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(S03E13) Originally aired February 10th, 2006 -- I could roll out about a dozen clichés when describing the series finale of Arrested Development, but I'm honestly not sure that saying "this was the end of an era" does it enough justice. For those that own the DVD sets, take a look at the cover for season two. There's a quote from Entertainment Weekly on it: "Once in the history of time comes a sitcom like Arrested Development."

Too bad FOX never saw it that way. Not only did they delay the airing of the final four AD episodes, but when it came time to show them, they got bundled together and aired 'em in a row - on a Friday night in the middle of winter! As I've said before, it sucks that Emmy wins don't dictate a show's future. But we really can't blame FOX because those Emmys are arguably why we were lucky enough to get three seasons period. Blame the people who watched Skating with Celebrities (AD's time-slot replacement) instead.

Going into this episode, I remember that before I watched it, I wasn't expecting greatness. Of course I knew the episode would be good (and it is) but I didn't expect it to be a huge event. And it wasn't. In my opinion, it's one of the unfunniest of AD's 53 installments. But that isn't a bad thing. "Development Arrested" rewards the long-time viewer with far more "ah ha!" moments instead of "haha!" moments.

Now that it's over, there's endless clamor for a movie and it finally looks like it's happening. If I can be honest though, I'm not sure it's the best idea. Great sitcoms don't always translate well when you go and stretch them out and I fear that Arrested Development could suffer big time. Look at The Office. Phenomenal program and it couldn't even make one decent hour-long ep. They all got stale. Fast. AD ended on a high note, mainly because it had an actual ending that wrapped things up. At the time, there was all that chatter about Showtime picking up the series but that didn't cloud Hurwitz's judgment. He still wrote this as a series finale. There's no cliff-hanger begging to be answered on another network. I'm just saying, why mess with a good thing?

Of course this episode does have numerous stellar moments. My personal favorite is when we find out that Annyong has actually been gathering evidence against Lucille because she stole the idea for Bluth's Frozen Bananas from Annyong's uncle and got him deported. He'd been selling "cold banana in delicious brown taste." Mmmm!

As a whole, the episode hearkens back to the pilot and other early episodes on numerous occasions. The celebratory cruise, a banner with the word "Pardner" on it, George Michael's obsession with Maeby, Jim Cramer's Mad Money upgrade from "Don't Buy" to "Risky," and Michael's flip-flop: apparently breakfast is now more important than family. But as I mentioned earlier, the episode is loaded with "ah ha!" moments and inside jokes. Just look at the Wikipedia page for this episode. It's an endless list of things that even some of the most die-hard fans wouldn't catch.

With Lucille in jail, Oscar sticking around and posing as George Sr. (who's on the boat to Cabo with Michael and George Michael), and Lindsay (or should I say 40 year old Nellie?) no longer a Bluth, it's hard to say where the show would go next. Buster and G.O.B. are funny often because of what everyone else is doing around them and that's gone now. This is what I was saying earlier - this episode feels like an ending. Even the final moments, as Maeby pitches her Bluth's script to Ron Howard, he thinks movie. Not a series. I agree. Even though I'll see the movie (more than once probably), I'd be much more comfortable enjoying the great memories we already have rather than risking the creation of a bad one. Here's to hoping that isn't the case, or Lucille and G.O.B. won't be the only ones saying, "I've made a huge mistake."

Classic Quotes
"Look at that Buster - you would have lost a hand anyway." - Michael, after Buster slices off his fake hand with an electric carving knife
"I've always pictured him in a lighthouse." - Tobias, on where he thought G.O.B. lived
"I hope that's not a crack about my haircolor... lips, forehead, nose, and teeth." - Lindsay, to Stan Sitwell, after he makes a crack about Lucille's "natural" children
"I'm just not that into older women." - Michael, rejecting Lindsay's marriage proposal once she tells him they aren't related... and that she's 40
"I like hot sailors." - Michael, stopping Tobias before he can say "hot seamen."
"Kitty likes to scratch." - G.O.B., after Lindsay slaps him
"...maybe a movie?" - Ron Howard, reacting to Maeby's pitch