How ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Does Running Gags | Deep Dive

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How does Arrested Development keep so many running gags going at the same time?
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Footage:
Cheers - James Burrows, Glen Charles &Les Charles
Frasier - David Angell, Peter Casey & David Lee
Happy Days - Garry Marshall
How I Met Your Mother - Carter Bays & Craig Thomas
Friends - David Crane & Marta Kauffman
Arrested Development - Mitch Hurwitz
Music:
Comedie - Jahzzar
Proof Positive - David Hilowitz
Fallen Angels - David Hilowitz
Rare - pure.
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[@MichaelCutts7]

A great moment watching it through the first time was the realization that the “Next time on Arrested Development” bits had nothing to do with the next episode.

[@StykeWarden]

I felt like I was the only one who got that as well

[@veralugo]

My sister tried to skip those when she watched and I was like WHAT ARE YOU DOING

[@JohnJones-yk5qk]

Are you serious??? I always skipped them to not spoil it... best I be rewatching it again so

[@IKR_C]

@@JohnJones-yk5qk Lol you really should not XD

[@jerusalem4492]

I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t realize that until well into the second season…something seriously wrong with me hahaha

[@missoli]

Fox after cancelling this series: "I've made a huge mistake"

[@legendarygamer3134]

But why did they

[@Jackson-mi3dr]

It won awards but didn’t get a ton of viewers. The show moved around to different time slots, different days. They made a huge mistake , but it was because the show was before its time. Before binge watching was a thing.

[@genericsavings]

Fox did the same with Family Guy. Difference is, it got revived after its strong dvd sales and kept going. Seeing where modern Family Guy went, I wish it traded places with AD.

[@Lastclerk3]

Netflix after season 4: I’ve made a huge mistake

[@gordondean2165]

FOX, the kiss of death for any comedy series. Getting it wrong is our business!

[@RDHDE]

One of my favorite gags in the show is when Tobias says “oh those Hollywood shows are always so detail3d with there set design” and as he’s saying it he’s opening a cabinet and it’s empty except for the one mug he pulls out. Then a few seconds later George Michael pulls out cereal also from an empty cabinet. What made it funnier was that it was my third viewing of the show before I caught it.

[@DodaGarcia]

R3DH00D1E I LOVED that one

[@DodaGarcia]

Even worse, the one Tobias opens only has a Starbucks cup in it somehow

[@mlsaulnier]

@@DodaGarcia Game of Thrones could have picked up on this one with their starbucks cup.

[@tildesarecool7782]

@Adolf Hitler on a phone keyboard (androiad anyway) 3 and 'e' share are the same button. probably he held it too long and got a 3

[@Bryan_Odenigwe]

Please what episode is this??

[@igor4606]

Tobias Funke is one of the greatest characters ever written EVER

[@tjwash2]

ICG best analrapist in the business too

[@genau14zeichen]

It's Fünke

[@Pinokiopie]

Buster as well think I

[@cheeseisdelicious111]

......and... SCENE

[@christiangasior4244]

I like Job

[@memotherapy5452]

This show is so incredibly packed with inside jokes, references, innuendos and gags that even after watching the first 3 seasons a dozen times, I still keep discovering new stuff. The writers are goddamn geniuses!

[@TheAwesomeLena]

have you noticed that during the show they were setting up tobias to be an albino black man?

[@delamovies]

elena how?

[@Sapsche]

"The man inside me" ;-)

[@TripSquadTian]

QJAndra we don’t talk about the 4th season.

[@Yellow_Leader]

When Lindsay has a crush on the bounty hunter, Ice, Tobias says something along the lines of "I can see why you're attracted to him since he and I are so similar."

[@JoannaEve]

"Okay, Lindsay, are you forgetting that I was a professional twice-over? An analyst and a therapist. An analrapist."

[@chrisdouglas1158]

Anustart 🤣

[@sonorasgirl]

I’m a therapist and I think about this at LEAST 3 times a year

[@henrikanchelia64]

The Analrapist joke caused me an asthma attack from all the laughter, it was totally worth it.

[@KalCounty]

"Yes, and you were almost arrested for those business cards."

[@BigFatCone]

The world's first!

