Arrested Development: Season 2

When watching arrested development, you are rewarded for paying attention to the details. The writers use the same careful elements employed by the crew at the Simpsons, weaving little gems of pop-culture minutia into the storyline that end up defining the story at the end of the show. Tactics such as the build-up of the rock-paper-scissors decision making tool through-out the course of an episode, culminating with a larger than life size pair of scissors in the hands of Michael at then end - what a hilarious visual, and un-expected turn of events. Also - the episode when Michael is moping along the street to the Peanuts piano-sad-song with a dog house in the background and a snoopy-like dog passed out on the roof. Damn thats funny! Oh - and Ben Stiller as Tony Wonder, conjuring up a Subway coupon with only a few stickers on it to the amazement of Buster, who only has praise for his lame generosity - comic genius. I've watched seasons 1 and 2 dozens of times, and am always finding silly little quirks. David Cross as Tobias is insane - if you like his brand of lunacy you really must watch every episode of Mr. Show's four season run, a truly original sketch comedy series.

I take a slight bit of satisfaction that this series didn't cater to a larger audience - for if more people really latched on to this style of humor then more shows would try to replicate it, and the essence of this type of comedy would be constantly watered down and ruined. While it is unfortunate that it only lasted a few seasons - at least it never got boring - and each episode packed a wallop of a comedic punch, the effects of which last even after repeated viewings. I couldn't give a higher recommendation for a series box-set to have in your collection.

I'm not prone to hyperbole, but I honestly think this is the funniest show ever made. Season two is my personal favorite of the three, and has most of my favorite episodes. Whenever i'm feeling down I can always get out an Arrested Development DVD and it will bring a smile to my face. The lines go by so fast you may miss them on the first go round, which means a lot of the episodes get funnier the more you watch them. Ultimately I guess that was the show's undoing: it was too smart for television. I keep hoping for an Arrested Development reunion, but with each passing year it becomes less and less likely...

Often brilliantly funny, inventive, surreal series about a rich family gone terribly wrong, and the one
sane one trying to hold things together. Sort of what you might have gotten if George Bernard Shaw,
Kaufman and Hart and Monty Python had teamed up to do a spin on a traditional sitcom.

The acting is terrific, from top to bottom. Even producer Ron Howard's narration is great.

Not every joke works, but as it gets weirder and weirder (and funnier and funnier), all I could think is "how
the hell did they ever get this on network TV? And thank god they did!"

The second season, goes through the roof much more often than the first, with more clever twists and ideas per episode,
and more aggressive weirdness.