Strike Solution No. 1: Arrested Development

I am a big fan of the single-camera comedy. For me, the most devastating side affect when the writer’s strike began in November was the fact that The Office only had a single episode left to air. Now, as even the shows with more episodes in the can are running dry as well, it’s time to cull some distractions from the ever-increasing group of TV shows on DVD. My first pick: Arrested Development.

I have no idea how I managed to miss Arrested Development when it was originally on the air. I was a junior in high school at the time, so I’ll just stroke my ego and assume that my comedic palette has refined since 2003.

Whatever the reason for my ignorance five years ago, I am now catching up with the show on DVD. Michael Cera, Jason Batemen, and Will Arnett were already on my list of seriously funny people before I saw AD, and they have now cemented their standings. The rest of the cast is hilarious as well, and I might even add that Tony Hale (playing dippy younger-brother Buster) gives them all a run for their money whenever he’s on screen.

Arrested Development is the perfect defense to save us all from the crop of new reality shows being thrown on the air to appease us during the strike. You can watch, laugh, wonder how the hell any writer (or group of writers) could come up with stuff so funny and off-the-wall, and remind yourself after so many weeks of frustration, that the writers really do a lot for us.