Gallery: Manga Moles and Success Steve Holt: The Best Arrested Development Fan Creations
01Bluth Family Chicken Dance
Every cult favorite show or movie has almost by definition an active online fan community, and *Arrested Development*, which returns this weekend for a fourth season on Netflix, is no exception. Although its third season ended way back in 2006, there are still folks eagerly GIF-ing their favorite best moments, memeing the best catch-phrases, and mashing up the show with everything from *Breaking Bad* to Baz Luhrman's *The Great Gatsby*. And for good reason: the Bluths are internet gold. Why? Well, for one [*Arrested Development*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/) is packed full of dry, ironic one-liners--the nature tongue of the internet. Thanks to the biting jokes of creator Mitchell Hurwitz and his team (see: Lucille Bluth's "What's Spanish for 'I know you speak English'?") and characters are as colorful as any [Scumbag Steve](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/scumbag-steve) or [Good Guy Greg](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/good-guy-greg), the memes and fan art pretty much make themselves. The Tumblr mashups are diverse, combining the images and dialogue of the Bluths with everything from *[Mad Men](http://maddevelopment.tumblr.com/)* to 2011's *[Thor](http://arrestedasgardians.tumblr.com/)* to *[Downton Abbey](http://arresteddownton.tumblr.com/)*. One of our favorites is [Arrested Westeros](http://arrestedwesteros.com/), which combines quotes from *Arrested Development* with images from *Game of Thrones* and even received Twitter praise from *Arrested Development* creator [Mitch Hurwitz](https://twitter.com/MitchHurwitz/status/85599825902583808). The show has also inspired its own dedicated memes like [Success Steve Holt](http://www.quickmeme.com/Success-Steve-Holt/?upcoming), which uses the image of Gob Bluth's long-lost and overly self-confident son Steve Holt to relay excitement over just about anything (see [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREGbLdOzfg) for context), and – as Hummel mentioned – the catchphrase "[I have made a huge mistake](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ive-made-a-huge-mistake)," which was uttered multiple times throughout the series' initial run from 2003 to 2006 on Fox. The show inspired non-internet art as well--so much of it that Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles [held an exhibit last year](http://nineteeneightyeight.com/collections/theres-always-money-in-the-banana-stand) dedicated to artist's representations of classic Bluth moments. (See artist Ian Glaubinger's [*Bluth Family Chicken Dance*](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x-7v3PJ6Eg) from the exhibit above.) *Development* lends itself to artistic interpretation, show curator Jensen Karp said, because it is "one of those rare occasions when a sitcom didn't talk down to them" – something that made the show an artistic achievement in its own right. "When it came time to tribute it, it wasn't difficult to create art that's based on art itself," Karp said in an email to Wired. "The characters are so bright and vibrant, artists were foaming at the mouth to create portraits." With 15 new episodes on the way via Netflix there's likely to be a whole new crop of quotable lines, dances (chicken or otherwise), and Gob Bluth GIFs are on the way. Karp said Gallery 1988 would be open to another show if artists keep making interpretations and Hummel is ready to whip up more memes. However, the Netflix all-you-can-eat model and Hurwitz' plan to have a season that can be watched in any order does create some issues in the always-on blog world. "I'm tentatively thinking I'm going to take it one week at a time, rather like how the A.V. Club reviewed *House of Cards* – that gives people some time to get familiar with the new season of *AD* without dumping it all on them at once," Hummel said. "Of course, I may lose all willpower on the 26th, so there's that..." While we wait for the next batch of LOLs to arrive, here's a handy guide to all of the great fan art, memes, and other creations that the first three seasons brought. *Above image courtesy Gallery 1988*
02Arrested Westeros
Arrested Westeros ----------------- Of all the online fandom output, one of the best – and nerdiest – Tumblrs is Emily Hummel's *Game of Thrones* and *Arrested Development* mash-up site Arrested Westeros. The Tumblr, which is composed entirely of *Thrones* images captioned with *Development* quotes, was inspired by an image Hummel saw of Hodor carrying Bran with the caption "Swoop me, Dragon!" "I just about lost it," she said. The site eventually even got a co-sign from show creator [Mitch Hurwitz on Twitter](https://twitter.com/MitchHurwitz/status/85599825902583808). *Image via [Arrested Westeros Tumblr](http://arrestedwesteros.com/post/24474850414/gene-parmesan-uh-ive-got-some-bad-news-im)*
03Arrested Development Party
This Portland Rock/Art Show --------------------------- In celebration of the return of *Arrested Development*, the aptly titled Portland recording label [Banana Stand Media](http://bananastandmedia.com/) decided to throw a party at a local music venue--[an *Arrested Development* party](http://bananastandmedia.com/post/arrested-development-returns-party-cd-baby-sponsorship/). Then they went all-out, with local bands playing music from the show ("Big Yellow Joint"!), banana drink specials, a Bluth family costume contest, a Chicken Dance-off, and original poster art of characters and scenarios from the show. (Our favorite, [Ryan Hill](http://www.coroflot.com/josephryanhill)'s manga-influenced *[The Mole](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfRklobwkXk)* above, renders the pseudo-kaiju battle of Tinytown as never seen before.) If it had only been held on the Queen Mary, it would've been perfect. *Image courtesy Ryan Hill*
04Arrested Development Meme - Annoyed George Sr.