[@pit6794]

Best running joke: the whole Bluth family's chicken imitation

[@christophermaier7518]

ka-cooka-chaaa

[@MickZarco]

No chipchipchipchipchip tho ...

[@goodolmeplant5809]

Cha chi-cha chi-cha!

[@samringwald]

HAS ANYBODY IN THIS FAMILY SEEN A CHICKEN?

[@Fenrir2901]

It was not complete, they didn't let Gob do his chicken dance, and that's the best chicken dance of all, followed close by Lindsay's.

[@catherinecampbell1215]

My favorite running storyline is when Lucile adopts Annyong and you think he doesn't understand English because all he says is Annyong. Then you realize that he is exacting revenge on the Bluths because of the banana stand idea they stole from his father. Then he tells them that his real name is Hello, which in Korean is Annyong.

[@spenser9908]

I liked it when she gave him money to go see a Star War.

[@KalCounty]

Them thinking that's his name is a good character establishing moment of the Bluths being thoughtless idiots and works well on its own. But then they bring it full circle in the finale in a way that really bookends the series and makes a final punchline to the running theme of their stupid greedy behaviour always having disastrous consequences. Such a well thought-out series.

[@volcanosauce00]

Bob Loblaw: Somebody in this room could be a mole. They may even have a listening device. A few seconds later, a boom mic, a listening device, appears in the shot. God, Arrested Development is genius.

[@TarjeiElias]

Also, the surrogate Larry Middleman is in the room at that point, wearing a microphone so that George Sr. can hear what's going on from home.

[@SookkisWay]

I love that part so much.

[@catherinecampbell1215]

At first when they were saying Bob Loblaw, I thought they were saying "blah, blah, blah," like they had forgotten his name or it wasn't important or something.

[@lucashoffmannn]

I had to pause this scene because I kept thinking: "No, no way they'd do that!". That was genius

[@volcanosauce00]

I’m rewatching the show and I noticed another similar subtle joke. During George’s arraignment, the judge says “There are no cameras allowed in the courtroom”, then the rest of the scene is filmed from the perspective of outside the courtroom.

[@bordje123]

I only just got the "solid as Iraq" joke. Every time I come back to AD there is always a new joke to pick up. A truly timeless comedic masterpiece.

[@manbastard111]

Seriously? They actually spell that one out for you. Someone explains the joke at some point, an advisor or board member or something.

[@Ryan-pg1tw]

@@manbastard111 you should be more respectful i think

[@sna-vsndlx88]

Man Legi it’s michael lol, he goes “ya know i’m pretty sure solid as a rock isn’t the best move since we built houses in Iraq”

[@BoxStudioExecutive]

Ryan no I agree with Man Legi op is a dumbass. How do you miss that joke when the main character spells it out for the audience?

[@rita.itsa.m]

@@BoxStudioExecutive for me it's because English isn't my first language AND I might just have been paying more attention to subtitles. And as a big genius like u might realize, when translating jokes like these, u have to change the entire wordplay for it to work in another language :)

[@travz21]

It's not hyperbole when I say this is the best written show of all time. I can't imagine how much time went into these seemingly simple scripts. The more you watch it the more you realize how incredibly deep and interwoven every scene is.

[@voidremoved]

these were written by a computer program from feeding in every tv show that came before

[@bobpolo2964]

that would be seinfeld

[@anonymousbosch9265]

Unquestionably

[@tyamem6555]

@@bobpolo2964 lol not even close to ad in terms of writing

[@quad9363]

Just noticed a new running gag from this video: foreshadowing written on blocked off benches (Charlize Theron sitting turns 'Wee Britain' into 'Wee Brain', and Buster sitting turns 'Army Office' into 'Arm Off') Fantastic.

[@NekoMouser]

I noticed individual ones the first time through, but it wasn't until like rewatch 5 that I realized it is ALWAYS making a joke when a character is on a bench or in front of a sign. So much genius in that show.

[@chickgonesquirrely]

Hol-y shit. 🤯

[@ElemiahzFriend]

That's why I can rewatch the series all the way through a couple times a year! Little pop culture references, hidden meanings/references, ALL pop out in repeat watches after you already discovered others. GENIUS show! - Anonymous (Milford Academy 2003)

[@allenherinckx4474]

"The hand!"

