Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 12-Marta Complex

Rating: 4/5

                This episode begins with an anniversary party for Lindsay and Tobias which was thrown by Lucille after being tricked by Michael. Marta shows up at this party with Gob and asks Michael if he’s seeing anyone because she feels he should have someone special in his life. Lindsay sees them talking and later asks if he’s fine with Gob and Marta still being together. Michael claims that he is over her and should move on. Meanwhile, Tobias continues to hang around with deadbeat actor Carl Weathers still believing he has a shot at acting. Tobias realizes this and thinks it’s time to get his money back.

                Lucille uses Carl to separate Lucille 2 and Buster by making them go one a dinner date on the night Buster has classes. Bust is obviously upset by this. Later on in the evening, the family gathers around to watch a tape George sent to Lindsay and Tobias from prison. The family believed this was a legit anniversary toast but it was actually an infomercial advertising George’s course of Judaism for only $49.99. While Michael gives a toast, Marta realizes that he is actually the one she’s been looking for.

                The day after the speech, Lindsay informs Michael that he inspired her to get the guts to file for divorce. He suggests that they separate for a while which means Lindsay and Maeby sharing a room and George Michael sharing a room with Tobias. George Michael is upset by this as he thinks this means that they found out that he likes Maeby.  Gob then tells him that after the speech he realized that Marta has been cheating on him and they decide to follow her and find out who she’s been cheating with.

                Marta and Buster arrive at the model home which is where Buster realizes that she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. Marta however, is there to talk to Michael and ask him out to dinner where she will most likely reveal that she is in love with him. While unpacking, Tobias reveals to George Michael that he and Lindsay had problems conceiving but is interrupted by a phone call therefore leaving George Michael with the thought that Maeby may actually be adopted.

                On the night of the dinner, Michael tells Marta to just go ahead and admit what is going on. She is confused as she doesn’t know that Michael believes she is seeing someone else. Michael asks her son to show her who “Hermano” is which is actually the Spanish word for brother. Michael ruins the whole surprise and leads Marta to believe their relationship can never work. It is then that he discovers that gift he saw her buying was actually for him, a tux which he had said he does not have. Michael realizes his mistake and of course feels like an idiot.

                I was upset over this episode as I had been waiting forever for Marta to realize that she belonged with Michael. I seriously hope that they end up together. Also, I’m upset that Lindsay would even consider leaving Tobias as he is pretty much my favorite character in this series. Overall, this episode left me feeling pessimistic about what will happen next.

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 11-Public Relations

Rating 3/5      

          We begin with Michael taking George Michael on an interview for the Milford School, a very prestigious school. However, they are turned down as the head of the school states that he wishes to distance themselves away from the Bluth name after an article was post in the paper over trouble Lucille had at a restaurant. The problem was that Lucille and Lindsay caused a scene after getting drunk at a Klimpy’s Diner and breaking plates. They were both upset that they had been reduced to poverty after being turned away from an upscale restaurant. Obviously upset that their family’s reputation can hurt George Michael’s chances of success, he decides to hire a publicist whom he had been flirting with at the gym.

                The publicist, Jessie, suggests that everyone get a job which of course is considered preposterous by the family. She suggests they play up George’s devotion to Judaism and make Michael the new face of the family as he is smart, straight and attractive and the only likeable one in the family. Jessie suggests that Gob do charity magic shows, that Lindsay get a job advertising vodka, and that Tobias get over his acting phase and get back his medical license. Lucille is told that she is cold and no one likes her and that Buster should stay out of the spotlight as he is odd. He states that he shall be neither seen nor heard just as he was taught at Milford.

                On his way to the airport to get back his medical license, Tobias runs into Carl Weathers who agrees to teach him acting for $1100. Meanwhile, Michael and Jessie go on a date in order to be seen all over town. When he tells George Michael that Jessie is brilliant as she is making the family seem functional which increases his chances to get into Milford, George Michael is saddened by this. Not because of his father’s hinting at a relationship with Jessie but at the possibility that he will not be going to school with Maeby. Michael takes this seriously and feels guilty for liking Jessie. When he tells Jessie that they should keep their relationship professional, Jessie is upset as she was wasting her time and quits.

                Gob however, asks Michael to do whatever to get her back after he loses Earl Milford (the founder of the Milford School) in the Aztec tomb which of course is bad publicity and lowers George Michael’s chance of getting into Milford. The press gets a hold of the story and claims he killed Earl Milford. He later finds Milford inside his prop trunk as he hid in order to escape the retirement home. Milford begs him not to take him back and to help everyone else get out of the place where they are abused. Pleased with the thought of being a hero, Gob agrees to help.

