letterten 2003-04 fall preview

debuts Sunday, Nov 2, 9:30pm

premise from	A widower wants to quit the family business and move to Arizona with his 13-year-old son, but gets pulled back when an accounting scandal freezes the family assets. [Fox link]
stars	Jason Bateman, Portia De Rossi ("Ally McBeal"), Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor ("The Larry Sanders Show"), David Cross
producers	Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, David Nevins, Mitch Hurwitz
studio	20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television

opinions
	I really like Bateman and Tambor, but something about the concept (in addition to the large cast) bugs me.
	Too many characters, not enough interesting and human characters. Jason Bateman has enough smug charm to carry show and David Cross and Jeffrey Tambor are almost always hilarious, but this show will need to find a focus and some sort of through-line sensibility. Currently the humor is coming from all directions and missing frequently. Doesn't look as good as the comedy Fox has ready for a replacement, so may be in trouble. It mostly seems to be around because of the contributions of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

my thoughts on "Arrested Development"
	Not full season, but not killed outright. It's in an awkward slot following the slightly fading "Malcolm...," but doesn't have any direct competition. There's part ownership here so it might get a longer leash. I could see 13+ episodes and then a shelving and re-launch.