After completing the first three installments of Notes from the Internet Apocalypse, I decided to take a week off and do what I do best: daydream about how much I love Arrested Development. And although quantifying subjective artistic achievements is pointless, I think I'm ready to call Arrested Development the greatest sitcom of all time. Better than all my other favorites like Seinfeld, Fawlty Towers, The Odd Couple, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Simpsons, and Soap.

Yes, Soap. For the uninitiated, Soap ran from 1977 to 1981 and told the story of two sisters and their respective Connecticut families: the Tates, a wealthy clan, headed by a corrupt, womanizing patriarch, and the Campbells, an incredibly eccentric blue collar family composed of children from Burt and Mary Campbell's prior marriages. Soap has long been credited for shattering sitcom taboos and being wildly ahead of its time, but what it has not been credited for is providing the inspiration and a template for so many things that were later done on Arrested Development.

Does that mean Arrested Development was a remake of Soap? No, of course not. That's going way too far. What gave you that idea? Oh, the title. Yeah, well "14 Similarities Between Arrested Development And A Show You Never Heard Of" just wasn't catchy enough. But I have to believe Soap played a major influence. Do I have any proof? Not directly, no. Have I researched the issue to see if any or the creative forces of the show from creator Mitchell Hurwitz to directors like Joe Russo have cited Soap as an influence? No. Why? Because that's hard work, and I write lists for the internet. But I hope to convince you just by the sheer volume of overlaps and similarities. And if I fail, well at least we got to spend this time together talking about Arrested Development.