Switch Hitter
Encyclopedia
"Switch Hitter" is the 29th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.
. She tries to get George-Michael to do it for her, but isn't able to get him to do it on time. So, to buy time, Maeby decides to skip school and go along with Tobias as he auditions for the role of "Confidence Man #2". She joins him to help him plot his route to the studio and tells him it's "Help your dad follow his dreams day" at school. We find out that Lindsay has been taking Teamocil, mainly for the side-effect of a decreased sex-drive. When Stan Sitwell comes over, he and Michael discuss a joint venture to build 450 homes, Sitwell agrees on the condition that one of the homes is given to a disadvantaged family. G.O.B. objects to the deal saying, "That's great. So the other 449 families live in fear? Is that what we're saying? I mean, come on!" When Michael goes upstairs to run the deal through his father, George Sr. shoots him down saying that G.O.B. was the only one making sense and that Sitwell was just trying to figure out the batting order for the softball game. While Michael is upstairs, G.O.B. refuses Sitwell's offer. Sitwell says he was smart to do so and offers him a job, which G.O.B. accepts.
Michael regains the title of President at the Bluth Company. George Michael visits him suggesting that they use Ann in this year's roster since it's a league requirement to have women on the team (something that was difficult to meet given G.O.B.'s behaviour in the game the previous year). Michael says that Lindsay is already on the team and that they should keep Ann as a backup (a good way to think of her, according to Michael). G.O.B. comes into Michael's office looking for his old job back since Sitwell started to ask him for work ideas. Michael offers to help G.O.B. and gives him a list of ideas he'd been working on. Meanwhile, Tobias and Maeby are at the studio. Tobias is talking up the Fünke name around the water coolers while Maeby calls George Michael from a studio exec's office. While in the office, she's mistaken for a studio exec and passes off her homework to a studio reader. After burning through all of Michael's ideas in a single meeting, G.O.B. is in his office when Sitwell comes and comments that G.O.B. "blew them away" at the meeting. Sitwell gives him a baseball glove and asks him to play on Saturday.
When Michael talks to George Sr. about his ideas not being so stupid, we learn that G.O.B. is the best softball player in the league and is known for sacrificing his body for the play. When Michael assures his father that they will still win the game George Sr. exclaims "Now that's what I want to hear!" and punches a rafter on the ceiling causing an oven vent to fall on Lindsay's foot, something she doesn't feel since Teamocil causes numbness of the extremities. Michael is forced to put Ann on the team. George Michael says this will be good, because she has a low center of gravity and is called "The Wall" because you can't knock her over. Earlier we learned that Lucille had been a U.S.O.
girl during the Vietnam War
and that she had met a General there. She is forced to go back to him and ask him to have Buster withdrawn from the army. He says he might be able to do something if Lucille would "go downtown" (singing the "Downtown" song). Buster is taken out of the army and put in the U.S.O. Michael meets G.O.B. at his office and asks him to throw the game explaining that Sitwell only hired G.O.B. to win the game and make the Bluths look foolish. Back at the studio Tobias loses his audition. Maeby is mistaken for a studio exec again, and gets her The Old Man and the Sea script looked at. She also gets Tobias a job at the studio as a security guard.
Later at the softball game, G.O.B. is throwing the game until Sitwell gives him a heart to heart talk and he decides to start playing better. G.O.B. hits the ball hard, but on his run to the home plate he runs right into "The Wall." The umpire declares him out and there's a scuffle at the plate. G.O.B and Michael see that George Sr. is disguised as the umpire and he's trying to fix the game. Michael contradicts his father and says that G.O.B. was safe (although G.O.B. was clearly out), which causes the Bluth Company to lose the game. Michael tells his father that he's President whether George Sr. likes it or not. George Sr. says he's proud of Michael and then runs away from the field.
Plot
Michael schedules a meeting with Stan Sitwell, President of rival company Sitwell Housing Inc., at the house. Michael thinks that Sitwell sees that the company is in trouble and sees an opportunity whereas G.O.B. thinks the timing is suspicious because the Bluth Company and Sitwell Housing are about to play softball against each other. Maeby has a homework assignment on The Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who...
. She tries to get George-Michael to do it for her, but isn't able to get him to do it on time. So, to buy time, Maeby decides to skip school and go along with Tobias as he auditions for the role of "Confidence Man #2". She joins him to help him plot his route to the studio and tells him it's "Help your dad follow his dreams day" at school. We find out that Lindsay has been taking Teamocil, mainly for the side-effect of a decreased sex-drive. When Stan Sitwell comes over, he and Michael discuss a joint venture to build 450 homes, Sitwell agrees on the condition that one of the homes is given to a disadvantaged family. G.O.B. objects to the deal saying, "That's great. So the other 449 families live in fear? Is that what we're saying? I mean, come on!" When Michael goes upstairs to run the deal through his father, George Sr. shoots him down saying that G.O.B. was the only one making sense and that Sitwell was just trying to figure out the batting order for the softball game. While Michael is upstairs, G.O.B. refuses Sitwell's offer. Sitwell says he was smart to do so and offers him a job, which G.O.B. accepts.