                Meanwhile Jessie visits George Michael to make him feel guilty of not letting his father be happy. She decides to run a trashing piece on the Bluth’s which causes Lucille to interfere. After admitting that she told George Michael to step out of the way, Jessie gets into a fight with Lindsay and Lucille. The press has a field day on this melee and names them the family everyone loves to hate.

                George Michael informs Michael that he has no problem with him seeing other women as he finds it sad that he’s only been with four women his whole life. I’m glad this worked out as I’m pretty sure George Michael is not one to say that he disapproves of what his father does. Honestly, I could have done without this episode as an attempt to fix their image ended up hurting the Bluth family. Also, Jessie looked like a mean person to start with so thank goodness Lindsay beat her up.

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep.10-Pier Pressure

Rating: 5/5

         We once again begin with Michael Bluth, this time at home, just chilling. George Michael tells him that he got an A- on his test which only deserves to be hung on the bar while Maeby gets a C- leaving Lindsay thrilled and posts it on the refrigerator. Michael suggests that she discipline Maebe and not reward her for minimal effort in hopes that she doesn’t get into trouble. Lindsay of course if upset and claims that she is now like George who would teach the Bluth children a lesson through basically making them believe something terrible, such as an accident, happened because they did not do something right.

 However, Michael claims that these scare tactics worked as to this day, the Bluth’s use a note system to inform everyone when something runs out.  Gob, as always, barges into the house asking Michael for money after HotCops, a stripping agency he used to work for, asks him to return money after not performing a gig (because he was almost shot at.)

Of course, Michael agrees but only if he’ll do him a favor in the future.

                Michael arrives at Lucille’s house and is welcomed by the phrase, “I need a favor.” The favor is for Michael to help her edit receipts to say that she has not bought anything with company money after the SEC investigates her belongings. She changes her mind and asks Lindsay instead. When she arrives at the model home, she is surprised to find that Lindsay refuses to help. Meanwhile, Maeby arrives with a D- on her test which is when Lindsay realizes she must be disciplined but does not follow through with this as she cannot think of a punishment. However, she brilliantly suggests that as punishment, Maeby must spend the day helping Lucille. Michael later sees George Michael insulting himself after he cannot solve a math problem which shows him that perhaps he is pushing his son a bit too far.

                Meanwhile, Buster is still comforting Lucille 2 who’s vertigo has been taking a toll on her as she has stopped taking her medication. Buster then remembers a study he was involved in which researched the effects of medical marijuana on nausea.

Therefore, he visits the “toughest street wise kid he knew” which was George Michael in hopes of getting some weed for Lucille 2. George Michael of course, has no idea where to find marijuana even though Buster remembered that the banana stand was pot central in the 70’s and even inspired a song called “Big Yellow Joint.” George Michael suggests that he ask Gob but is terrified of him after his constant being bullied by him. Michael arrives at the banana stand as sees that George Michael is working and orders him to close the shop and take the day off and go crazy. Both Michael and Buster give him money to “buy stuff you don’t need.”

                Maeby and Lucille work on hiding her collection of jewelry (gathered from gifts George had given her after every time her cheated) and decide that spending time together is no form of punishment. Lucille then remembers that she has a brooch Lindsay had desperately wanted and decides to give the brooch to Maeby in order to spite Lindsay. Meanwhile, George Michael arrives on the Bluth yacht where Gob had been staying and after not finding him, leaves a note asking to get him some pot.

Gob immediately shows Michael the note stating that it is his and saying that he left him $200 then $100 as he already spent $100. Gob tries to give him the weed and claims that this counts as the favor he had promised earlier. Michael cannot believe this and refuses to take the weed. However, he decides that perhaps it is true that George Michael has been smoking weed as his eyes have been red and his grades are dropping (talking about the A-.) After asking George Michael he did with the money, Michael realizes that he’s been lying. When Michael returns to tell Gob this, he finds Gob already smoking that weed.

Michael asks if he should yell at him but Gob informs him that George taught them not to yell (through one of his classic parenting methods aka scaring them.)

                Michael decides to get help from George and asks to borrow Jay aka the guy with the one arm who was always teaching lessons through scaring them. George says that he died after Michael left the air conditioning on with the door open (which is just another lesson.) George refuses to help as he is now a holy man. Meanwhile, Lindsay arrives to pick up Maeby and finds that they are actually having fun. She decides to leave Maeby and after she suggests that they go get ice cream, Lucille calls Maeby fat which obviously shows her how mean Lucille really is.

Maeby then leaves Lucille’s house which doesn’t bother her.

