Bye, bye, Bluths – The Boston Globe
There’s no point in getting righteously ticked off about the end of ”Arrested Development.” The show was born to be a martyr. It was built for TV fanatics and Hollywood insiders, and its three-year run has been an unexpected gift. I doubt Fox honchos truly believed the brilliantly insane sitcom would become a Nielsen hit when it premiered in 2003, despite a likeness to the network’s successful animated comedies. ”Arrested Development” was too densely witty and too elliptically naughty to ever become a Next Big Thing. From the start, this series had ”legendary ratings flop” written all over it.
Indeed, we’re lucky to have gotten 53 rich episodes. I still marvel at the frequency of jokes in each 22-minute block of ”Arrested Development.” The four final episodes, which air back to back tomorrow night at 8 on Channel 25, are so layered, you’ll want to re-watch them to catch the puns and self-references and sly allusions you overlooked.
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