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Just weeks following the release of the re-cut fourth season of Arrested Development, we’ll finally see what the Bluths have been up to after another long and fraught hiatus.
The trailer doesn’t show too much new material, opting instead to run a greatest hits reel of the jokes best remembered from the original seasons. And that’s fine. In a minute-and-a-half, you’re not going to get much meat, anyhow, and what new material is shown does look amusing.
It’s mostly just going to be nice to get out from under the shadow of season four. It was a polarizing run to say the least, and that misstep seemed likely to end the series again. Criticized for boxing away characters into their own episodes and having a story too twisted up for its own good, the season was written off by most longtime fans.
I’ve been watching the Fateful Consequences cut of the season, and I don’t think it’s going to turn anyone’s opinion, either. They should have just kept the season as the outlier it was. It was written for its style, and the new edits might help it conform to the standard formula, but the narration is incredibly heavy-handed, the story moves at a much slower pace in chronological order, and characters still disappear for long stretches only to reappear in small parts later. It doesn’t seem as satisfying to me, but it’s a good thing Netflix removed the original cut of season four, so you have no choice but to watch Fateful Consequences going forward!
Here’s hoping season five will be the breath of fresh air and new humor that we’ll hold in the same regard as the first three seasons, though, and that it won’t lean too heavily on all the old jokes that the internet has played out at this point. Gags still age the same, no matter how long your show goes on break.
Arrested Development Season 5 Trailer [Facebook]
