A number of news organizations have reported that the show – which survived due to the love of critics and an ardent cult of fans – has been cut from 18 episodes to 13, leaving only five episodes remaining. Those will likely run in December, but many believe that the sliced order means an end for “AD� and its wacky family, the Bluths.
Though that’s a depressing prospect, let’s not, in the words of the priceless G.O.B. Bluth “taste the sadness.� Let us instead “taste the happy,� and cheer the fact that such a witty, deadpan and unconventional show managed to hang on for this long.
Oh, the pleasures that “AD� has brought me in its brief run.
Packed with lovable (yet undeniably mean-spirited) characters, every single episode provided more laughs than an entire season of “Friends.�
For those many who are unfamiliar with the show (shame on you, by the way), the show centers on the Bluths, a formerly rich corporate family who lost their wealth after patriarch George (the wonderful Jeffrey Tambor) was arrested for a bevy of corporate crimes. The family’s fate is constantly in the hands of its lone sane member, Michael (Jason Bateman, in a career-reviving role).
Every role was perfectly cast right down the line, but my favorite was Will Arnett as the incredibly needy, stupid and selfish G.O.B. A talentless magician (sorry, illusionist) doomed to obscurity, G.O.B. ruthlessly competed with his brothers for the love of his soulless Pop.
Any time G.O.B. would launch into an ill-fated “illusion� (often with “The Final Countdown� blaring in the background), you knew something special was coming.
The show also had some of the sharpest writing on television. My favorite line from the current season came after matriarch Lucille (Jessica Walter) announced that she finally had stopped taking her post-partum depression meds, after nearly 40 years. She explains that the decision came after she “this handsome doctor� denouncing the medication on the “Today� show.
To which the put upon Michael replied: “Mom, that wasn’t a doctor. That was Tom Cruise.�
Cruise, Michael Moore, reality television and even Fox itself all took hits in the show’s smart, witty dialogue. The funny extended even to the smallest touches, including having a lawyer, played by Scott Baio, named Bob Loblaw (say it fast).
So why didn’t the show score with audiences? Maybe because its jokes were too intricate for mass appeal. Maybe because the characters are often unrepentantly nasty. Or maybe people just couldn’t get into show’s weird plot twists, such as the love triangle between Lucille, George and George’s twin brother, Oscar (also played by Tambor).
But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s hope against hope that the show continues. And if it does disappear, let’s just be grateful that we got to meet the Bluths at all.