[@paulomeeneog]

Woah. I did not catch onto this gag and i have been watching AD *at least* once a year, every year since 2012.

[@TheWetCatFish]

I was in HYSTERICS watching the scene where everyone is doing their different chicken impersonations to Michael and my housemate who hasn't watched AD saw it too and she just couldn't understand why that scene was so hilarious no matter how many times i tried to explain the running gag to her.

[@MegaGreenPumpkin]

best scene

[@40megafonzies]

you should poison your housemate

[@ashleymcdonough1197]

That’s by far my favorite running joke.

[@Jordan-xq5rk]

that is my favorite scene ever

[@myfoodishere]

her?

[@ashennettable]

It's really a show that is perfect for Netflix and binge-watching. It's so much easier to pick up on the running gags and callbacks that way.

[@lolar7707]

phillyslasher it was released in the early 2000s, binging was not even a thing to be considered with tv shows at the time. but yeah i think the reason why it was cancelled was because how little episodes they had, other popular shows at the time had 28-32 episodes a season whereas arrested development only had 22, 18 and 13.

[@quinnmarchese6313]

@inyrui they're aggressively average, not awful

[@spenser9908]

@@lolar7707 Used to be such a find when there'd randomly be a double feature on BBC 1 at like 11:20 pm. So hard to find it.

[@MisterChenzy]

Fun fact: Most Netflix Users and people in general do not know this show. Some know the show after 3 seasons and a break of several years when it got rebooted for Season 4 by Netflix. Then the casual people started watching it (was very similar with Game of Thrones, very few people followed the Show from the beginning, most only joined in Season 3 or 4 because it got more and more popular and people talked about it everywhere). And the people who had known and loved the show all along are the reason why it got rebootet after such long time. Fun fact: The Show was by far the highest rated IMDb Comedy TV Show and in the Top 5 of the overall TV Shows with the greatest ratings until the Netflix Reboot, it had an average Score of 9.6. Also proves the point that Netflix usually ruin most good Shows or cancel the good ones while producing and sticking to (Mainstream) Shit Shows.

[@gibustheinfamous]

@@MisterChenzy why was "mainstream" in parentheses and not "shit"

[@13rooke.]

Her?

[@Adamsnadler214]

Is she funny or something

[@Baalcebub]

Egg

[@smartfacemusic]

That's bland

[@xxLivvy212xx]

*pats on back* Well, let’s hope so

[@mimi-dy8uc]

Brooke Ashley bland?

[@hoodwinkedfool]

"from who the Nazis?" is one of the most underrated jokes of all time

[@alexzingles2520]

hoodwinkedfool a classic example of the underpinning casual punchlines that originally may seem like a throw away line

[@joelaramie2008]

On the commentary they said that joke was the whole reason they named her ann

[@eve36368]

Joseph Laramie damn...

[@isadorarossoviana3843]

Joseph Laramie omg i cant believe i missed that joke for so long

[@kjoffexboxlive]

still shocked i didnt get this till now

[@mrfranky17]

The one thing I love about Arrested Development is that everything is “alive” and adds its own dynamic to show. Even the model home is a living character in a sense. From the fact that it’s the only house that was built, or that a similar house was built in Iraq, or that when even you slam anything in the house something comes apart. It’s a genius shows in various ways

[@TheDelinear]

I love the way that the model home is a metaphor for the Bluths. It's meant to represent something aspirational, but it quickly becomes clear that everything about it is fake and it gradually falls apart as the show proceeds.

[@jordanneal576]

Also a season later we get the line "I almost had pop pop in Reno" followed by George Michael saying "me too." Those long spaces between set up and pay off are the best part of the show IMO. The "Seaward"/"c-word" joke being one of the best.

[@didimean]

The fact you call it that at all tells me youre not ready.

[@TheMohan1986]

I never caught the pop-pop joke until this video loool

[@SanguineThor]

Loose seal!

[@watto9361]

"Get rid of the Seaward." "I'll leave when I'm good and ready."

