In the wake of the "Enron" scandal and others like it, it was amazing that such an unfunny subject could be made so hilarious. The Bluth family, in spite of the advertising to the contrary, has hardly "lost everything". What they have lost is the ability to charge their personal living expenses to the company after the company founder and head of the family, George Bluth, is arrested and charged with embezzlement and fraud. They still have one poorly constructed model home - with nothing but sand surrounding it - plus the Bluth Development company, which actually is a legitimate business, it just hasn't been run that way up until now. They also have Michael, the only family member with a conscience and a work ethic, who works to keep the family and the company together in his father's absence. However, for the spoiled Bluths, losing access to the company jet and cars, having their country club membership downgraded to a pool membership, and having to share the roomy yet shoddily constructed model home as living quarters has them all acting like they're stranded on Gilligan's Island.



The results are 53 episodes of great comedy. There are sight gags and inside jokes galore, making this series perfect for DVD where you can watch over and over until you catch everything. After you watch this you'll never again see The Blue Man Group, model homes, Mrs. Doubtfire, cut-off shorts, Michael Moore, or the phrases "Mission Accomplished" and "Justice is Blind" without thinking of this show and laughing.



It may have not had stellar ratings, but it was funny and fresh up to the end. It really makes me question the reasoning of the Fox Network suits. Honestly, "The Simpsons" completely ran out of steam back in 1997, and yet almost ten years later they're still on the air, but Fox couldn't let this show finish out a complete third season?



As for the DVD's themselves, I will have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed with the extra features. There were a few good interviews, but most of the extra features consisted of deleted scenes that were not as funny as the scenes included in the actual show. One particular extra feature on season one just had the actors talking over the entire episode of "Beef Consumme", which, quite frankly, I found to be annoying. So buy this set for the excellent comedy, but don't expect anything special from the extra features.