You can talk all you want about the best thing about the web: keeping friends and family connected, shopping, maps to help you get where you are going, making money. But I think the best thing about the web is that someone actually takes the time to upload episodes of short-lived 80s TV show.
Case in point: It's Your Move, the NBC sitcom that starred a teenage Jason Bateman and Married...with Children's David Garrison. The opening is pure cheese, but the writing was a notch above typical sitcom fare. Here's the first episode (parts 2 and 3 after the jump - more episodes here). Bateman's first little speech has a really funny payoff, and he always had great timing. River Phoenix shows up in this episode too.
Yup, there's an Arrested Development documentary, and the trailer is below. I didn't even know this film was coming out, but it looks like it's the ultimate drug for hardcore AD fans (at least until the movie comes out). Besides the cast and crew being interviewed, we also see comments from people like Andy Richter, Keith Olbermann, and many other fans.
(S01E03) I'm still not completely sure what I think about Sit Down, Shut Up yet. This is the third episode, and this is what I have so far: it's funny enough that if I were flipping channels and came across it, I'd keep it on FOX, but if I didn't have to review it, I wouldn't set my DVR.
This week's episode, in which Knob Haven High was up for a distinguished school award, definitely had its funny moments -- the very end where Ennis realizes that he slept with Miracle's mother made me chuckle. However, it wasn't consistent enough to keep my mind from wandering in the middle. I had to rewind a couple of times because I completely spaced out and missed a few scenes.
(S01E02) Last week, when I rewatched Sit Down, Shut Up for my review, I said that while I still wasn't enthralled by it, the show was much better upon the second viewing. Since I thought episode 2 was much better than the pilot, I expected to like it even more upon rewatching. Oddly enough, I didn't.
As stellar as this cast is, I'm trying to separate my feelings about this show from my feelings about them. I love Kristin Chenoweth on Pushing Daisies, so I don't really want to admit that her work on this show reminds me of a more grating Amy Sedaris with none of the humor, but it kind of does. I don't know if it's the way her character is written, or the fact that Chenoweth's particular brand of pixie cuteness doesn't translate unless you're looking at her, but she just sounds shrill to me.
I know that only one episode of Sit Down, Shut Up has aired, but I'm not sure if I can get into it. I hate the way it's filmed (often real backgrounds with animation upfront) and, well, it's not that funny. I think I laughed 1 1/2 times during the first episode. Anyway, here's a sneak peek at Sunday's episode. Warning: features the most offensive men's room hand dryer you've ever seen.
What do you call an animated show whose premiere is sandwiched between two other highly-rated animated shows yet still manages to be third in its timeslot? You could call it a lot of things. You could call it "poor" or "slow". You know what I call it? A one-season show.
Seriously, I watched the premiere of Sit Down, Shut Up (and it was reviewed here on TV Squad), and while I thought some bits were funny, I don't see it lasting more than a season on Fox, if that. This is a network that is quick to pull the plug on many quirky shows (including Hurwitz's previous work, Arrested Development).
I could be wrong. Arrested Development lasted three seasons and animated shows are only a fraction of the budget of live-action ones. If his last show is any indicator, Sit Down, Shut Up is probably one of those shows that rewards loyal viewers with various Easter eggs and hidden double-meanings. Hopefully Fox will give it time.
(S01E01) I still stand behind the early look of Sit Down, Shut Up I did a few days ago: the pilot was underwhelming. For everything that works about it, there seem to be at least two things that don't. However, before I did this review, I decided to watch the pilot again, so it would be fresh in my mind. What I found is that the show definitely grows on you.
While I didn't really laugh at all the first time through, re-watching it allowed me to pick up on some of the more subtle things that I missed. That, combined with the fact that I've seen the second episode, which is much better, really made me appreciate this episode more.
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has been breathlessly anticipating Sit Down, Shut Up(premiering on FOX Sunday at 8:30 PM ET), the newest series from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz. SDSU is an animated series based on a live-action Australian show by the same name. It follows a group of under-performing teachers at a Florida high school.
The teachers are all flaky, disinterested in their students, and with the exception of Larry Littlejunk (Jason Bateman), highly under-qualified for their positions. An example? Miracle Grohe (Kristen Chenoweth), the science teacher, beat Larry out of the job by stripping off all her clothes and yelling, "I ain't come from no monkey!"
The humor manages to be both broad and subtle at the same time, much in the way Arrested Development managed to be. However, though Bateman himself calls this show an animated version of AD, that's overstating it a bit. Sit Down, Shut Up, is more like Arrested Development's annoying younger brother.
I don't know about you guys, but I've been super-excited about the premiere of Mitch Hurwitz's new animated show, Sit Down, Shut Up. It seems like I've been hearing about it forever, but it finally premieres this Sunday night on Fox. Recently, the screener came up for grabs, so naturally I jumped at it. What I didn't realize is that I would be getting the whole press kit with it.
All press kits are not created equal: I'd definitely enjoy a talking Barney bobblehead from How I Met Your Mother, but a busted picture of Eliza Dushku's face from Dollhouse really wouldn't do a whole lot for me. The press kit for Sit Down, Shut Up is kind of low-rent, but it is for a Mitch Hurwitz show on FOX. The low-rated Arrested Development didn't exactly make FOX a boatload of cash while it aired, so they're probably waiting to see how the ratings go for this one before they shell out any more dough on fancy tschotkes for the press.