[@jfisher4]

Usually jokes become less funny when you explain them, but AD is clearly the exception to the rule.

[@nakoete8521]

I think probably one of the greatest faces I've ever seen is when George Michael told his dad about Anne and how she eats "mayoneggs." I love that show

[@the_____project4582]

Michael’s facial expression during that part

[@thephilster6860]

Her?

[@digitallyshrewd]

Lucille = Loose seal. The ingenuity of the writers is unparalleled.

[@gabriellethe.greatt]

lmaooooooooovthat shit always has me weak

[@charod8423]

I’ve made a huge mistake

[@mynameismark25]

I've made a huge tiny mistake

[@cal5754]

Netflix after trying and failing to continue the show

[@howtubeable]

I know, but the video was only ten minutes long.

[@jcolinmizia9161]

The single best writing moment imo: Standpoor industries. Both the exact opposite of Sitwell, but also referencing Lucille IIs vertigo. Both characters were introduced long before this reference, but it fits together so seamlessly that I can’t believe it wasn’t planned.

[@paulomeeneog]

“A Rube Goldberg contraption of a sitcom” is perhaps the most succinct description of Arrested Development i have ever heard. Beautiful.

[@johnbroadway5218]

Totally missed the loose seal joke. The most underrated character on the show is the doctor. He’s going to be “all-right” gets me every time.

[@robg2181]

I want the other doctor back..get out

[@thepug991]

How dare you force me to rewatch this show for the 3rd time

[@ScarVII]

only third?

[@andgalsgaard8104]

Phillip Dvorak thoose are rookie numbers

[@TheAlbert1A1]

😂😂

[@oppositespoon1543]

Start chatting when you get past 20

[@Charlie-hv3dh]

Phil Nye I’ve rewatched the show 7 times going on 8th

[@nolanrux7866]

The scene where Tobias is called to address a group of men described as “blue”, showing up to the meeting in blue paint and proclaiming “I feel like a fucking idiot” made my cry from laughter the first time I saw it.

[@md_vandenberg]

Scene: Micheal is telling Gob to get rid of his new boat when their mother walks in. Micheal: "Just a minute mom. Get rid of the Seaward." Lucille: "I'll leave when I'm good and ready." I watched that episode twice before it dawned on me.

[@nolanrux7866]

I’ve watched the show countless times, and only recently I realized that The Cornballer was a form of “No Touching!”

[@geckopecko]

oh shit

[@staviwavi222]

I JUST realized why the restaurant is called Skip Churches. Ive seen the show a dozen times at least but I still notice new jokes all the time. Incredible.

[@Aaron-kq5kk]

The best part is that they eat at Miss Temple's on Friday night.

[@isabeljac]

Aaron Capen has

[@susanna9310]

A shabbat shalom bluth fam!

[@todessehnsucht]

@@susanna9310 is it skip church because they're jewish?

[@louisfoster4787]

Favourite part of the whole series is the first episode where buster goes "these blue parts must be land" while trying to flee from the police. Sets the tone for the helpelssness of the whole family

[@priyambadatalapatra3779]

he had taken 80,000 dollars worth of cartography lessons

[@aadityabhattacharya]

It's my favorite comedy show . It's so complex and well thought out that I am just awe and wonder of it

[@emer157]

Arrested development is the greatest TV show ever

[@armaanchadhafilms]

E mer chng.it/ZPLTzvc am I the only one who wants redemption?

[@swanne.9]

@@armaanchadhafilms I'd rather a movie honestly

[@zeroomens9438]

I laughed during the entire essay even though I've seen the series countless times... Arrested Development is SO good that repetition never dilutes the humour.

[@mikewilliams6025]

Lindsay's "From who? The nazis?" is an Anne Frank reference. That one joke is reason that Anne got her name an entire season before (only 5 episodes between but from the previous season). Pretty amazing set-up.

[@jules5000x]

Mike Williams maybe

[@blubber608]

jules5000x *maeby

[@gustavocartagena4680]

HAHAHAHA now I get it, this show is amazing

[@Baalcebub]

Mike Williams Her?

