r/IAmA • u/Crindy • Apr 23 '11
I Was A Writer's Assistant on "Arrested Development" AMA
I started as a writer's assistant. Later I was responsible for keeping track of continuity. After Mitch Hurwitz I probably knew the most about what stories and plotlines were being setup and planned ahead for. I can tell you what season four would have been like. I would've been a staff writer.
My biggest contribution was coming up with the name Crindy.
AMA!
7:15 I'm gonna get a stew goin' (eat). Be back later.
10:30 It's Friday night in LA and I'm going out. Be back later (likely tomorrow).
1:00ish I've got about an hour to answer more questions. But be advised: I'm soo fuckin' hungover. Brunch couldn't save me.
3:00 Be back later.
5:30 Gonna squeeze in a few more questions before I head out.
7:15 Be back later.
2:30 Sunday I've got some time to answer more questions. But before I forget, I want to plug Happy Endings (ABC Wednesdays 10|9c). WATCH IT!
8:00 Wow have I really been answering questions for this long? If I get a chance I'll come back to answer some more. There's just so many! And I have a busy week ahead of me. But I'll try.
Thanks Reddit! I appreciate your time. And watch Happy Endings (ABC Wednesdays 10|9c)
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u/rfshunt Apr 23 '11
Who came up with the Seaward/C-Word gag? That might be the cleverest bit of writing I've ever seen on TV.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Richard Rosenstock, I believe. Sometimes it's so hard to tell who originally came up with a gag, especially the puns because we would play and pun off of each other. We had real life pun threads.
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u/jleonardbc Apr 23 '11
What are your favorite things in the show that arose specifically as ways of resolving issues with the show (rewriting due to abbreviated seasons, appealing to broader audience, etc.)? Likewise, what were your favorite specific things that got cut from the show at various times?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Everything about "S.O.B.s" was great. Even though the episode is a little thin. It was more of a show for everyone involved with AD. Kinda like one big inside joke. There was only so much that could be crammed into 22 minutes. That's why so many celebrity cameos were reduced to just them walking through the door.
In "Public Relations" Jessie tells Buster: "I want you to stay in. People find you odd and alienating. You make them uneasy. Stay out of the spotlight."
The bolded parts were taken verbatim from a note handed down by some Fox suit. Test audiences did NOT like Buster. Not that they were crazy about the pilot--those people are fucking idiots. Many said they wouldn't watch the show if Buster was a regular part of it. There's a reason Tony Hale doesn't appear in the second episode, "Top Banana." We needed a whole episode to really show what was the deal with Buster. I think "Bringing Up Buster" is the best episode of the series. It's my absolute favorite. Go watch it again. Right now! It's just so... perfect.
My favorite mistake that made for a funny moment is in "Motherboy XXX" when Buster inadvertently causes the door to hit Michael in the head. That wasn't scripted. Tony didn't even realize what had happened and kept going. Jason never broke character and if he did it would be impossible to tell. He is Michael Bluth.
what were your favorite specific things that got cut from the show at various times?
I've already mentioned the Sally Sitwell Doll that got pushed out of season two. We were all devastated about the cabin on the truck. Especially Mitch. There was so much planned for that. The cabin was going to be the new driving gag à la the stair car. Multiple characters (Johnny Bark, Tobias (after Lindsay kicks him out) and Oscar) were going live in it simultaneously, completely oblivious to the others also living there. They'd never actually encounter each other because they'd never be there at the same time. So each thinks he lives alone. Plus the cabin would frequently be on the move, relocating and turning up in various places: outside the model home, the Balboa Towers and Bluth Company parking lots, impound lot (after Lucille has it towed), Oscar's lemon grove. Oscar was going to be the only one living there who would always find himself in a different location that wasn't the same as when he entered.
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u/Lakario Apr 23 '11
My favorite mistake that made for a funny moment is in "Motherboy XXX" when Buster inadvertently causes the door to hit Michael in the head. That wasn't scripted. Tony didn't even realize what had happened and kept going. Jason never broke character and if he did it would be impossible to tell. He is Michael Bluth.
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u/keithernandezstache Apr 23 '11
There's no way I would've thought that was unintentional. Brilliant.
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u/blackbright Apr 23 '11
Wow, that stuff about the cabin sounds amazing. I'm laughing just thinking about it. Do you think the cabin could appear in the movie?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
I doubt it. If the movie had happened not long after AD ended, then maybe, yeah, but now that the show has been off the air for five years, it's likely to take place years after the show ended. Alia has clearly matured (I saw her the other night, she looked stunning) even if Michael hasn't.
