By its second season, Arrested Development was already showing signs of trouble. The quality certainly didn't drop, but its ratings and therefore Fox's interest in the show definitely did. Fox ordered only 18 episodes for AD's second season, a move that would be echoed for the third season which only consisted of 13 episodes total. For the series it was bad news, but for the purposes of this blog it increases the chance that we'll actually be able to cover the full run. I'll definitely do all of Season 2 and may or may not approach Season 3 depending on what the Fall TV schedule looks like.

The One Where Michael Leaves

Just as he intended to in the pilot, Michael packs up and tries to start a new, respectable life in Phoenix. He doesn't get very far before his neurotic version of hubris brings him back to his family in the wake of what they think is the re-capture of the escaped George Sr. In truth, George's hippie brother Oscar was apprehended. Jeffrey Tambor spends equal time in Season 2 as George and Oscar, providing weird bits of humor from the sidelines at two different angles.

Season 2 also gets a lot of mileage out of Tobias and his aspiration to join The Blue Man Group. Between delightfully raunchy word play ("I just blue myself") to surreal gags like being rendered invisible by his blue makeup at dusk, the Blue Man Group thread is the first of many hilarious opportunities for David Cross to shine in the second season.

The One Where They Build A House

One thing I've noticed about Season 2 is that it is significantly more gimmicky than Season 1. A lot of it boils down to costume gags. Tobias's Blue Man antics are one gimmick, Buster joining the Army is another. Admittedly, these are both consistently funny, but it still feels like a crutch.

Also slightly gimmicky but at all a crutch is AD's continued innovative use of guest stars. Thomas Jane shows up as himself researching a role for a movie about a homeless man. The thing about Tom Jane is that he's become one of those partial fictions in the critical world. I can't tell you how many articles I've read that have referred to Jane as a "star who never was" or "not quite a leading man". What ever happened to the concept of a respectable working actor? The man has appeared in plenty of movies and TV shows, and now he has his own series on HBO. Also, it's not like he's 80 or dead. The man works, give him a break.

Amigos!

Oh, Ann. I never really expected the Ann Veal character to play such a big role in this show and from the way Season 2 develops it seems like even the writers were iffy on this prospect. It isn't until the last few episodes of the season that Mae Whitman gets any really interesting bits, but then again the entire concept of Ann isn't really meant to be interesting. Stranding her in Mexico after Michael gets a tip that his father is hiding there was a funny move nonetheless.

But the strongest bit in this episode is the one and only appearance of Martin Mull as Gene Parmesan, private detective and master of disguise. I'm not sure which is funnier, that his disguises are absurd and unnecessary or that Lucille is so thrilled at each one.

All in all, Season 2 is a strong collection of episodes. The jokes are frequent (and frequently more racy), the guest stars are just as good as always and the vaguely soapy plots are managed with a measure of grace and ingenuity.