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Burning Love (Arrested Development episode)
Encyclopedia
"Burning Love" is the 31st episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.
bonfire which he and Ann are planning to host at the model home. Michael suggests Christmas music, but George Michael clarifies that the event is not a "Christian music" bonfire but rather a Christian "music bonfire", in which music considered to be satanic is to be immolated. He decides to take the day off to buy music to burn and Michael offers to cover for him at the Banana Stand. Lucille asks Michael to bid on her at a charity auction, because she can't have a replay of the previous year, when Buster accidentally bid on Lucille Two instead of her. Michael refuses. Lindsay asks Lucille if she can borrow a fur for her date with the actor Moses Taylor. Tobias announces that he is no longer a standby understudy for the Blue Man Group
, showing Michael a cease and desist order he received because of an ad he took out in a trade magazine promoting his own "Blue Man" show. A television news anchor states that a wolf has been spotted in the park. A wolf call sounds from upstairs, and Michael goes to check on George Sr. He requests a hot tub, suggesting that it could be his water supply as well as a place to cook boil-in-the-bag meals. Michael refuses, citing the family's tight budget.
At the Banana Stand, Michael is ordering an air-conditioner when he sees Sally Sitwell, a girl that he had always been interested in but was awkward around because of his father's competition with her father Stan. G.O.B. interrupts their awkward exchange and later reveals that he is still with Lucille Two, even though he says it was a "one time thing". Michael asks Lucille for her country club membership because he wants to run into Sally. Lucille agrees, on the condition that Michael bid on her at the charity auction.
Michael goes to the country club for his "accidental" encounter with Sally, but he has forgotten about the club's dress code. Eventually the club lends him a ridiculously oversized jacket and he is allowed in. When he runs into Sally and her father, they invite him to lunch. Michael notices G.O.B. dining with Lucille Two, and Stan invites them to join as well. At lunch, both Michael and G.O.B. pretend to not be interested in the women that they're interested in. Michael tries to pick up the check, but his card is declined due to increased activity. It is revealed that George Sr. used the card to buy a hot tub and a case of bag-and-boil dinners. Michael confronts George Sr. about his spending. George Sr. tells Michael not to go after Sally because he doesn't want Stan Sitwell saying that his daughter is sticking it to George Sr.'s son. Now that his father disapproves, Michael decides that he will go after Sally. Michael strikes up a deal with G.O.B.; if Michael doesn't tell anyone about G.O.B. and Lucille Two, G.O.B. will siphon gas from Sally's car so that Michael can rescue her in the Corvette.
Tobias, having seen a sign offering a bounty on the wolf that has been sighted, purchases a tranquilizer gun in order to capture the wolf, claim the prize money, and bid on his wife at the charity auction. Lindsay, dressed in a fur coat, is meeting Moses Taylor for their date in the park. While he has steppd away, she breaks her heel, falls to the ground, and howls. Tobias fires the tranquilizer gun at her. Moses returns to find Lindsay knocked out, and leaves her on a bench. It is revealed that he is trying to distance himself from the "Moses Taylor hunts people" scandal started by "a rabid anti-gun fanatic". Michael arrives to help Sally with her car trouble to find that it is on fire. He tries to put the fire out, but is rescued by the fire department before Sally sees his heroics. She arrives in time to find him in a fireman's arms wrapped in a blanket. At the hospital, Michael tries to ask Sally out on a date, but is cut off by a coughing fit. Before it finishes, Sally announces that she has to leave to attend the charity auction. Michael decides that he's going to bid on Sally.
At the Christian music bonfire, Ann is upset because Maeby told people that it was a CD burning party, and they have arrived to copy CDs. At the charity auction, Lindsay is still feeling the effects of the tranquilizer and no one is bidding on her. The amount is down to $10 when Tobias asks Michael for some money to bid on his wife. Michael says that he has $5,000 dollars that he needs to bid on Sally, but that Tobias can make a low bid. Tobias promptly bids $5,000. George Michael makes Ann listen to the Jerky Boys
, and after prank calling Michael they share their first kiss. Michael agrees to give Stan Sitwell the Corvette if Stan will give him the money that he needs to bid on Sally. When Sally learns of the deal, she tells Michael that he can have the car back because she's sick of her father interfering with the men that she dates, and that she does not want to be with someone her father approves of. When G.O.B. learns that Stan Sitwell is bidding on Lucille Two, he spends all the money that his mother gave to him to bid on her.