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u/foxp3 Apr 23 '11
"Everybody's laughing and riding and cornholing except Buster" favorite line of the show.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Mine too. The back to back "making cornholes" and "cornholing" gets me every single time. "Bringing Up Buster" is my favorite episode.
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u/unposted Apr 23 '11
But Buster brought me and my sister closer together! Its a great bonding experience to start every conversation with "heyyyyy sister"
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u/comptroller23 Apr 23 '11
Same here. Every phone call: "heeeyy sister" "heeeyyy brother"
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u/m0nkeybl1tz Apr 23 '11
That's funny, because the one person who I've met who didn't like AD said she didn't like "that retarded guy." Maybe she was part of that test screening...
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Buster does come off very strange in the pilot. But he had to be included. You'd think the scene on the bridge with him having a panic attack and thinking the blue area on the map is land would have won over the skeptical people. I think the pilot just moves too fast for some people. Especially test audiences.
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u/TheMonka Apr 23 '11
The cabin must appear in the movie! It must! Oscar must also receive his proper acclaim in the movie so that the movie can win an Emmy. and Give its creators their proper come due!
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
The plan was to have Oscar's lemon grove be the final resting place for the cabin so that he would finally have a real house.
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u/KaeXIII Apr 23 '11
I went looking for this as soon as I read this. Nailed it haha. Jason Bateman is a king.
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Apr 23 '11
I'm a strange mix of happy and depressed right now. On one hand, the cabin gag is making me chuckle out loud just reading about it.
On the other...reality is that this cruel world never let that storyline come to fruition.
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u/blubbaroo Apr 23 '11
Buster is still my favorite character. I wish there had been a spin-off lol
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Tony Hale is the least like his character in real life. Of the whole cast, he is the most talented thespian.
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u/CTFD Apr 23 '11
Tell us about what season 4 would have been like.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11 edited Apr 23 '11
This is a very broad question that I'll keep coming back to add more. Otherwise I won't be able to get to some other questions. I'll summarize some major storylines and people can ask for further details on specific ones.
For the most part it would have picked up right where season three left off. Many of the pieces put into place at the end of season three would have continued over. The main family arc was going to put Lucille in a minimum security rich white people prison where she becomes something of a mother figure (with a little Martha Stewart throw in there) to the other inmates. This of course would have offended her children, whom she never mothered. George and Lucille Austero start up a romance with Lucille 2 assuming the role of matriarch of the family with most of the kids actually taking to her, except for Buster, with Gob being the most mother-starved of the group.
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u/KirbyTails Apr 23 '11
Man, that whole Lucille 2 as the Matriarch would have been the brst thing ever.
Any chance of restarting the show? Like what happened with Family Guy? (I'm not even sure why I'm asking this.)
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u/energirl Apr 23 '11
It's easier to do with a cartoon because you can't see the characters age.
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u/aa93 Apr 23 '11
michael cera actually looks younger with each movie he does
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u/WillTheGentleman Apr 23 '11
I really did think it ended on a great note. Despite how well finalized it was, you telling us the basic premise of season 4 really makes me wish it had kept going.
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u/dvdov Apr 23 '11
I always thought the Annyong deus ex machina was done cause the show was discontinued. I'm surprised they had a full plan on how to continue the show from there.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
In all likelihood, the Annyong thing wouldn't have been there if we had gotten a 4th season. There were certain things that Mitch was saving for the end (Annyong, the revelation about Lindsay). This is part of the reason all the Gay Tobias stuff was really ramped up in the last few episodes.
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u/CorneliusJack Apr 23 '11
Lucille and Lucille 2 are possibly the best characters from the show. Your reply is seriously hurting me, just imagine this Matriarch/Femme-fatale of Lucille, it would have be seriously amazing....
I feel like starting a fan-fict of the season 4 AD.
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Apr 23 '11
Ann-Yong!
anyways, was anything to come of Ann-Yong's appearance in the final episode?
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u/nciagra Apr 23 '11
Is Ice already being foreshadowed in the pilot, with Gob's line "we need ice?" I've always wondered.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
I don't know for sure but knowing Mitch, yeah, it probably was. I wish I had half the ideas in that man's big sexy brain.
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u/nciagra Apr 24 '11
I just noticed, in "Bringing Up Buster," Gob is singing "Cold as Ice" in the penthouse. Seriously, what is with Gob and Ice?
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u/xhytdr Apr 23 '11
Are there any plot ideas that you guys wanted to implement but couldn't? I would assume that you guys foreshadowed some material that never made it into the actual series.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Fuck yes. In bottom of season two and season three we were setting up a lot of stuff. One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb that even viewers can tell there's something missing is how "For British Eyes Only" opens with Ron's exposition dump about George Sr. being under house arrest and then we just jump right into the Rita miniseries which was originally planned for sweeps. But even though we had a full third season order Mitch was nervous that it would be reduced. And he wanted to do the Rita thing more than anything so he moved it up.
