Making a Stand
Encyclopedia
"Making a Stand" is the forty-eighth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Michael's meeting with Lindsay sparks the recollection of George Sr.'s ongoing scheme of goading Michael and Gob into fighting each other, which George Sr. believed would make his sons tougher. In their youth, George Sr. had videotaped these encounters and sold the tapes under the series name Boyfights, which were accompanied by short films centered on Buster. Lindsay is in the midst of trying to attract her divorce attorney, Bob Loblaw, but he is still proving reticent.
Upon visiting Lucille in her apartment, Michael finds that she has enlisted painters to give the interior a new paint job. Lucille informs Michael that she will have to recuperate from her upcoming cosmetic surgery in the model home, while George Sr. remains at the apartment under house arrest. Michael finds out that Gob's Colombian plan had been instigated by their father, and feels that his father is still trying to create tension between Michael and his brother.
George Sr. had arranged a job for Buster at an Iraqi toy shop, but upon finding out that the toy shop owner wanted to employ him to use his lack of a hand to scare off shoplifters, Buster had quit. Meanwhile, Maeby is at a test screening of the studio's new horror movie, and upon seeing that the audience find the bloodsucker laughable, her colleague Mort Meyers tells her that she has a week to fix the problem.
Michael meets up with Gob to try to create a new start for them working together away from their father's influence, and suggests that Gob opens a banana stand of his own, which meets with a very happy reaction. Soon after, George Michael calls Michael to inform him that Gob, along with Steve Holt, has set up his new banana stand a short distance from the original banana stand, and is going about winning business in an aggressive fashion.
Over at the attorney's office, Bob Loblaw introduces a young inexperienced attorney to Lindsay to act as her new representative, and as they enter a meeting room to find Tobias, Lindsay finds out that Loblaw has defected over to the side of Tobias, and is now acting as his attorney. Buster brings a post-op Lucille, who is covered in bandages, and unable to speak properly, to the model home. He tells Michael about his encounter at the prosthetics shop with the amputee J. Walter Weatherman, who George Sr. had used in order to teach the Bluth children lessons many times in the past.
Upon hearing from his father that Gob's banana stand had been making a lot of money, Michael, with a banana-suited George Michael in tow, sets off for the boardwalk, the site of the stands. Later on, in the middle of the night, as Maeby is surprised by the red, blistered, and bruised, face of a post-facelift Lucille, she screams and realises that she has found the face of the monster to save her horror movie.
At the banana stands, Michael and Gob are embroiled in competition using increasingly desperate tactics, including scantily clad women, fire balls, and George Michael propelled by a jetpack. As events disintegrate into yet another fight between Michael and Gob, Michael finds out that George Sr. was behind the banana stand idea as a way of laundering money for the Colombian deal, and formulates a plan for the two brothers to get their own back on their father.
As Gob and Michael discuss their plan, which uses J. Walter Weatherman, they find out that Buster disapproves of their use of a one-armed man, but all are distracted by the shock of spying Lucille's post-op face. Michael and Gob go to tell their father that they had put a stop to the Colombian deal and warn him that the Colombians may have reason for revenge. Michael asks the Guatemalan painters working in the apartment to help out with the plan by posing as kidnappers while Gob tells his father that Michael is planning to fake a kidnapping to scare him.
At the arbitration between Tobias and Lindsay, Bob Loblaw is using his knowledge of Lindsay's flirtation with him as evidence in trying to win the case for a very grateful Tobias. Maeby's scary photograph of Lucille is met with approval from Mort Meyers.
George Sr. calmly waits for the fake kidnapping, but after the kidnappers arrive, is felled into a metal trunk by one of his disgruntled disguised employees. While he is trapped in there, Michael and Gob set about re-building Gob's banana stand, to stand in as a South American hut, inside the apartment. Once George Sr. is released from the trunk inside the fake hut, he is greeted by Gob, Michael and the painters, disguised in balaclavas, who then attempt to threaten and frighten him. Just as Michael is about to reveal his identity, George Sr. grabs a gun and starts shooting. Just after a man's arm flies off, Michael realises that the man must be J. Walter Weatherman, and that his father has turned the tables in a plan of his own.
