The Reason Why Arrested Development is Having Problems

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  • The Reason Why Arrested Development is Having Problems

    After a roundtable discussion with my close associates, this is what we came up with......

    It's just not a great show.

    It's a very creative show and at times a funny show.

    It's a very clever show and at times can make you laugh.

    BUT...

    It's one gag after the other. And the show has no basis AT ALL in reality so it's hard to care.

    It's over the top and over the top and over the top and gag, gag, gag.

    You watch and you just don't care. Maybe you laugh a couple times here and there, but you just don't care.

    No family behaves like that and it just makes it hard to watch eventually.

    Comedy, to work long term, has to have some basis in reality.

    Seinfeld, Honeymooners, Cheers, Curb your Enthusiasm etc.... all have some piece of reality that you could relate to.

    There is no family that behaves like that. It's TOO MUCH. IT'S TOOOO OVER THE TOP to the point where you're like "give me a break already."

    If they toned down some of the gags and brought it back down to reality a bit, then they may have something.

    People need to connect with a show. And the show, as funny and clever as it may be, is just not connecting. It's too bad because the writers and everyone connected with the show are obviously very talented. They haven't hit on the write mixture of ingredients yet though, to keep people coming back. I think the Emmy emboldened them to push the envelope even furthur which I think is killing them.

    We shall see.

  • #2
    If they toned down some of the gags and brought it back down to reality a bit, then they may have something.
    Yeah, something like every other sitcom on the dial.

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    • #3
      I can't begin to tells ya how many things I find wrong with Billy's post....

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      • #4
        To each his own, but... wow, I could not disagree more with billythrilly! I only wish there were more shows on TV like AD and that someday I can create something so damn original and so damn funny.

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        • #5
          I know this is like opening Pandora's Box...but Billy's wrong.

          Ele...

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          • #6
            No box opening.

            I was just telling you why the show is failing and people aren't watching.

            Not that it deserves to fail. Not that it isn't better than crap like "Committed." Of course it is.

            But everyone I know who has watched it, although they find it amusing and funny at times, they just get to a "Gimme a break" level and the gags start losing their steam and it's so over the top that they stop caring and then they stop watching.

            I commend their originality and desire to push the envelope. But sometimes you can push so far that you lose people. That's what has happened. Right or wrong, that's why the show hasn't built an audience and is actually losing people now.

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            • #7
              Wow

              Haha. I couldn't disagree more.

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              • #8
                Re: Wow

                Other than the obvious "People are stupid and don't know something great when they see it" excuse, why is the show tanking then?

                Anyone have an intelligent reason or just gonna stick with the "blame it on the audience" excuse?

                It's tanking, because it's a nonstop series of sight gags, antics and WAYYYYYY over the top behavior. And people eventually say "Okay. I get it. You're wacky. A wacky family. But why am I watching?"

                Hey. Just my opinion. Like I said, I'd rather have shows like this on than "Committed."

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                • #9
                  Wow!

                  Fascinating thread, billy!

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                  • #10
                    it requires viewers to use their brains and pay attention and most tv watchers are too lazy for that.


                    and what is billy doing watching the honeymooners? it was made before 1970.

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                    • #11
                      There are five movies(Wizard of Oz, Pride of The Yankees, March of the Wooden Soldiers, The Ten Commandments, and A Miracle on 34th Street) and four T.V. shows(The Honeymooners, The Brady Bunch, The Twilight Zone, and Gilligan's Island) made before 1970 that are worth watching. Although this is the first time I've applied the 1970 rule to T.V. so there may be a couple more. For some reason older T.V. doesn't stink as bad as older movies. The 1970 rule may not apply to T.V. I'll have to evaluate and get back to you.



                      And you're right. People don't want to pay attention, but they will if you give them something to pay attention to. Sight gags and over the top antics have a hard time in that department. Story based in SOME, ever so slight, reality can help.

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                      • #12
                        I think there's some pretty good irony in the fact that a guy who refuses to watch movies made before 1970 doesn't buy that "People are stupid and don't know something great when they see it." :lol

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                        • #13
                          "Girls with low self-esteem"

                          The show is pure genius.



                          P.S. I can relate to all of the Bluth brothers (and the son as well when I was younger): I feel obligated to my family, I'm a mama's boy, and my writing career is as successful as Gob's magic career. And I have Tobias's woman problems [and I'm not gay (not that there's anything wrong with it)].

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                          • #14
                            The irony is escaping me. I'm sorry.


                            People in the audience ARE stupid sometimes. The people putting on the performance suck many of the times as well.

                            In this particular case, we have a very creative show that on a molecular level just isn't that good. It's funny and clever, but there's nothing there to make the average human want to watch. And the average humans are the ones with the Nielson boxes. I really didn't mean to put the show down. I really wanted to flat out explain why their ratings suck. After speaking with my posse, we all came to the same conclusion.

                            I don't like movies before 1970 because at the time I'm sure they were great, but now when you go back to watch them they suck. And they suck because if you grew up watching movies that were derivative they've been ruined. After watching Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street to then go back and watch Psycho, it's like..."Pfffhh. Big deal. This isn't scary."

                            BUT AT THE TIME they were great and fresh and new and THE GENERAL PUBLIC LOVED THEM. So, you can't compare pre 1970's movie to Arrested Development, because the general public does not love this show.

                            What can I tell ya? It's too bad that they won't tone it down just a drop, because if they did and got an audience and were able to stay on the air, it would help all creative people. But NOOOO..they have to just be stubborn and go down with the ship taking all the rest of us with them, so we're stuck having to watch and write crap like "Committed."

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                            • #15
                              A.D.'s failure

                              Unfortunately it's failing and that's the bottom line.

                              Why, well who knows? TV is a tough animal. To try to make something appeal to a large audience is very hard to do. America is very conservative, especially right now. A.D. is not a conservative prime time show.

                              Billy brings up a good point about the reality of the show or lack there of. The show is very gag heavy and the characters are over the top, but that's the originality of it. I don't think it's homogenized enough for all of America. There are a lot of layers of jokes within the show and it's very fast paced. You have to watch most episodes more than once to get most of the jokes because you miss them. I find that aspect of it really great. Most of America doesn't because they like things simple and thoughtless. It doesn't matter if this is right or wrong, it's what is.

                              It's easier to find success with a proven formula. It's very hard to try something new and succeed, sticking to your guns no matter what. In my opinion, that is what the creator (Mitch) is doing.

                              You guys will see this soon, but A.D. was forced to sell out. Fox MADE them do a Burger King tie in. It was disgusting to say the least, but what can you do? At least I had the pleasure of seeing David Cross bag on them non-stop at the BK. It was hysterical to say the least!

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