I've gotten through the GOB episode so far, and I feel pretty mediocre about it all. Honestly I think they jumped the shark back in season 3 when Charlize Theron played a retarded person who Michael dated, and have been out of fresh ideas ever since.
Season four seems to be no exception, not resurrected from inspiration, but from the popular demand of fans who just wouldn't let it die. I don't know why the show has such rabid followers, it was never that far beyond other shows in terms of comedic value or anything. I think it does, however, have this sort of hipster vibe to it. People who like Arrested Development are proud about it perhaps because they think it is more intelligent than the other shows put out by a network like Fox, and thus would not appeal to the stupid mainstream. People love to feel special.
This season relies on crutches more than any other so far. The number of cameos is staggering. I think they have fallen back on cameos as a way to distract from the worn-out inside jokes and the cheesy puns they are relying on now. I mean, these inside jokes are 5+ years old now, people. Time to build something new... but then again, that would mean a totally different show..
Also I see more of a reliance on shock humor, which is disappointing. The latest episode I watched had GOB outrageously posing as Jesus in a church for a magic trick and obliviously blaspheming away as the congregation watched in horror. Not that I'm offended--it was kind of funny, but it was also kind of unoriginal and lacking in wit. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is the go-to show for that kind of humor, and they do it far better.
Then again, GOB is still tied with Tobias as the funniest part about the show. It's not as if I haven't been able to watch these episodes. It's still kind of fun I suppose. Maybe its biggest strength is the elaborate way the plot begins to interconnect as the episodes go on. An character's seemingly meaningless action or event might go unexplained for one or several episodes, later on to be revealed as an integral event in the plot of another character.
Overall, though, it does feel painfully like one of those times no one realizes the good old past is gone.. or, they do realize it, and they think that if they just try really hard maybe it won't be. Sometimes you gotta let go and move on.