Arrested Development, Season 1, Episode 1. First Time Watching Reaction

Pilot. / youtalkingtome

[@SonOfEire3]

So glad you're watching this show! If no one's told you yet don't skip the "next time" segment at the end because those aren't actually spoilers they are just jokes based on the episode you just watched and have actually NOTHING to do with the next episode! LOL

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Someone told us, but to our credit, it was about the same time we figured it out. What a great bit.

[@stormywaters1565]

One of the creators of this show once said people who haven't seen this show are some of the luckiest people on the world because they get to watch it all for the first time. Ron is the narrator.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

We are having an absolute blast watching this show.

[@PatrickHogansrol]

Be sure to watch the "On the next Arrested Development" segments. They often have material that's not actually in the next episode, that's just a closing button on a joke.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

They are a great bit!

[@nataliebrunson1157]

"Look what the homosexuals have done to me!" "Can't you just brush that out and reset it?" The jokes are so tight in this show, and they're so fast, it takes several rewatches to get them all. This is one of the first comedy shows that was comfortable making each character just as bad as the next. Seinfeld did it first, but Arrested Development really took it to another level.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

For sure. This is Succession if Succession was hilarious.

[@Rash23215]

​@@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6 how dare u??? Succession is HILARIOUS

[@CreiwryJay]

YEEEESSSSS!!!!! My favourite show of all time. Not sitcom, not comedy, SHOW. Absolutely love this, can't wait to watch it with you again!

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@the-nomad-show]

Yay, this really made my day! The two of you + Arrestested Development = great afternoon

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Thank you for that!

[@sgrant4558]

Tony Hale really blew up during Veep (2012-2019), but Arrested Development was the first time people started noticing him. Really funny actor. For a great real life Tony Hale moment, check out Julia Louis-Dreyfus' 2013 Emmy acceptance speech where he acts like his character (personal aide/body man to Julia's character) in Veep.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

He mines SO much of an original character out of Buster. Just masterful.

[@bowwowbuddy]

Portia de Rossi (along with Lucy Liu) got her big break in the late '90s when she joined the cast of Ally McBeal.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Ah! Thank you. I never watched AMcB, so this is the earliest work of de Rossi's for me.

[@swedish_malin]

I'm happy the algorithm suggested this to me, you guys are great! Loved Arrested Development, one of those shows one can re-watch again and again.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Thank you! Yes, this show definitely screams re-watchable.

[@tannerwilliams4500]

For the record, I think the 4th season (the first Netflix season) is really underrated. They retroactively released a different version years later which ruined it for me. And then S5 I couldn’t finish. All that to say, I agree with the choice to stop after 3.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Thanks! Yeah, that seems to be a strong consensus.

[@whoroborous]

Yeah, I liked season 4 until that remix bullshit

[@jerryhayes9497]

Is that the horse from "horsing around"? Yeah it's Will Arnett 😂

[@chrisgreen8803]

What is this, a crossover episode?

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

I love Arnett's weird hyper-masculinity in this show.

[@alibabaghanoujtv]

Hey! It's "Glasses" from the Mad Men reax. You two seemed to enjoy Happy Endings, so I think this'll be up yer alley. For the show, I must say that I'm impressed how fleshed out this group of cutups is already in the first episode. Please to enjoy.

[@TheIronDuke9]

So glad you guys are watching this! Yes!!!!! You really pick the best shows

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Thanks! We look for shows that critics and audiences both love, and it generally works out!

[@Dej24601]

One of the aspects I enjoy so much about this show, is the totally unique sound fx/music used. The DVD set has a featurette on the music director and it is clear they were given complete freedom to experiment and use all kinds of unusual cues, instruments and themes.

[@wendydarling5790]

I just heard Ron Howard on Conan's podcast talking about how he became the narrator. I think he was just meant to do the pilot, but in the focus groups, the narrator tested highest so he had to keep doing it.

