The first two seasons were near perfect, so long as you had the patience for the slow build of each gag as it gets brought back several episodes, if not seasons, later. And the third and final season was still better than any other comedy going. Part of what made it so good was that it moved at a lightning fast pace, so that even the jokes that didn't land would be gone in the blink of the eye. Unfortunately this is... No longer true. I can't speak to the later episodes of season 4, as I've only watched the first three, but fans of the original would be best off viewing it as an entirely different show that just happens to share some of the same characters and locations from AD circa 2006.
One thing I'd particularly like to know is whether Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator of the show, had been given free licence in respects to the length of each episode - now anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes longer than the original episodes - or whether Netflix pressured him to produce a certain amount of content. The episodes, which each focus on an individual member of the Bluth family, are extremely baggy; moving at a pace that you would struggle to call a light saunter. Most jokes don't land, and even the good ones go right past you; not because of their speed, and dry delivery (as used to be the case) but because the whole thing seems to have been directed and edited by the more inept members of my old film school. Jason Bateman's home in the original run was a show home, and looked intentionally fake; now every set looks like the show home. You feel you could push against any wall or vista, and the cardboard facade would topple over. More disappointing is the fact that I actually felt this about some of the original cast. Jessica Walter's is still fantastic, making even the worst lines work (but then she's had plenty of practice, as she's essentially been playing Lucille Bluth for the last three years in the FX show Archer); Tony Hale, Will Arnett and Michael Cera are only seen briefly in the first few episodes, but they settle right back into their roles; whilst Jason Bateman, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, and Jeffrey Tambor come across as, respectively: tired, a broad caricature, plain bored, and also tired.
The most troubling parallel that came to mind while I was watching these episodes was Community's latest season. Once Dan Harmon left the show it stopped being Community and became something different, and less substantial. Arrested Development feels much the same way. But in this instance the creative team is the same. So who's suddenly gone missing? My best guess at the minute is that they must have lost one hell of a good editor.
Overall: (so far) 3/10
Original run of the show: 9/10
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