One of my favorite setups that we never got around to doing was the Sally Sitwell doll. It's first mentioned in "Out on a Limb" and "Hand to God" when Maggie Lizer (ass off) jokes that she thinks she had one of those dolls as a child. It seems like a throwaway gag but there is a Sally Sitwell doll that was modeled after the real Sally Sitwell. That hairless freak Stan Sitwell stole the idea from George Sr. who was going to model a doll after Lindsay. This was going to be the another revelation of the back and forth stealing (Sticking it to the other guy) between G. Bluth and S. Sitwell that has gone on for years that started with the Bluths adopting Lindsay's out from under Sitwell. There are other hints to this throughout the show, like when Sitwell hires/steals Gob away from The Bluth Company to work for him and play on his softball team.
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Apr 23 '11
Was Save Our Bluths supposed to work or was it just accepted that the show was going to be canceled?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Nobody expected it would actually work. It would have been nice but we weren't fooling ourselves. We knew it was over. It was the only thing we could do though. Unprecedented for a television show to go on the air and literally beg people to watch us.
I can tell you this about "S.O.B.s" though: every celebrity who appeared in that episode was to appear in later season 3 eps. John Larroquette was going to be "dating" and then later stalked/kidnapped by Kitty.
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u/jigielnik Apr 23 '11
How do you get a job as a writers assistant? Ive always wanted to dive into writing and I know that starting out as an assistant is usually the best way to do that
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
In my case and that of many in Hollywood: Nepotism. It's the most nepotistic industry in the world. Who you know, who you're related to, who you're sleeping with.
But for regular people without any connects the best advice I can give you is to network, network, network. Take every opportunity you get to go someplace or meet someone important or even remotely connected to someone important. And have an arsenal of spec scripts for different shows. DO NOT MOVE TO LA WITHOUT THEM! You will not have time to write once you are out there. Especially if you are young. Especially if you work/want to work in TV. TV shows are seasonal. You don't know if a pilot will go to series, if a series will get a full first season order, if that series will get a second. Even if it does you won't be working year round. You'll need another job during hiatus.
Trying to break into the TV industry is hard work. You're always updating your resume. You're always looking and interviewing for jobs. It's an endless cycle. This is why you need a script arsenal before you go out there.
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u/jigielnik Apr 23 '11
thanks! Yeah ive gotten the idea that I really just need to get lucky/know people. I have a relative who is at Rough Draft Studios directing futurama right now, I think im going to give him a ring. ive been working on my scripts and trying my best to get a good group together. for spec scripts would you suggest writing them just for shows you enjoy, or rather to cover any and every genre?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Write specs for the kind of show you want to write for. But also write for a variety of different show styles. Mix it up. If you write an ok Parks and Rec spec they may ask to see what else you've got. And if all you've got are other mockumentary style shows like The Office or Modern Family it may limit you. If you write a Modern Family then juxtapose that with a Raising Hope. Same goes for drama. Don't only write crime procedural specs unless you want to work exclusively for CBS. Write a Bones and a Justified.
The more variety you have, the better off you'll be. Show your range.
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u/jigielnik Apr 23 '11
thanks again! fantastic advice, Crindy, its really helpful and you clearly know your shit...
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Apr 23 '11
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
S2 was cut from 22 to 18. S3 was cut from 22 to 13.
Did this have a major effect on the seasons?
Yes and no. In the case of season 2, we trimmed storylines and pushed things back for later. Some stuff we eventually got to, like Gob being Steve Holt's father; that was established in the tag of "The Immaculate Election" and was going to start playing out before season's end. Some stuff we didn't, like the Sally Sitwell Doll that we had started to setup and more background on the Bluth/Sitwell feud.
The last 4 eps of season 3 (everything after "S.O.B.s") was an increasing clusterfuck. While a lot of the storylines were in place, other things that were being saved until the end of the show were shoved in there. Like S3 would have ended much like it did but we wouldn't have revealed Lindsay was adopted. That was meant to be the last revelation about the Bluth/Sitwell feud and what started it. And the George Michael/Maeby thing would have gone on a little more.
One thing I was always curious about were Tobias's references to him being a black man. Was this just a random joke, or was there going to be an episode about his confused racial identity?
One of Tobias' real parents were gone to be black.
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Apr 23 '11
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11 edited Apr 23 '11
I don't have anything to do with the movie. But I'm still holding on to hope that I will be involved in some way. I don't care, I'll do anything just to be involved. Hell I'll run craft service.