[@abhiu2398]

Also note that when George Michael is taking breakfast to George Senior in the attic, there's a giant bowl of eggs on the tray. In another episode, Michael refers to Ann as 'Egg'. This fucking show, man.

[@laxjoh]

So you're telling me Arrested Development socially engineered me to prepare for future running gags and basically trained/conditioned me to laugh at its own jokes? If true the script is even more genius than I thought. Also going back to season 4 after years it holds up OK especially now that you have some comedic way to explain how the current wave of "Build that wall" culture came into play. By rich people who didn't want their cuatro De mayo ruined.

[@christophermaier7518]

There is no season 4.

[@LynxRecover]

Cinco de Cuatro*

[@geordiejones5618]

Season 4 just doesnt have the density of the first 3. Its a straight up dumbed down version because every episode on the Fox run built and maintained a lot of momentum especially as the stakes and payoffs got bigger and better. I would give anything to see a 90 minute spritual successor with the same self awareness, detail and rube-goldberg feel. Airpland and Monty Python's and the Holy Grail are really still the only two movies that match what Arrested Development seemed to perfect.

[@ItsNotDarkYet]

George Michael stumbling upon George Sr. in the hole was also a joke about Saddam Hussein being captured in a hole, right? The Iraq War was going on during the original run. You'll find dozens of jokes about Bush throughout those seasons. Great video btw.

[@vickhs]

George Bush doesn't care about black puppets! I die whenever I see that.

[@TheOtherBradBird]

The Iraq war was also going on during the revival...

[@DeSaxofoonVanPeter]

Solid as Iraq!

[@nixon5452]

The iraq war continues to this day

[@ethanstump]

Surprisingly not this time, although Iran's not looking so hot.

[@lidiiiiisilva]

Say goodbye to these.

[@mimi-dy8uc]

Lidiane Silva cuz it's the last time you'll see them!!

[@SonnyGTA]

Lidiane Silva goodbye

[@atomschmidt1]

Spring break! Woooo!

[@zack3135]

They're crooked

[@uglybetty8747]

(•Y•)

[@nicklabarbera2157]

Omg I just noticed “Arm” “Off” on the bench that Buster was sitting on! I love this show

[@OsKarMike1306]

That entire season is filled with foreshadowing that Buster loses his arm. In fact, the entire show is filled with foreshadowing of many other events, which makes it perfect to rewatch multiple times.

[@iroveashe]

In season 3 there's another bench that says wee britain, but Rita is sitting covering "it"

[@emilymonkey]

When Buster finds his chair shaped like a hand at the maid's house: "I never thought I'd miss a hand so much"

[@johns3937]

OsKarMike1306 they didn't even plan on cutting his hand before that... you're talking out of your ass because of coincidences. the creators even said so

[@johns3937]

Emily Nicholas you're WRONG. that was a coincidence

[@Taylose6]

Rest In Peace to the legend Jessica Walter! Lucille Bluth is one of the most funny characters in the history of television!

[@cometome255]

I loveeee that one scene where Lucille is like, "there was a coloured man in the house!" Hahaha

[@pitmclord]

What _color_ was he?

[@cometome255]

@@pitmclord …𝓑𝓵𝓾𝓮!

[@MarioJaker]

I think you’re right that the first three seasons are really a different show, but I’d love to see a deep dive on S4, which is brilliant for different reasons. It does the same kind of interweaving running joke thing not just with the actual jokes, but with the storylines. I think people dislike the season because it’s different, but I think it’s pretty awesome for what it is.

[@ShellShock794]

Jacob Crites I don't dislike but I like it less than the other 3. And not because it's different but because there's not enough character to character interaction. Episodes focus on 1-2 people and the show really shines when the entire cast is together

[@punkuin5208]

Season 4 rewards those who pay attention.

[@nedisahonkey]

Season 4 isn't as bad as its made out to be. That being said i like that season 5 is a return to form.

[@cyrussmith4744]

it has good moments but it just loses the original spirit of the first 3 seasons, so it just doesn't have a reason to exist being a different show

[@christophermaier7518]

There is no season 4.

[@sweetdanii09]

OMG after so many years (english language isn't my main one) I understand "loose seal" to "lucille" :'D

[@andresquispe1834]

SAME !!