                Since George won’t help Michael, Michael asks Gob to gather his HotCop friends so that they can stage a fake drug bust and scare George Michael straight. Buster gets impatient waiting for the weed and decides to go with George Michael to pick up the weed from Gob not knowing what was in store for them. George Michael and Buster arrive only to be “busted” by flamboyant dancers dressed as cops.

Buster admits the pot was for Lucille 2 and drives George Michael home. However, their little stunt attracts real drug dealers who deliver their stuff after seeing the signal. Michael explains there has been a misunderstanding. Real policemen show up and start firing at the dealers while Michael and Gob hide. A real arm is blown off therefore, scarring Michael even more.

 Michael realizes that the arm was Jay’s arm and that George had set this whole thing up. Jay explains that this is why you don’t teach your son a lesson.  George explains that George Michael is a good kid and did not need to be taught a lesson and that this was his final lesson.

                Meanwhile, Maeby arrives home and gives the brooch to Lindsay after feeling sorry that she had to put up with Lucille her whole life. Upstairs, Michael asks if George Michael knew about this whole thing and says yes as one of the Hot Cops was his choir teacher. Michael lets George Michael know that he can tell him anything which then causes George Michael to reveal that he has a crush on Maeby but, Michael thinks that he is kidding and teaching him a lesson.

                This episode was literally the best of the season (so far.) I absolutely love flashback moments and was thrilled to see so many in this episode. I loved George’s way of teaching lessons because I can’t comprehend how the Bluth’s hadn’t realized that a man can only lose his arm so many times. Also, I’m glad to see that Maeby realized that Lucille was a bitch because I already did not like Maeby and would have disliked her even more if she hung around Lucille.

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 9-Storming the Castle

Rating:4/5

I am particularly satisfied with this episode as we FINALLY saw that Michael has a bad side to him. After several episodes of feeling sorry for him after he is taken advantage of by his family, it is refreshing to see that he too is fed up with being a pushover and never getting to do anything for himself. This is especially true in his love life as we all know that Gob is pretty much a bum and that he definitely does not deserve a woman like Marta.

                This whole ordeal begins with Marta rushing to the Bluth model home in search of Gob. She wants to apologize for criticizing his magic even though Gob showed poor judgment in performing an intense “illusion” for Marta’s children.

Michael of course is simply awestruck by her and is ultimately saddened by her decision to always stick by Gob. Lindsay suggests that he steal her from Gob but then takes this back as he can’t even get himself to “borrow” a leather reclining seat from the office.

                Meanwhile, Maeby continues her attempts at rebellion by taking George Michael with her to buy a leather outfit after hearing her mother’s disapproval of leather. Tobias sees this as an opportunity to bond with his daughter and after selling his wedding ring, buys himself a leather outfit to match with his daughter. George Michael is also sucked into this leather scheme as he buys himself a leather jacket in order to impress Maeby which I really wish he would stop doing.

                After Gob reveals that he has been cheating on Marta with the woman providing the legs in his magic act, Michael decides that it is time to buckle down and teach him a lesson. In order to convince himself that he can do bad, Michael steals the office chair he had been saying he’d steal.

Lindsay helps him cook up a plan to expose Gob to Marta. The plan consists of Michael getting Gob a gig with the Alliance of Magicians and convincing him that if he performs well, he’ll be allowed back into the alliance. Then, Michael will convince Marta to volunteer as the top half of Gob’s sawing someone in half trick so that the legs half (aka Gob’s other lady friend) will tell her what’s been going down.

                The night of the show both Tobias and the legs fail to show up as Tobias, dressed in his leather outfit, showed up at the Gothic A**hole not the Gothic Castle while the legs just did not come through. Michael, with some help from George Michael, realizes that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot change his kind nature. Therefore, he asks George Michael to fill in as the legs as, just as Maeby had stated, has the legs of a woman. However, Michael’s attempt at changing himself did not completely go to waste as he decided to steal a TV from the office but unlike the chair, did not make it through being dragged by a bicycle.         

                I just realized I neglected to mention George’s newfound belief of Judaism. After being put in solitary confinement after trying to run away during the pageant, George is going crazy but is calmed down when he looks up and sees the Star of David shining on the cell wall. He then fastens a yarmulke out of the tip of his shoe, which although funny,  leads me believe that he is not taking his devotion to Judaism so seriously.

 Just for that one image, I would rate this episode as a 4 (only because I don’t care much for Gob and this episode was pretty much all about him and Michael.)

