Michael Bluth routinely forgets that his family imputes its own bad motives to everyone else in the world. He and (to a greater degree) George Michael understand the situation perfectly and yet robotically return to their default positions -- seeking approval they will never get -- at the start of every episode. In other words, it's a sitcom.
But it's a serial, too; by insisting on developing the story and characters from one episode to the next, the show (don't auteur it -- it's a group project) holds out the possibility of redemption anew each time in a way a quagmire like Seinfeld can't. But in the end, they're going to the same place, right?
What a mean, sad culture. Funny, though.
Jordan - #