[@137_Diego_]

Don't feel bad. English is my main language and I just got it 💀💀💀

[@RudolfJvVuuren]

Now go watch it all again!

[@678sunflower]

"The mere fact that you call making love 'pop-pop' tells me you're not ready."

[@OnYourSquare]

"Daddy horny Michael." 😂😂😂😂😂😂. That episode gave me the best laugh I may have ever had!

[@jordansullivan5764]

"he said some wonderful things"

[@Dyne25]

"Rita corny Michael ;) "

[@Aryeh487]

AngryTechGuy what episode is that

[@voicetube]

I'd say when he first said that "Daddy Horney Michael" line - that may be my biggest laugh of the whole series ... except Maeby (sorry) when "Franklin" Is "speaking" with George Sr, giving him a hard time and George says, "ENOUGH!!" (That line/set up was possibly my favorite moment of the whole series - one that I think possibly literally had me on the floor laughing).

[@alexk8599]

The flashback to that line when Lucille asks if George asked for her is amazing!

[@EnragedPlatypus]

The re-edit of season four was so needed and I couldn't have guessed that it would make it feel so much closer to the first three.

[@danbing856]

I've never seen the original season 4 but the remixed version still feels like a different show, it's very odd

[@Kevopat]

Oh, that's why I felt it funnier. I watched season 4 years ago and it felt weird, but I binged watched it last month and it was better.

[@dnbshaggy]

i thought season 4 was genius

[@deficitstifflegzercherdeadlift]

Dan Bing part of that has to do with pragmatism. The show had been off air for a decade and the writing needed to explain what had happened to each character in the past ten years. In a sense, S4 is totally different from the first three because most of it retroactive exposition as opposed to present development. This means the whole narrative is substantially altered. I hated S4 when it first was released, but I just rewatched the whole series with the remixed S4 this summer and it’s significantly better, especially when you consider the unique position the writers had. I also found S5 to feel much more like the original trilogy, but it’s painfully short, only like 8 episodes.

[@AsianTheDomination]

+Jacob That's only the first half of the season. The second half comes later this year. Is the remixed version on netflix?

[@benthorogood3917]

Each individual scene is so dumb, but you thread them all together and its a masterpiece. It's like making a Mona Lisa out of a collage of Kindergarten drawings. I love it so much

[@cherylwoodward]

Adding to the “you’ll notice something new every time you watch” conversation, I just noticed when Buster was sitting on the park bench before he jumped in the ocean, that his body was partially covering “Army Official” so that it read “Arm Off.” 😂

[@LeoMagnum12]

I probably saw that _wee brain_ bench scene over 20 times by now and never once realized the scheme building up that marvelous joke hahaha Just another piece of evidence that AD will always have something to unfold a newly found gag on you and knock you out in laughter

[@guitar_jero]

Never forget when Charlize Theron portrayed a MR.F

[@toteispoe4]

I thought that "Mr. F" sounding so similar to "Misdirect" was also a subtle meta joke. Word play for the win!

[@pedrofredo]

Hyero Nimus she was a such a pussy 😍

[@JoeXLee]

Mistah efff

[@nikolaidrostdov]

@EditRepublic que

[@Breidablik06]

Jeepers Scoob Son of a bitch of course that’s why it says that. How did I not catch that?

[@umproducciones1293]

I know everyone hates season 4 but when gob is getting married and the name of Anne’s church shorten is “her” completely cracks me up

[@toniegarcia6699]

The greatest comedy ever. You can always tell a Milford Man!

[@nikcarroll3038]

“Get rid of the seaward” “I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.”

[@Prokomeni]

Nik Carroll HA old claptrap

[@franciscodiaz6432]

3:50 - 4:05 Notice the consistency of the blue stains on the walls and cupboards, those were everywhere in the house even several episodes past Tobias' Blue Man thing. Also I never noticed the Snoopy reference in good grief before, fucking genius

[@johnrodriguez1541]

i’ve watched the show at least 4 times and every time it still feels like a weird fever dream with people saying random phrases

[@thomaskaupish8841]

There's a scene where Henry Winkler (Fonzie himself) literally jumps over a shark. This show is fucking amazing!