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep.8-My Mother, the car

 Rating:4/5              

         We begin this episode with Michael visiting Lucille not for fun but to once again remind her to put a stop to her extravagant spending after finding out that she has recently hired a crew for the Bluth yacht Michael is trying to sell. However, she states that this is absolutely necessary as she need to throw the most amazing party the community has ever seen and most importantly top Lucille Ostero’s consistently fabulous parties for herself. Buster hears this and tells Lucille that he cannot attend her party as he is trying to avoid Lucille Ostero.

                Michael returns home only to find Gob complaining about his selling of the yacht as he lives there. Michael suggests that he break up with Marta so that he can make a move on her as he has been obsessing over her and stalking her but this has been increasingly difficult as the Bluth stair car is pretty obvious. Lindsay walks in suggesting that the family throw Lucille a surprise party. She tells Michael that she will visit George in jail if he agrees to drive Lucille to the restaurant where the party is to be thrown as she is the world’s worst driver. This is revealed by the narrator as not being an exaggeration as she was recently featured of Fox’s show, World’s Worst Drivers.

                The night of the party finally arrived and both Lucille and Michael were shocked to find that no one showed up to the party. Devastated, Lucille admitted to Michael that she was a horrible mother which sparked pity in him. Therefore, Michael decided to throw Lucille another party, one which she had no idea about. Buster finally decides that it is time to end his relationship with Lucille 2 only to realize that he truly does care about her.

 The night of the new party arrived and once again, no one showed up. In order to make it up to her, Michael decides to let Lucille drive. While driving, they see an “idiot on a scooter at night” and believe that he is Gob which causes Lucille to give him a scare aka hit him with the car. However, Michael realizes that it is not Gob and takes the wheel and leaves them in an accident. After seeing him take this risk, Lucille is filled with a newfound caring emotion and babies Michael who now suffers from short term memory loss. Michael attempts to recall what exactly happened that night only to be tricked by Lucille into thinking that he was the one who wanted to scare Gob in order to get to Marta.

                Meanwhile, Lindsay has been visiting George in revealing outfits in order to be harassed by the inmates. George begs her to stop visiting as he paid them to not scream obscenities at her in gold coins Lucille had snuck in. This satisfies Lindsay as she believed that she had lost her sex appeal.

                Gob, on his way to South America, realizes that Michael has been set up by Lucille and rushes to the condo to tell him this. Michael does not believe that he was not trying to hurt Gob but realizes that he and Gob kind of like each other and that he was not driving which meant that Lucille deliberately dragged him to the driver’s seat in order to look guilty.  Lindsay also arrives at the condo to reveal that Lucille has hidden the gold coins inside the energy bar wrappers which is why her grocery bags were so heavy. When they confront Lucille about what she had done she explains that this was her one chance to have Michael on her side and get at least one of her children to like her. Lucille once again admits that she has been a horrible mother causing a feeling of pity among Lindsay, Gob and Michael.

                I am once again saddened by the absence of Tobias in this episode but it’s okay, I’ll get over it. I feel like this whole episode was like one of those cheesy mystery shows like murder mystery parties as the background music sure made it feel like this. I love the fact that a scene was written in involving George Michael and Maeby being caught at an r-rated movie and asking Gob to make fake IDs for them. The funny thing is that these IDs are for them to get into a French movie called “The Dangerous Cousins” which is about a forbidden love between two cousins. I also found it hilarious that both times, no one attended Lucille’s party as this was what she honestly deserved. Also, Lindsay wearing a shirt that said SLUT across the chest area was a funny attempt at gaining the interest of the jail people.

                The whole time that George was in jail, it seemed that he was getting along well with his fellow inmates but Lucille sneaking him gold coins revealed otherwise which I felt was interesting. George said that he would pay off his inmates so that they don’t beat him up, stab him, or worse which is obviously referring to being raped in prison which is pretty sad.

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep.7-In God We Trust

Rating: 5/5            

            In this episode, we finally meet George’s lawyer who is supposed to help him get out of prison but in reality has done nothing but get distracted by little things (i.e.-flirting with Lucille, talking on the phone.) It is kind of strange to see that Lindsay and Michael have been getting along well as most siblings should. Lucille is upset by this as she feels that this will cause the family to turn against her as Michael and Lindsay are pretty much the only people in the family with an actual functioning brain.

                Upon announcing that the court has decided to allow George out of jail for $20,000 (for an afternoon), Lucille and Buster begin to praise him for his fabulous work. This temporary releasing would be on the afternoon of the Living Classics pageant which the Bluth family sponsors as well as participates in.  (The Living Classics pageant is a show in which wealthy members of the community are given the opportunity to dress up as classic works of art.)

