#12 Freed from the Traditional Sitcom

In the short-lived, but very memorable, sitcom ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, traditional sitcom ideas were tweaked ever so slightly for an exceptionally well-written, hilarious show. In many traditional sitcoms, the main characters are either at a place of work or a home and are usually comprised of a family or a group of friends. In ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, however, despite the characters technically being a family, the dysfunctional, arguing family acts more like a group of friends than a family. For example, the father, George Bluth (Jeffery Tambor), is arrested for suspected dealings with terrorists and treason. The series continues with the rest of the family constantly fighting like children, even though they are all over 35, and only some of the family is worried about getting their father out of jail.

Traditional sitcoms' characters are commonly known to have stable jobs and only have one or two jobs during a series. Besides the main character, Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), and his son, the other siblings (and mother) of the family do not hold jobs -- or only have them for a maximum of two days. Furthermore, the other characters often complain of the jobs given to them and would rather spend their time doing other things like drinking, magic tricks, or buying clothes -- and when they do have a job, they take a week off for spring break despite being adults with "real" jobs. This is very different from the traditional workplace characterized by pre-SEINFELD sitcoms.