I guess we all have our own reasons for why we love Arrested Development so much. But I think my reason is somewhat unique.

As you may know (unless someone who doesn’t know me is reading this site, which I do not assume), I recently had a baby. In fact, I am typing this one-handed while she rests on my other arm. What, you wonder, does this have to do with the best comedy in TV history?

AD has played a minor but significant role throughout my baby experience. Early on, everything made me feel nauseous, and nearly everything I ate, did, or watched carried the taint of queasiness even after I felt better. Even now, every time the subject of McDonalds cheeseburgers comes up in conversation, I kind of gag a little.

Except for AD. I watched it a lot during this time because it made me laugh and feel semi-human, and never once made me want to puke. The gift of not wanting to puke is almost the greatest gift anyone can give a first-trimester mom.

AD was also there for us at the hospital. We brought Season 2 with us to watch during our stint in the maternity ward — we didn’t actually watch it, but it was nice to know it was there if we needed it. And watching AD was almost the first thing we did when we got her home — hope she wasn’t too traumatized. And, it’s helping us keep our grip as exhaustion and post-partum depression make overtures toward interfering with the fun of taking care of our daughter.

Maybe I’ll send a birth announcement and note of thanks to Mitch Hurwitz, or somebody. But I probably won’t. At least not until I’ve finished the thank you notes to our actual friends and family who have yet to receive an acknowledgment of their generosity.

I do, however, fully intend to thank the AD people in the acknowledgments in my dissertation, should that project ever come to completion. At least nobody in their right mind could ever refer to the U of C as a “new age feel-goodery.”