WORST NEWS IMAGINABLE

The day of doom has arrived: FOX DECIDED TO CANCEL ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. I'm pretty speechless right now that by far-absolutely no question about it-the funniest and most creatively written, produced, and acted show on television is being plucked from its nest in the infancy of its prime.

As stated in the article, "The two back-to-back episodes averaged a paltry 4 million viewers Monday". 4 million pop-culture-drenched, television-addicted, short-attention-span-plagued people in this entire world sat down and watched this show on Monday. 4 million.
I've tried on many occasions to care whatsoever about the bullshit aired elsewhere on television. I've tried hard to get excited about reality shows to join their cult followings and make Tuesday night more exciting. I've attempted to become attached to other television shows and it just hasn't happened. I guess I'm boring but I can't fool myself into caring about those shows whatsoever, even given the surrounding social context.

But Arrested Development is different. Arrested Development is about the content; it's about the show itself and that's what's beautiful. It's about shaking your head one moment at the utter absurdity and brilliance of a sketch and rolling over on the couch in laughter the next. it's about heaving a pleasurable sigh while the credits roll and knowing those 22 minutes made your day. it's about Buster getting his damn hand bit off by a seal, okay.

Look, Fox is a business and they need to make money. If nobody's watching, then sponsors don't want to pay for commercial time. They resurrected this show from the dead once, and I thank them for that. All i know is that the people who are fans of this show are obsessive because they realize that trite bullshit is shelved for a half-hour each week, replaced by innovation, creativity and utter brilliance. Although I'm not thrilled with Fox and really think a continued investment in this show could pay off huge, my real antipathy finds it target in the general television-watching-populace that supports inanity over art.

I'm pissed.

"There is a possibility that the show will be shopped around, but its high cost is expected to be prohibitive for a cable network." Let's make it happen.