S.O.B.s stands for “Save Our Bluths,” a campaign started by everyone’s favorite “wealthy family who lost everything” on Mitchell Hurwitz’s cult show, “Arrested Development.” Almost a decade later Netflix has finally come to the Bluths’ rescue, bringing them back for a fourth season.
The new episodes of “Arrested Development” will become available exclusively through Netflix on May 26. Anticipation is already running high. Promotional photos with iconic images from the show have recently been released.
These include Tobias’ “never nude” jean shorts and a brown bag marked “Dead Dove Do Not Eat” from one of GOB’s many magic trick casualties. These are inside jokes, but to “Arrested Development”’s devoted fan base, they are much appreciated. For someone obsessed with the show for over four years, all this hype is very exciting.
“Arrested Development” premiered on FOX in 2003. I was twelve years old and, like many people, completely unaware of its existence. Like “Firefly,” it is one of those wonderful programs cursed to find popularity only after its demise.
But by the time I was in my late teens, word of “Arrested Development” had spread among my friends.
The first time I heard about the show was through a recounting of GOB’s colorful exchange with his mother, Lucille.
The scene: GOB moves back home after breaking up with his Latina girlfriend, Marta.
His mother is less than thrilled. She says, “You’ve got three days.” He answers, “Hey … if I can’t find another horny immigrant by then, I don’t deserve to stay here!”
The absurdity had me intrigued. So I started watching my senior year of high school, and within a few weeks, I’d seen all of “Arrested Development”’s three short seasons. Now after enjoying each episode at least three times, I still consider it to be the funniest and possibly the smartest show I’ve ever seen.
“Arrested Development” is a character-driven comedy, with ridiculous people tethered just enough to reality. There’s Michael (Jason Bateman), the central character and the most normal of the bunch. He is trying to save the family company and keep everyone out of trouble after his father, George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), commits some “light treason.” Michael has a twin sister, Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), a vain “stay-in-bed” mom with a gay husband named Tobias. Tobias Funkë (David Cross) is the world’s first “Analrapist” (analyst and therapist —it doesn’t look so good on paper), but he has quit his job to unsuccessfully pursue an acting career.
Lindsay and Tobias have a teenaged daughter, Maeby, who is somewhat of a con-artist.
She captures the interest of her shy cousin, George Michael; he takes her to see the film Les Cousins Dangereux because he likes the way the French think. Michael’s two brothers are Buster (Tony Hale) and GOB (Will Arnett). Buster spent eleven months in the womb, and is consequently attached to his mother in a rather oedipal way. GOB is a magician (“Illusionist”) whose many botched tricks include accidentally falling out of the trap door in his father’s coffin.
Although GOB is intermittently the president of the Bluth Company, he is a relentless screw-up, constantly proclaiming, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” Then there’s the older Bluths, who may be even more entertaining than their offspring. George Sr., also known as “Pop-Pop,” is in and out of prison after building model homes in Iraq for Saddam Hussein.
He has a pot-smoking twin brother named Oscar (also Jeffrey Tambor), who looks exactly like George except with more hair. (“Oh, that hair!” says Lucille.) Oscar is also most likely Buster’s real father. But the matriarch of the family, Lucille (Jessica Walter), is by far the best of the Bluths.
In one of my favorite scenes, Lucille marches into Michael’s house and demands, “Get me a vodka rocks.” Michael: “Mom, it’s breakfast.” Lucille: “And a piece of toast.”Lucille is a complex character, with a different attitude toward each of her children. She smothers Buster, but doesn’t “much care for GOB.”
She advises Lindsay, “If you’re worried about criticism, sometimes a diet is the best defense.” As for Michael, Lucille needs him to clean up the Bluth family messes.
Also, their personalities clash in the best ways, especially when Michael tries to confront his mother about everything she has been hiding. Michael: “There’s been a lot of lies in this family.” Lucille: “And a lot of love.” Michael considers this, and then replies, “More lies.”
It’s a shame “Arrested Development” was cancelled so early, but sometimes I find it amazing that the show was permitted to air at all.
The subversive humor, the rape and incest jokes, and the model homes full of Saddam Hussein look-a-likes would make any network nervous.
But FOX gave it a chance, and while “Arrested Development” didn’t have the best ratings, its post-mortem cult following was so strong that it brought the show back to life.
Now Arrested Development fans can finally get their fix. So, if you don’t already have an account, sign up for Netflix this month to find out what’s happening with the fabulously dysfunctional Bluth family. It’s worth it, if only to see another one of Lucille’s disconcerting winks.
