I don’t want no part of yo’ tight-ass country club, ya freak bitch!
Oh Arrested Development, what more needs to written about you? You know, not a whole lot more could be written about this unbelievable, timeless, witty, masterfully-written.. whoopsie, I meant not to heap more praise upon it. Not one day goes by where AD is not praised for its brilliance. Best comedy ever! … BEST SHOW EVER! It really is terrific, and I love it.. but I’ll let the professional writers honor it with hyberbole. I’ll stick to my bread and butter, Ordered Lists of Best “”!
Arrested Development’s main characters are generally considered to be the members of the Bluth/Funke family. I’m going to stick with that for this list. I’ll definitely try to do a minor character one day when I’m feeling ambitious, because there are so many classic characters on this show.
So without further ado, the top Arrested Development main characters, ranked in reverse order of awesomeness and favorite-ness:
9. Lindsay Bluth – She is definitely a necessary character, a “perfect Bluth”, if you will, but Portia de Rossi’s Lindsay simply lacks in the funny department. Some of the things that come out of her mouth or things she is accused of are hilarious and head-shaking at the same time, but never does she shine with the jokes. Necessary, great to have her on the show, but simply my least favorite main character.
8. George/Oscar Bluth – The first ambiguous character of this list, George is the patriarch of the family, and it’s easy to see where the rest of his kids’ quirkiness comes from. Of course Oscar, his (super) identical twin may also be the father of some of these kids, but who will really ever know? George is definitely the more major character of the two, but Oscar’s smoked-out hazy delivery is definitely funnier, and I think better. Regardless, the intricate story-telling of these two’s intertwined confusing web of literal “classic mix-ups” really exemplies the genius of Arrested Development.
7. Lucille Bluth – Mother. The “mother” of the family, Lucille is also the meanest.. by far. However, this means she is easily one of the best insult artists around. Arrested Development loves to slip “the c-word” (literally, say it out like that… good.) into its shows, and its usually aimed in the direction of Lucille.. for good reason. She’s coarse, cruel, and cranky, but she has to be considered one of the funniest “old ladies” in tv history. Faults are seen throughout the Bluth family, and all of them can be found in Mother. Don’t forget, she also has some of the most cringe-worthy lines on the show: “Oh Michael, Honey. I wanna cry so bad, but I don’t think I can spare the moisture.” Even some of her simpler lines are re-quotable treasures “No sugar for you, you just get more awful.” She’s the classic rich, white old lady, but to the 10th degree. Needless to say, Lucille has pretty much lost all sense of reality, and we all can benefit comically because of it.
6. Michael Bluth – Michael, the supposed “logical” one of the family, is Jason Bateman basically being Jason Bateman. He’s the quick-witted one to instantly point out the obvious (except to the person saying it) flaws in family member’s plans and ambitions. The one-two combo of his cracks and comebacks at the other characters radiates perfection. He can most certainly be a scene-stealer at times. No matter which character he is paired in a scene, their back-and-forth is guaranteed to end in laughter for the lucky viewer. He’s the glue of the family, and the glue of the show. He may not always be the funniest or most outlandish character on the show, but he’s guaranteed laughter, and the vehicle to keep the Arrested Development ship afloat.
5. Buster Bluth – Buster was very hard to rank. I sometimes feel like he’s the most underrated character on the show. Not only are his quotes “out there” (in a hilarious way), but his random bursts and freak-outs (“YA FREAK BITCH!”) are always highlights of the show. All the Bluths had unfortunate (-ly comical) upbrings, but none were as weird and perverse as Buster’s and his “special” relationship with his Mother Lucille. Of all the flashback cutscenes (the bread and butter of Arrested Development, in my opinion), Buster’s are typically the funniest and most head-scratching. They are usually so quick, and so bizarre, you question yourself about what you actually just saw. Most of the time, Buster is at the center of it.
4. George Michael Bluth- Before Michael Cera was Michael Cera, he was George Michael Bluth. I say he definitely is in the top 5 for best names on the show (in a very hotly-contested field), and definitely has the #1 weirdest relationship ever. That relationship, of course, is with his maybe-cousin Maeby. Maeby she is, maybe she isn’t. Anyway, that classic Cera character seen in Superbad, Juno, and anything else with him was first perfected here on Arrested Development. The king of awkward. Sometime it’s so hard to watch or listen, but it’s always incredibly classic.
3. Maeby Funke – The sassiest character on the show, and maybe the fastest-thinker of the bunch, Maeby brings the comedic heat with her mixture of perfect one-liners and general smartassedness (made up word, but you get the picture). I can’t exactly pinpoint all the awesome things I love that she does (beside her super strange relationship with cousin George Michael, which is INCREDIBLE), but she does it all. It doesn’t hurt that I also have a crush on her. If I were a girl, I’d want to be her. Ok, enough with the weirdness.. Fun fact: She’s Iraqi-American, what a combo!
2. Tobias Funke – David Cross perfects the lovably ambiguous Tobias; the noted first ever “analrapist (analyst and therapist).” Whether he’s “bluing” himself as an aspiring member of the Blue Man Group or dressed up as the strange English Nanny Mrs. Featherbottom (“Okay, who’d like a banger in the mouth? Oh, right. I forgot. Here in the States, you call it a sausage in the mouth.”) The king of double-entredres. Cross is a genius. Tobias is a character unlike any other.
1. G.O.B. Bluth – Will Arnett would often steal the show in the older Arrested Developments. In the fourth season, his two main episodes are most certainly two of the best, and his appearances in the other episodes would often highlight his show-stealing traits. It’s simply impossible to watch Gob for more than a minute without him doing or saying something that literally makes you laugh out loud. Whether it’s the duplicated classic “COME ONE!” or a gem one-line such as, “I hear the jury’s still out on science”, Arnett’s dynamo performance as G.O.B. is my favorite of Arrested Development!
Michael: You just thought you’d put the stand right here?
Gob: Did the research. Did you know that more frozen bananas are sold here on this boardwalk than anywhere in The O.C.?
Michael: Don’t call it that.
Whisper Yells 