ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT - Season Two [2004]

"It's called taking advantage.

It's what gets you ahead in life."

After the perfect execution of the debut season of the criminally underwatched sitcom Arrested Development, Mitch Hurwitz & co. had a lot to live up to.  Four episodes shorter than the previous season, the laughs are as strong as ever and the serialized storyline is even more confusing if you miss an episode or two. 

This time around, George Bluth Sr. is a wanted fugitive, secretly hiding in the Bluth family attic, known only to Michael who has every right to just turn him in but won't for various complicated reasons.  Several other plotlines are introduced into the mix that spiderweb into a manic mess of chaos that always seems to meet up at the end of the season.  The plotting of the season might not be as tightly wound as the first year but some of the jokes are the funniest things I've ever seen.  It rewards viewers with multiple viewings, as I'm still catching things I've never noticed before, including many in-jokes that are a direct "fuck you" to the way the Fox network was treating the program.  The plots seem to have a more outlandish style than before, by including a flesh-eating seal, a "wolf" on the loose in L.A. and even David Cross in a surreal version of Mrs. Doubtfire.  

It also continues it's trend of wonderfully funny guest stars to support the strong ensemble cast, including Henry Winkler (who actually jumps over a shark in one ep), Liza Minelli, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short, Carl Weathers, J.K. Simmons and even The Blue Man Group.

With every critic and their dog calling the show brilliant, funny, clever and "the best sitcom of the 2000's", it's hard to come up with anything that hasn't been said before but the fact is they're all correct and I'll gladly beat the dead horse and agree with everything that's been said before.  The series is not for everybody but I shouldn't have to tell you that anymore.  As Maeby Fünke says in an episode, shortly after Fox tried pair the show with Family Guy, only to have it fail even more, " Why are we even going after this idiot demographic?"

18 episodes. 22 minutes each.

Buyer's Guide:
Available in DVD box sets and on iTunes, Netflix and Amazon.

4 Lucille and the Loose Seals out of 5