Annoyed George Sr. ------------------ Late last year an internet whiz by the name of Matt Lewis took the Bluth family and plugged them into some of the best internet memes of all time. From [Condescending Wonka](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/condescending-wonka-creepy-wonka) to [Annoyed Picard](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/annoyed-picard) (above) each one was a shining example of just how magical the web can be. At the time, Lewis was trying to think of ways to win the *Arrested Development* [walk-on contest](http://youregonnagetsomewalkons.com/) that Netflix was holding. After reading the fine print of the contest's rules, Lewis discovered his memes wouldn't have qualified to win because the content wasn't totally original, but it didn't matter. He was already off and running. "I think the characters are so easily 'meme-ified' because they're all so outlandish but each has such unique, easily-defined quirks. Buster is pathetic. Lucille is coldly manipulative. Carl Weathers is an asshole," the 27-year-old Los Angeleno told Wired in an email. "The writing on the show is so creatively absurd that there are dozens of plot points in each episode that can become over-the-top one-liners." *Image via [Imgur](http://imgur.com/a/txnHH)*
05The Arrested Dead
The Arrested Dead ----------------- This *AD* and *Walking Dead* mash-up is the "story of a group of survivors who lost everything and the one cop who had no choice but to keep them all together." Like Mad Development and Arrested Westeros, this blog gets a lot of new blood (literally, figuratively) by being focused on a show that's still in production. With each new *Dead* that airs there are new screencaps to add Bluth quotes to. And, soon enough, there will be new Bluth quotes too. *Image via [The Arrested Dead Tumblr](http://thearresteddead.tumblr.com/post/42328885140)*
06Steve Holt
Success Steve Holt ------------------ Despite being something of an [annoying jock on the show](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREGbLdOzfg), Steve Holt was an internet hero. Want to say you (or something else) rules? Say it with Steve Holt. The image macro series is no "Cool story, bro" in terms of popularity (sorry, Steve), but when he's used correctly, it's a total win. *Image [via QuickMeme](http://www.quickmeme.com/Success-Steve-Holt/?upcoming)*
07Mad Development
Mad Development (*Arrested Development* Meets *Mad Men*) -------------------------------------------------------- With the Gob-classic tagline "A trick is something a whore does for money," this Tumblr gets LOLs out of the awkward/uncomfortable things that happen on *Mad Men* and would be punchlines on *Development*. For example: Remember when Peggy Olson replied that her boyfriend didn't own her vagina, "but he's renting it"? Great, now imagine that as an [exchange between George Michael and his cousin Maeby](http://maddevelopment.tumblr.com/post/15517139668). Actually, anything and everything with Peggy on this blog is gold. (See above.) *Image via [Mad Development Tumblr](http://maddevelopment.tumblr.com/post/1158539443/annahinks-rufustfirefly-butterscotch-want-a)*
08Lord of the Banana Stand
Lord of the Banana Stand ("It's Arrested Development........ With Hobbits") --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Arrested Westeros, Lord of the Banana Stand mashes together *Developmen* with Peter Jackson's *Lord of the Rings* movies. The blog's icon is a "never nude" Gollum and its best moments are quick-hits on the show's classic lines like Gob's "Come on!" (above) and – naturally – "I've made a huge mistake." *Image via [Lord of the Banana Stand Tumblr](http://lordofthebananastand.tumblr.com/post/23681061626)*
09I've Made a Huge Mistake
"I've Made a Huge Mistake" -------------------------- "I've made a huge mistake" might be one of the most well-known recurring lines ever from *Arrested Development*, but at this point it's hard to tell if more people know it because of the show's many uses of the phrase or because of the [many image macros and reaction GIF](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ive-made-a-huge-mistake) that it spawned. (See above.) *Image via [Know Your Meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ive-made-a-huge-mistake)*
10Fan Supercut Videos
Fan Supercut Videos ------------------- Keeping up with all of the running jokes throughout *Arrested Development*'s first few seasons was a lot of work. Luckily, fans on YouTube helped keep everything in order. From all the [drop-ins by private detective Gene Parmesan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1O5m-R-sdQ) to the multiple Charlie Brown moments (above), super-cut clips kept every joke in order.