[@otter011]

Amazing, can’t wait! I really enjoyed season 4&5 because I like staying with characters and although they are weaker, they didn’t ruin the show for me. But they are not as good as the other seasons. If you do watch them, quick heads up: there’s a remix and an original cut for season 4 - watch the latter! The remix is what Netflix automatically makes your watch if you just continue to the next episode and it sucks. The original cut is under "trailer and more"

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[@EthanTodd.]

Great show!!! Btw, Portia was on Ally McBeal from the ‘90s. Now that show was freaking awesome! Super bizarre and it also started Lucy Lui!

[@andrewbrown4362]

Thrilled you guys are watching this now. I hope this re-sparks the love I used to have for this show that was strangled by the Netflix seasons.

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

We have been told by everyone who has watched it to just skip the Netflix seasons (they said, like you, the Netflix seasons cheapen the first 3 seasons.)

[@andrewbrown4362]

@@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6 I'll give it this much: The recurring use of "Sounds of Silence" was its best running gag and maybe the only thing from S4 I saw become a meme.

[@sgrant4558]

Ron Howard is, in fact, the narrator 😂

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

It's crazy, but it also makes so much sense.

[@Charharr]

Another great choice :) Have you ever watched Archer? The dream was they wanted the character Mallory to be like Lucille Bluth, then they managed to actually get the same actress! She so great across both shows.

[@digapygmy70]

Arrested Development, Futurama, and Freaks and Geeks are three of the best comedies of the late 90s/early 2000s, and they were all cancelled by Fox way before their time. The creatives were cooking with fire, but executives had their heads up their asses and made three of the worst decisions of all time. Really happy you’re doing this one!

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

I hate the trend of giving up on shows before they get a chance to really find their footing and run. Netflix has a bad reputation for this currently.

[@CreiwryJay]

To be fair, I didn't hate the Netflix seasons. I do get why people wouldn't like them, but I still enjoyed them quite a bit.

[@albstare]

Gob's episodes in Season 4 (original cut) are some of my favorite in the entire series.

[@otter011]

Yeah, I loved them too

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

I may end up watching them on my own, but I do worry because I don't want them to dampen how good the early seasons are.

[@CreiwryJay]

@@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6 I absolutely do get that. I think that if the last season of the office kind of ruined the office for you, then maybe leave those seasons out. They do get quite weird and you either vibe with it or you don't

[@moramorandobianchi7093]

@@albstareI genuinely only watched season 4 and 5 for GOB and his storyline. I think what he goes through is integral to his character and can’t imagine someone only seeing season 1-3 GOB, but yeah I can do without the rest

[@Dej24601]

You’ll see the company logos at the end for the producers, and it has Imagine Entertainment, which is Ron Howard’s company. There will be a few quick “Easter Egg” references to Ron Howard throughout.

[@xphiler0656]

Portia de Rossi is also great in the one-season series Better Off Ted, which kind of has similar humor but focuses on the lack of ethics of a major research & development product company. It's short and a bit absurdist but has some great bits (and Portia de Rossi is great in it, as well).

[@Dej24601]

Don’t turn it off when the show appears to end- there is an extra epilogue at the end!!!

[@harrydoupe9315]

So, so SO happy you're doing this one, Gents. There's so much I'm looking forward to you guys viewing, so excited for you to see all the great cameos and guests. Also, without any spoilers, maybe my favourite subtle bit, among the thousands, will come in season 2, episode 12. While I'm sure I will post other faves before then, will post again on that occasion. Cheers!

[@martyboy5602]

You guys thought Don Draper was an awful father and husband -- you ain't seen nothin' yet! One of the best, funniest, wittiest shows you'll ever see. So many little hints and jokes are dropped, only to be laugh-out-loud funny later in the episode, or next episode. Kevin, you said later in the show you just got something. Get used to that. this is one of those shows where you often go "oh yeah..." or "I just got that!". Funny, funny show, even on second or third watching

[@Dej24601]

The script writing is so complex and clever and unique and spans year after year! I would say, that if you want to stop watching after season 3, you won’t miss too much.

