Development-al dysfunction

Man, that Bateman is one sharp cat.

Fox tossed the last four eps of "Arrested Development" at us in one two-hour block as a farewell/fucketh thee to Mitchell Hurwitz's giant-genius-baby. These were only the fourth through eighth eps of this show I've been able to watch, and it's my loss now that it's gone. For years, people have been heaping praise on this show far more eloquently than I can hope to do now, but rest assured that A.D.'s departure leaves the primetime landscape without any kind of innovation, especially in the highly scientific field of Situational Comedy.

The public has voted, and they choose "The Rack Whisperer" and "CSI: Tallahassee" over a show that features an actual continuity, fantastic acting, and crisp plotting the likes of which we haven't seen since the ’70s. I hope that the wonderful leads (suspiciously, there seem to have been no holes in the casting... even down to Liza) are able to snap up projects that befit their new-found adoration.

And another note about Bateman -- what a marvelous career-reinvention this guy has been able to pull off, right before our eyes. He went from a "Hogan Family" afterthought to the straightman-anchor for one of T.V. smartest shows. Suck it, Danny Ponce. I hope to see alot more of Bateman, especially seeing as to how he's fallen in with the Stiller/Wilson crowd over the last few years..