Arrested Development Cancelled

Episode buy cut back to 13 episodes, half of which have already aired.

I can't say I'm surprised -- or saddened. Yes, I pimped this show, but it jumped the shark badly this season. (Actually, it began approaching the ramp last season.)

I called it a conservative show before, based on an episode about a liberal schoolteacher who actually loved Saddam Hussein.

But the producers of the show, seeing the end near, have decided to unload politically against the Iraq War, President Bush, and Donald Rumsfeld. They're going out, but they'll get their "message" out there first. Too bad no one's watching.

And the politics of it aren't the reason it jumped the shark. I could excuse the occasional liberal propaganda if it continued delivering the funny. But it didn't. The show's format allows only quick one-liners and very one-dimensional characterizations-- which works for a while, but eventually the one-liners seem similar to previous one-liners, and the one-dimensional characters, although funny at first, seem to have showed us all of the tricks they're capable of. Pretty much the characters are now simply Drunk Older Woman, Distant and Cruel Philandering Father, Dude Who Is Probably Gay, Sleazy Guy Who Wants Dad's Approval, Chick Who's Horny, and Basically Nice Guy Who Is Nevertheless Arrogant and Manipulative.

Season one: multiple good chuckles per episode. Season two: hit and miss, but still with the occasional genuinely funny line. Season three: barely any laughs, overly convoluted and ridiculous storylines which simply do not pay off into laughs, and a bitter liberal political agenda.

posted by Ace at 05:20 PM

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