The Chattering Cyclops, Part I

Today, I write in praise of television. I have a love/hate realtionship with that device. When I grew up, my family treated it with scorn and derision. In fact, we did not have a TV for a few years. When we did have a TV, my parents strictly regulated my viewing habits. So naturally I loved the thing. I'd watch it every chance I had. Mostly cartoons and syndicated shows. I have blogged before about my love for old Universal movie monsters, which came from watching old movies on Sunday afternoons on TV. It offered a great escape and inspired many ideas in my young, fevered brain.

But I got older and along the way I obtained an over-developed critical faculty. This faculty cannot stand most of the stuff that is on television. On most days, I adopt the same attitude about the medium that my parents did when I was a kid.

Then there are shows that make me believe that the best creative work in pop culture is on television. I have spent many blog posts discussing House, so I will not rehash it here. Instead, I want to talk about the first of two shows that have grabbed my attention and won't let go: Arrested Development.

My wife and I rented the first two seasons on DVD from netflix about a month ago. I watched bits-and-pieces of the show when it was on the air but I didn't see enough that it earned more of my attention. After we watched back-to-back episodes in sequence, most of them in marathon sessions, I reflected upon my stubbornness. It could be my tragic flaw. Arrested Development is a damn fine show.

From the writing to the acting to the music to the production, the talent on display is top-notch. The show rewards regular viewers with convoluted in-jokes that twist and turn, growing funnier and funnier. There is also a thread of met-commentary on pop culture in general and television in particular (the scene where Henry Winkler's character literally jumps over a dead shark is a classic example) that rewards the attentive viewer. Each actor displays his or her chops in physical and verbal comedy as they make their way through stories that adhere to their own internal logic so faithfully that one could convince oneself that one was looking through a magic window into another reality where things are slightly...off...and not just another paint-by-numbers sitcom. All-in-all, an enjoyable and entertaining experience.

I understand that, despite the critical praise and countless accolades heaped upon it, the show could not develop a larger audience and Fox canceled it after three seasons. I am stunned that Fox kept it around that long! If a show is good, Fox will usually kill it within a few episodes (see, for example, Firefly and Wonderfalls). I guess the acclaim kept Arrested Development on life support. I also understand that Showtime picked the series up and will run new episodes. I wish it well.

In my next post, I will talk about the other show. What show is it? Stay tuned and find out!