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Watercooler Talk: An Arrested Development virgin
OK, so yesterday I made the big, gigantic, life-altering decision of making Arrested Development my new Monday night show, replacing my last Monday night show...Alf. I made this decision based on two simple things -- I prefer comedy to drama or sports, and the Arrested fans seemed supportive and nice. And you most definitely need support when you are jumping into a critically-acclaimed show so late in the game. Plus, I can't stand people who have bad senses of humor. I actually hate them. I hate them the same way I hate Nazis and people who back into parking spots (sorry Dad). They are bad, frustrating people. But most every Arrested fan I've ever met seemed funny and cool.So, in saying that...I didn't understand much of what happened in last night's episode. But that's okay, because I laughed anyway. I didn't do any research before I watched last night, because homework sucks and I wanted to go in fresh. I wanted to try and figure it all out while watching the show. I also read the chatcast, and that helped a lot.
It appears that Jason Bateman (the sexier of the two Teen Wolfs) is the main focus of the show, but I don't know what his character name is, so I'm just gonna call him Jason Bateman. Basically, what I got from watching this one episode is that Jason Bateman is normal and everyone else is crazy. His dad is in jail for some reason, and his mom is oversexed and prone to raping her own husband for long periods of time. Also, Bateman appears to have a bald idiot brother and a magician brother that is missing a hand (and the stub is blurred out for some reason. SideNote: My grandma had a stump leg and we never blurred it out, we just tied her pants around it), so he has a prosthetic hand that his parents have sex with (?). Wow, this show sounds crazy when you try to explain it to people, but it all makes sense while you're watching it.
I've decided I'm not gonna think about the character dossiers too much. I think I'll figure them out over time and I don't want all the complicated details to get in the way of me laughing. And I definitely did laugh. I don't think this show is for everybody, but it's definitely for anyone who enjoys Mary Poppins jokes, bastard children jokes, making fun of British people, making fun of Harry Hamlin, and making fun of lincoln logs. And I enjoy all those things.
Arrested Development reminds me a lot of a non-animated version of The Family Guy, with its unusual plot twists, flashbacks and cameos. In fact, I equated Jason Bateman's character to Brian, and that helped me get through a lot of it.
But here are my problems and/or questions and concerns --
1) Where was the intro thing that I was promised? A lot of you guys said that there would be an intro that would explain a lot to me, and that never materialized. I thought I missed it during a bathroom break, but I see my fellow chatcast bloggers had the same concerns.
2) Did Jason Bateman's wife die in a coma or something? Why does he have problems with women?
3) Who is Portia di Rossi's character supposed to be?
4) Is this show set in Orange County? The same Orange County as my beloved The OC? If so, are there fistfights from time to time and doomed lesbian relationships?
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