"Development Arrested"

I don't know how I almost missed this, but Friday night was the Fox finale of Arrested Development. From 8 to 10pm, they aired the final four new episodes... against the Olympic's Opening Ceremonies. Interesting move, no? Perhaps it was a final f*ck you from Mitch Hurwitz to Fox. Perhaps it was the opposite. Or maybe it was just a coincidence.

Anyway, the two new hours were filled with hilarity and just a hint of nostalgia. Loyal watchers, sometimes referred to as Bluthies (if you're one of those crazy losers who do nothing but watch tv and end up obsessed with certain shows... ahem), were indulged with references to past episodes and a bunch of returns from old guest stars, such as "Anyong" (whose real name is, as it turns out, Hello) and Ann (... her?). There were also new guest stars (Judge Reinhold, Justine Bateman, and William Hung... not that they were poking fun at American Idol or anything) and tons of new jokes, of course, including shots at Fox, other shows, and other networks... for example Buster admitting his liking a certain skating show that currently inhabits their old time slot. Then there was my favorite plug: George Michael's inviting his wife/cousin, Maeby, to watch **bleep** (caption reads "Reference to off-network high-school private-eye drama censored by Fox").

I would tell you more about what happened, but if you didn't watch it, you're part of the reason it was cancelled. Sooooo... f*ck you! Yeah, I said it.

Now, it's all over between Arrested and Fox. Apparently, it's still up in the air whether or not another network will pick it up. But Showtime, I beg you, get Arrested.