"I've made a huge mistake."

One of the most highly rated comedy TV series has returned for a fourth season after a seven year gap. And, while there's no doubt that the first three seasons are must sees, the latest season is a bit lackluster. However, the fourth season sticks to the comical roots and ongoing gags that has made the show what it is today – an offensively dynamic comedy that we all used to love unconditionally.

Arrested Development focuses on the lives of a dysfunctional Bluth family who've lost their company wealth. Michael Bluth attempts to save his family's business while putting up with his outrageous kin. The interaction between the family members trying to make things work is what drives the show forward without losing sight of what the series is really about – looking out for your crazy family. No matter how many times George Sr. and Lucille trick their son and despite the petty fights that Gob forces upon his younger brother, Michael always comes back to solve everyone's problems with his egotistic attitude. Through the lies, deceit, and vanity, the family would always reunite back together, incorporate a hilarious continuous joke, and solve their outlandish (huge) mistakes. That's what made the first three seasons work so well: a counterproductive family that exchanges favors and somehow works together. This is where I feel season four went terribly wrong.

Right from the start, Michael finally cuts ties with his family and the real estate business, and goes off to work as a Hollywood producer for a movie based off his family (possibly hinting and also destroying the idea of an Arrested Development movie in the near future). His motto of "family first" deteriorates, leaving the Bluth family to scatter and deal with their own problems separately. Perhaps this is why season four is a bit distant from its predecessors. The story no longer circles around Michael – instead the show is made up of nine different parts (one for each family member) and slowly pieces together the narration of misunderstandings and many coincidences. The Bluths are no longer a family attempting to gravitate together towards the "sun," but a family distancing themselves from one another. Even Buster has his own episode displaying his independence from the family (or simply just his mother).

However, even with the unstable atmosphere of the layout of the plot, the show still shines at moments with old and new reoccurring drollery. Unfortunately, because the series isn't exactly made up of standalone episodes, the season requires a lot of start up time in order to really integrate the jokes into the story to make you literally laugh out loud. Season four is kind of like a broken chainsaw: Episode 1-to around 10 is when the engine is struggling to start, and then, once it's running, the show commences and is able to cut right to the funny bone. Gob's constant use of forget-me-now pills, and the cue of the song, "The Sound of Silence," whenever he makes a huge mistake is hilarious. George- Michael's blanking out, along with various other new gags, can easily remind you of a once flawless comedy.

Seven years later, most of the actors obviously look a lot older than how they use to look before, which is why it seems a bit strange that the show decided to pick up where they last left off. It's not a big distraction but it can be a little awry to see a 25 year old Michael Cera play a newly graduated high school student for brief parts within the season. At least it's not as bad as seeing Daniel Radcliffe in his early 20′s play a thirty something year old father.

So to sum it all up, season four of Arrested Development isn't the pinnacle of the show. A few of the first few episodes can be a bit painful to get through (especially Lindsay's first section); however, the episodes only get better as the show goes on. So it's really up to the viewer to decide if plowing through the first few episodes or so is worth the trouble to enjoy the last remaining few. And it's not like you can directly skip to the later episodes due to the format of the narration – that would only make the season more confused than it already is. Now I understand why the episodes for season four all came out at once, instead of one per week. The series as a whole would be a 5/5, if not for the extremely slow and uninteresting start of the fourth season. Season four made a huge mistake.

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