TVSquad

It's official: FOX hates Arrested Development.

How else to explain this scheduling decision? They've scheduled the final four episodes to run in a 2 hour block (so far, so good...) on Friday, February 10...against the opening night of the Olympics. [Insert heavy sigh here.]

This is bad on so many levels. First of all, even without the whole Olympics thing, it's a Friday night, one of the least-watched nights of TV during the week (next to Saturday). And it's also up against NBC's coverage of the Olympics opening ceremonies. It's as if FOX said, "you're a really funny, high quality, critically-adored show that we won't support, and now we'll kick you in the genitals!"

I can understand cancelling a show because it doesn't get good ratings. That's a business decision (though I would think the network would understand the value of critical success, fan fervor, and buzz). But why do they treat the show like it has cooties and they have to keep it away from other shows, or hide it like it's they're embarrassed by even having it on the schedule?  

The nominees for the 12th Annual SAG Awards were announced this morning. Check out the full list for television after the jump below.

Ok, plain and simple, Fox just doesn't deserve this show. Regardless of what they "want to do with it", they don't deserve Arrested Development. Cancel it and let ABC or Showtime try something instead. I mean, what idiot at Fox decided to put the funniest episode of the season up against the Fiesta Bowl? This is just the latest example of their complete lack of respect for one of the funniest shows ever. There are only so many ways that you can screw up perfection, and I'm pretty sure Fox has now run the gamut. At the end of a good show's run, they always try and pull some kind of stunt to bring back some new viewers. Tonight's episode was like a Cliff's Notes version, and it was brilliant. On with the show!

One of, if not the greatest parts of Arrested Development is the layers their jokes have. Everytime you think they've reached the final punchline, they throw one more at you. It's like a comedy snowball rolling downhill at you, and there's no escape. Now, I've heard a lot of people say that one of their reasons for not watching Arrested Development is because it's too "daunting". They haven't watched it since the beginning and they don't think they'd get it now. Well, Dave, a buddy of mine, was over last night and had never seen a single episode. I think he laughed harder than I did. So to all those out there that haven't give this show a chance, I give it the "Dave Dunn seal of approval", take the plunge. On with the show!

Before, I start this - let me be clear about one thing. By writing this, I realize that I'm opening up a giant can of worms and I'm probably going to get a lot of poo flung in my direction. But I think this needs to be said, and besides, everyone likes playing devil's advocate once in a while.

Writers for My Name is Earl, The Office, and Grey's Anatomy are getting some accolades for their good work on their successful new shows. The writing teams for those programs were nominated for Writers Guild of America awards. Earl writers received three different nominations, while Office and Anatomy writers were both nominated for two awards including best new series. Don't worry, shows like Lost and Arrested Development also were nominated. The awards will be handed out February 4 in LA and NY.

More categories and nominations are listed after the jump:

First of all, thank you to all of our readers who sent in the updates regarding Arrested Development and its possible salvation. We were listening, and have been on the phone with the networks all day. We were hoping to be able to break some news for you and get a confirmation from either Showtime or ABC about them picking the show up. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring you some more information very soon. Unfortunately, for the time being, all that we were able to get from either network is a big fat "No Comment". Fortunately for all of us Arrested Development freaks, we were able to get "No Comment", which, as everyone knows, means they just don't want to talk about it yet. So now that it seems that both networks are interested in the show, which would you rather see it go to?

As one of my friends pointed out to me during the show, Fox sure gave Arrested Development a huge push last night."Watch new episodes every Monday" "Watch clips on VCast" "Coming up next, an all-time classic episode". Uhmmmm... Is Fox aware that they cancelled this show? They did the same thing last year; they cut the episode order back and then they started pimping it like crazy. I just don't get the reasoning behind doing something like that. This is why I will never be a studio executive. I just make too much sense. Ah well, On with the show!