Plot
George Michael asks his father if they have any music he can use for the Christian musicChristian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
bonfire which he and Ann are planning to host at the model home. Michael suggests Christmas music, but George Michael clarifies that the event is not a "Christian music" bonfire but rather a Christian "music bonfire", in which music considered to be satanic is to be immolated. He decides to take the day off to buy music to burn and Michael offers to cover for him at the Banana Stand. Lucille asks Michael to bid on her at a charity auction, because she can't have a replay of the previous year, when Buster accidentally bid on Lucille Two instead of her. Michael refuses. Lindsay asks Lucille if she can borrow a fur for her date with the actor Moses Taylor. Tobias announces that he is no longer a standby understudy for the Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
, showing Michael a cease and desist order he received because of an ad he took out in a trade magazine promoting his own "Blue Man" show. A television news anchor states that a wolf has been spotted in the park. A wolf call sounds from upstairs, and Michael goes to check on George Sr. He requests a hot tub, suggesting that it could be his water supply as well as a place to cook boil-in-the-bag meals. Michael refuses, citing the family's tight budget.
At the Banana Stand, Michael is ordering an air-conditioner when he sees Sally Sitwell, a girl that he had always been interested in but was awkward around because of his father's competition with her father Stan. G.O.B. interrupts their awkward exchange and later reveals that he is still with Lucille Two, even though he says it was a "one time thing". Michael asks Lucille for her country club membership because he wants to run into Sally. Lucille agrees, on the condition that Michael bid on her at the charity auction.
Michael goes to the country club for his "accidental" encounter with Sally, but he has forgotten about the club's dress code. Eventually the club lends him a ridiculously oversized jacket and he is allowed in. When he runs into Sally and her father, they invite him to lunch. Michael notices G.O.B. dining with Lucille Two, and Stan invites them to join as well. At lunch, both Michael and G.O.B. pretend to not be interested in the women that they're interested in. Michael tries to pick up the check, but his card is declined due to increased activity. It is revealed that George Sr. used the card to buy a hot tub and a case of bag-and-boil dinners. Michael confronts George Sr. about his spending. George Sr. tells Michael not to go after Sally because he doesn't want Stan Sitwell saying that his daughter is sticking it to George Sr.'s son. Now that his father disapproves, Michael decides that he will go after Sally. Michael strikes up a deal with G.O.B.; if Michael doesn't tell anyone about G.O.B. and Lucille Two, G.O.B. will siphon gas from Sally's car so that Michael can rescue her in the Corvette.
Tobias, having seen a sign offering a bounty on the wolf that has been sighted, purchases a tranquilizer gun in order to capture the wolf, claim the prize money, and bid on his wife at the charity auction. Lindsay, dressed in a fur coat, is meeting Moses Taylor for their date in the park. While he has steppd away, she breaks her heel, falls to the ground, and howls. Tobias fires the tranquilizer gun at her. Moses returns to find Lindsay knocked out, and leaves her on a bench. It is revealed that he is trying to distance himself from the "Moses Taylor hunts people" scandal started by "a rabid anti-gun fanatic". Michael arrives to help Sally with her car trouble to find that it is on fire. He tries to put the fire out, but is rescued by the fire department before Sally sees his heroics. She arrives in time to find him in a fireman's arms wrapped in a blanket. At the hospital, Michael tries to ask Sally out on a date, but is cut off by a coughing fit. Before it finishes, Sally announces that she has to leave to attend the charity auction. Michael decides that he's going to bid on Sally.
At the Christian music bonfire, Ann is upset because Maeby told people that it was a CD burning party, and they have arrived to copy CDs. At the charity auction, Lindsay is still feeling the effects of the tranquilizer and no one is bidding on her. The amount is down to $10 when Tobias asks Michael for some money to bid on his wife. Michael says that he has $5,000 dollars that he needs to bid on Sally, but that Tobias can make a low bid. Tobias promptly bids $5,000. George Michael makes Ann listen to the Jerky Boys
Jerky Boys
The Jerky Boys are an American comedy duo from Queens, New York, whose routine consists of prank telephone calls and other related skits. Formed in 1989, The Jerky Boys were made up of childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed...
, and after prank calling Michael they share their first kiss. Michael agrees to give Stan Sitwell the Corvette if Stan will give him the money that he needs to bid on Sally. When Sally learns of the deal, she tells Michael that he can have the car back because she's sick of her father interfering with the men that she dates, and that she does not want to be with someone her father approves of. When G.O.B. learns that Stan Sitwell is bidding on Lucille Two, he spends all the money that his mother gave to him to bid on her.
Callbacks/running jokes
- Club Sauce is first mentioned in this episode as G.O.B. reads the menu to Lucille 2. It is later used by G.O.B. again while doing card story tricks in "The Ocean Walker" and "Exit Strategy".
- Magic
- G.O.B. unsuccessfully performs his fireball trick, spraying Sally Sitwell with lighter fluid.
- G.O.B. accidentally triggers the fireball trick while talking to Michael about siphoning gas from Sally's car so that he can "rescue" her.