As Gob and Michael start to fight, ostensibly because Gob had spoiled Michael's plan, they roll out of the hut and Michael appears to have fallen over the balcony. After George Sr. panics, Michael reappears, unhurt, having directed his own lesson towards his father. Meanwhile Buster has picked up a gun, and he is targeted by policemen wielding guns themselves. The policemen shoot when Buster does not drop the weapon as ordered and his hand flies off, spurting blood, causing Gob, Michael and George Sr. to panic. Michael quickly realises that it was Buster's fake hand that was shot off. Buster had a lesson of his own to teach: that they should not use a one-armed man to scare someone.
Jesse Heiman ("the world's greatest extra") is at the movie screening.
Synopsis
At a meeting at the Bluth Company, Michael tries to follow his father's wish that Gob be included in the business. Gob tries to introduce his new business idea accompanied by his usual magic trick fanfare, but his idea for selling the Bluth Company blueprints to "our Mexican friends down in Columbia" is shot down by Michael for not making financial sense, and for being illegal.Michael's meeting with Lindsay sparks the recollection of George Sr.'s ongoing scheme of goading Michael and Gob into fighting each other, which George Sr. believed would make his sons tougher. In their youth, George Sr. had videotaped these encounters and sold the tapes under the series name Boyfights, which were accompanied by short films centered on Buster. Lindsay is in the midst of trying to attract her divorce attorney, Bob Loblaw, but he is still proving reticent.
Upon visiting Lucille in her apartment, Michael finds that she has enlisted painters to give the interior a new paint job. Lucille informs Michael that she will have to recuperate from her upcoming cosmetic surgery in the model home, while George Sr. remains at the apartment under house arrest. Michael finds out that Gob's Colombian plan had been instigated by their father, and feels that his father is still trying to create tension between Michael and his brother.
George Sr. had arranged a job for Buster at an Iraqi toy shop, but upon finding out that the toy shop owner wanted to employ him to use his lack of a hand to scare off shoplifters, Buster had quit. Meanwhile, Maeby is at a test screening of the studio's new horror movie, and upon seeing that the audience find the bloodsucker laughable, her colleague Mort Meyers tells her that she has a week to fix the problem.
Michael meets up with Gob to try to create a new start for them working together away from their father's influence, and suggests that Gob opens a banana stand of his own, which meets with a very happy reaction. Soon after, George Michael calls Michael to inform him that Gob, along with Steve Holt, has set up his new banana stand a short distance from the original banana stand, and is going about winning business in an aggressive fashion.
Over at the attorney's office, Bob Loblaw introduces a young inexperienced attorney to Lindsay to act as her new representative, and as they enter a meeting room to find Tobias, Lindsay finds out that Loblaw has defected over to the side of Tobias, and is now acting as his attorney. Buster brings a post-op Lucille, who is covered in bandages, and unable to speak properly, to the model home. He tells Michael about his encounter at the prosthetics shop with the amputee J. Walter Weatherman, who George Sr. had used in order to teach the Bluth children lessons many times in the past.
Upon hearing from his father that Gob's banana stand had been making a lot of money, Michael, with a banana-suited George Michael in tow, sets off for the boardwalk, the site of the stands. Later on, in the middle of the night, as Maeby is surprised by the red, blistered, and bruised, face of a post-facelift Lucille, she screams and realises that she has found the face of the monster to save her horror movie.
At the banana stands, Michael and Gob are embroiled in competition using increasingly desperate tactics, including scantily clad women, fire balls, and George Michael propelled by a jetpack. As events disintegrate into yet another fight between Michael and Gob, Michael finds out that George Sr. was behind the banana stand idea as a way of laundering money for the Colombian deal, and formulates a plan for the two brothers to get their own back on their father.