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

May be well known, but that episode of Happy Days is known as the day it ended effectively. It has 'lost the plot'. People refer to it as the shark effect or similar.

[@henryy.4878]

Not sure if anyone else recognized this Easter egg, but Maebe is named Maebe because she is maybe George Michaels cousin. Took me too many times rewatching this show to realize that one. 😂

[@JuniorSkeptic]

This was such a great analysis from someone with such a small following(for now). Super impressed with the work you put into this, it very much reminds me of the quality of work someone like The Nerdwriter would produce. Loved it!

[@SkipIntroYT]

JuniorSkeptic thank you so much!

[@catman103]

I really love that you used Tobias' body paint colour for his timeline blocks in that graph

[@user36able]

I desperately want that shot of Tobias peeking through the hole in the wall as a poster for my actual bedroom wall

[@anonymousbosch9265]

I’m a 40 year old man and to this day when my mom calls I answer in Buster’s sardonic “hello Mother”

[@achtzehnhundertsiebenundac1186]

Season 4 is different by I like it as much as the first three seasons. It builds jokes over the entire season some it explains many episodes later. this is great and really arrested development style. Few shows succeeded that well at a revival.

[@TheDelinear]

As an experiment I think S4 does something really interesting. It was a full acknowledgement of the way people were starting to binge-watch shows, because the trick with S4 is that each new episode you watch changes your appreciation of the previous episode. You get a new piece of the puzzle which retroactively makes stuff which seemed mildly funny or weird in previous episodes suddenly incredibly funny. But to fully appreciate that, you need to a) binge watch the episodes but, more importantly, b) watch the whole thing. In a way what S4 does it a complete inversion of the Rube Goldberg machine of comedy that the previous seasons did. Instead, you are shown the punchline to a joke in one episode, then over the course of several more episodes, you see everything in the lead up to the punchline and suddenly it's even funnier. It really rewards repeat views in a way that most shows can't even comprehend. I hear a lot of dislike for S4, and sure it takes a different approach which won't gel with everyone, but I think the main reason a lot of people dislike it is because they watched maybe the first couple episodes and they didn't see what the show was doing. The whole really is much greater than the sum of its parts. I actually really like S4. I don't know if I could, hand on heart, say it's _as good_ as the first three, but that's an incredibly high benchmark and definitely does not reflect badly on S4 that it didn't quite live up to three seasons of one of the greatest shows of all time. Given the limitations they had around people's schedules, and the challenge of living up to their own hype, not to mention the long break between 3 and 4, I think it was incredibly smart and brave to attempt to mix up the format in the way that they did.

[@melly3043]

My favorite subtle joke in this show is that the actress who plays Marta changes constantly.

[@BVP93]

The writing is genius but how insane is this ensemble cast? Every single actor is perfectly cast, even the side characters

[@dustycortes1189]

Just seeing Franklin Delano Bluth makes me laugh uncontrollably. Thank you for this.

[@DigiTism]

The way they tie jokes together with foreshadowing as well. Buster says, “Oh! I use to have a hand like that” when he sees his hand chair, and there’s so many more hand related foreshadowing with Buster as well.

[@aimeelee76]

"They don't allow you to have bees in here."

[@jackpendleton1628]

Beads!?

[@xoxo3896]

They don’t want you

[@krzlcve]

There's so much to love about the first 3 seasons, it's like cutting into a cake you assume has 3 layers and slowly you see more and more until it's impossible to count them

[@austinbludau3632]

“LOOK AT BANNER MICHEAL!”

[@Gabeghouls]

Stopped at 5:38 to point out the “visual gags that pop-pop completely unexpectedly”

[@martinwengstrom4626]

I think one of the most overlooked gags In this series is when Rita sits on the bench, stating «wee brain» as In Rita has a little brain (and is Rita-rded). I love this show.

[@Rihcterwilker]

I miss the good old times when i was watching this show for the first time.

[@mbanerjee5889]

This show was way ahead of its time. The original run is way funnier than Friends or The Office ever was. I hope it eventually gets the appreciation it deserves as Community did.

