Plexus
Architeuthidae puericomedentis
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/25145.htm
Hooray!
June 16, 2005 -- 'ARRESTED Development" star Jeffrey Tambor nearly cried when the critically acclaimed comedy was picked up for a third season on Fox.
"I had steeled myself for cancellation," Tambor told the Post yesterday shortly after wrapping a matinee performance in the Tony-winning play "Glengarry Glen Ross," which he has been starring in since May.
"So when ["Arrested"] had been picked up again, I was more emotional than I thought I would be. I was so happy - it's one of the great working opportunities of my career."
"Arrested" follows the goofy trials and tribulations of a spoiled, dysfunctional family who have lost all their money. Tambor plays two roles: family patriarch/escaped corporate felon, George Bluth Sr., and George's long-haired polar-opposite brother, Oscar.
"I wear this wig and get to flip my hair," the bald actor jokes. "That's something I haven't done in a long time."
The brainchild of Mitchell Hurwitz - who re-signed this week to continue running the show - the Emmy-winning "Arrested" immediately became a critical hit in 2003, but has yet to draw a wide audience. Last season Fox even cut the show's episode order - typically a sign of impending cancellation.
"We all got a little shaky when [Fox] cut back the order, but they were protecting us," says Tambor.
He says he doesn't know what will happen next season. "They obviously have had this all thought out," he says.
But "we don't get a great deal of lead time. Sometimes we've gotten the scripts that morning [of filming], and I love that. I'm an enemy of too much think time. I like to be on the fly."
The comedy did score good numbers with some advertisers and, to the shock and delight of fans, will be back for a third season this fall.
In the finale, Tambor's George Sr. was last seen impersonating his brother, Oscar, and running off to join the Blue Man Group stage show.
"I actually got a letter from the Blue Man Group saying I did a good job," he says. "I was so honored."
Hooray!