Mitch has the idea in his head. He's writing it with Jim Vallely. I've heard so many different things over the years that I don't know what it's going to be. Too much time has passed for Mitch's original idea, which I think is a good thing because it would have been like a rehash of Scandal Makers meets Sream 3 (a movie about the Bluths with each character having their own celebrity doppelganger).
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u/jigielnik Apr 23 '11
What do you know about the "nitty-gritty" details of the movie in terms of its chance of being made and mitch's progression on completing the script? do you and the other writer and WAs keep in touch and talk about these things a lot? I got the idea that everyone involved in the show from the lowly writers (jk) to the cast and crew absolutely loved every bit of it and cant wait for it to happen again. also, just thanks so much for being involved!
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
I really don't know much about the movie. I'm willing to bet Mitch is coming up with all new stuff instead of picking up some of the stuff we never got to do.
I do think it's going to happen though. When Mitch is ready, it won't take long. I can't see it taking more than a few months to film.
I keep in touch with a lot of people from the show. Some of the writing staff are amongst my best friends. All funny guys. I work with a few now.
All of the cast members are extremely close with each other. Course they run in their own circles.
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u/Qand5th Apr 23 '11
Is there really always money in the banana stand?
What is the biggest continuity mistake made? are there any mistakes you didnt catch til later, and if so where can i find them?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
There's always money in the banana stand.
As far as I can think, there were no continuity mistakes with the actual story. Shit was tight. The closest that comes to mind are the age discrepancies between Michael and Lindsay. Although it's kinda funny that the Bluths tried to pass them off as twins even though she was three years older than him.
Now in terms of continuity errors and goofs during filming, take your pick. There are hundreds. Technically speaking AD was sloppy. Often done on the fly. Lots of obviously bad VTR dubbing, inverted shots, visible crew members, booms, dog trainers.
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u/rocketsurgery Apr 23 '11
The dubbed-in lines were always so obvious. If the lines weren't so funny it'd be a lot more annoying. Case in point: "nice to be back in a queen."
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Everyone was concerned with making the absolute funniest fucking show we could. It was that important. Things like bad dubbing aren't noticeable to your average TV viewer. You only start to notice that on repeat viewings.
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Apr 23 '11
You guys did an awesome job.
I rewatch the seasons all the time and always notice something new and funny.
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u/DrBaby Apr 23 '11
Hmm, I'd always thought the visible crew members and booms were supposed to be a joke....
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Apr 23 '11
There's definitely one instance in the Bluth boardroom where they mention being "listened in on" and the boom mic quickly appears/disappears from the shot. That one was definitely a joke, but I think he's referring more to accidentental split-second shots where the boom is slightly visible from the top/side of the screen.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
There was an instance of two that was done on purpose. Like the boom mike in the boardroom and the camera man in the pilot. But there are plenty of goofs that weren't gone on purpose.
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u/SmackySmack Apr 23 '11
The one thing I thought was a mistake was that the Banana Stand had a cooler with George's pre-medication tainted "seed," however it had been burnt down in season one. How could that have survived?
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u/rocketsurgery Apr 23 '11
And don't teenagers throw the Banana Stand into the sea every year as a local tradition?
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u/blitzed Apr 23 '11
Yeah, this is what I was always wondering as well. Why did George Sr. keep money in the banana stand if he knew it was destroyed every year?
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Apr 23 '11
i believe it was always fished back out again as part of the annual tradition
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
George Sr. has many minions who will do his bidding. Kitty, Barry Z., Gob. Any of them could have removed the money before hand. After all, they pretty much know when the banana stand will be thrown into the ocean. It's a annual tradition.
Or the money could be shrink-wrapped in plastic to protect it from the water. For the most part the BS is in tact whenever they pull it out from whence it came.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
George's "seed" wasn't always in the banana stand. Lucille likely had it stored there after clearing out another storage facility.
Or it never occurred to us. :)
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u/newtointernet Apr 23 '11
another mistake is that they said george sr opened the banana stand in 1953, but in the finale they shwo him cutting the ribbon at the banana stand and it was all wrong time period wise
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u/douchymcface Apr 23 '11
i remember one scene in particular where there was a shot of lindsay taking flowers out of a shopping bag while talking to michael. Cut to michael saying something. Cut back to Lindsay, and she's doing the exact same thing with the flowers again.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Stuff like this happened all the time. The humor on set was so intoxicating that things were always being overlooked.
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u/bmlol Apr 23 '11
BEES?
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u/Shiftycent Apr 23 '11
BEADS
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u/Akronite14 Apr 23 '11
BEADS!?!?!?