[@mohnjayer]

I’ve probably watched AD’s first three seasons in full at least 4 or 5 times and I notice new stuff every time. It’s incredible.

[@IAmOdyn]

bruh, the solid as a rock reference at the end got me

[@doloresdebeauvoir4960]

"These characters never change or learn" while great, is also one aspect that makes watching it so overwhelming at times. But it is still my favorite comedy show ever.

[@zachmcnamara4376]

"I know what you're all thinking. Hey it's the Coogz, he's cool and handsome and he definitely ISN'T OLD" Mitchel Horwitz was hilarious in Community

[@ben_burnes]

Another one of my favorite things about this show is that the punch line of some jokes often comes before the setup of it, which really encourages repeat watching and always finding new jokes.

[@FirinMahLazer1]

Bob Loblaw's Law Blog gets me every time. 😂

[@jackpendleton1628]

I think my favourite scene in the whole show is when George Senior is sitting down to have a tea party with the dolls that Lindsey is unearthed to sell and he says "So who wants to take their top off?" I can't explain why, but I chuckle to myself even now replaying it in my head.

[@parkjihoon394]

SOLID AS IRAQ

[@sokrusound]

Oh. My. Gob. I just got it.

[@zuhairafsar2540]

I don't get it

[@bjbetti]

Zuhair afsar as a ROCK... as IRAQ lol. It’s a joke about the families involvement with building model homes(which are not solid) in Iraq.

[@thephilster6860]

Okay, here's one Happy Days/Henry Winkler callback: The phrase "Jumped the shark" that is, the point where a sitcom has crossed the line into nonesense, comes from a a later episode of Happy Days when the Fonze, Henry Winkler,, ski-jumps over a shark while wearing swimming trunks and his signature leather jacket. In Motherboy XXX the characters are standing around a dead shark lying on a dock, and when he exits the scene, Barry Zuckerkorn, AKA Henry Winkler, hops over the shark.

[@capt.anxiety9502]

One of my favorite gags is when one of the family members get taken down by like 3 officers and one other one comes out of nowhere and does one single blow with their club

[@OgGuak420]

Capt. Anxiety police brutality joke

[@nraihk]

“I’ve made a huge mistake” is one of my personal favourite 😂

[@vsf_dave811]

The first time I saw the banana stand joke pay off, my ribs hurt from laughing

[@threeminuteshate]

For my money the most brilliant line from the series (which is chocked full of brilliant lines) is in "Public Relations" when Michael's girlfriend Jessie calls George Michael "Opie" and Ron Howard narrates: "Jessie had gone too far and she best watch her mouth"

[@crowseye4434]

My favorite gag are the chicken impressions. Love how it evolves and it pays off so well where they all do it together

[@carleya782]

Me and my mom watched all four seasons... Now we have a crap ton of inside jokes from that show.

[@busywl69]

you could see the love and passion the cast, crew and producers had for it in every minute of that show. what a classic.

[@prodanstatev]

Great video, original examples, deep analysis. Keep up the great work! Would love another video on AD!

[@doolbeepi3059]

I've seen this show 3 times over and just realized ron howard is the narrator. I'ma jump off my balcony right quick.

[@kathiravanganesh5618]

Fox made huge mistake

[@lance-biggums]

The show essentially has its own internal memes that have variations and keep evolving. It's not just that there's a recurring joke; instead, the show will riff on the joke itself, and eventually subvert it. That's what makes the original show so special

[@crim6435]

Everytime somebody was going to prank someone or teach them a lesson, I was ready to hear: "Oh my arm". Michael: "Oh no that man's arm felt apart"

[@Hormiga59]

The best comedy series ever.

[@Bluefire397]

3:30 that's my favourite one-off joke, it caught me so off guard the first time I watched it

[@noah568ify]

fantastic video on my favorite show! I've been wondering for so long how they are so masterful at this, and your video helped a lot! Subbing

[@therecalcitrantmisanthrope1892]

the use of the "Buster"-Keaton gag at the end, really reinforced what you said throughout the video.good work!

[@joealese]

honestly the fourth season is just as good when you raise they had to catch you up on their lives and that they had to work around each person's very busy schedule

[@matthewdezii]

Great video! Great animations! Really well put together