The quote in the title of this article is one of the countless brilliant iterations that emerged from the greatest television show of all time, Arrested Development. For a quick summary of my true feelings, go here. Arrested Development is one of the most quotable shows ever, as its recognizable one-liners are easily spotted by dedicated fans.
Last week, Twitter marked the fifth anniversary of its launch. I follow quite a few Twitter users, and one of the most consistently entertaining is @bluthquotes. A click on @bluthquotes Twitter profile shows the following description: “Quotes, news, and links from the greatest show ever, Arrested Development.”
If you are a Twitter user and consider yourself a fan of the show, @bluthquotes is a must follow. The daily dose of funny and memorable Arrested Development moments and quotes is a convenient way to get your nostalgic fix of a show that should never have been cancelled. Here is one of @bluthquotes’ tweets:
[oEmbedTweet 91644106090086400]
For this Arrested Development fan, it’s not just the line of dialogue that this tweet brings to mind, it’s the entire scene. So much of AD’s comedy was rooted in its own context, and this line is another example of that. If you missed the story arc in which Michael Bluth dated the prosecutor on his father’s case, blind attorney Maggie Lizer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), then this tweet might not do much for you. But for those of us that remember it fondly, the #cherethcutestory hashtag is the cherry on top of a delicious tweet.
From the moment I stumbled upon @bluthquotes, I was intrigued as to its background. I was fortunate enough to catch up with @bbhart – the man behind the quotes. Here is our conversation.
How did you begin tweeting as @bluthquotes?
I started @bluthquotes mostly because I’m a huge AD fan, and Twitter seemed like the perfect medium for it. Foremost: it’s a solid, quotable show. I love other shows like Community, Parks & Rec, and 30 Rock, but a lot of their jokes don’t lend themselves to quotes that fit into 140 characters – they need context. On the other hand, a one-word tweet of “Her?” is immediately recognized as Arrested Development for fans of the show. Twitter works so well because people opt-in to see your tweets vs. me spamming friends & family on Facebook.
You have almost 40,000 Twitter followers, did you expect it to be this popular?
There are a lot of AD fans out there, so I knew it would be popular. 38,000 followers was achievable, I just wasn’t sure when it would happen. It took the same amount of time to add followers 0 to 2000 as it did to add 20,000 to 38,000. Such is the nature of Twitter.
Mitchell Hurwitz (@MitchHurwitz), the creator and writer of Arrested Development, is following you on Twitter. Is that the coolest follow you’ve ever gotten? Have you had any interactions with him?
@MitchHurwitz is the coolest follow, as he is the Creator. A few days after Mitch started following, @HWinkler4Real became aware of @bluthquotes and made a mention related to the “Those are balls” quote, which I thought was hilarious. I’ve mentioned @arnetwill and @batemanjason a few times but they haven’t responded or followed, which is fine. I maintain a list of AD-related people at https://twitter.com/#!/list/bluthquotes/arresteddevelopmentpeople but it’s mainly just Henry and @JeffreyTambor tweeting. If (when!) a movie comes out, I’d hope to be able to help Mitch and Co. promote it through Twitter.
Which Bluth is your favorite to quote and why?
What’s my favorite quote? That’s like asking who’s my favorite child (“I don’t care for GOB.”). Quotes centered around the show’s running gags always trend the highest, like Ann or The OC. Tobias has so many quotable lines that TobiasTues had to be created.
Regarding the movie, my favorite quote comes from follower @JasonSheridan who summed it up well: The Arrested Development movie is the comedy equivalent of “Daddy just went out for cigarettes. He’ll be back soon…”
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