Product Details

• Actors: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat
• Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, DVD
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 6
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Run Time: 908 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002D8RQHM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,389 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy its first year out, Arrested Development is the kind of sitcom that gives you hope for television. A mockumentary-style exploration of the beleaguered Bluth family, it's one of those idiosyncratic shows that doesn't rely on a laugh track or a studio audience; it's shot more like a TV drama, albeit with an omniscient narrator (executive producer Ron Howard) overseeing the proceedings. Holding the Bluths together just barely is son Michael Bluth, the only normal guy in a family that's chock full of nuts. Hardworking and sensible, Michael's certain he's going to be given control of his family's Enron-style corporation upon the retirement of his father. The fact that he's passed over instead for his mother is only a blip when compared to his father's immediate arrest for dubious accounting practices, and the resulting freeze on the family's previously limitless wealth.

Bereft of money, and even less family love, the Bluths have to band together in their moment of need--not easy when everyone's looking out for number 1. In addition to his scabrous parents, Michael has to contend with his lothario older brother, his basically useless younger brother, his greedy twin sister, and her sexually ambiguous husband. Michael's only comrade in sanity is his son George Michael, but then again, the teenage boy harbors a secret crush on his cousin. A peerless ensemble led by the brilliant Bateman (who ever knew he could be this good?), all the actors are pitch-perfect in their roles, delivering the dryly funny, sometimes absurdist dialogue with the speed and flair of classic farce. The unusual tone of Arrested Development takes a bit of getting used to--it's far different from anything you'll see on TV, even HBO--but once you buy in to the Bluths' innumerable dysfunctions, you'll be laughing your head off for hours.--Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing deal...just not on Amazon, September 15, 2009

By 

J. Asbury "Raz" (Huntington, WV, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arrested Development: Seasons One & Two (DVD)

This is Seasons One and Two bundled together, six discs in all. This is a great set, but make sure you get it at Wal-Mart for $20, not here. As for the series itself, it's one of the best television shows of all time, brilliantly written and acted.

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd argue for this as funniest - and smartest - TV comedy series of all time, April 29, 2011

By 

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Arrested Development: Seasons One & Two (DVD)

Always amusing, and often brilliantly funny, inventive, surreal series about a rich family gone terribly wrong, and the one
sane one trying to hold things together. Sort of what you might have gotten if George Bernard Shaw, Kaufman and Hart
and Monty Python had teamed up to do a spin on a traditional sitcom.

The acting is terrific, from top to bottom. Even producer Ron Howard's narration is terrific.

Not every joke works, but as it gets weirder and weirder (and funnier and funnier), all I could think is "how the hell did
they ever get this on network TV? And thank god they did!" On re-viewing, I found the first season a little less brilliant,
a little more repetitious, but maybe that was because they had to fill 30+ episodes. The second season, with only 18
episodes, goes through the roof much more often, with more clever twists and ideas per episode, and more aggressive weirdness.

And if you watch these two seasons, be sure to then see the third. It is truly insane (occasionally over-the-top, but usually successfully),
with the addition of elements like Scott Baio's Bob Lawbla character, and self-referential episodes like `Save Our Bluths' dealing
slyly with the series tragic cancellation - one of the biggest mistakes in the history of television.

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a fabulous show!!!!, February 20, 2010

By 

Sarah Buzdygon "Piglette" (Quakertown, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Arrested Development: Seasons One & Two (DVD)

It's really a shame that this show only lasted 3 years on TV. It was one of the most original, innovative comedies to come out in a very long time! I highly recommend the DVDs for any fans of the show, or any of the actors on the show. Every time I watch an episode, it gets funnier, and I notice little things that I didn't the first time around.