After garnering enough awards and critical acclaim to make other television shows jealous, the beloved sitcom "Arrested Development" is getting cancelled.
If you have yet to discover what critics call "the most brilliant series on the air," this may not seem like the end of the world to you. However, if you are among the devoted fans that tune in each week, the show's cancellation is devastating.
Sure, it's just a television show, but there has never been one like it before and with Fox pulling the plug, it is highly unlikely other shows will ever be able to repeat the brilliance that is "Arrested Development."
I'm sure I sound a bit too cynical, but after seeing such shows as "My So-Called Life" and "Freaks and Geeks" face the same fate, it's just not fair. Each of these shows only lasted a season, and during their brief run received numerous accolades, and countless Web sites were created to keep the shows alive.
(If it weren't for television shows on DVD, I would still be picketing outside of ABC to keep "My So-Called Life" on the air.)
For now, let's get back to the Bluth's and the banana stand. "Arrested" has a cult following of sorts, with fans sending in letters and signing petitions to keep the show on the air.
This plea to save the model home and its occupants is more than likely to fall on deaf ears. The fact of the matter is, shows don't exist solely for fans; instead, they are supposed to bring in money for their networks.
An example of this can be found in the show "Skating with Celebrities" that Fox has chosen to put in "Arrested's" time slot. Hoping to cash in after the unexpected success of this past summer's "Dancing with the Stars," which aired on ABC, this new series will show such celebrities as Dave Coulier of "Full House" and '80s pop singer Deborah Gibson ice skating.
After reading that sentence over and over, it's still ridiculous.
The cast members of "Arrested" have been realistic about the show's fate since day one. In most interviews, the cast jokes about the fact that they never knew if they would have a job from day to day.
There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel for fans and cast members alike after the second season wrapped.
The show's Web site launched a successful campaign asking fans to "Get Arrested." The fans spread the word, and Fox agreed to keep the show on the air.
However, the word didn't continue to spread in the eyes of Fox executives. The network has basically abandoned the show, and the audience is, once again, the only hope for the Bluth's.
A new episode of "Arrested" will air on Monday Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. I urge everyone who made it to the end of my rant to tune in. The eccentric Bluth family has given the audience so many laughs and unforgettable plot twists that the least we can do is tune in.
The next time you think to yourself that there is nothing on television worth watching, do yourself a favor and pick up the first season of "Arrested Development" on DVD.
There will never be another sitcom with an escaped convict father, an alcoholic mother, an unemployed magician, a mama's boy with a hook, a fashionable yet lazy sister, a husband intent on joining The Blue Man Group, two cousins in love, and as the opening credits say, "one son with no choice but to keep them all together."
Tune in and do your part to keep the Bluth family together and the banana stand in business.
