Arrested Development (TV Series) Good Grief! (2004) User Reviews

I have Pop Pop in the attic

[gizmomogwai · 10/10 · 26 January 2008]

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if I liked the fact that George, having escaped from prison, hides in Michael's attic. It's one of the more far-fetched plot developments in the series. Yet some great moments came out of it, and in particular, the two episodes setting up the storyline- Good Grief and Sad Sack- are exceptional and among the very best in the series. This transition in the storyline is eased with big-time laughs.

Good Grief picks up where Amigos left off, with the bounty hunter Ice searching for the missing George Sr. He finds evidence that George is dead. Eventually, however, George Michael finds him alive near the house. George Michael sneaks George Sr. into the attic while the rest of the family mourns his supposed death.

The episode is named after a phrase in Peanuts, while music from a Peanuts Christmas special is played to portray George Michael depressed. The tribute is important- both Peanuts and Arrested Development share the basic philosophy that life is suffering; both tell the stories of losers. We particularly see that here when Ann breaks up with George Michael- and to top it off, it's because of George Michael's too-close relationship with his father, which is a common theme for the series. Here as well we see the characters somehow managing to be both upset with George's death and selfish; Maeby tries to hook her mother up with Ice to break the family and GOB puts on a show he's sure will help his career, though it's officially part of the wake. As usual, AD achieves much with its characters. To top it off, the episode has a great line from Lindsay about Ann in the attic and from Michael about "Pop Pop in the attic." This episode about losers is a winner.

Good Grief!

[lassegalsgaard · 10/10 · 16 July 2022]

If you're a fan of this show like me, I think that you'll immediately see that this show is the top when it comes to its comedy. However, in some episodes, it's possible to actually see the more serious themes come out, and I think it speaks to the fact that Mitchell Hurwitz actually wants to tell a very serious story about a family who is drifting further and further apart because of their own inability to take anything seriously. The only thing on the mind of this family is their money and getting their business back together, but it's touched on with such laziness by them all and none are actually giving much of themselves to make sure that it all works out. They're inherently the reason why everything is failing to work. They are living as the worst versions of themselves, and if this show is as genius as I think it is, this was probably Hurwitz's idea all along. To tell a story that we don't take so seriously because it is a comedy, but layer it with these sprinkles of drama that makes the show's true colors shine forth whenever it gets the chance. This episode sold that in a better fashion than any episode that has preceded it, as it kept the show's humor in tact and never ruined the nice flow, but managed to touch on heavy themes with a swift of color and nuance that will shine through if you really notice it.

A big thing about this episode, I found, was its handling of grief. Obviously, they are turning it into a comedic drive for the episode, but in many ways, it seems like the creators actually found a way to touch on the deeper levels of grief, even if they were just fleeing moments. Lindsay speaks about how she used to think of her father's death of make her cry, and while it's immediately followed by a joke, it's a great commentary on how we deal with grief. That's but one of the reasons why this episode is so much more than simple fun and games.

The effect of it is awesome and creates this running ascension throughout the episode, that ultimately leads to the person trying to keep the family together put in the position and making the rift even larger. They're definitely doing something with Michael that could be interesting in the long run and will most likely lead the family to a place where there's going to be even more division between them. How George is going to figure into all of this and if the lie of his death is going to last in the family, that's probably for a later time.

With that, the episode obviously also gets a lot of its trademark humor through. A lot of characters speaking over each other and not understand what the actual issue is until later on. The funniest part of this episode was an outlandish trick that Gob was going to perform during his father's memorial, which then obviously goes wrong. It's the great balance of this that makes this show as memorable as it is and has made "Arrested Development" one of those shows that will stand the test of time and always have a loyal fanbase to watch it for eternity.

And it's also a testament to the actors. I think that Jason Bateman has been good in this role, and he makes for a great leader of the family, but this episode brought out that dramatic spark in him that we know he has. Again, I have to say that it's all covered by a layer of comedy, but it's those small notes that we have to look out for, because they give this show all the nuance that we don't see often in comedies. Bateman takes that to the test in this episode with a classy performance as Michael.

"Good Grief!" provides the show with a grain of seriousness and uses its title well as it deals with themes of serious grief through humor. It manages to bring out the light in a dark situation, but still delivers one of the more serious episodes that never failed to make me absolutely love and adore it.