Getting into the middle of the first season. Let's sally forth.

In God We Trust

One of the most curious developments in television history is the strange evolution of Henry Winkler. The man who got famous for playing the epitome of cool has made a much longer-lasting career out of going against type. In a deeply ironic turn, Henry Winkler's bread and butter is being typecast as odd, ineffectual twerps who are past their prime. In essence, the anti-Fonz. Characters like his troubled lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn on Arrested Development are so much more interesting to watch than motorcycle-riding hipsters.

We get our introduction to Barry through a display of troubling incompetence that prompts Michael to hire a new attorney played by world-class improvisational performer John Michael Higgins. He's the ultimate straight-laced professional, delivering every line with a devastating deadpan.

This is also the first episode where Michael and Lindsay's relationship really comes into focus. Aside from being a fan of Portia de Rossi (let's all pray for an unlikely resurrection of Better Off Ted), I think Lindsay is one of this show's most interesting characters. She's morally ambiguous rather than falling on one side or the other like the rest of the cast. As this first season progresses, it becomes apparent that Lindsay's many moments of shallowness result from a long string of bad luck and not just some deep personal flaw. I mean, how would feel if you were married to a Never-Nude?

My Mother, The Car

Every long-form comedy needs some slapstick. You can only survive so long on dry quips and clever references. That's what makes this episode so good. After his mother frames him for a car accident and jumbles his memory with a blow to the head, Michael is laid out in his mother's apartment trying to piece together his lost time. Somehow it never stops being funny to see him get hit on the head just as he's about to recover a crucial memory. Combine that with Buster flying through a window and the increasingly outrageous sight gags of Lindsay's outfits, you have a recipe for a fun if juvenile comedy.

That's not to say there aren't some cerebral moments in this episode. The fact that Lucille has been smuggling a somewhat obscure South African gold currency into the prison to George Sr. is the type of joke you have to look up on Wikipedia.

Storming The Castle

When I first saw George Sr. have his Judaic epiphany, I hoped it would be a running gag and not just some short-lived bit never to be referenced again. Much to my amusement, the first season of Arrested Development gets a lot of mileage out of George Sr.'s dubious turn to religion.

The main concern for this episode is Michael's decision to be more self-serving. He takes an office chair from work, which sets off a series of events leading to his decision to steal Marta away from GOB. Of course, he can't bring himself to see the plans through to the end. That's the essential conflict with Michael Bluth. When he tries to be a good guy it gets him in trouble, but he's not proficient as a bad guy so he usually just ends up screwing himself over in the end.

Perhaps my favorite moment from the entire first season of Arrested Development is from a few episodes back, "Charity Drive". By the end, Michael and his son end up in the back of the same police car. With tired resignation Michael asks, "What did you do?" George-Michael responds, "Just trying to be a good guy". If any exchange sums up the emotional core of Arrested Development, this is it.