RP in E Vol 2: Arrested Development

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The RP in E (Role Players in Entertainment) blog is dedicated to covering the best role players in the game of entertainment. I'm talking about the Robert Horrys and the Ben Zobrists; the JJ O'Briens, and yes, the Alexi Amaristas. Feel free to comment below some RP in E you would like to see covered.



Mitch Hurwitz, the genius creator/writer of the Emmy Winning sitcom Arrested Development,  dropped two huge announcements today about the future of the series which is now of course apart of the Netflix brand:

This is huge news for huge fans like myself. First off, Season 4 sucked big time. It was a major letdown after an extremely long break that lasted 7 years. So it's awesome to see the execs not only admit some mistakes but they will be trying to correct them by re releasing Season 4 in a traditional chronological format. The remix will drop this Friday May 4th, with season five coming soon.

To be fair with Season 4, it was going to be tough to recapture the lightening in a bottle that was Seasons 1-3 after said extended break. Those seasons received 22 Emmy Nominations, winning three including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2004, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2004 and 2005. I don't blame Hurwitz for trying something new.

Despite all of the success and rave reviews from the critics, the show was cancelled due to lack of ratings. There is an amazing documentary about the show and its cancellation that was made by a couple of "super fans" that can be found online here. If you are a big fan of the show I highly recommend it. Here's a preview:



Personally, I didn't catch on to AD until the show was on Netflix. Since then I have probably watched Season 1-3 at least 30 times, and that's a modest estimate. It is firmly in my rotation of shows I re-watch, along with IASIP, Parks and Rec, and Entourage. The running jokes/gags in AD is what really makes the show special. If you have some serious time to kill, take a look at a Top 10 list compiled here

Long ago I did the first installment of Role Players in Entertainment with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. With the exciting news, there's no better time to release Volume Two right here with one of the best sitcoms of all time. So here are the best role players for Arrested Development:

Barry Zuckerkorn

 The legendary Henry Winkler plays the family's lawyer, Barry Zuckerkorn. He's very good by all accounts, except that the sexually ambiguous attorney is quite the opposite in reality.



Barry's sexcapades often get in the way of him doing his job. His dating world rarely involves actual dates:



However, in one instance, Barry's particular knowledge of close up photos of a scrotum worked out in the family's favor:



Say what you want, but Barry was always prepared in the courtoom.
Carl Weathers

 Weathers plays himself in the show, and gets introduced when Tobias (David Cross) takes a shuttle to the airport. Weathers convinces Tobias (wannabe actor) to take his "classes" that conveniently are the same price as Tobias' plane ticket.

You quickly find out that Weathers is a big fan of getting anything cheap or free, which becomes a hilarious running joke in his appearances. In the very first scene in that shuttle ride he explains the crazy loophole in the system that airlines will give you $300 for getting bumped from a flight before bragging about where he "won't be going." Later on he meets Tobias' wife and drops some gems:



"I buy all of my cars at police auction" /  "I'm looking at $50,000 in medical bills." Classic drops.

Tobias' quote at the end steals this scene imo, but nonetheless Carl loves free refills:



He doesn't like ham...he loves it. But this is the best quote of his AD career:




J. Walter Weatherman

 This was a no brainer. The one armed man who helped George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) pull off elaborate lessons to his kids (perhaps one reason why the family is so screwed up). J. Walter Weatherman, played by Steve Ryan, was only in a couple of episodes but boy oh boy did he make them count. His intro is simply fantastic:



If I am ever financially capable of pulling off lessons like these, my future children are going to be in for some serious emotional scarring. Then I'll be the one nodding like George Sr. above and chuckling like him below:
Honorable Mention (More Lawyers!)

Bob LobLaw (say that aloud)



 Wayne Jarvis - The professional lawyer



Maggie Lizer - First pretends to be blind, and later on pretends to be pregnant



The Literal Doctor - Only way to describe him



Franklin Delano Bluth - Gob's (Will Arnett) Puppet





Can't wait for the remix of Season 4 and Season 5!

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