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.

Brilliant!

Once in awhile, a commercial comes around that’s so cool it hurts. You know, the kind where you gaze at the screen on the verge of tears because you didn’t have any part in its creation. I would rank this Guinness commercial among that rare breed (those from Kansas might disagree). I thought the Ice Age was especially sweet.

Arrested attention

Arrested Development launched its third season tonight. I'll repeat what i've preached since becoming a relatively late convert to the show last spring: nothing else on cable rivals this for comedy. I should qualify that statement by conceding that i don't watch a whole bunch of television, but try to atleast get a feel for what's out there. So, I'm begging you, if there's a show airing that you think ranks with or above Arrested Development for humor, please, for the love of the deities, tell me about it.

Lots of juicy new twists and turns surfaced in this season's inaugural episode, maybe the most notable being that Oscar has his own blog. Here's a wonderful excerpt:

When I woke up in the infirmary, I was surprised to find out that my stabber was the leader of an equal rights gang called: RAVIOLI or Rapists Against Violence Against Insects. When I went to apologize for killing the ants, I pointed out that ravioli doesn’t work as an acronym and they stabbed me again.

"Shouts and Murders"...are you kidding me! Brilliant. Basically everything on the show was funny, minus a creepy shot of George Sr. as an awakening Blue Man. Actually, that was funny too.

Sunday morning thoughts (republished...comment issues)

…yes, morning. A couple things:

My computer is crippled and, by extension, I am crippled. There’s no denying it, computers are an ever-increasingly integral part of my life. Since I can’t afford the computer I really want right now, I had to settle for reprogramming windows onto my computer (chose traditional OS for timebeing). Since ordering it weeks ago (my XP disks disappeared in the bedlam of my one of my post-collegiate moves), it’s yet to arrive and I’m sort of going insane in the interim. Fiddling with a keyboard accomplishes too many important things these days for me to be completely cut-off upon leaving work, including the following: the internet serves as my primary source of daily information (articles, entertainment, weird websites), I also accomplish a fair amount of my communication online, and finally, I pour most of my technical interests and creativity (as my buddy Tony can relate to) into computer oriented activities these days. That’s a lot to go without. Such a stance might alarm or atleast surprise many people who knew me in my previous Stone-age phase, but they need not worry. I haven’t gone over the deep end yet.

Washington is really humid. I perspire alot.

I saw the Old 97’s in concert last night at the 9:30 Club here in DC. First of all, they kick ass and I highly recommend checking them out. Also, that venue reminds me a) how much I love intimate live shows and 2) how much I don’t like way overpriced megashows (although I’ll still go if it’s my only opportunity to see an amazing band) where the people on-stage look like wiggling black lines in the distance. Like other smaller venues I’ve frequented in p-town, anchorage, Spokane, dc, etc, the shows there are almost always cheaper and, without a doubt, much better.

Arrested Development is the funniest show on tv. I don’t really watch that much television, so I don’t religiously follow that many shows, if any. But I guarantee you when the third season of Arrested Development starts this fall, I’ll be watching (all my love to those who pushed for the show’s renewal). I’ve been laughing until it hurts the last couple weeks as I’ve charged through the Season 1 dvd’s. If you’re a late-starter like me on this one, get on-board soon. It’s hilarious.