As Gob and Michael discuss their plan, which uses J. Walter Weatherman, they find out that Buster disapproves of their use of a one-armed man, but all are distracted by the shock of spying Lucille's post-op face. Michael and Gob go to tell their father that they had put a stop to the Colombian deal and warn him that the Colombians may have reason for revenge. Michael asks the Guatemalan painters working in the apartment to help out with the plan by posing as kidnappers while Gob tells his father that Michael is planning to fake a kidnapping to scare him.
At the arbitration between Tobias and Lindsay, Bob Loblaw is using his knowledge of Lindsay's flirtation with him as evidence in trying to win the case for a very grateful Tobias. Maeby's scary photograph of Lucille is met with approval from Mort Meyers.
George Sr. calmly waits for the fake kidnapping, but after the kidnappers arrive, is felled into a metal trunk by one of his disgruntled disguised employees. While he is trapped in there, Michael and Gob set about re-building Gob's banana stand, to stand in as a South American hut, inside the apartment. Once George Sr. is released from the trunk inside the fake hut, he is greeted by Gob, Michael and the painters, disguised in balaclavas, who then attempt to threaten and frighten him. Just as Michael is about to reveal his identity, George Sr. grabs a gun and starts shooting. Just after a man's arm flies off, Michael realises that the man must be J. Walter Weatherman, and that his father has turned the tables in a plan of his own.
As Gob and Michael start to fight, ostensibly because Gob had spoiled Michael's plan, they roll out of the hut and Michael appears to have fallen over the balcony. After George Sr. panics, Michael reappears, unhurt, having directed his own lesson towards his father. Meanwhile Buster has picked up a gun, and he is targeted by policemen wielding guns themselves. The policemen shoot when Buster does not drop the weapon as ordered and his hand flies off, spurting blood, causing Gob, Michael and George Sr. to panic. Michael quickly realises that it was Buster's fake hand that was shot off. Buster had a lesson of his own to teach: that they should not use a one-armed man to scare someone.
Episode notes
- This episode was originally titled "Lesson".
- The title puns on the literal making of the Banana Stand, along with the stand that Gob and Michael take against their father. "We're making a stand" is also a lyric in the mock Beatles song "Yellow Boat," which plays during the second photo montage in the episode.
- "Yellow Boat" is also the credits music for this particular episode.
- The episode parallels the first season's "Pier Pressure", with J. Walter Weatherman's involvement in teaching lessons in a violent way, and the continual twist around of advantages in the teaching of those lessons.
- "Making a Stand" is show creator Mitchell HurwitzMitchell HurwitzMitchell D. Hurwitz is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom Arrested Development as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show and The Golden Girls.-Birth and early life:Hurwitz was born...
's joint-favorite episode, the other being companion piece "Pier Pressure". - Although this episode's production code suggests it is the seventh episode of the season, it should in fact be the eighth one (which it was aired as), as there is no mention of Rita after Michael broke up with her in the sixth episode, and Tobias has hair plugs removed in this episode, but still has them in during "Prison Break-InPrison Break-In"Prison Break-In" is the forty-seventh episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth pays an unexpected visit to his mother. Lucille figures he wants something, since he has been ignoring the family in favor of Rita...
". - This episode made the Parents Television CouncilParents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
's Worst Primetime TV Show of the Week list for the first week of 2006 due to its "graphic violence and dysfunction." - Will Arnett can be heard as the voice over in the trailer for Gangee.
- It should be noted that the hand Buster used to pick the gun up with and got shot off in this episode was a prosthetic hand.
Cultural references
- BumfightsBumfightsBumfights is a film series produced by Indecline Films. The videos feature teenagers, homeless men in the San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas metropolitan areas fighting and attempting amateur stunts in exchange for money, alcohol, and other incentives...
