Arrested Development S4 remix + S5

Whoa, this seems extreme.

In clever but badly belated advanced prep for this, I recently (like March) started getting the girlfriend, who had never seen any of it, to watch the first couple episodes. At the rate we're going, we will get this done by the time we are in a nursing home.

Having finally seen the trailer, I'm now pretty optimistic. Having the cast together, in the same room, on a frequent basis is a big improvement over S4 in and of itself.

I've been watching the remixed episodes, and I think I preferred the original cut. Granted, I was one of the relatively few who liked Season 4 the first time around, but I think the remixes suffer in part because it doesn't feel like episodes anymore as that they remixed them into a massive story and placed titles every 22-or-so minutes. They felt more like stories the first time around.

I'm enjoying the remix a fair bit, I'm not sure which of the versions I prefer to be honest.

I had that runaway getaway song as my ringtone for a while. I also think the original season 4's end stretch was some of the best AD has had to offer and I absolutely loved the ending of George Michael punching his dad.

Yikes. This kills my desire for a rewatch/new season.

Were it just Tambor being a jerk it would have been, “Yeah, Tambor’s an awful person” and it wouldn’t have really bothered me. But both the description of the intensity of his jerkiness (Walter saying it stood out over a career that spans the legendary-for-entitled-jerkiness-and-sexual-harassment 1960s and 70s which is really saying something) the gang-up by the other male cast members just disgusted me.

I can not muster up any enthusiasm to even start season 5. The old TV Club appears to have reviews for the first couple of episodes and they are pretty middling, so that's not helping.

Wasn't very impressed with S5. A weird mix of rushed and belaboured, it felt like the plot structure (especially people's motivations for doing things) was quite underdeveloped, haphazard and inconclusive. While lots of conversations based on familiar character tics (Lucille is callous, Buster is immature, Tobias is... Tobias, etc.), that might still be funny if quick and snappy, instead went on much too long without adding anything new.

Season 5 part duex is done, and the show went out on a good - if murderous - note. This was the best half season of the Netflix era, and it's unlikely for all the reasons that are reasons to continue after this. So, Ron Howard stepped back to minimal narration, the plot was complex and the jokes good, an amazing mother-boy story line arose out of nowhere, the actors appeared to be on the same stage, etc. I didn't notice the audio problems that have been the main complaint. Gob does some fun magic. Lindsay does not seem miserable. Michael once again misbehaves. A 3-D printer is somehow amusing. Perhaps a hug is warranted, even on this show. A very particular concrete mafia relies on tap dancing.

The Newport Beach surf gang is a real thing! I've read about in the newspaper, anyway.

Watched the first two of Season 5B- it seemed better than 5A so far, but it's still gone from something I'd binge and rewatch to something that's simply fine. Mostly posting to share my observation that Maeby/Annette is working on a jigsaw puzzle called "ungrateful grandchild" in the second episode.