Link to the Past: Arrested Development

logan j. fowler dares you to touch the cornballer …

I couldn’t believe it when I read the news.

Arrested Development to return to television? Also, not in syndication, but with 9, maybe 10 fresh new episodes, with a movie to follow?

I think I just blue myself.

But I’m not taking this news 100% seriously. I mean, I’ve been teased with an Arrested Development film like a cat with a ball of string for a good long while. Many fans of the short-lived but much-loved series probably feel the same way as I do: Every once in a while, AD movie news comes along, but is quickly dismissed or is thrown into the rumor pile, leading diehard fans to shout “COME ON!”

However, on Sunday, Twitter, Facebook, and the internet became abuzz with news. Arrested Development fans unified upon hearing of a return for the Bluth family to our small screens, and the big ones too. This information was as a sweet as honey. Fans found Mitch Hurwitz’s (creator of the program) to be a real treat. With actors Jason Bateman (a.k.a. Michael Bluth) and Will Arnett (a.k.a. Gob Bluth) also confirming this news, it seems pretty official that the planets are aligning for an Arrested Development comeback.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9TXVMkQ29g&w=560&h=315]

If you haven’t heard of or seen this show, you are missing out. The program has been lauded by everyone I know, contains more quotable lines in three seasons than some shows have in their entire run, contains an amazing cast and is chock full of amazing guest appearances, ranging from people like Thomas Jane to Scott Baio. Even William Hung shows up.

Executive produced by Ron Howard (also the show’s narrator), Arrested Development focuses on the Bluth family, a wealthy gang of manipulative and greedy folk save for Michael (Bateman), the son of George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor). In the show’s pilot episode, we meet Michael, who expects a promotion in his father’s business (selling semi-extravagant mansions). However, shortly following Michael’s new found frustration at his being passed over for the CEO position, his father is arrested for fraud and fragrant spending outside of business needs. Michael chooses to work for a rival company regardless of his father’s arrest, but is requested by his family to run his father’s business. With a heartfelt thought spoken by his son, George Michael (Michael Cera), Michael decides to take residence in a Bluth model home with his magician brother, Gob (Arnett), his other brother, Buster (Tony Dale), his twin sister, Lindsay (Portia De Rossi), her husband, Tobias (David Cross), their daughter, Maeby (Alia Shawkat), along with George Michael and George Sr.’s wife, also mother to Gob, Michael, Buster and Lindsay, Lucille (Jessica Walter). Also, in later seasons, George Sr.’s twin brother, Oscar (also Jeffrey Tambor) made an appearance. The show would deal with a lot of backstabbing and greed, but through it all, Michael Bluth tried his best to keep the family together through a series of unfortunate, yet hilarious, events.

Arrested Development made great use of not only each character, but also inside jokes that you wouldn’t get until you delved deeper into the show. There was foreshadowing –if you will- of certain things that would pay off with time, a technique I’ve seen only pulled off in a program like Arrested Development.

There was drama, romance, (possible) incest, tragedy, sexual situations, school elections, intrigue, (possible) parental discovery, mystery, plus much more to be had at the expense of the characters. The show also had more one liners than you could shake a stick at. I can’t even completely go into detail about how brilliant the show was, but let me tell you this: It was one of the finest programs to ever hit television, and while it died way too young, the devotion and the desire for actors to want to step back into their old ways for the fans speaks worlds about it.

I could go on and on about this show. I really could. I discovered Arrested Development a good time after it was cancelled, about four years. I had all three seasons at my disposal, and I breezed right through the episodes. I never would call anything perfect, but Arrested Development never missed a beat, there was never a dull episode, and I honestly feel that FOX made a huge mistake when they canned the show in 2006. The show was, for lack of a more positive term, perfect.

Do I fear the new Arrested Development? Sure. These characters are so beloved, the program already made so great in its entirety, that anything that could possibly taint what has been solidified already as “awesome” could likely happen.

However, if the return does happen, I’ll be there with bells on; Arrested Development is a show of utter brilliance, and there’s nothing else quite like it. But I am still cynical, and I still hold out hope that the return of the Bluth bunch won’t be an illusion.

Pop-pop gets a comeback? Let’s hope so. I eagerly wait in anticipation.

But in the meantime, I’m off to Burger King. Love their sandwiches made with chicken. A coodle doodle doo.

P.S. — If you haven’t watched Arrested Development, you’ve made a huge mistake.