Been a long time coming - and now twice over, since the structure of season 4 practically demands a second go-through straight after the first. And I have to say, it's a disappointment - while it's nice to visit these characters again (well, kind of - they're older, and maybe less likeable now) and the show's still delightfully unafraid of taboo, it's hard to put your finger on what's missing, but it feels a shade darker and has far fewer laughs ... the show's as layered as ever, but not as funny. The varying episode lengths don't help either, giving it a bit of a baggy feel, and nor does the scattering of the cast across the episodes (driven, I think, by the limited availability of some of them). Seasons 1 to 3, Arrested Development was the absolutely gold standard for judging all tv comedy; alas, the most that can be said about season 4 is that maybe, if it keeps going - the note on which it ends, with numerous unsatisfying loose ends, suggests that the show's creators, at least, intend so - it'll turn out to've been a transitional pivot to something else.
(1, 2, 3; again; again)
(1, 2, 3; again; again)