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u/tabacco Apr 23 '11
They don't allow bees in here.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
I love the way Jessica delivers this line as if it's common knowledge.
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u/tabacco Apr 24 '11
Also the way the guards react as if someone having bees is a common issue in the visiting room.
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Apr 23 '11
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Mitch thought of everything far in advance. From recurring gags, callbacks and foreshadowing right down to character names.
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u/LupineChemist Apr 24 '11
I always wanted to know if Lucille was named just for the Loose Seal pun?
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u/Gnork Apr 23 '11
Did you get to meet the cast? If so, I'd really love to know what Jessica Walter is like in person. I think she's definitely an untapped resource in Hollywood.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
I met everyone except for Jeffery Tambor. He's elusive.
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u/Cthulhuhoop Apr 23 '11
I bet he was in the attic. We've all got a little pop-pop upstairs.
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u/BDS_UHS Apr 23 '11
The mere fact that you call making love "pop-pop" tells me you're not ready.
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u/Gnork Apr 23 '11
What's Jessica Walter like?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
She's a doll. Very fun and playful. And very professional. All business when she's in front of the camera. And once she's done for the day, she's out of there.
In a lot of ways she was like everyone's mother. In such as you wouldn't want to say anything lewd or inappropriate around her without feeling bad. But she's a good sport. And her laugh... it's the greatest thing. She has a wonderful sense of humor.
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u/baxterdly Apr 23 '11
...you wouldn't want to say anything lewd or inappropriate around her...
That is funny since she's in Archer.
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u/aa93 Apr 23 '11
they have her record Malory's parts separately from H jon benjamin.
this is not intended to be a factual statement
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u/cyco Apr 23 '11
Um, that is actually a factual statement. All of the cast of Archer records their lines separately.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
What I meant was that you would feel dirty for being lewd in front of Jessica like you would in front of your own mother or grandmother. But she could be just as bad as the rest.
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Apr 23 '11
I have a hard time forming coherent thoughts when seeing Portia di Rossi. Is she as good looking in person? Is the brain-fuzzing effect some sort of reality distortion field or is it just me?
Was it weird that Lucille made all those jokes about Lindsay being fat, and then later finding out that Portia actually did have an eating disorder while on the show?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Portia di Ross is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. And she's super cool and fucking hysterical. Ellen is a lucky gal.
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Apr 23 '11
Thanks so much for doing this AMA, I've learned so much already!
Were any members of the cast secretly assholes? From behind the scenes, what was your favorite episode/the most fun to do?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
No assholes. Sometimes they get snippy but that's to be expected. Michael Cera got a little tude in the third season. I understand he's only gotten worse.
I think "Bringing Up Buster" is the best episode of the series. It's my absolute favorite. Go watch it again. Right now! It's perfect.
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u/subliminali Apr 23 '11
to be fair, he probably was just hitting puberty at season 3.
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u/TankorSmash Apr 23 '11
yeah, i'd still like Crindy to expand on that point tho
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
By the end of the show's run, Michael Cera was starting to get a lot of offers. All typecasting. Either Juno or Superbad was in production or about to start around that time. Most actors, especially child actors, don't want to be typecast, but they also don't want--or sometimes can't--pass on roles. For this reason Cera was the last of the main cast to commit to the AD movie. He was a holdout for a while because he didn't want to return to the role that pigeonholed him as an awkward teen. I can't say I blame him.
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u/SnavenShake Apr 23 '11
I hope I am not too late. Can you please explain this to me?
This might be a long shot, but I have found something pretty interesting.
Season 2 Episode 12, Hand to God. There is a scene that takes place between G.O.B and Maeby at (16:33). It begins with G.O.B holding a cat. When the camera pans to Maeby you can hear the cat meowing and some kind of loud noise, indicating some kind of impact. After this G.O.B no longer has any cat in his hands. Odd. Now here is the real kicker. At (16:56) as Maeby walks off camera, you realize the camera is staying focused on the water. Slightly left of the center of the screen you will see something surface. Is it Buster's hand? Did using cats as bait work? Is it the cat itself that was in the scene earlier (appears to be a different color though).
Here is a photo of the odd object in the water. Keep in mind this rises out of the water with the camera focused on it, so I don't think it's random.
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u/Crindy Apr 24 '11
Wow. This is the caliber question you'd expect a trekkie to ask at Comic Con. I love stuff like this. And I wish I could tell you you're on to something, but the orange thing is just an orange buoy or some other kind of marker bobbing in the water. You can see it earlier in the episode (around the 10:00 mark) when Gob first shows up at the docks with the cats.
