Arrested Development's season 3 debut was Monday night. The brilliant series (the best thing Ron Howard has ever been associated with) has been plagued by poor ratings throughout its run. Monday's night's rating was dismal, as less than 5 million people tuned in. In comparison, an awful "comedy" like two and a half men (which doesn't deserve to be in bold) is watched by 15 million morons, err, I mean retarded idiots each week.
Why has Arrested failed to attain a higher viewership if it is such a good show? The biggest reason is that this type of show (no laugh track, semi-incest, etc.) has never played well on one of the big broadcasting networks. Anyone remember Garry Shandling's first show? It couldn't even survive back in the early days of the fledgling Fox network. Shandling wisely moved on to HBO.
Exacerbating the problem is the show's frequent use of in-jokes that would only be understood by regular viewers. However, the joke per minute ratio is high enough that this should not matter. I think the dumb viewers feel overwhelmed by the fast paced comedy, and quickly bail.
Is there anything that can be done at this point? Nope. Arrested Development is doomed. It might not even last the entire season. Its only hope in that regard is that Fox might want a full season 3 to release on DVD.
There is one hope for a season 4. HBO could take on the show. Shows have switched networks before. But I do not recall any show moving to HBO. Hmmmm. The more I think about it, the less likely it seems to happen.
Maybe going out after 3 seasons is for the best. James Dean is considered one of the greatest actors who ever lived, and he only made three movies. Could Arrested go down as one of the greatest comedies of all time? A lot depends on this season. But Monday night's episode forbodes a great finish (if they are allowed to finish---my biggest fear is that cousins Maeby and George-Michael won't get around to having sex, thus preventing the Parents' Television Counsel from having another thing to bitch about.)
