Arrested Development 2003-2005?

And so the cast has begun shooting the last five episodes (the series returns Dec. 5). ''I don't have plans for some big finish where people catch on fire and go running out of the house,'' Hurwitz says, adding, ''There will be some kind of closure.'' Whatever the case, they won't go gently. ''I think the sentiment is, 'Let's just do whatever the f -- - we want and knock it out of the park,''' says Arnett. ''I asked Mitch if Gob could be riddled with antiquated diseases: 'Guess who's got gout?'''

Who, in the end, is to blame for this American injustice? While Hurwitz & Co. say Fox could've promoted the show better, they are grateful that the network stood by them for 53 episodes. (Twentieth Century Fox Television, the studio that produces Arrested, has yet to find another network suitor; EW's request for an NEA grant is still pending.) Perhaps the finger should be pointed at those among us who watch Still Standingor Freddie but never bothered to try Arrested. (Fact: For every innovative series that goes unwatched, four bunnies are slaughtered and a Heidi Klum sitcom is greenlighted.) ''Arrested Development is another in a long line of shows that came before it that were slightly ahead of their time,'' says David Cross, a.k.a. misguided therapist/thespian Tobias. ''Maybe six, seven years from now, it will get its second coming.'' Until then, for those of us who just want the Bluth, the whole Bluth, and nothing but the Bluth, our TVs will be the sadder for it.