George Sr.'s Boyfights series of videos bears resemblances to the documentary series, both in the name and in the nature of capturing footage of unwilling subjects. - Curb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
Rolando asks Michael if the improvisation will be "unscripted like Curb". Jeff GarlinJeff GarlinJeffrey "Jeff" Garlin is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, voice artist, director, writer and author, best known for his role as Jeff Greene on the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm...
and Bob EinsteinBob EinsteinStewart Robert "Bob" Einstein is an American actor and comedy writer best known for his portrayal of the fictional stuntman Super Dave Osborne.-Life and career:...
, who appear as recurring characters Mort Meyers and Larry Mittleman, respectively, are also regulars on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Eblin, one of the painters, was also in Curb Your Enthusiasm and played "Jesus" in the episode, "The Christ Nail." - F.A.O. SchwarzF.A.O. SchwarzFAO Schwarz is the name of an upscale toy retailer in New York City, located in the General Motors Building on 5th Avenue. It is the oldest operating toy retailer in North America, and is often considered as the New York equivalent of Hamleys in London....
The Iraqi toy shop, F.A.O. al-Jibaaly Muhammed a-Abat, is a play on the name of the famous New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
toy shop. - ALFALF (TV series)ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
Maeby's movie monster is said to look like ALF by her co-worker Mort Meyers, and someone in the movie says "this must be the creature that ate our cat", referring to ALF's preference for felines. - The GroundlingsThe GroundlingsThe Groundlings are an improvisational comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin to produce sketches and improvised scenes...
Rolando, one of the Guatemalan painters, had taken classes at the famed improvisation theatre group, as had Tobias, as disclosed in "Mr. FMr. F"Mr. F" is the forty-fifth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth sneaks out of work to see a British film, "Love Indubitably," with Rita, his English girlfriend. Afterwards, they come upon a toy store, and Rita tells Michael he should buy a train set for...
". - Industrial Light and MagicIndustrial Light and MagicIndustrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
Mort Meyers believes that Maeby's photograph of Lucille had been worked on by the film visual effects company. - Land of the DeadLand of the DeadFor the disambiguation page on anything else on this topic, come here to Land of the Dead .Land of the Dead is a 2005 horror film written and directed by George A...
Mort Meyers mistakes the name of Lucille's plastic surgeon for a prosthetics artist on George A. RomeroGeorge A. RomeroGeorge Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's zombie movie. - ShariaShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
The Iraqi toy shop owner employs Buster to scare off shoplifters refers to the Islamic Sharia religious law that may impose the amputation of a hand as a (relatively rare) punishment for theft. - VolkswagenVolkswagenVolkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
The scene where Buster dances in the stair car is a reference to an ad for the Volkswagen GolfVolkswagen GolfThe Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...
Tony Hale was in, in which he dances to StyxStyx (band)Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
's "Mr. RobotoMr. Roboto"Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by the band Styx on their 1983 concept album Kilroy Was Here. In Canada, where they were always more popular than in their native U.S., it went to #1 on the RPM national singles chart, becoming their third single to top the charts in...
" inside a Golf. - "Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine (song)"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with "Eleanor Rigby". The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks...
" — The narrator tells us that the first photo montage would have been funnier accompanied by the song by The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, but they were unable to get the rights to it, "because who can afford it?". "Yellow Boat", which plays during the second photo montage and final credits, parodies "Yellow Submarine". (Its chorus is: "We're floating along / In a yellow boat, a yellow boat, / We're making a stand / In a yellow boat, a yellow boat, a yellow boat".)
Callbacks/running jokes
- "And that's why...you don't..." The admonition starts the crowning phrase uttered by the victor at the end of each lesson taught, in the same fashion as the lessons featured in "Pier Pressure". Like the previous episode the final lesson is hypocritical. Buster's final lesson is "And that's why you don't use a one armed person to scare someone," even though that was the exact method he used to teach that lesson.