[@mariaah3073]

YES! I've just finished watching Arrested Development for the first time and it was HYSTERICAL! I avoided it for years because it didn't seem like the kind of thing I would like, but decided to watch it after loving every second we got of Jessica Walter's Mallory in Archer. Best decision ever, I laughed to the point of tears multiple times lol

[@jatanjac]

Soo glad you guys picked up this show! It's the most hilarious and smartest show ever!

[@FesterSilently]

FYI: Portia DeRossi is great in a wonderful little B-level show, "Better Off Ted". The show was kind of an "The Office" meets '"Arrested Development", but not as great as either. Still a *good* show, but...just not as GREAT as either of its forebears. It only lasted a couple of seasons, but it's worth a watch. ;)

[@ididntknowtheyhadwifiinhell]

a big reason ppl didnt like the later seasons as much was that the cast was much less available, so a lot of the cast members had stories alone that only intercut at specific moments. which was a cool experimental concept to deal with the issue because a lot of the scenes were revealed to be something other than what you originally think once shown from another character's perspective. but ppl really wanted the characters to interact more so they recut it to combine more character's plots in each ep, and that version was much worse because the pacing and reveals were ruined. it became more like a recap of everything that happened beat by beat. so if you do end up watching those seasons, definitely watch the original cut and not the "remix"

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Sad that the show struggled by virtue of the cast just becoming too in-demand to always be available. But it's a good problem to have.

[@tommyross3298]

I love George's "husband and wife" nonsense at the end. It's obviously not true, but he probably heard that you can't force someone to testify against their spouse and then just took it from there in his own mind.

[@wendydarling5790]

Transparent IS great!

[@stormingelysium1996]

I can re-watch this show forever... Second to last season is rough though.. And I could have done with a different final ending, but otherwise fantastic

[@SpaghettiWst]

Outstanding!

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

Thank you!

[@EthanTodd.]

Watch Veep if you haven’t yet!!

[@Kloppite]

Yeeerrrrrrssssssssss!!!

[@DavidBaruffi]

Its not so much that season four is bad, i dont think it necessarily is, but, eh the structure of the show, really could've only gone on for so long, and i think at some point, trying to recreate it, or indeed alter it, originally. (Theres two versions of season four on Netflix, an original and a re-edited version that much of the fans seem to like more, im on the fence on that personally, but i definitely didnt get around to five.) Anyway i tend to look at "AR" as a modern day "Soap" and i think "Soap" was better and "AR" is a little overrated, but it is a grwat show.

[@lavinder11]

Yeah, I think Succession did rip off AR. They have similar filming sryles without the overt comedy.

[@christinschumacher2143]

The Netflix seasons aren’t “terrible” there just not amazing

[@Dej24601]

Repeated jokes occur episode after episode, and funny statements made by person after person in all different situations.

[@CatsBreadBikes]

Arrested development is an odd one. It was way ahead of its time, and has a ton of classic moments. It also has a lot of moments that aged so poorly. When i say it was ahead of its time, i mean it felt like more of a 2009 show, definitely not a 2024 show. But the highs are very high, and i think you'll like it (mostly)

[@CatsBreadBikes]

Also in like 2010 i had to stop watching bc my bossat the time looked EXACTLY like Jason Bateman and i could not deal with it 😂

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

That makes sense; a show that pushes the bounds of shock-value will often struggle when sensitivities change over time.

[@Dej24601]

Like groundbreaking comedy over the decades, it is daring, willing to fail, and holds nothing back. It doesn’t try to cater to anyone, or spare making fun of any topic and never loses a sense of being audacious.

[@eduardarcc]

i thought you would be watching gilmore girls next 😅

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

It's coming, but probably not until the Fall. But we will definitely be watching Gilmore Girls soon.

[@wendydarling5790]

@@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6 #TeamJess. One day this will make sense.

[@rakuengrowlithe4654]

Arrested Development is one of my favourite shows ever. But only seasons 1-3. I watched four once, didn't like it. Couldn't even finish five.

[@ididntknowtheyhadwifiinhell]

also maebe/alia shawkat starred in a really funny and twisty show called Search Party, which is one of my favorite shows ever. hugely recommend that one

[@watchthiswithjoeandkevin6]

I have never heard of it, but I will check it out!