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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
72
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
May 29, 2018
Season 5 Review:
But trying to recreate the past is almost always impossible, as every TV revival other than Twin Peaks: The Return has been forced to grapple with. And that leaves Arrested season five feeling half finished. It’s fun in places and labored in others, sometimes in the same scene.
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May 26, 2013
Season 2 Review:
Even if you're confused when tuning in as a first-timer, it's a lot better than not tuning in at all. [4 Nov 2004, p.103]
May 26, 2013
Season 2 Review:
But my ultimate test for any comedy is - what else? - "Does it make me laugh?" Arrested Development seldom does. Not loudly, anyway...It has neither the liberating audacity of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" nor the delirious, anything-for-a-laugh energy of NBC's "Scrubs," the two contemporary comedies that consistently crack me up. It's reminiscent of the taboo- breaking 1970s comedy serial "Soap," but drier, more deadpan, and with less endearing characters. Does it deserve a wider audience than it has gotten? Sure. But I can't imagine it becoming a mainstream hit for Fox like "The Simpsons" or "Malcolm in the Middle."
May 26, 2013
Season 1 Review:
Despite some amusing bits involving the parents, there's a major problem: Arrested Development isn't especially funny. That's the one asset every successful sitcom must have. [2 Nov 2003, p.4]
May 23, 2018
Season 5 Review:
You feel, in the end, like the concept-album strangeness of season 4 has been replaced by an attempt toward facsimile: The old show, recreated. Fun enough, I guess, if you forget that a central part of the thrill with Arrested Development was how completely it could reset the boundaries of TV comedy every week. There will always be money in this banana stand--but there used to be so much more.
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May 29, 2018
Season 5 Review:
The only innovation in these new Arrested Development episodes is how the story processes tensions between Michael and George Michael, who remain in love with the same woman (Isla Fischer), leading to one confrontation that is, I’ll admit, fairly amazing. Otherwise what Netflix has shown reviewers of this fifth season (seven of the eight to be released on May 29 were made available to critics, with eight more coming later) doesn’t justify the continued revisitations to the Bluths.
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ColliderMay 22, 2018
Season 5 Review:
While the family is usually better together, they’re mostly scattered again (with a few strange pairings that don’t really work, like Lucille and Tobias), and the narrative focus is completely on Michael. No one else has much of an individual story yet, and that’s a shame, because the strongest comedy so far comes from the plots that are the most removed from Michael.
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The Daily BeastMay 30, 2013
May 28, 2013
May 26, 2013
Season 1 Review:
A marvelous cast, including Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter and Alia Shawkat. Offbeat situations and innovative direction. Your humble critic, however, finds one problem: It's not very funny. [2 Nov 2003, p.H01]
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