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Arrested Development is an American television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show’s storyline centers on the Bluth family, a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family and is presented in a continuous format, incorporating hand-held camera work, narration, archival photos, and historical footage. Ron Howard is an executive producer and the uncredited narrator. Although set in Newport Beach and Balboa Island, California, Arrested Development was primarily filmed around Culver City and Marina del Rey. Three seasons of the show were produced and aired between 2003 and 2006. Since starting out on November 2, 2003, the series earned six Emmy awards, one Golden Globe, critical acclaim and attracted a cult following. In 2007 was listed as one of Time magazine’s “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME.”

Arrested Development revolves around Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the “normal” one in a family of crazies, who is forced to stay in Orange County and run the family real estate business after his father, George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), is sent to prison for… More shifty accounting practices. While George Sr. spent the last year in the slammer discovering his newfound Judaism and recording inspirational tapes, Michael spent it picking up the pieces and trying to teach his offbeat family how to live without an endless expense account. All the while, Michael has also been trying to do right by his 14-year-old son, George Michael (Michael Cera), an earnest kid who works diligently at the family’s frozen banana stand. The Bluths are led by controlling matriarch Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), a socialite who is as icy as her martinis. Then there’s the oldest son, GOB (Will Arnett), a womanizer and struggling magician (sorry, “illusionist”) whose biggest trick will be to make a real job appear. The youngest brother is Buster (Tony Hale), a neurotic professional grad student and glorified mama’s boy (he spent 11 months in the womb). The Bluth siblings are rounded out by cause-obsessed sister Linsay (Portia de Rossi), who is married to the hapless Tobias (David Cross), a doctor-turned-actor who might get more work if he wasn’t a self-proclaimed “never-nude.” Lindsay and Tobias are the ultra-permissive parents of Maeby (Alia Shawkat), a 14-year-old who loves finding unique ways to rebel against their greed.

One of the classic shows that Arrested Development is known for is the episode “Pier Pressure” where Michael suspects that George Michael has been smoking marijuana, he enlists the help of a one-armed man his father used to scare them as children. GOB and Buster participate in the bust, which also enlists the help of a local stripper agency.

Some of the similar shows to Arrested Development are show like 30 Rock as well as The Office. People of an older class might find the show really really interesting but the people of the new generation might not find it as hot. However, Arrested Development is a classic show in which people come to love and respect throughout the years it was aired.

“Arrested Development”. IMDb. 2011. Web. 18 Jan 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/

“Arrested Development (TV Series)”. Wikipedia 2011. Web. 18 Jan 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_Development_(TV_series)