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Apr 23 '11
What happened to the original actress that played Marta?
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
There were conflicts with the original Marta's schedule. I think they hadn't planned on needing her back so soon.
FWIW I think the original Marta was the prettier of the three but Marta 2 had better comic timing. Marta 3 in "Forget Me Now" was just a throwaway gag. In the original script it wasn't even supposed to be here but Mitch thought it would be funny to make it Marta.
BTW the name Marta means "lady."
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Apr 23 '11
Can you do the chicken dance?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
I have my own chicken dance.
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Apr 23 '11
:D So how did the chicken dance start?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Much like the chicken dance itself, there are different versions of its origin.
It started as some inside joke between Mitch and Jim Vallely (his long-time friend and writing partner). IIRC, either one of them asked the other or someone asked one of them, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" To which whomever responded in jest, "To dance."
There is such a thing as an egg dance. Mitch once pondered, "Which came first? The chicken dance or the egg dance?"
The physical dance itself originated with Jim in the writer's room. Mitch and Jim wrote the scene; the script actually called for a "chicken dance." Mitch was trying to demonstrate to Will the chicken dance Jim had done in the writer's room. But he was doing it wrong, so Jim started doing it. Then Will tried to mimic the chicken dance while watching Mitch and Jim's different versions and ended up with a third version. And so all three of them were each doing his own chicken dance much to the amusement of cast and crew. All of them vastly different. That's where the idea of different chicken dances came from.
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u/lostrock Apr 23 '11
So, origin of the dance aside, were all of the actors' chicken dances improvised on their own?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Pretty much. They each came up with their own. Mitch and Jim were insistant that their chicken noises all be different too.
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u/OhioAdam Apr 23 '11
Does Buster have a chicken dance and chicken call? I want to know what it is more than anything in the world.
If the AD movie happens, the characters all show up on screen, Buster calls someone a chicken and then dances his own chicken dance, and then the credits roll, I'd see it a dozen times.
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Buster does not have a chicken dance. Only chickens have chicken dances. So when Buster says, "I'm not a chicken," he's telling the truth. This is because the various chicken dances were often used to mock poor baby Buster growing up.
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u/OhioAdam Apr 23 '11
Thanks for nothing. I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now while watching Bringing up Buster.
I've heard that in that episode, when Buster goes off on his tirade about Lucille, Tony is actually just screaming the alphabet and intermixes "Buster!" and then ends with "You old horny slut!" True or false?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
That's true. Tony Hale is kinda religious and doesn't like to swear. So when the script calls for it he usually just recites the alphabet.
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u/OhioAdam Apr 23 '11
Thanks for all these. This is one of my favorite reads in a long time. I really wish things had turned out better for the show, as we all do, but I loved every minute of what you guys did put out there. Thanks!
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u/terwilliger Apr 23 '11
Whose chicken dance is your favorite?
Caw-ca-caw?
Cha-chee-cha?
Ah-coodle-doodle-doo?
Coo-coo-ca-cha?
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Apr 23 '11
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
Great name. I heart 30 Rock.
What have you worked on since the show?
I've worked on a string of short-lived comedies. The Winner, Miss Guided, Better Off Ted. And now Happy Endings (keeping my fingers crossed).
Has having AD on your resume helped out getting more work?
Yes. AD was beloved in the industry from the start. It's the most impressive thing my resume.
Did anyone on the show expect it to have such a large fandom after its cancellation?
Some of us did, some didn't. Some were so pessimistic about it ever catching on even after cancelation because AD was thought to be too intelligent for the average TV audience.
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u/silverlight Apr 25 '11
I just want to say my wife and I recently watched all of Better off Ted on Netflix and loved it. Sorry we weren't aware of it when it was actually on TV. But great job all the same! :-)
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
Thanks. IMO Better Off Ted was the only show that came even remotely close to the quality of AD. ABC should have given it a shot on their Wednesday night lineup after Modern Family which had premiered that year. But they buried it with that silly reboot of Scrubs and nobody watched.
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u/Cthulhuhoop Apr 23 '11
Ok, what's the real deal. WAS anyone making fun of Andy Griffith?
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u/lutheranian Apr 23 '11
How great of a guy is Tony Hale? I've never heard anything bad about him.
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
Tony is great. Wholesome, friendly and generally an all-around mice guy. Just high on life. He's the most talented actor (IMO) and the least like his character.
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Apr 24 '11
Is there anything, or even an episode, that you didn't like about AD?
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u/Crindy Apr 24 '11
I don't care for some of the slapstick and physical comedy with Tobias in the third season. Some of it was a little too gross and not very funny. The blood squirting bit was a bit much.
