Pilot

Arrested Development is a sitcom that shouldn't work, but somehow it all does. Creator Mitchell Hurwitz took the basic plot line of a dysfunctional family, added elements from Wes Anderson movies, nonstop references taken from shows like The Simpsons, a great cast, nonstop insanity, and it was all put in the blender and Hurwitz smoothly blended these elements until they came out in the form of this show, Arrested Development. Based on this episode, I really liked what I saw. It's not overly funny, but it has a lot of heart and the interactions between the cast members are golden. Without further ado, let's meet the Bluth family:

George Bluth Sr.(Jeffrey Tambor): The patriarch of the Bluth family who took a frozen banana stand and turned it into a business empire.

Lucille Bluth: (Jessica Walter): The wife of George Bluth known for her constant squealing on inconsequential things and seemingly has no love for her children.

GOB Bluth (Will Arnett): The eldest son who aspires to be a magician.....but he lacks the skills to be a magician and despises everyone who says his magic is horrible

Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman): The only "good" son. He tries to keep his family out of trouble and does everything asked of him in hope of running the company. He also lives in the attic of his family's model house (one of the show's better running gags.)

George-Michael Bluth (Michael Cera): Michael's son who wants to do right by his father. Problem is, they seem to have many miscommunication issues.

Lindsay Bluth (Portia De Rossi): Lindsay is Michael's sister, but she acts like her mother in every way considering she is often self-centered and materialistic. She thinks she is doing good for the world by taking part of charitable causes (when in fact, they are not.)

Buster Bluth: (Tony Hale): The youngest son of George Sr, and the only one Lucille has a keen interest of. In fact, Lucille has so much of an interest in him that he lacks the smarts and the social skills of other men his age.

Finally, two other important characters are Tobias Funke (David Cross) who is the dim-witted and rather flamboyant husband of Lindsay, and Maeby Funke (Alia Shawkat) who is Lindsay and Tobias's daughter.

The characters I listed above are the people that comprise of the dysfunctional Bluth family. In this extended pilot directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (later known for their work with Marvel), George Sr. is on the cusp of retirement and it is known he will name his successor at the retirement party on the family's yacht. Much to Michael's surprise, he names Lucille as his successor. After she was named, the SEC boards the boat and arrests George Sr. Michael investigates and realizes that his family problems goes beyond than what he originally thought, especially considering George Sr. actually likes it in jail.

This episode was highly entertaining and addictive. Hurwitz's show shouldn't really work, but somehow he made it work. It is sad the ratings were never really that high, because this show is high quality work. The cast really makes it work, and every performance deserves praise. The writers deserve a lot of credit being able to cram what they need to put in each episode in that tight half-hour time slot. I really love these manic lines because everything seems so quotable. Also, Ron Howard makes a very fine narrator! After viewing this pilot, I am ready to further see what adventures the Bluth family have in store for us.

My Grade: A-

The first episode of the greatest comedy series, but a TV series in history. I may be exaggerating, but the beginning was not exciting, the first time I saw it, but when I watched the second, I laughed, the third laughed, and the fourth laughed more. In the beginning, all the characters are funny. The music is wonderful, funny, and the narrator is great. The episode is full of ongoing jokes, such as No Touching and Tobias, maybe a gay episode. After you like the show, I advise you to watch the second and third, and then decide to continue watching or not.

Here it is! The beginning of one of the most fantastic And intelligent comedies Ever created.

This first episode does a good job of introducing us to the main characters and their individual quirks. Also introduces us to the idiosyncratic style of the show, with narration and witty mini scenes interspersed throughout.

As far as comedies go, you can tell straight away that this show is something completely special and unique. It's hard to appreciate the originality now that I've seen it many times.

It isn't quite up to the levels of hilarity that it will eventually achieve - but you can see the ideas taking root. Feels like watching a special piece of history to go back to it now.

Some really great jokes here, but not all of them hit home. However, very interested in seeing where it goes from here. Tobias is by far the funniest character here, then Gob and then George-Michael. All of them are unique and hilarious, though.

Arrested Development seems to be a very enjoyable sitcom that is very popular with the audiences. But somehow, this show was canned after three seasons before starting a fourth very recently. This pilot episode is very addicting and it will grab your attention. It's not all that funny, but there are still a few chuckles to be had. I just really love the realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional family.

This episode is where we meet the Bluth family. Michael Bluth is attending his father's retirement ceremony aboard a cruise ship where he expects to be named his successor. But that honor goes to his mother and his father is arrested and investigated by the SEC. Originally, Michael plans to leave his family, but he decides to stay to keep his family together.

This series has a great cast. The family is made up of Jason Bateman, Portia di Rossi, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Jessica Walter, and Will Arnett. Honestly, they all do a fantastic job in this pilot.

Overall, this is a wonderful beginning to what I hope is a very good series. It's very addicting and I was sad when the show was over. I'm glad this was a popular show because it's very well-made, at least the pilot is. I rate this episode 9/10.