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rhollerith_dot_com comments on June 2013 Media Thread - Less Wrong
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Arrested Development Season 4 was occasionally amusing, but didn't really catch fire like the original three seasons. I think a number of things hurt it:
Most of the actors have since become major stars with full schedules. Thus the story had to be written around their availability; and there were many fewer ensemble scenes.
The original series revolved around Michael Bluth's exasperation with his family's insanity. Because most of the adult characters were loathsome and pathetic in different ways, you shared Michael's pain in being part of this family. In Season 4, Michael stopped being the straight man and became as equally pathetic as every other adult. Only the younger characters (George Michael and Maeby) were somewhat sympathetic, and consequently only the episodes focusing on George Michael and Maeby actually clicked.
The story didn't really come to a climax. It was more like Act 1 of a three-act structure (and not a strong Act 1 either). It feels like the writers just hit the end of the contracted 15 episodes and stopped where they were.
On the plus side, there were still a number of laugh out loud moments; and lots of new Orange County Easter Eggs for the locals. I wouldn't subscribe to Netflix just to watch Season 4, but if you already subscribe, it's worth the ten hours it will take to view.
None of the things you list have bothered me or detracted from my pleasure. (I have seen the first 5 episodes.)
I am amused by your judging a very good comedy by the standards of drama (in your point 3). Sure, almost all comedy is improved by having dramatic elements and a dramatic story line, but since very good comedy is so much rarer and harder to pull off than very moving and very satisfying drama is, it does not occur to me to regret that the show would not be a particularly moving or satisfying drama if the comedic elements were removed.
In fact, I tend to regard the purposes of the dramatic elements as (1) helping me care about the characters, which of course makes the comedic elements better, and (2) keeping my mind occupied while my "humor batteries" are recharging themselves, i.e., counteracting the effect in which the final jokes of an uninterrupted series of jokes lose their kick. Of course, neither the presence of a dramatic climax or three-act structure contribute substantially towards those two purposes.
In a way I like (what I have seen so far of) season 4 even better since in season 2 or 3 the writing got a little mean (very occasionally) in the same way that for example David Letterman (much more often) gets mean. To be precise, David Letterman used to get mean the last time I watched him about 15 years ago, but he probably has not changed that.