- Bleep - While talking about Stan Sitwell, G.O.B. says, "...and I hate the guy, but at least he's got [bleep], satiny and smooth probably."
- Chicken dance - When G.O.B. is telling Michael that he didn't go after Sally because he was scared, G.O.B. does a half-hearted chicken dance while still on his Segway. Michael asks if he's going to get off and do his dance, and G.O.B says that he hurt his ankle "shooting hoops or something" (although he actually hurt himself while performing the chicken dance for Buster).
- Hands Off Our Guns (H.O.O.G.) is similar to Lindsey's Hands Off Our Penises (H.O.O.P.).
- Come on
- When G.O.B. and Michael are at lunch at the country club, G.O.B. calls Sally "Michael's girl", and Michael responds, "Come on. I don't have a girl".
- When G.O.B. asks Michael if he's going to tell anyone about him and Lucille 2, Michael says, "Come on. I'm not one to judge."
- Funke sexuality issues - Lindsay says, "I'm going to see if I can get a wrench to strip my nuts. I, uh, tried to be sexy. It just... got away from me."
- Tobias is gay
- To Michael: "I need to prove to [Lindsay] that I'm not just a man, but a man's man."
- Sitwell's hair - In a flashback, Stan takes a Mustang convertible for a test drive, and upon his return he's lost all his hair except for a misplaced eyebrow on his forehead.
- Mirroring "Charity DriveCharity Drive"Charity Drive" is the fifth episode aired, though the sixth episode in DVD continuity, of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
", Lindsey is in no condition to be bid on and a Bluth son spends the money that his mother gave him to bid on Lucille 2. She then responds "how grand!" - Wolf howl - George Sr. howls like a wolf, which he does again in "Ready, Aim, Marry MeReady, Aim, Marry Me"Ready, Aim, Marry Me" is the thirty-second episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth arrives home to find his mother Lucille in a state of agitation. She's concerned that Lucille Austero is making a power play by buying up shares of Bluth Co...
" and "Spring BreakoutSpring Breakout"Spring Breakout" is the thirty-ninth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:The company has a meeting with landowner Cal Cullen, who comments that the Bluths "did not come off well on last night's Scandalmakers." Michael says that they...
".
Hidden/background jokes
- Frank Wrench is a homage to the 1980s comedy Sledge Hammer!Sledge Hammer!Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character,...
. - Moses Taylor, the fictional actor who plays Frank Wrench, got his name from Charlton Heston's famous roles in The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments (1956 film)The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
and Planet of the ApesPlanet of the Apes (1968 film)Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
. Taylor supports the National Rifle AssociationNational Rifle AssociationThe National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, and is shown in this episode at a pro-gun rally. - At the beginning of the episode, the camera is focused on a Sudden Valley sign that reads "Thank you for visiting Residence Two". When the camera pans to Michael at a table in the courtyard, a Sudden Valley sign nearby reads "This courtyard is an included feature and varies per building elevation"
- At the country club, G.O.B. reads Lucille 2 the appetizers in a deep voice. Will ArnettWill ArnettWilliam Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
, the actor who plays G.O.B., used to do voiceover work for commercials. - Steve Holt delivers George Sr. his bag-and-boil dinners.
- Blue paint - there are blue hand prints in the house.
- Barry Zuckerkorn's Spanish bench sign appears in this episode on the bench that Moses Taylor leaves Lindsey on.
- Lucille 2 (played by Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
) chastizes G.O.B. for having "no courage" after his embarrassment to be seen with her. This parallels lines uttered by her real-life mother, Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, who helped the Cowardly Lion in the film The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
.
Cameos
- Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
appears as Stan Sitwell - Rob CorddryRob CorddryRobert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
makes his first appearance as Moses Taylor. - John Beard appears as himself
- Christine TaylorChristine TaylorChristine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...
makes her first appearance as Sally Sitwell - Spencer RedfordSpencer RedfordSpencer Redford is an American actress best known for her role as Loretta Modern in the Disney Channel Original Movie Pixel Perfect.-Early life and career:...
as the young Sally Sitwell - Justin Grant Wade as Steve Holt appears briefly as the delivery boy for George Sr.'s bag-and-boil dinners, and again at the Veals' music burning party.
- Brian BaumgartnerBrian BaumgartnerBrian Baumgartner is an Emmy Award-winning American film and television actor, best known for playing Kevin Malone on The Office.-Personal life:...
as the gun salesman who tells Tobias of the "gunshow loophole". - Jack McBrayerJack McBrayerJack McBrayer is an American actor and comedian. He gained national exposure for his characters on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"...
as the country club waiter.
Foreshadowing/future references
- Tobias declares, "I'm going hunting for my wife." His intention is to shoot the rumored wolf to win her over, but he ends up shooting her.