I've been looking for Arrested Development every Monday since last semester. Arrested Development is easily the funniest show on television--and as a die-hard Seinfeld fan, it isn't easy to admit, but Arrested Development was quite possibly funnier than Seinfeld. Imagine my surprise when I come across this article on MSNBC.com that is talking about the grief the writer feels for the loss of the show.

The loss of the show? So Fox finally let the show go? Is HBO, Showtime or CBS going to pick it up?

I have no frickin' idea. I can't find this information!

The thing that gets me is that the notice of the cancellation came back in November. Uh, back in November I kept finding articles about how other networks were anxiously awaiting the cancellation so they could then scoop up such a fantastic show and add it to their own lineup. The articles were so compelling precisely because no one knew if Fox was going to take the interest in the show as a reason to hang on to it and give it another try.

But apparently in the midst of the final four episodes being aired FOX changed calling the episodes the "season finale" to just "finale." The reason I am angry is because when were these shows airing? I could not find them. And I was actively looking. According to the date stamps on all these articles I've been finding today the show was given the axe in December. I have also been checking the Arrested Development website on Fox and Save Arrested Development on a weekly basis, and there haven't been updates for months. I never checked the episodes section of the Fox website because I was trying to resist reading about possible episodes I may have missed--because they kept shifting the time slot for the show. But apparently the FINAL show aired December 5, 2005--which was the same day that students at USC gathered for a screening of the show and some cast members (George Michael, Maeby, and I forget who else because I wasn't there) showed up when they heard about the event. The cast members said they would love to do the screening again and would be definitely be back. After I heard that, I joined the Arrested Development Makes Me Laugh group on Facebook (they're the ones who made the event happen) and I've been looking for similar events. Obviously there haven't been any.

I think it's extremely sad that the show left without any fanfare. It's kind of like Married... With Children in that regard. In the midst of their so-called final season Fox cancelled that show and the one that aired (where Kelly is supposedly getting married) ended up being a makeshift final episode.

I think it's also really a shame that I can't find any information on whether or not Arrested Development is going to be picked up by another network.

I hope it does.

Labels: television

( 1comments )

at April 13, 2006 6:51 PM  Lorie said...

I actually happened to see the last couple of episodes. They played them all in one night, four episodes in a row like it was a movie, almost (I don't think they even did the intro between episodes, or at least not much of one), and I saw the last two or three. I just happened to come across it at the time. It seems like maybe it was a Friday or some other random time not usually associated with the show. Like they just wanted to get the episodes done with and get the whole thing over with. I'm sure you could find the episodes online somewhere.