the combined Maggie Lizer origin-story as my favourite chapter. Thus far, at any rate. There might be a funnier episode ahead of me but, right now, I can't think of it.
As before, everything that happens to everyone is organic except the stuff with George Michael and Maeby. Their scenes, in fact, could easily be edited out. It would be a shame, as the scenes are funny and nicely parallel the a-story, but they really don't fit in with the rest of the events in the story. A story which finds the actions of every member of the Bluth family driven by the impending trial of George Sr. Even Lindsay's meagre screen-time is driven by something that happened to her in the main story. So - and this is a very minor quibble - it can be a tiny bit jarring when the narrative shifts abruptly to the high school setting.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is, again, simply wonderful as Michael's love-interest and the holder of some very big secrets.
The Ten Commandments come in for a severe bashing in this one. Even Michael mis-quotes them. It's rare that the writers show our hero as being seriously flawed but this is one of the few times we get a glimpse of his Bluth genes in action. Poor Michael, he really is one of them...
A best scene is hard to pick, but all the stuff with Tobias in Maggie's house is the obvious choice. There is comedy here on multiple levels. So many jokes, on so many levels, that it is impossible to know what to laugh at, at any given moment.
Wings. Season 2, Episode 15. "My Brother's Back - And There's Gonna Be Trouble" Brian is in charge, while Joe is in the hospital.
Very early on, in this episode, Joe puts his back out, Helen tries to help him to the floor and - while they appear to be in a compromising position - Brian walks in. As soon as Brian appears, the laughs start. From the studio audience, and from me. It's one of those wonderful moments where the moment is funnier than any line that the character can utter. Bill Diamond & Michael Saltzman may have taken great care to craft the lines that Brian uttered, but what made it funny was our familiarity with character and how he is likely to react in this, or any, situation.
Brian is an usual character. Even by TV standards. He's a relentless goofball, who makes fun of everything that happens around him, not matter how serious the situation. None of the other characters in the show are like him. Sure, they deliver witty one-liners but they never leave reality behind in search of a funny line. Even Lowell, who has a very tenuous link to reality at the best of times, has an odd kind consistency. Brian doesn't. He's like a ping-pong ball, bouncing in a very random way. If you try and get inside his head... it's a difficult journey.
I've always felt that Brian only works as a character because he is being played by a dramatic actor. Not to say that Steven Weber isn't funny, he can be very funny (and this outing is a showcase for his comedic talents), but - in my mind - he's a much stronger serious performer. And that gravitas helps Brian stay real, even amid the nonsense that he spouts.
And he comes out with some crazy stuff here. It's a really great episode. A classic. In the final half, with Joe gone and Brian in charge, the airport rapidly descends into complete chaos. It's the most madcap episode of Wings to date and a real pleasure to watch from start to finish.
Highlight? Arrested Development (Tobias in Maggie's house)
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Arrested Development, Wings
