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Arrested Development: Indian Takers

"I mean, is any of this real? How do I know what's real?"

"Cooooiiincideeeence."

If Papa B.'s episode was too much of a "part 1", Lindsay's, much more than the previous episodes, felt like only a fragment of the story. There was so much which was obviously intersecting with episodes to come that it got distracting.

Of course, the distraction was deliberate, since so much attention was put into it. Gob hopped in to say he got a big yes. The cab driver almost crashed. Someone was kicking Lidsay's seat at the airplane (both times). The "shaman" (in India!) disappeared. It's evident that all of this will connect to later episodes. And I'm sure it's going to be very clever, but, for now, all I say is "what?!?!"

The exchanges with her family, on the other hand, were very witty and funny, as you can see on the quote section; especially between Lindsay and Tobias. It gets even better on a second viewing. The visual gag in which Tobias appears to be driving, but it's actually Lindsay text-driving, was great, too.

What I didn't really like was the repetitive way in which Lindsay does the opposite of what she should. The first two or three times were fine, but it got predictable after that. Of course she would get rid of her family photos before whatever it was she packed. After flirting with everyone who she thought was interested, of course she would flirt with Marky.

Marky is a good exaggeration of a type I've met many times, the one who lives out of the mainstream because he's too inept to live in it, but says some shallow but deep sounding things, posing as a rebel. They attract the pretty, insecure girls with empty heads. And his rare disease is classic AD. I foresee many gags exploiting that. (I'll probably say more about DeBrie in Tobias' episode.)

However, the best promise of this episode is Lindsay's struggle with the notion that she's just like her mother. Will she deny it or embrace it? I have a feeling that the more she tries to run away from it, the more she'll realize it's very close to the truth. She may not be a Bluth in blood, but being raised among them did her little good. I'm curious to see where her story goes; I'm not holding my breath, though.

Bits and pieces

- I initially thought the shaman was Tobias, under all that make-up. On my second viewing, I realized who it was. Good acting.

- Speaking of make-up, if somebody had told me that another actress was cast in place of Portia de Rossi, I'd have believed. She looks like a clothing store dummy. And no, it's not a good thing.

- I love it when the narration voices something a character is saying at the moment, like Michael saying "returned from her spiritual journey".

- Michael would do the "prayer hands" not long later. Guess someone should shoot him.

- There were many jokes about the state of the economy in the US. I thought some of them were really funny. Did you Americans enjoy them?

A few funny lines

Lucille: "At least I was able to turn my Queen around."
Tobias: "None taken."

Narrator: "This is Tobias Fünke, who should have taken more."
Tobias' cluelessness is one of the things I like the most about the series. Add to that the fact that he knew all the "hot seamen"'s names by heart, but failed to remember Michael's.

Shaman: "This bag is as fake as you are."
Lindsay: "Well, how do I learn?"
Shaman: "Just look at the spelling."

Lindsay: "No, Michael. I'm not a whore. I don't get any of the money until after I do the disgusting thing."

Realtor: "Well, you guys seem like a great family. We have to be realistic. I'm in the real estate business. It's 2006. That's all good enough for me. We're gonna put you in a NINJA loan. 'No income, no jobs, no assets.' And you don't have to pay a penny for two years".

It's hard to rate a fragment, but I'll say two out of four absurdly crowded pools.

7 comments:

  1. Marky is a good exaggeration of a type I've met many times, the one who lives out of the mainstream because he's too inept to live in it, but says some shallow but deep sounding, posing as a rebel.

    Well said, Gus!

    I, too, would have believed that Portia del Rossi was replaced. It took me a while to come to terms that it was really her.

    I think the economy jokes are hilarious, but I've never had a mortgage or been in real estate. :-)

    However, I'm having a really hard time getting back into the show. I watched a handful of episodes, then stopped--and I'm not overcome with a desire to watch more. Is anyone else having this problem?

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  2. Josie - I did. You kinda just have to push through. GOB's second episode--I forget which one that is atm--was absolutely hilarious. Still, it's not the same AD. Sigh.

    I'm thoroughly enjoying all the 08 crash jokes. Mini mansion owners/builders in Orange County were some of the hardest hit; it would have been absolutely impossible for the show not to address it.

    Portia di Rossi still looks amazing to me. And I love her with short hair!

    I feel like I should rewatch season 4 knowing where it's going so I can catch more of the little crossovers, but I'm just not feeling it...

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  3. Yeah, Sunbunny, I'm not feeling it either. Maybe I should have watched the original seasons again before jumping into Season Four--I'll bet if I had the momentum, I'd stick with it.

    (I'm talking about watching this show like it's making it through an arduous marathon. The running kind, not the watching-TV kind.)

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  4. Josie - See, I'm so glad I didn't do a rewatch of seasons 1-3 pre season 4. I had totally intended to, but just ran out of time and thank god I did! I feel like I'd constantly be comparing old to new and bemoaning the fact that the magic is gone, the magic is gone. This way, I could let it just sort of be a standalone type thing.

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  5. Good review!

    For me episodes 1-3 were kind of a drag, but beginning episode 4 it started to get better and halfway through the season I was loving it again. It's definitely not the same, and I think not being able to have the ensemble all together has definitely hindered the show. But in the end I really enjoyed season 4 and suspect on a second viewing I will enjoy it even more knowing now where it all goes.

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  6. AD4 is really different than the first 3 seasons.
    Nonetheless, this season in an interesting concept.

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  7. I think Portia's look is one of the most subtle joke, that keep on implying Lindsay did a lot of work on her face, since she looks her normal self in interviews.

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