- Banana Suit Michael retrieves the banana suit that Gob wore in "Afternoon DelightAfternoon Delight (Arrested Development episode)"Afternoon Delight" is the 28th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth finds the frozen banana stand vandalized by teenagers, a local holiday tradition, and heads home to find his son, George Michael, to engage in their tradition of rebuilding the stand...
" for George Michael to wear. - Barbara and Dee The two scantily-clad women promoting Gob and Steve Holt's banana stand have the same names as two of Michael's dates in "Forget-Me-NowForget-Me-Now"Forget-Me-Now" is the 43rd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael, G.O.B., Lindsay and Tobias are meeting with the family's new attorney, Bob Loblaw, at the model home regarding the family's legal situation...
". - "Cheat out" George Sr.'s instruction to his fighting sons to move subtly for the benefit of the camera as he films them was also used by Bluth Company employee Gary in "The Immaculate ElectionThe Immaculate Election"The Immaculate Election" is the thirty-sixth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael is surprised to find the house still a mess a week after the fumigation, which Michael had Lindsay call and arrange, long before Michael had begun hiding his fugitive father in the...
" as he filmed Gob's Office Magic routine. - Dove Gob's troubled habit of keeping a dove in his pants or his pocket (for his magic tricks), as first seen in "Top BananaTop Banana (Arrested Development episode)"Top Banana" is the second episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. The story takes place a week before the banana stand is burned down. George Sr. attempts to control the Bluth company from prison using his cellmate T-Bone.-Plot:...
", continues in this episode. - Fight In a scene shown from the Boyfights video series, Young Gob is shown trying to wrestle Young Michael down from a tree in exactly the same fashion as the adult-aged characters do in "Beef ConsomméBeef Consommé"Beef Consommé" is the thirteenth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth, Lucille, George Sr., and their attorney, Barry Zuckerkorn meet at the prison to discuss George Sr.'s arraignment the next day. Barry tells them they should all show up and appear loving and...
". - "The Final CountdownThe Final Countdown (song)"The Final Countdown" is a rock song by the Swedish band Europe released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was the first single from the band's third studio album which was also named The Final Countdown. It is considered by some to be the band's most recognizable and popular song. The song...
" Gob is still using the EuropeEurope (band)Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
track as the theme for his magic tricks, as first seen in "Storming the CastleStorming The Castle"Storming the Castle" is the ninth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:While doing some business work at home, the chair Michael Bluth is sitting in collapses. Michael decides he'll get one from work, which George Michael questions...
". - Franklin "It Ain't Easy Being White", the theme for Gob's puppet Franklin, is mistakenly heard on the CD player in the boardroom and later during the kidnapping.
- IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
George Sr.'s contacts had helped him get Buster a job at an Iraqi-owned toy shop: yet another clue to George Sr.'s Iraqi connections. - Jet pack George Michael is briefly seen in the first stills montage using the jet pack, as first seen in "Mr. FMr. F"Mr. F" is the forty-fifth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth sneaks out of work to see a British film, "Love Indubitably," with Rita, his English girlfriend. Afterwards, they come upon a toy store, and Rita tells Michael he should buy a train set for...
". - Mexican/Colombian Gob is still confused about the distinction between Mexicans and Colombians. His reference to "Mexican friends from Colombia" in this episode calls back to his confusion over Marta's nationality in "Bringing Up BusterBringing Up Buster"Bringing Up Buster" is the third episode of the American television series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael is making cornballs for breakfast in preparation for another tradition: the Sunday bike ride. However, George Michael is ambivalent about the plan...
". - Mispronunciation Gob's failure to articulate the word 'circumvent', as first seen in "¡Amigos!¡Amigos!"¡Amigos!" is the 25th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael tells his brother Gob of his plans to take George Michael to Legoland for the weekend. Gob says he plans to hang out with some of his friends, though Michael doubts that he has any...
