Television Review: Arrested Development
Rate This Article
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that despite its brilliance, this show
is wholly inappropriate for kids. The show features mature
issues that include lying, stealing, cheating, adultery,
implied nudity, drinking, pill-popping, driving under the
influence, prison breaks, kissing cousins, embezzling,
illegitimate children, jokes at the expense of gay men,
Christians, people of color, and the disabled, and all around
crooked behavior.
Families can talk about recent changes in primetime television
content. Increasingly, critically acclaimed shows feature very
adult themes and material. Why do you think it's difficult to
find a family-friendly show as creative and funny as this one
on network television? How does cable play a role in this
trend?
When George Bluth ( Jeffrey Tambor) is sent to jail for embezzling millions from the family's real estate venture capital firm, levelheaded son Michael ( Jason Bateman) takes control of the company and the family. He does his best to placate his drunk mother Lucille ( Jessica Walter) and his needy siblings: Buster ( Tony Hale), Gob (pronounced like "Job" in the bible) ( Will Arnett); and twin sister Lindsay ( Portia de Rossi). The rest of the family requires less of his attention, but are as equally screwed up. His 13-year-old son George Michael ( Michael Cera) is in love with Lindsay's daughter Maebe ( Alia Shawkat). Maebe's sexually confused father Tobias Fünke ( David Cross) sports cutoffs in the shower. Guest stars include Henry Winkler as the family's inept attorney and Liza Minelli as Lucille's vertigo-stricken neighbor and arch nemesis Lucille Austero, who has an Oedipal-like affair with Buster.
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is rightfully the most critically acclaimed show on television. The plotlines are incredibly bizarre, unique, and hilarious. The acting is superb and the direction allows for subtlety not possible on a standard three-camera sitcom. Unfortunately, despite its multiple Emmy awards and industry praise, the show continues to draw poor ratings. With any luck, the appearances this season of Charlize Theron and Scott (keeping it in the Happy Days family) Baio as Winkler's replacement will increase the show's popularity.
Parents should know that this show is definitely NOT for kids. Much of the humor is so quick and subtle it is most likely to go over your children's heads. However, aside from George Michael, the lack of good will in any of the show's characters makes this show unsuitable for kids.
The Office
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
