I don't think there are many television shows worth owning on DVD but I'd make an exception here. You should buy this DVD, force people to watch it against their will and six hours later they'll thank you. I am not joking here. Invite them over for coffee, strap them in and send them on this eighteen episode journey. After thanking you, they may even ask for more coffee.
What makes "Arrested Development" so entertaining is how close it is to reality. It's just one degree off, but in that degree a gold mine of comedy exists. It also never feels like your typical laugh track sitcom because you never know where they are headed next with the story. The closest relative to it is "Scrubs", but "Arrested Development" definitely tries and succeeds to be smarter. My favorite character is Gob (pronounced Jōb), the delinquent brother with delusions of grandeur. I like to think I've got a little Gob in me on my better days.
If you have never watched the show and need to know the basic plot before proceeding I'll try and piece it together for you. Jason Bateman plays Michael, the brother/son/father who is trying to keep the entire family together after their father (the amazing Jeffrey Tambor) has been sent away to prison. Michael is the straight man in the family and all of the other characters bounce off of him for laughs. Bateman deserves a ton of credit here; the show wouldn't run without his steadying presence, it would just be a group of ragtag misfits. Bateman has a huge ensemble cast working behind him too. Three siblings (two brothers and a sister) an evil mother, Michael's own son and niece and his dad and dad's twin brother. Throw in a lawyer or two, some guest stars and you've got a pretty large cross of comedy talent.
If you had to pick out a basic plot device used in the show it would be the family in trouble and Michael running to the rescue. Every episode is narrated by Ron Howard who adds his own brand of zest. Add this all up and you've got a consistently entertaining show, the kind everyone always bitches doesn't exist and yet no one watches. The ratings failure of "Arrested Development" should only be attributed to the short attention span of the viewing audience, not the overall quality of the show.
The DVD features aren't hugely interesting but I'll give you the skinny anyway. Each of the three discs has a commentary on one episode by the creators of the show and selected actors. As you'd guess they've got some interesting things to say, it's too bad Jason Bateman isn't on any of them. Each disc also has a few deleted scenes, but none of them really add much because "Arrested Development" is edited in such a choppy manner that it doesn't feel like the deleted scenes are different. They don't fit because they seem like more of the same. They aren't narrated by Howard either so they truly are an afterthought.
"Arrested Development" is one of the three or four series worth owning on DVD. I'd say "West Wing", "Boston Legal" and "Grey's Anatomy" are the others. If you've never seen "Arrested Development" and like one of those shows then give it a whirl. I can't give you a money back guarantee (because I'm a poor bastard) but I wouldn't steer you wrong.