Michael regains the title of President at the Bluth Company. George Michael visits him suggesting that they use Ann in this year's roster since it's a league requirement to have women on the team (something that was difficult to meet given G.O.B.'s behaviour in the game the previous year). Michael says that Lindsay is already on the team and that they should keep Ann as a backup (a good way to think of her, according to Michael). G.O.B. comes into Michael's office looking for his old job back since Sitwell started to ask him for work ideas. Michael offers to help G.O.B. and gives him a list of ideas he'd been working on. Meanwhile, Tobias and Maeby are at the studio. Tobias is talking up the Fünke name around the water coolers while Maeby calls George Michael from a studio exec's office. While in the office, she's mistaken for a studio exec and passes off her homework to a studio reader. After burning through all of Michael's ideas in a single meeting, G.O.B. is in his office when Sitwell comes and comments that G.O.B. "blew them away" at the meeting. Sitwell gives him a baseball glove and asks him to play on Saturday.
When Michael talks to George Sr. about his ideas not being so stupid, we learn that G.O.B. is the best softball player in the league and is known for sacrificing his body for the play. When Michael assures his father that they will still win the game George Sr. exclaims "Now that's what I want to hear!" and punches a rafter on the ceiling causing an oven vent to fall on Lindsay's foot, something she doesn't feel since Teamocil causes numbness of the extremities. Michael is forced to put Ann on the team. George Michael says this will be good, because she has a low center of gravity and is called "The Wall" because you can't knock her over. Earlier we learned that Lucille had been a U.S.O.
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
girl during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and that she had met a General there. She is forced to go back to him and ask him to have Buster withdrawn from the army. He says he might be able to do something if Lucille would "go downtown" (singing the "Downtown" song). Buster is taken out of the army and put in the U.S.O. Michael meets G.O.B. at his office and asks him to throw the game explaining that Sitwell only hired G.O.B. to win the game and make the Bluths look foolish. Back at the studio Tobias loses his audition. Maeby is mistaken for a studio exec again, and gets her The Old Man and the Sea script looked at. She also gets Tobias a job at the studio as a security guard.
Later at the softball game, G.O.B. is throwing the game until Sitwell gives him a heart to heart talk and he decides to start playing better. G.O.B. hits the ball hard, but on his run to the home plate he runs right into "The Wall." The umpire declares him out and there's a scuffle at the plate. G.O.B and Michael see that George Sr. is disguised as the umpire and he's trying to fix the game. Michael contradicts his father and says that G.O.B. was safe (although G.O.B. was clearly out), which causes the Bluth Company to lose the game. Michael tells his father that he's President whether George Sr. likes it or not. George Sr. says he's proud of Michael and then runs away from the field.
Cultural references
- While driving into the studio, Tobias and Maeby see Andy RichterAndy RichterPaul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
, who accidentally drops his sandwich and then kicks it in anger. He would later return 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...
". - Maeby's homework involves The Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who...
. - "DowntownDowntown (Petula Clark song)"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
" Lucille sings this song when General Anderson asks her to "go downtownFellatioFellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
". - Lucille was a U.S.O.United Service OrganizationsThe United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
dancer during the Vietnam War - The scene in which Buster is pulled from combat training and placed into U.S.O. training is a reference to the opening sequence of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
Character cameos
- Andy RichterAndy RichterPaul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
as himself - 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 - J. K. SimmonsJ. K. SimmonsJonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...
appears as General William Anderson - 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...
makes his first appearance as Mort Meyers - Craig Robinson (who plays Darryl PhilbinDarryl PhilbinDarryl Mathias Philbin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Craig Robinson.-Overview:Darryl Philbin is the foreman of the warehouse of the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin....
on The OfficeThe Office (US TV series)The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
) as a security guard.
Callbacks
- Lindsey takes Teamocil, a supplement that she and Tobias used to promote. However, the side effect of depleted libido was previously associated with Zanotab.
- After Gob runs into Ann, he knocks the cap off his front tooth, which he chipped on a candy apple in the first season episode Charity DriveCharity Drive"Charity Drive" is the fifth episode aired, though the sixth episode in DVD continuity, of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
. He subsequently whistles every time he makes an "s" soundVoiceless alveolar fricativeThe voiceless alveolar sibilant is a common consonant sound in spoken languages. It is the sound in English words such as sea and pass, and is represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet as . It has a characteristic high-pitched, highly perceptible hissing sound...
for the rest of the scene.
- In the flashback when G.O.B. chips his tooth during a softball game, George Sr. is seen playing catcher, the same position he played in the prison softball game in Visiting OursVisiting Ours"Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
. During the prison game, he is heard saying "I'm catcher or I'm nothing" after an argument with Michael about the flight records.
- When Maeby and Tobias arrive at the movie studios a banner across the entrance reads "#3 Comedy- Homeless Dad"- a promotion for the movie of the actor who Lindsay refused to date earlier in the season.
Hidden/background jokes
- In "Visiting OursVisiting Ours"Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
", it is shown in a flashback that George Michael became deathly afraid of prison after watching an episode of HBO's OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
as a little kid, in which J.K. Simmons plays a key role as the villainous and sadistic Vern Schillinger. Simmons' voice can even be heard in the background of that scene during a prison-rape. Here, he plays General William Anderson, meaning that J.K. Simmons has technically appeared on the show twice: the first time, as a character from another show.
- The softball game is held at Milford Park, a reference to the Milford Academy.
Foreshadowing
- Stan Sitwell says that Sudden Valley sounds like a sinkhole. In the last episode of the season, the model home collapses into a sinkhole caused by faulty construction.
- Tobias (who is preparing to try out for "Confidence Man #2) tells Maeby that she knows nothing of a "Con Man", later on she cons her way into being a movie executive.
- Lucille explains to General William Anderson that Buster is being deployed and that she "can't hand that happen" foretelling Buster losing in the episode Out on a Limb.