Channel Hop
Dysfunctional used to mean something. Back when the nuclear family was the standard, there was a clear division between 'normal' married couples, with their 2.4 children, and peers who formed more unconventional family units with ... gasp ... problems. These days, such attempts to pigeonhole people have been largely discarded. It is admitted that 'normal' is a spurious concept and no family has its troubles to seek.
One benefit of a society in which abnormal is the norm and dysfunctional families can just about function is that television becomes much more interesting. From The Simpsons to The Sopranos, today's TV families have more depth and emotional realism than The Partridge Family or The Waltons could ever muster. The current standard-bearers for familial eccentricity are the Bluth family, from Arrested Development, which returns this week for a second season on Star World (Thursdays at 9.30pm).
Having taken over the family business after his father (Jeffrey Tambor) was imprisoned for shifty accounting practices in season one, Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) and his son, George-Michael (Michael Cera), set off to begin a new life in Phoenix, Arizona, at the start of the new series. When he discovers his family hasn't even noticed he's gone, Michael returns to find a lot can change in the Bluth household in three hours. With his father on the run from police, his magician brother, Gob (Will Arnett), now president of the company, his sister, Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), deciding to have an
open relationship with her borderline-homosexual husband, Tobias (David Cross), and his father's twin brother, Oscar (Tambor again), moving in on his mother (Jessica Walter), Michael finds that, no matter how bad things get, they can always get worse.
Boasting a quality of writing that most sitcom writers would sell their family into slavery to match and superb characterisation from every member of the cast, Arrested Development should be mandatory viewing. Packed with razor-sharp one-liners, inspired plots and surreal flourishes, this show has no equal and stretches the concept of the 'dysfunctional' family into uncharted territory. Then again, as Michael says: 'They're not family - they're a bunch of greedy, selfish people who have our nose.'
One thing people in this part of the world will be hoping isn't dysfunctional is the Three Gorges Dam, which is examined in detail in China's Mega Dam (Discovery Channel, Sunday at 9pm). The biggest construction project ever undertaken will cost US$25 billion and stand 2.25km wide and 185 metres high. Also, unlike the Great Wall, it really will be visible from space. This fascinating documentary explores every aspect of the Three Gorges project, from construction of the dam to the efforts being made to save temples and archaeological digs located in the huge area that will be submerged when the dam goes into operation. The affecting accounts of the ancient villages and artefacts that will be lost in the process are matched only by the astonishing statistics surrounding the project. Few would argue the dam is merited, especially in light of the 1998 Yangtze floods, when two million people were displaced and more than 3,000 died. Considering that incident caused US$26 billion worth of damage, the dam's hefty price tag seems like a bargain. As this show reveals, however, the dam's cost to China's heritage could be far greater.
