It's Arrested Development - S1 E1 - Pilot

I often indulge myself in a game called Monkees Equals Monkees, about which read more in the link. The strange thing is, I can never find a band to match Arrested Development, simply because there is no musical artist important or good enough to live up to this show. If anybody's out there who can help, that'd be great.

When you really think about it, a show like Arrested Development couldn't have come at a worse time. It was 2003, and everybody else was still enjoying trashy reality shows unironically. It debuted the same time as Two and a Half Men, and while that show is still on today, Arrested is the clear winner, its unique style spawning 30 Rock, The Office, Flight of the Conchords and the new Running Wilde, for which my high hopes remain.

"This fall," says a random article from 2001, "8 out of the 46 sitcoms filmed in prime time across the six broadcast networks will be shot like movies, with a single camera, on film and without a live audience." This fall's new comedies are split 50/50, but combined with already existing shows, videotape is now in the minority.

Rather than continue to wax poetic, I'm here to do recaps of The Greatest Television Comedy Ever Made (tm), because neither The AV Club nor Alan Sepinwall have done it yet. Summaries for "Pilot," just as soon as I get some new fucking attorneys...

So the basic plot: Michael Bluth is living in a model home with his son. His father George, the CEO of The Bluth Company, is retiring, and Michael is expecting to take his place. But he doesn't. As it turns out, the SEC is after him for...something...and he doesn't want Michael to be an accomplice. Meanwhile, we get a snapshot of the other major players, as the Fünkes move in with the Bluths. Overall, it's very comprehensive, though some of the characters are portrayed in a somewhat kinder light than normal (Tobias and Lindsay especially).

Bananas and Nuts:

• Hey, it's 2003! Protesters for gay marriage, at a time when it was illegal in every state.
• This manages to be something everyone else misses, but GOB's whore line was changed from "cocaine" to "candy" in the pilot that aired. I don't understand how that makes any difference, but I'm sure the legendary actuaries at Fox's S&P had a good rationale.
• "Some say money is an illusion. One minute it's here, and the next...Monopoly."
• Tobias' "How are you" catchphrase didn't last very long, did it?
• Correspondent Trisha Thoon is played by friend of the blog Stacey Grenrock Woods in the first of many appearancces.
• "Somebody is a rude Gus."
• Sitwell Housing makes a startlingly early appearance as the Bluth Company's main competitor.