", reappears, as this time he pronounces it "cirsumvent". - Music During the first still montage, various pieces of original music cues, as used in many preceding episodes, can be heard, including the Hot Cops theme, "Big Yellow Joint", and Freedom (Free at Last).
- The O.C.The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
Michael says "don't call it that" when Gob uses the term 'the O.C.' in talking about Orange County, referencing their FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
colleagueThe O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
which uses the term despite it not being widely used as a name for Orange County. Bob Loblaw also uses the same reprimand when Tobias uses the phrase later in the episode. Michael has previously rebutted "the O.C." with "don't call it that," in "For British Eyes OnlyFor British Eyes Only"For British Eyes Only" is the 42nd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth and George Michael Bluth are having a last chance camp-out in the cabin before it is due to be moved. While they are sleeping, a returning George Sr. drives the cabin away for use...
" to George Sr, and would later say it in "S.O.B.sS.O.B.s"S.O.B.s" is the forty-ninth episode of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. The episode aired less than a month after Variety announced that the episode order for season 3 had been cut from 22 to 13...
" to Tobias. - Pennies illusion Gob's continual attempts at the temperamental showering of pennies from his sleeves trick, as previously seen in "The One Where Michael LeavesThe One Where Michael Leaves"The One Where Michael Leaves" is the twenty-third episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development, and the premiere episode of the second season.-Synopsis:...
", "The One Where They Build a HouseThe One Where They Build a House"The One Where They Build a House" is the twenty-fourth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael plans to save the Bluth Company by beginning construction on a new model home and holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Gob, now president-in-name-only of the company, promises...
" and "For British Eyes OnlyFor British Eyes Only"For British Eyes Only" is the 42nd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth and George Michael Bluth are having a last chance camp-out in the cabin before it is due to be moved. While they are sleeping, a returning George Sr. drives the cabin away for use...
", make more appearances in this episode.- Gob uses the term "shot my wad" to describe the penny trick going off early. Tobias used the term "prematurely shot my wad" 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...
". - Gob exclaims "bonus!" when one of the pennies shoots out and cracks the lens in the glasses of an employee. This is the same employee, Tom, who Gob disliked and repeatedly fired in "Afternoon Delight".
- Gob uses the term "shot my wad" to describe the penny trick going off early. Tobias used the term "prematurely shot my wad" in "Ready, Aim, Marry Me
- Tobias is gay More jokes are made in this episode about Tobias' questionable sexuality.
- Tobias refers to Bob Loblaw as the "best-looking lawyer".
- As an expression of gratitude, Tobias offers to accompany Bob Loblaw to a shvitz, the Yiddish term for a steam bath.
- After hearing about Bob Loblaw's law blog, he tells him that "You, sir, are a mouthful!" (The narrator segues by saying, "While Tobias was trying to get his mouth around Bob Loblaw...")
- Tony Wonder Gob mentions his magician rival, who was primarily seen in "Sword of DestinySword of Destiny"Sword of Destiny" is the 37th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth is stunned to discover that a contract his company was counting on is being cut back, and is on the phone trying to persuade the client to honor the original order when Lindsay marches in...
". - Uncle Jack The title for Backseat Boyfights: The Trip to Uncle Jack's 70th refers to Uncle Jack from "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...
". - "You want me to be explicit?" Tobias's misinterpretation of Bob Loblaw's query, regarding whether promises were made explicit, exactly mirrors Lindsay's reply to Loblaw's same question in "Forget-Me-NowForget-Me-Now"Forget-Me-Now" is the 43rd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael, G.O.B., Lindsay and Tobias are meeting with the family's new attorney, Bob Loblaw, at the model home regarding the family's legal situation...
". - Michael sees the truth After Gob tells Michael that George Sr. is calling all the shots for the new banana stand Michael immediately realizes his father is using Gob to launder money for the Colombian deal Michael rejected earlier in the episode.