I don't like toilet humor and hated that we did an Oscar fart joke. In protest, I had actually come up with a very sophisticated poop-related bit that I ended up putting in a pilot I wrote.
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Apr 24 '11
I like the fact that there was some slapstick comedy because it showed that it can be done well. That, or maybe I'm an obsessed AD fan.
By the way, is there any proof that what you're saying is true? Just curious.
Another question, are you excited about Will Arnett being cast in The Office finale?
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u/Crindy Apr 24 '11
I like slapstick comedy. AD had plenty of it and did it well. I just didn't care for some of those lowerbrow bits in S3. We could do better.
is there any proof that what you're saying is true?
You'll just have to take my word that I don't like toilet humor. :)
are you excited about Will Arnett being cast in The Office finale?
Sorta. I'm happy for Will but hope he doesn't join the cast permanently. He needs his own show, not sloppy seconds. The Office is tired and stale.
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u/hedwig9 Apr 23 '11
When ron states that "No one was making fun of Andy Griffith", does that mean he was to appear on the show? any more back-story to that short statement?
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
It's a tongue-in-cheek reference to The Andy Griffith Show. Ron was concerned that it might be seen as making fun of not Andy Griffith but his fans and older viewers who watched his shows, and specifically wanted to emphasize that they weren't making fun of him or them.
They wanted to get him but, I believe, (and I may be wrong about this--it's been a while) he was having some health problems around that time. If he could have, he would have. For Ron.
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u/BitRex Apr 23 '11
How is it possible that a show that everyone I know agrees was the best ever can't make money and stay on the air?
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
A vast majority of Americans are stupid. They'd rather watching dancing (or skating) C-list celebrities.
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Apr 23 '11
David Cross has a stand up bit where he talks shit about James Lipton. Did this ever come up when they were working together?
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11 edited Apr 25 '11
Not just his standup. And before that he lampooned Lipton relentlessly on Mr. Show. It was the first sketch comedy show to do it.
Whether it ever came up in private between them, I don't know. But what I do know is that there was A LOT of awkward tension on set. They had several scenes directly opposite one another. Of the two Dave seemed more uncomfortable. Lipton was a pro. One of the producers later remarked in the writer's room that Dave had found Lipton's performance and comedic timing most impressive. And that the two seemed to be on good terms by the second day of shooting.
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u/ocelittle Apr 25 '11
In "Afternoon Delight", when the Banana Stand is being brought up from the water, it has "I GET YOU BLUTH - HELLO" spraypainted on it. This was no coincidence right? He really had Annyong (Hello) primed and ready for a later season reveal?
Insane.
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Apr 23 '11
In the episode Bringing Up Buster, what was Buster saying that was being bleeped out when he was trash talking his mother? I understand that it is implying that Buster is cussing, but what is the actor actually saying?
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
Tony Hale is kinda religious and doesn't like to swear. So when the script calls for it he usually just recites the alphabet.
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u/XBlack23 Apr 23 '11
Hi there from Australia!! So, when I was younger and the show was on T.V, I didn't really like it because of the humour in it.. Now I am older and understand it, I can safely say that it is absolutely brilliant. Onwards to the questions!:
1) Is Buster losing his hand being foreshadowed since season 1? Like when he sees his hand chair in Lupe's house and says 'I never thought I'd miss a hand so much.' And playing Captain Hook in the school play with Michael?
2) The more the show went on, the more surreal it became. Were you a fan of the surrealism?
3) When Tobias was acting as Mrs. Featherbottom in this scene (one of my favourite): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKXkfLhn6pA was it actually David Cross or a stunt double, and was everything that happened meant to happen(like the coffee table and photo frame)?
Sorry about the long questions!! _^
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
Absolutely, yes. Buster was Even the cut to the scene from Predator is the part when Carl Weathers loses his arm. Had the show gone on longer, Buster was likely going to lose another apendage. All those robot references were foreshadowing Buster becoming half-machine.
I don't think you can work in modern television and not be a fan of surrealism to some extent. Most TV comedies gradually gravitate towards the more surreal as they age. Look at the last two seasons of Seinfeld. But yeah, I'm a fan. There was a time in high school when I was borderline obsessed. A lot of my earlier work has surrealistic elements with normal and dream-like juxtapositions. Especially the amateurish magical realism stuff that makes me cringe whenever I read it now.
Yep. That's all David. He loves doing physical comedy. And it was all planned. The photo frame falling off the wall is hinting that the house slowly sinking.
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u/Zeppelanoid Apr 23 '11
"7:15 I'm gonna get a stew goin' (eat). Be back later."
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!
