Words cannot describe my elation upon hearing the news. Cats and dogs hugged, Montagues and Capulets reconciled, and peace in the Middle East must be coming soon. Why is utopia soon coming to planet Earth? Well, network executives have pulled their heads out of their collective asses and brought back Arrested Development.

The banana stand lives again! Original creator Mitch Hurwitz declared a “limited run” season for the short-lived sitcom that reached cult status from nearly the moment the show ended in 2006. The new season will feature nine or 10 episodes focusing on each character, all leading up to a feature film sometime in the future. The season is scheduled to begin sometime in 2013.

While there are questions of if the series will still have the same appeal as before, not many can question the fact that the original run was amazing. The show was able to combine innuendo, subtlety, and running gags into a show that has an amazing degree of rewatchability (if that’s not a word, it is now). Maybe the cast won’t be able to trigger that magical chemistry again, or perhaps we’ll find that the show’s concept has simply run its course. Still, thinking about it coming back reminds me of some of the best running gags television has ever come up with. Things such as:

• G.O.B’s illusions – never call them tricks (even though GOB does from time to time). Somehow they always go wrong, usually with GOB saying “I’ve made a huge mistake.” The inclusion of “The Final Countdown” is always gold.
• Always leaving a note – Go back and watch the show again (No really…you’ll enjoy it, I promise.) You’ll see notes on their refrigerator constantly. I suppose they learned their lesson from J. Walter Weatherman, the one-armed man.
• Tobias & the Blue Man Group – The mere concept of actor David Cross trying to be in the eccentric Blue Man Group is hilarious enough, but through most of the second season in his attempt to join the group, Tobias was covered in blue paint. The subtle part of this running gag is the blue paint randomly showing up throughout the house. There are visible blue handprints on the refrigerator, walls and furniture. Very subtle, very funny.
• Chicken Dance – “Has anyone in this family even seen a chicken?!?!” All the family members seem to have a different idea of what a chicken looks and sounds like, none of them being correct, of course.
• I’ll do the rest rapid fire, for those who remember: Carl Weathers being cheap, the literal doctor, hot cops, “Girls With Low Self-Esteem”,“No touching!!” analrapist, boyfights and the cornballer. There are many more, but all of these made me smile just typing them.

I don’t doubt that the show will come back to higher ratings, and will be a quality show. I doubt it will be as good as the original run, but that’s only because we have such good memories of the first time around. I’m excited to see where the Bluths go from here, and I’m definitely looking forward to laughing at them the entire way there.