"I've been crying all day about this."
"Because of this I will never EVER EVER tune into FOX as long as I live.*"
"Maybe if they put LESS money into the stupid World Series and focused more on publicity, this travesty wouldn't have happened."
"It's maddening that there was not sufficient viewership to keep this show afloat. Then again, as someone else said, this is a public that re-elected Bush."
Apparently, fans of Arrested Development also suffer from the titular affliction.
*I'm sure Rupert Murdoch is devastated.
It's a sitcom, people, not Terry Schiavo. No need to organize a vigil.
Fox never scheduled Arrested Development past January 2006. The show would've been off the air anyway to accommodate American Idol.
Besides, would you continue to play Joey Harrington at quarterback if you had Jeff Garcia? Exactly.
Another show will come along to fill the cult comedy void. Always has, always will. Before Arrested, there was NewsRadio, and before that, Herman's Head.
In the meantime, The Office (US) is quietly kicking ass and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns first quarter 2006.
The fans blame poor promotion, but promotion only guarantees one sampling (if any), of a self-referential serial no less. I know people who tuned in to the heavily-promoted pilot episode and didn't enjoy themselves. No prerequisite humor, same inaccessibility.
The fans blame CSImpletons, but San Francisco Chronicle television writer Tim Goodman notes: "The theory of sophisticated urban viewers is out the window. San Francisco was the 27th-ranked market for 'Arrested Development.' New York, Los Angeles and Chicago all tied for 21st. And Boston was 45th."
The fans pray FX or HBO will adopt the series, but according to Goodman, FX can't afford the show — word is one episode of "AD" costs more than "Over There" — and a certain someone at HBO once told him they don't take anyone's sloppy seconds.
To quote one of the few rational message board postings I read yesterday:
"I love Arrested Development. In a perfect world, Arrested Development would go on forever and have original eppys five nights a week.
But it's over. It's nobody's fault. It's just a victim of a lack of viewers. Yes, maybe Fox screwed the pooch in promoting it, but you can't really fault a network for sticking with a failing show for two and a half seasons before canning it.
Enjoy the rest of the season. Treasure the memories. Watch your DVDs. Build your GOB shrines. Know that you're cooler than most of the rest of the world for loving a great show that nobody watched.
But really, stop with all the whining."