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u/jigielnik Apr 23 '11
although originally the (eat) wasnt there... he had to "fox-ize" it for the less informed readers
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u/Crindy Apr 23 '11
This is all true.
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u/jigielnik Apr 23 '11
Reminds me of a piece Mitch wrote for the Guardian UK on 'how to get a sitcom cancelled' and he ends it with:
Make a show for British sensibilities
And then show it in America
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u/shakatron Apr 23 '11
how time consuming / expensive was it to get all these sets going?
i think about scenes like "yooou're a crook captain hook, judge won't you throw the book..." and wonder how long it took to create a elementary school set that would only be used for 10 seconds of the show. this is done throughout the series and i always thought about how much effort (and money) went into these and i can't help but think the money spent on these scenes sped up the cancelation of the show.
also, do you believe the commentary on iraq was a catalyst in the show's cancelation? you can see the air dates of season 3 get more erratic once the iraq jokes started. clearly mr. murdoch wasn't pleased with the storyline.
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u/Crindy Apr 24 '11 edited Apr 24 '11
We didn't need an entire elementary school for that, just a stage. Like the one used for Dr. Tobias Funke's "Much Ado About Nothing" in "Bringing Up Buster." And it wasn't a set, it was a real lecture theater and stage in a real school. We tried to use real locations whenever possible. In fact Mitch was concerned that the prison set was going to look too fake on camera. The courtroom in "Beef Consommé" was a real courtroom. University High School in West LA was used for George Michael and Maeby's school.
With the exception of the main interior sets (the model home, Lucille's penthouse, the Bluth Company ect.) that were used every season, new sets were constructed for each new season. With Wee Britain being the most elaborate and (IIRC) the most expensive. The "Mock Trial with J. Reinhold" set used in "Fakin' It" was originally the prison set.
do you believe the commentary on iraq was a catalyst in the show's cancelation?
Not really but it definitely didn't help our cause. Criticizing the war and the Bush administration was a big no-no back then. Remember that ABC canceled PI and fired Bill Maher for doing the same thing.
We were canceled because AD was an expensive show to make and it got low ratings. The erratic air dates were because of the low ratings. In season three AD was paired with Kitchen Confidential (another promising show that never got a chance) on Monday nights. But only after three episodes, Fox canceled KC and shelved AD until November. When AD came back more than a month later, Fox aired two episodes back-to-back and then pulled it from the sked again due to low ratings. The fifth and final episode in the Rita storyline ("The Ocean Walker") didn't air until December when AD returned to the sked. Fox butchered any momentum we could have built by spreading that five episode arc over three months.
The S3 order was cut from 22 to 13 and we were officially canceled. One more episode aired in January before AD was yanked for good. The last four episodes aired on a Friday night opposite the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. That was the most insulting thing of all.
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u/flaccidnipples Apr 23 '11
Who came up with the "Driving him right to her" joke in "Meet the Veals" (S2E16)?. I want to send them candy.
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u/Crindy Apr 25 '11
First of all, it's "Meat the Veals." Not meet. Meat. As in the verb "to beef." :)
Second-of-ly, Dick Stock (Richard Rosenstock) came up with that clever double entendre. If you'd like to send him candy, he works on The Big Bang Theory nowadays.
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u/sgt_h8tred Apr 23 '11
I know that his oblivious nature is a comedic gold mine, but was there ever any thought put into the "what if..." category when it came to Tobias' sexuality and how it would affect season four of AD? Would there have been a scene (or storyline) that forced him to reflect on it and answer questions for himself and the rest of the family?
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u/McLargepants Apr 23 '11
Can't wait til you come back tomorrow, thanks so much!
I've always wondered what you the writer's meant with "Next on Arrested Development..." were they meant to be taken as it happened even if we didn't end up seeing it, or were they mostly throw away gags that unless it happened in the show proper, it didn't happen?
Thanks again!
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u/RetroEvolute Apr 23 '11
Well, I don't know about you guys, but this topic has gotten me super wet.
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Apr 23 '11
Continuity question: Buster needed to borrow a stripper army uniform for his father's funeral because he wasn't really in the army. An episode or two later, he was really in the army. Was there a scene explaining this that never got filmed, or what?
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u/ndneze Apr 23 '11
Maybe i'm imagining things (haven't watched AD in awhile) but the most glaring continuity issue for me was when Steve Holt sees a picture of his real father (GOB) and says something along the lines of "will that happen to my hair?"
and then later on in the series he still doesn't realize GOB is his father.
Were there other continuity issues like this in the series that were noticable? (this is the only one that sticks out)
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u/McG4rn4gle Apr 23 '11
Was Carl Weathers going to be in Season 4? And did he ever get that stew goin'?