An Arrested Farewell

By Kristi Kastrounis, 02.23.06

Audiences bid adieu to fantastic characters, witty story arcs, and frozen banana stands on Friday, Feb.10 as “Arrested Development” ended its season on FOX.

For many die-hard fans, “Arrested Development” was more than a TV show; it was penciled into calendars and life.

“There is something nice about a story that tells the story, and then has an ending,” said Tommy Brandon, film student.

Unlike other comedies on the networks, a unique aspect of “Arrested Development,” besides the hilarious plot lines, is the way it is shot.

“They way they film it, with a single camera, it’s more of a documentary feel,” Brandon said. “It’s after the British comedies- it creates comedy in the awkwardness of the single camera.”

Jen Giangregorio, aspiring screen writing, echoes Brandon’s sentiment. For her the weekly sitcom was a creative inspiration.

“I hope to write something for TV someday that is as clever and witty as ‘Arrested,’” Giangregorio said.

Yet, for one actor the actual experience with the cast of “Arrested Development,” was reward enough.

Actor Tony Hale, otherwise known as “Buster” is hailed by his fans as creating one of the most hilarious characters ever to grace network TV.

“I’ve been able to work with an incredible cast and amazing writers. Each week I would look at the script and think, ‘how are they going to pull this off?' But they did, and it was hilarious,” Hale said. “The word ‘genius’ is thrown around a lot in Hollywood, but I really believe Mitch Hurwitz, the series creator, has a touch of brilliance in him.”

Much of the respect and homage of the show can be paid to the creators and producers of the show, including executive producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, David Nevins and Mitchell Hurwitz.

“When something wasn’t working, Mitch would arrive on set and give us comedic gold to fix it. It was amazing what came out of his brain. The whole experience was a gift,” Hale said.

For three seasons the dysfunctional, but amusing, Bluth family, entertained audiences. The story begins when George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) is arrested. Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the “normal” son, is entrusted to run his family’s real estate business, which includes managing extravagant spending habits.

The remainder of the Bluth troop includes, Michael’s 14-year old son, George Michael (Michael Cera). He is an honest kid who learns the value of a dollar working at the family’s frozen banana stand. The mother, the manipulative, ritzy, Mrs. Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), plays her family against one another.

The oldest son, Gob (Will Arnett), is a struggling magician insists on being referred to as an “illusionist.” Buster (Tony Hale) is the youngest brother and an eccentric professional grad student, who milks being a momma’s boy for all its worth. Then there is the sister, Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), who is married to Tobias, (David Cross) an ex-doctor attempting to break into acting. Their daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat) is a 14-year-old who enjoys rebelling again her mother.

“Arrested Development” survived three seasons, yet after the second season, some fans thought that FOX would call it quits.

“At the end of the second season, I thought they would call it an ending,” Giangregorio said. “The season finale though-I enjoyed it, absolutely, the last episode especially, it was amazing. I thought, if that’s the end-they did it right!”

The season finale, and perhaps the show’s finale, premiered in the wake of the opening ceremonies for the winter Olympics. For die-hard “Arrested Development” fans, there was no competition to which channel they would be tuning into. “Arrested” is loved by loyal fans, and the Emmy awards, but unfortunately for FOX, never really caught on to the masses.

“I was worried it wasn’t really going to be watched,” Giangregorio said. “But they are really loyal to its big fans-they give us jokes from the first season and make you feel good for knowing what’s going on.”

According to E-Online, the series only caught 3.3 million viewers for its two hour finale. Yet, the Olympics didn’t put up too much competition for viewers. The opening ceremony for the Olympics was the lowest rated one on record, according to E-online.

As for the future of “Arrested Development,” the outcome is still up in the air. Rumor has it another network might try and pick it up, or even a cable channel. Even Hale is unsure of what is to come for the show.

“Unfortunately, I’m just as clueless when it comes to the outcome of the show,” Hale said. “I’ve heard Showtime might pick it up, I’ve heard ABC- it’s up to the bigwigs to decide. Whatever happens though, it really has been a great ride.”

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