Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Light A Candle...

...For Arrested Development, peeps, one of the funniest shows on television.
Fox has cut down its episodes from 22 to 13, and the show has now been pulled from the schedule and put on haitus. While some people believe it's due to Jason Bateman's surgery, other entertainment sources believe this is simply the final nail in the coffin of a great show. Why weren't you people watching it?
This was a show so good, that if you showed in it Britain, they would be the ones making a lesser European copy of it.
Well, one can't blame Fox. Fox, the network reviled for cancelling Firefly before the first season was even over, is not at all at fault for Arrested Development. It kept the show on for three years - gave it three seasons, three chances. People practically chucked Emmys at them, but still, ratings were low. TV is still a business, and Fox was uncharacteristically generous in keeping Arrested Development alive for as long as it did. I tip my hat to you, Fox.
And if this really means the end for Arrested Development, one must turn to other sources for quality television. Like NBC's American The Office. Yes, yes, it's an American version of a British show, but it's built itself up to be quite entertaining. At first, it was tough to get used to, because Steve Carrell is a much more caustic and deliberately offensive boss than Ricky Gervais' version. However, when one watches it, Steve still manages to convey his character's desperate, pathetic loneliness. Plus, Jim and Pam (the American equivalents for Tim and Dawn) are adorable to watch.
Rainn Wilson (as sycophant Dwight) poses a much more menacing figure than the rail-thin UK version, but he's still hilarious. In yesterday's episode, you catch a glimpse of him gearing up to ask Michael Scott (boss Carrell) for a raise by listening to rock music and playing air-guitar in the stairwell, screaming "You know why I deserve this raise? Because I'm AWESOME!"
If you don't want to watch this Office just on principle (or loyalty to Gervais), then try My Name Is Earl, which is on NBC right before The Office. It's a sweet-natured morality show and a raucous white-trash comedy all rolled into one. Who knew Jason Lee had it in him? See the show - he's captivating.

No comments:

Post a Comment