Hidden/background jokes
- What is more pathetic... Michael asks his brothers "what is more pathetic than grown men being scared of their father?" At which point, Lucille walks in, having just had a face lift, and the Bluth brothers start screaming.
- The Bluth/Moreno Company Gob's hypothetical Colombian and Bluth collaborative venture's name is an anagram for 'Bluth No More', possibly a reference to the show's fate after the announcement that the third season's order had been cut down from 22 episodes to 13. Many more overt references would be made to the predicament in the following episode, "S.O.B.sS.O.B.s"S.O.B.s" is the forty-ninth episode of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. The episode aired less than a month after Variety announced that the episode order for season 3 had been cut from 22 to 13...
". - Cellphone Maeby wields her cellphone as if it were a cross warding off evil when she encounters Lucille's frightening face in the middle of the night.
- HammerHammerA hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
An image of a discarded hammer is included in the kidnap stills montage. The Bluth family's inability to use a hammer has been seen across many episodes, starting with Gob in "Top BananaTop Banana (Arrested Development episode)"Top Banana" is the second episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. The story takes place a week before the banana stand is burned down. George Sr. attempts to control the Bluth company from prison using his cellmate T-Bone.-Plot:...
," and including Michael and Maeby in "Afternoon DelightAfternoon Delight (Arrested Development episode)"Afternoon Delight" is the 28th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth finds the frozen banana stand vandalized by teenagers, a local holiday tradition, and heads home to find his son, George Michael, to engage in their tradition of rebuilding the stand...
". - Head shot Instead of legal notes, Tobias only has a pile of his own headshots in front of him during the mediation meeting.
- "Hemorrhaging money" Michael says that the last couple of months have seen the Bluth company doing this. And right when he says the words, "hemorrhaging money," the coins explode out of Gob's suit.
- "Overwhelmed by the Change" When Gob is interrupting the board meetings by constantly shooting coins from his suit, the Narrator says "Michael was overwhelmed by the change." This line has a double-meaning, referring to both the change of having Gob around, and the change being shot from Gob's suit.
- Stud locator The 'deactivator' that the kidnappers pretend to use on George Sr.'s ankle monitor is in fact a stud locator.
- "Yo quiero leche! Yo quiero leche de madre!" The taunt aimed by the painters at Buster, referring to the Baby Buster shorts (one titled "Too Old To Breastfeed"), translates as "I want milk! I want milk, mother!"
- The narrator refers to Maeby as "Hollywood's third youngest movie studio executive." This could be a reference to the Olsen Twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley.
- The Baby Buster shorts are; I don't want to go to bed, Too old to breastfeed, A fifth grader wets the bed and I don't want to be on this tape.
Character cameos
- This episode sees the return of amputee J. Walter Weatherman, who hadn't made an appearance since Season 1's "Pier Pressure" (he was seen in "Motherboy XXXMotherboy XXX"Motherboy XXX" is the thirty-fifth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:"Michael Bluth got up early in the hopes of avoiding his family. His mother, however, was already dressed, made up and waiting for him...
", however this was merely footage from "Pier Pressure" again). - This is Bob Loblaw's final appearance in the show.
- This is Steve Holt's final appearance in the show.
Jesse Heiman ("the world's greatest extra") is at the movie screening.
Foreshadowing/future references
- Religion Girlfriend Gob tells Michael that he has a Christian girlfriend, and we eventually find out in "Development ArrestedDevelopment Arrested"Development Arrested" is the 53rd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. It is the season finale for Season 3, as well as the series finale before the announcement of Season 4 over five years later.-Episode:...
" that the girl he is talking about is George Michael's ex-girlfriend, Ann.
Sources
- Snierson, Dan (Feb. 17, 2006). "Best of Bluth: The best of Arrested Development — The Fox series creator Mitch Hurwitz picks his five favorite episodes". Entertainment Weekly, p. 66. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1158373,00.html