Internet petitions did NOt help Family Guy at all. DVD sales and Cartoon Network did. Internet Petitions are indeed worthless. Not one single one has ever been read by anyone in charage of any company.

"Why does this Meiser fool think that David Cross or anyone related to Arrested Development cares about his ideas?" I love that comment. I don't or at least didn't expect that anyone from Arrested Development would take specific note of said post. (Although, with the amount of blog posts now pointing to it and the attention it's getting someone from AD may now well see it.) Blogging in this manner is akin to "go tell it on the mountain", but in the blogosphere, there's a very good chance that others might here your yelling into the wind and pick up on the meme. That's the miraculous thing. This means that yes, while trite the post wasn't useless by any means and that's one of the fundamental factors that make the blogospher rock. If noone cared, it would have been ignored, and as well it should have, however the out pooring by the fan base in the blogosphere has pushed this issue to the forefront and mobilized them, there are several very popular fan petitions to keep AD on air. Will it find a new network, will anyone from AD read my post, will AD come to the internet. Who knows, but for all our small parts the aggregate is having a larger impact and for that I'm actually really f'n stoked. In fact I've been amazed an elated at the response that post has gotten, and even more importantly the debate and conversation it's had a small part in formulating. Mostly it's because of the amazing video of David Cross with his eeiry on topic monologue. Only about 1/5 of the people even look at the post and fewer read it. But the bottom line is even though David nor anyone from AD will ever contact me or address the issue put forth directly the response and outpooring within the blogospher and online community has more than I could have hoped for, and like I said. I'm not even their #1 fan. I just thought people might find it interesting. Cheers!

TO # 23 I nor anyone I know have ever recieved a Nielsen Ratings Book or Box (or however they get the info) either. Unless Everyone using the Nielsen boxes are downloading shows like Arrested Development via torrent etc. and not registering them on the box, any other downloaders are not taking away any ratings. I would pay something but not $2 like itunes want, $8 a month adds up... I would rather wait for the DVD at that price point.

I've always been confused as to how they get their nielsen ratings. I've heard there are are some kind of devices people get, but I don't have one, nobody I know has one, nobody any of my friends or family knows has one, and most of us watch AD...

Hank Mohaski said "Television, as hard as this is to admit, is NOT about art, it is about commerce. It is about Nielson ratings and advertising rates". I totally agree. And really in this case, I'm glad. Randall Bennett: "people that don't get it, obviously haven't watched more than one episode." I watched a whole season and no, I still didn't get it and I refuse to feel bad about that. I do think that comedy is an art form and like all art, what makes it good is entirely in the eye of the beholder. And as painful as it is to hear, the majority of TV watchers just didn't find AD either entertaining and/or funny enough to watch or they would have... you know, watched it. That's the bottom line. No amount of awards and critical acclaim is going to save a show if the ratings aren't improving enough. It might stall the eventual cancellation but it won't stop it. Actors and people in the profession obviously liked it but hey, they aren't exactly the average viewer and therefore don't count. It's fun for them because they think it's edgy and different and it would be a good show to guest star cause it might give them that Emmy they've been dying to get. AD fans are like Star Trek fans (or Buffy, Roswell, Angel, Firefly fans), they are a loud bunch but they are clearly not big enough a group or the show would still be on air. Or, they don't actually watch the show, just download it. Because the rating, my sweet dumplings are what counts. Star Trek fans are known for their loyalty and enthusiasm and, come on, Star Trek conventions, but was the rallying enough to keep the show on air? No. If there had been enough Trek fans that tuned in on the show it would have been saved but there wasn't so it's gone and so is AD. Perhaps if enough people buy the DVDs, they'll reconsider like Family Guy or perhaps they'll find a home on another network which is highly unlikely but hey, these things can happen. Still, I wouldn't pay for it. I'd pay for a lot of things, like new Trek episodes, but AD, no. Just, no. But like I said, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

they might only get 4 million viewers in america but if you take into account the viewers worldwide it would amount to alot more than that. I live in australia and have alot of freinds who would gladly fork out to see this show go on.

I would definitely pay for it! Especially, if that would mean I could watch up to date episodes from halfway around the world (I live in Asia) - Rather than wait for the local cable network to fit it into their own time slot. They could really be onto something with this whole idea, once you factor in the new iPod to the equation, exclusive content might be a killer app. Arrested Development has never been a real mass-market show, so perhaps network tv just wasn't the right place for it.

I would do anything to save this show, so yes, indeed, I would pay for it. And internet petitioning isn't as worthless as some indicate. It worked for Family Guy. And though the shows can't be compared, both had pretty good DVD sales. So, who knows? I'm just gonna keep my fingers crossed for HBO. I really think that they could do great things with this show.

#15 is right. I only saw maybe 2 or 3 promos (not counting the "coming up next" spots) for AD during the time I watched it. It's hard to build ratings for a show if viewers don't know when it's on. I only knew about the day/time slot change because "Entertainment Weekly" constantly plugs the show. During the latter half of the 2nd season through the 3rd, AD would be pre-empted half of the time by sports or whatever new show Fox decided to actually promote (usually "Prison Break.") Putting the show on HBO, Showtime, or even a basic cable channel that will give it a chance would be nice.

I'd gladly pay for it. I already "pay" for Curb Your Enthusiasm...it's the only reason I subscribe to HBO. Showtime, are you listening?