Jason Bateman's big sister is going to guest star on one of the final episodes of Arrested Development. Justine Bateman will play Nellie Bluth, who claims to be Michael's long-lost sister, on the show. Michael will hire her to determine whether she really is a blood relative, and then things will inevitably get strange. Not strange, as in brother-and-sister become love interests (as was rumored last year), but I think Justine will just exhibit some unusual behavior. The episode, appropriately enough, is called Family Ties. The cast is filming it right now and it will air on January 9. Another guest star, Scott Baio, is also slated to return to AD as the Bluth family attorney, sometime next month.

NBC, Showtime -- If neither of you pick up this brilliant show, I'm going to stop watching you, too. Fox has already screwed up on numerous occasions and has lost me as a viewer. This is your chance to grab an Emmy award winning show, with a built-in following. Arrested Development will only become more popular if it's picked up. NBC, you've shown us that quirky, non-studio comedies can work, with The Office, My Name Is Earl and Scrubs. Showtime, you're going to need a partner for Weeds when you bring it back. What are you waiting for?!? Pick this show up!! On with the show!

Oh, this is going to be funny.

An upcoming episode of Arrested Development will be titled "Save Our Bluths," which just happens to be the name of the internet campaign to save the show. In the show, George Sr. will even talk about the Home Builders Organization saving the Bluth company. Look at those initials. When they turn them down, he considers putting on a dinner show (time).

Bateman's character says: "We've had plenty of chances...maybe the Bluths just aren't worth saving." Heh.

The New York Observer has a good article today about the reaction to the apparent cancellation of Arrested Development. In it, writer Rebecca Dana examines, via critics' reactions and reactions from some of the cast and crew -- most notably from the reliably caustic David Cross -- why AD is so loved and why the cancellation by FOX hurts so much. My favorite reaction was from a British blogger who pithily typed the headline “Fox’s Arrested Development Cancelled: Retards More Influential Than Thought.”

But the article also examines reasons why the show seemed so inaccessible to the general public, citing the oft-mentioned fact that the references to previous episodes are so ingrained in the comedy of the show, that it becomes impossible for any new viewers to follow. It makes sense. For every one-off joke like "Analrapist", there's a dozen others in each episode that are too referential to make sense to the casual viewer. Just explaining why Buster has a hook for a hand, an example the article uses, takes longer than most Presidential addresses. Maybe the viewers should just be happy that FOX allowed the show to go into a third season; fans of My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks would have killed for that many episodes.

Following up on Karina's post about some thinking out-loud going on about the future of Arrested Development, Lost Remote has some ideas. The essence of their idea is that the makers of the show need to lose themselves of the network coil and go straight on demand. Offer episodes as VOD and create video podcasts.

Have the actors blog in character (I'm not sure about this one since I don't care for character blogs) and ultimately sell the episodes and whatever ancillary content has been created on DVD. They even have a series of ideas for monetizing the episodes. I love the idea of moving beyond the whole "what network will pick them up" discussion and into an arena where we decide what delivery method is going to work best for viewers.

Just days after its official cancellation, the effort to resurrect Arrested Development is sweeping the internets, and Michael Meiser is doing his part. Not only has he posted this video (a rant by David Cross directed at FOX's inability to market a show that's "won five motherf*cking Emmys"), culled from the Season 2 DVD set, but he's also written an open invite to Cross, and anyone else involved with the show, to bring the act to the web. The whole thing is worth a read, but here's the general idea: "Please, don't throw in the towel just because Fox cancelled its order," Meiser writes. "Just ditch those dudes and come on down to the new game in town...I'm sure we can hook you up with a few hundred thousand paying subscribers since the internet reaches a hare more people than the WB network ... So call me!" Think the AD kids'll take Meisner up on it? And would you pay a subscription fee to keep the show in production?

There's an interesting rumor going around the industry: Showtime is interested in getting Arrested Development.

OK, for now it's still in that "rumor" stage, but the SF Chronicle's Tim Goodman answers several questions about the show's FOX demise, and it says that it actually makes sense for Showtime to pick up the show. Nothing for certain yet, but there seems to be at least a faint pulse to the show this week when last week it was flatlining.