Here's an annotation of Arrested Development:
I've always appreciated this show's non-traditional format. In my annotation, I talk about television genre schemata and I place this show in the category of sitcom, but it bends a lot of the traditional components, such as having no laugh track, fading to white, mockumentary and hand-held camera style, and not having a neat and tidy ending. I think what this show does best, however, is understand and appreciate its audience. The reason why this show did not do so well, is that it reaches an active, quick-thinking audience. The editing is quick and the characters' movements and words are so fast, it is easy to miss jokes and plot keys. But, more than normal sitcoms, this show respects its viewers. It expects them to follow the storyline and jokes, not have the show explain everything through immediate recaps or a dumbing down of the plot.
This show aims to be light and funny. Simply put, through my annotations, I noticed it succeeds in doing that through its use of lighting, playful use of music and fast-paced medium shot cuts.
Great analyses. And I definitely agree with your theory that the show's lack of widespread success is due to it's intelligence and wit. Much of the general TV-viewing public is composed slack-jawed morons who need a laugh track and huge musical cues to help them keep track of what's a joke and what's an important plot point. I, too, appreciate that this show is fast-paced and pretty smart with it's humor.
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