Friday brought some sort-of good news for Arrested Development fans. The Jan. 2 episode (which was quite possibly one of the best of the entire series) looked like it might very well wind up being the last episode of AD Fox ever aired. The episode was a brilliant piece of writing that not only sent up every ratings-grabbing stunt out there (including going “live,” broadcasting in 3-D, killing off a character, and trucking out a cavalcade of guest stars) but also satirized some of the criticisms that have been levied against AD since its 2003 premiere (Michael talks about how the family’s not that likable, how their problems perhaps aren’t always relatable). It, of course, got piss-poor ratings, which has become the standard for AD. And Fox apparently decided that was enough. There were four episodes left to air (including one featuring the return to TV of Jason Bateman’s real-life sis, Justine “Mallory Keaton” Bateman), and Fox immediately yanked them from the schedule. A repeat of House aired last Monday in AD’s place, and 24 will be airing tomorrow night. But this past Friday saw news that Fox will indeed air those final four episodes of AD. Get this, though: They will be shown all in one two-hour block, from 8 to 10 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 10. Not only is the Friday night slot a dreadful one for Fox, on that particular night NBC also happens to be showing the opening ceremonies to the Winter Olympics, which are usually a big ratings winner. So it looks like the die-hard fans will watch (or at least tape) AD that night, but Fox probably isn’t expecting record-setting numbers. This certainly smells like burning off the episodes, and while it isn’t as bad as burning off unseen episodes in the middle of summer (as NBC did with Freaks and Geeks in 2000), it looks like a definite sign that Fox is ready to close the door on Arrested Development.
Which would be a shame, but, really, it’s tough to hate Fox in this situation. For the first two seasons of the show, Fox aired it on Sunday nights, which has traditionally been their most-watched night of the week. Last season, it even aired AD immediately following Simpsons, their most-watched show that wasn’t named American Idol. But AD usually lost a huge chunk of the Simpsons‘ audience for it. People just didn’t stick around for it. Despite finishing its first two seasons with very poor ratings, Fox renewed the show, because the critics loved it. It also didn’t hurt that the show kept on collecting Emmys. This season, Fox finally moved it away from cushy Sunday, and put it on Monday. I wasn’t surprised at all when ratings for the show wound up in the toilet. After airing a few episodes in September, the show–like most on Fox’s lineup–wasn’t seen in October, due to postseason baseball coverage. Its return in November met with a resounding ratings thud, and Fox pulled it for the rest of sweeps, didn’t order any new episodes beyond the initial 13 it had bought at the start of the season, and it looked to all the world that the show was dead in the water. Still does, in fact. There have been recent reports that both ABC and Showtime are interested in picking up the show. I’d prefer to see it go to ABC, for reasons other than the simple fact that I don’t have Showtime and can’t afford to subscribe to it. To me, part of what makes AD so great is that its constantly pushing the envelope as far as what it is allowed to get away with on network TV. Certain subjects are tiptoed around delicately but hilariously, and creative use is made of blue dots and fuzzy visual effects to cover up, say, shots of bare breasts. And the bleeping of swear words is also great. Sometimes you can guess what the word is that is being bleeped, but with a show like AD, you’re never quite sure. I love hearing a word bleeped and then watching Michael’s priceless reaction to the word that was said. What was the word that was said? You have to use your imagination. And sometimes (as it was when you had to imagine for yourself what Bill Murray might have said to Scarlet Johannsen at the end of Lost in Translation), the best line is the one you come up with in your own mind.
If AD landed on Showtime, a premium cable channel, there’d be no restraints. None. Sometimes it’s best to have restraints placed on you; it forces you to have to work creatively around a situation, and that’s not always a bad thing. Of course, it’s on Showtime that AD probably has its best chance for survival. Since that channel is funded by people who subscribe to it, it doesn’t have to worry that much about ratings. ABC, being a broadcast network whose shows are funded primarily by advertising, would be just as concerned about ratings as Fox has been, and would probably can AD after one season. I’m sure it would be a very good season, but it’d be one season all the same. I don’t have a whole lot of faith viewers would suddenly flock to AD if it landed on ABC. As I said earlier, Fox has given the show plenty of chances, but viewers just don’t tune in. There might be a few reasons. I have read complaints that people just don’t find the characters on AD very relatable, or even all that likable. Also, AD on the surface gives the appearance of being a show that you have to watch each week in order to follow the plot. While that’s not exactly the case (the show is very much like a serial, but Ron Howard provides ample amounts of narration each week to fill you in on anything you might not be clear about; count the number of times, for example, he’s informed us that Maybey is moonlighting as a studio executive), I can see how some people might come away with that impression. Finally, there’s not really a show that it’s compatible with. The first season, for example, Fox paired the show with Malcolm in the Middle, and while on the surface the shows were somewhat similar (both one-camera shows that dealt with dysfunctional families), AD’s humor is very verbal, whereas Malcolm’s is more visual. Also, Malcolm is more of a family show, whereas AD most definitely is not.
So I don’t expect AD to become a sudden ratings hit if it went to ABC, and yet, that’s the network I want it to go to. Hopefully the show would last longer than one season on the Alphabet network. But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t. There was an interesting column about the show on slate.com a few weeks back, in which that website’s resident TV critic said that while she’d be sad to see AD go, at least it’d be going with two and a half seasons of excellent television behind it. And she had a point. There’s something to be said for a show that doesn’t stick around for years and years past its prime, but rather is content to go out on a creative high note. Look at two other shows on Fox’s lineup, That 70s Show and the aforementioned Malcolm. Malcolm is past its prime, and That 70s Show should’ve ended at least two years ago. It’s now borderline-unwatchable. And I would hate to see that happen to AD. I’m confident, though, that the show’s got at least one more season of inspired hilarity inside of it, so I’m hoping ABC throws it a bone.
Tags: Arrested Development, Fox, Malcolm in the Middle, That '70s Show