With Arrested Development, Mitchell Hurwitz went through the ringer with critical support, winning awards, and grassroots campaigns to convince Fox to keep the show on the air that ultimately failed. So what does Hurwitz do for a follow-up? He takes some of the same cast (Will Arnett, Jason Bateman), goes back to the same network (Fox), and back to an idea he had before Arrested hit the airwaves.
The new show is Sit Down, Shut Up, an animated series that debuts April 19th at 8:30 PM, in between The Simpsons and Family Guy.
"It's funny, this is a show that I actually wrote in the year 2000, and it was an adaptation of a live-action show from Australia," Hurwitz said in a recent conference call. "I kind of kept it in the drawer for a long time, and finally brought it out, mostly because I needed money, which - I enjoy money, and I also use it for all sorts of different things in my life, but mostly for food and shelter."
The video is great because it's not even a preview of the show, nor does it talk about the animated series in any way. Instead, it's three minutes of Jason Bateman and Will Arnett talking about height, "hair hats" man boobs, and intelligence (or lack thereof). It's blatently aimed at rabid, drooling Arrested Development fans who are clamoring for any smidgen of a hint of the show's former glory-- and it works.
I think I'm getting old. I realized this last season while watching an episode of Kyle XY. Matt Dallas, who plays Kyle himself, and his baby blues weren't doing anything for me. Chris Olivero (Declan) and his hunky jock thing didn't excite me either. I turned to my husband, mildly horrified when it hit me: "Honey, the hottest guy on this show is the dad!"
When my husband shook off his case of the giggles, he gently reminded me that the dad was, actually, closer to my age than the teenage boys. True, but I am so not as old as that dad... but I do think he's hot.
In fact, there have been a lot of hot dads, let's call them DILFs, on TV in recent years. Gives us oldies some eye candy too, I suppose. So, in descending order (yep, you've got to wait until the end for the super-hotties):
Jeffrey Tambor guarantees that Michael Cera will be in the Arrested Development movie.
That's what Tambor said at a recent Uprights Citizens Brigade show. He says that even if he has to call Cera up on the phone and order him to be on the set, Cera will definitely be in the big-screen version of the TV show. I can picture Tambor going to Cera's house, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him to his car to go to the set. And then Cera would be blindfolded and handcuffed to the car door, and if he tries to get out, two bodyguards will punch him in the gut and tell him to shut up. Then they'll get to the set and Cera will be kept in a cage when he's not filming scenes for the movie, fed scraps of food like bagels and Pringles (Sour Cream and Onion flavored).
Sorry, the scenario got out of hand there for a moment.
I also have no doubt Cera will be in the movie. Of course, I never thought there would even be a theatrical Arrested Development, so I'm not exactly Kreskin when it comes to this stuff.
The long, drawn-out cancellation of Arrested Development was one of television's greatest crimes against humanity. It ranks right up there with the approval of a new Knight Rider when the original was already one too many, the spinoff Baywatch Nights, and the made-for-TV movie Knight Rider 2000. That's right, I just hassled the Hoff. If any of you want a piece of me, I also come with a side of "whoop-ass."
But with the Arrested Development movie clawing its way inch-by-inch towards the big screen, Mitchell Hurwitz will at least have one other project on the horizon and on the very same network that tried to destroy him. Either he's showing he's a good guy and can take rejection in stride, or he's trying to bring down the place from the inside. You make the call.
It does look like that Arrested Development movie will get made at some point, some way, some how. But it's not a given that every single member of the cast will be in the film. There have been many reports that the only cast member holding out is Michael Cera, who played George Michael. Is it because he doesn't want to go back to something he already finished? Is it because he has a movie career (Superbad, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, Youth in Revolt, etc)?
Creator Mitchell Hurwitz puts an end to the stories and rumors in this interview with Fancast. He says that...uh, yeah, actually, Cera is the one holding up the film.
What do you call an animated show whose premiere is sandwiched between two other highly-rated animated shows yet still manages to be third in its timeslot? You could call it a lot of things. You could call it "poor" or "slow". You know what I call it? A one-season show.
With Arrested Development, Mitchell Hurwitz went through the ringer with critical support, winning awards, and grassroots campaigns to convince Fox to keep the show on the air that ultimately failed. So what does Hurwitz do for a follow-up? He takes some of the same cast (Will Arnett, Jason Bateman), goes back to the same network (Fox), and back to an idea he had before Arrested hit the airwaves. 
I think I'm getting old. I realized this last season while watching an episode of Kyle XY. Matt Dallas, who plays Kyle himself, and his baby blues weren't doing anything for me. Chris Olivero (Declan) and his hunky jock thing didn't excite me either. I turned to my husband, mildly horrified when it hit me: "Honey, the hottest guy on this show is the dad!"
Jeffrey Tambor guarantees that Michael Cera will be in the Arrested Development movie.
The long, drawn-out cancellation of Arrested Development was one of television's greatest crimes against humanity. It ranks right up there with the approval of a new Knight Rider when the original was already one too many, the spinoff Baywatch Nights, and the made-for-TV movie Knight Rider 2000. That's right, I just hassled the Hoff. If any of you want a piece of me, I also come with a side of "whoop-ass." 
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