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 |   A third attempt at this blogging business. |
| 30DBC PROMPT: "What is one funny TV show or movie that will always make you laugh no matter how many times you watch it? What makes it funny? Convince me I should watch it." What's up folks? It's another "Funny Friday" in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  , and I'm convinced I've seen this prompt before. But instead of railing on and on about how much I think watching tv and movies are a waste of time, I'm going to go a different route altogether and unveil the SuperMegaUltra Funny Friday Blogging Circle Of Friends Combo Entry.BCF PROMPT: "Is there anything you are a total nerd for? A TV show, a card game, a video game? You know a ton about it and love to watch/play it. If you do, tell us about it. If not, tell us why." In this SuperMegaUltra entry, I'm going to attempt to pare down my response to two prompts into one collective argument why I like a particular television show, why you should watch it, and how I'm a nerd about it, but not quite. I'm a fan of very few television shows, partially because I like comedy, and everyone has certain types of comedy they prefer over others. Some like slapstick and physical comedy. Some like the quick laugh. Others prefer intellectual comedy that might take a few extra ticks to get, but the payoff is just greater because you feel more like you're in on the gag. If there were one show that encompasses all of these traits, without overstaying its welcome or outliving its purpose, it'd have to be Arrested Development. I'll admit, I didn't even start watching the show until long after it'd been cancelled. I still haven't finished the Netflix-released fourth season. I happened to be looking for something to watch one day and, since I really hate jumping into the middle of things, noticed all of the first season was available at my local library on dvd. So I figured I'd give it a shot. And I was hooked. Imagine what should be a rich, successful family brought down to Earth by scandal, and then think of everything that could undo this family even more. And then make it ridiculous. You've got the jailed patriarch (George Sr., "Pop-Pop") who has run his business into the ground (and his twin brother Oscar), his spoiled, crass wife (Lucille, "Gangie"), their oldest son GOB (a failed magician), the mama's boy of a youngest son (Buster), and twins Lindsay (who married Dr. Tobias Funke, who lost his license to practice medicine and is struggling to find work as an actor) and Michael (who takes over the business as the most level-headed of the clan). There's also Michael's son George Michael, and Lindsay and Tobias' daughter Maeby, along with scads of cameos and random oddball bit parts. The timing of the humorousness don't seem to follow the cadence of a typical sitcom, and a loose story arc means you can pretty much watch almost any episode at any given time and not feel like you needed to watch the three before it to understand the gist of what's going on (having a narrator helps this along some). I'd say if you found yourself checking out an episode, it probably wouldn't hurt to peruse this slideshow of running gags: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/arrested-development-the-funniest-runni......it's not a complete list, however. That would be http://recurringdevelopments.com/#_, which is an interactive guide that shows you what jokes are in which episodes and, if necessary, provides a few more details about them (and that's how I know I'm a slight nerd about Arrested Development...I just wasted a half hour on that last site). Dry, witty, sarcastic humor. A storyline that's easy enough to follow. Outrageous yet almost plausible things happening nearly all the time...just when you think things can't get any more indefensible or incomprehensible or stranger, they do, even at times where you think you see it coming. That, to me, is the high watermark of good comedy: when you can predict what's going to happen, and it still does, but it catches you off guard at the same time. It takes the right combination of writing and acting to make certain things- unfathomable, inconceivable, heinous things- funny. And it also takes a lot for me to enjoy watching a program repeatedly, if at all. I can do that with Arrested Development. I highly recommend it, especially if you're thinking to yourself "Well, I've done watched all I've ever wanted to on Netflix; now what?" Allow yourself time to watch the first six episodes (you can actually watch the first two seasons for free anytime using http://www.hulu.com/arrested-development, and then watch them again to see how they start to make sense. Give it time to evolve. I think you'll enjoy it. MUSICAL BREAK!! An ode to the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand, where the kids would meet up at back in the day... THE DAILY BOX SCORE: Since I had a rather unexciting day, I'll just leave a few links here for you to use at your own discretion...  Buster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo1pkHKHuts The Chicken Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf2e8z7EoF8 The Cornballer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps6mpuJuF54 Ann...her? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1iwfmNCEIk No touching!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuHILqDIvis Tobias: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5posU08HjXg The family's lawyer, Barry Zuckerkorn (also known as "The Fonz" on Happy Days): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZWrMrld7LI (In addition to Henry Winkler's role as Barry, and Ron Howard (narrator and executive producer), Scott Baio from Happy Days also has a recurring role late in the series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOtDNXfMyD0).Ok, well, I think I've carried on about this whole Arrested Development thing long enough for one day. Peace, I've made a huge mistake, and GOODNIGHT NOW!! |
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