Arresting Developments

One of the added bonuses (bonii?) that comes from watching the new episodes of Arrested Development on Netflix is that we once more get to hear their their jazzy end theme.

It's music you likely didn't hear when the series ran on Fox almost a decade ago because the network's standard procedure was to box out the end credits in order to promote an upcoming show. I didn't get a chance to hear the end credits theme until I got the DVDs.

But you can be happy in the knowledge that all is not well in Netflix land. It seems Netflix is "out-Foxing" us with the new Arrested, thanks to their new practice of starting the next episode in a new box before the old one (minimized in a much smaller box) has finished playing. If you want to hear the full end theme, and see the full end credits, you have to click on the smaller box playing the credits -- it will then finish playing out the current episode in full screen and allow you to select the next episode you want to watch, or select a different show all together....

...you know, choice, the reason I pay for Netflix in the first place.

Hulu does this now, too, with a variation -- they start playing an episode of a similar TV show before the credits are done on the old one. Just because I watched the latest episode of New Girl does NOT mean I want to watch the latest episode of The Mindy Project. I DO NOT WATCH The Mindy Project, even when I'm watching actual, real-time, un-time-shifted network TV. Or finishing the newest Modern Family doesn't mean I'm ready for the newest The Middle. I DO NOT watch The Middle.

Call me crazy, but I kind of like to watch the programs I WANT to watch WHEN I want to watch them. Which, I thought, is kind of why Hulu and Netflix exist.

Possible Reasons Why "Community" Doesn't Feel Right

So far, my TV criticism has consisted mostly of snarky comments my wife and I make while sitting on the sofa watching Hulu. But I do read other critics and most of them said the new season of Community feels flat. After watching the first new episode of Season 4 the other night, I think I can pinpoint two reasons:

1) I'm really, really tired of the Dean in women's clothing.  Yes, I know, that's what he's always done, but that doesn't make me less tired of it.

2)  Abed is too autistic.  Again, that's always been a part of his character, but towards the end of last season, and throughout the new episode ("History 101"), it seems Abed's main function has been to disappear into his fantasy world while being sheltered by the other characters.  Despite his tendency to see everything in terms of TV, Abed has always been a smart, working member of the group.  Now he's the damaged one that everyone else is watching over.  Not nearly as interesting.

All long-running shows have a tendency to get lazy as they go on, and it usually hurts.  One quick example comes to mind: Kirstie Alley was whip-smart when she joined Cheers, only to become a whimpering neurotic by the time the show ended. 

So maybe I shouldn't be surprised.  It's just sad, because Community was always good for a parody or twist that was fun and entertaining. The Dean wore a dress, but he was in the show for two seconds. And Abed used TV tropes to cope with life, but he never used to escape into them to avoid it.

TV With a Twist

The winter break is over!  Time for TV channels to resume their regularly scheduled programs, already in progress.

First, the return of an old BBC favorite, Dr. Zoo

Next, let's head to Capitol Hill, where Congress is debating gun control on CSPAN

And let's finish our broadcast day with a fresh take on an old sitcom involving wizard Harry Potter, who returns to Hogwarts 20 years later to teach.

TV is a lot more fun when you're not paying close attention, isn't it?