 

As the Bluth’s argue over who will play Adam, with mainly Tobias and Buster fighting over wanting and not wanting the role, their so-called lawyer takes this opportunity to steal food from the family. The real reason as to why Buster does not wish to be in the pageant this year is because it would interrupt his secret relationship with Lucille Ostero aka Lucille Bluth’s best friend and social rival. However, he only sees her in her apartment as he does not want anyone to realize that they are dating.

Back at the condo, Michael reveals that he is not willing to pay $20,000 to get George out for one afternoon and announces what is pretty obvious, that their lawyer is a complete idiot. Michael then suggests hiring a new lawyer, Wayne Jarvis who had recently won a discrimination lawsuit against their current lawyer, Barry Zuckerkorn. Lindsay takes this meeting as an opportunity to borrow money from Lucille however, she refuses to give it to her after suggesting that she borrow it from Michael but doubts he’ll lend her money claiming that he called Lindsay a “stay in bed” mom. In reality, Lucille is trying to turn Lindsay against Michael after feeling threatened by their new found friendship. Lucile uses this as her opportunity to call Lindsay lazy by pinning these statements as Michael’s own words.

One thing I noticed was that in this episode is that the actress playing Marta was changed from Leonor Varela to Patricia Velasquez. No real reason was given so I’ll have to live wondering why they had a change in actress. In an effort to impress Marta, Michael has been trying to learn Spanish however, the only tapes he had to teach him was a “Spanish for Businessmen” tape. While driving, Michael sees a sign for advertising Barry’s work and as a sort of pun, uses the website www.BARRYGOOD.biz as his domain which sounds close to very good which he in fact isn’t.

Meanwhile, Buster was trying to convince George Michael to play the role of Adam in the Living Classics pageant but is very iffy about it. Maeby sees George Michael wearing the Adam muscle suit and sarcastically states that he has a “rockin’ bod.”

After hearing this, George Michael happily accepts the role in order to impress Maeby.  Lindsay confronts Michael after he wakes her up from her 2 hour angry nap and doesn’t realize that Maeby has been making it obvious that she is running away in order to prove the fact that her parents are self absorbed.

Lindsay ,obviously upset, asks Michael why he would say such mean things and Michael points out that the “stay in bed mom” phrase does not even sound like him and points out that this is all part of Lucille’s plan which Lindsay also realizes.

Lindsay and Michael begin drinking together and vent out their problems when Lindsay reveals that her marriage to Tobias is not working and that he is actually a never nude which is a rare psychological condition of never being able to be completely nude. This explains why Tobias seems to always wear cut off shorts as well as swim trunks in the shower.

After getting really drunk, Michael also reveals to Lindsay that he loves Marta. It seems that Lucille’s advice to Lindsay about getting Michael drunk to lend her money worked as Michael decided to move some money around and help her get out of debt.

After Tobias confronts George Michael about stealing the role of Adam from him, George Michael happily offers him the role but states that he cannot take off the suit for reasons that Tobias will never understand. Tobias sees this as George Michael revealing that he also suffers from never nude and also reveals how he suffers from never nude syndrome.

Michael has finally set up a meeting with Wayne Jarvis and calls Lucille into his office to also meet with him. However, when Michael reveals that he used the money that was supposed to go to freeing George for an afternoon and gave it to Lindsay instead, Lucille takes this opportunity to turn Michael against her and making it seem as if getting Michael drunk was a set up. However, Lindsay and Michael realize that once again they were fooled into turning against each other by Lucille. Therefore, Lindsay and Michael decided to use the debt money to get George out of jail for 24 hours which was long enough for him to see that Lucille was going to the pageant with Barry and spark some jealousy. This plan backfired though as the lawyer Lucille was seeing was actually Wayne Jarvis.

The time for the pageant to start had finally arrived and George Michael played Adam but upon seeing the rest of the Adam outfit (a tiny penis), decided to wear Tobias’ cutoffs which sparked outrage among the pageant attendees. Tobias of course stood up for George Michael as he continued to believe that he was also a never nude. While the crowd was distracted, George decides to use this time to run away from the pageant as well as jail.

George is eventually caught and returned to jail where the family gathers for Christmas. It is here that Maeby and Lucille decide to spend more time together to drive the family crazy. After not exposing Lucile and wasting the $20,000, the Bluths are stuck with Larry Zuckerkorn as their incompetent lawyer.

I thought this episode was great especially with the return of Tobias whom I had missed. I feel the never nude syndrome was unexpected but kind of expected as I had read somewhere that fans of the show loved it so much because of the never nude condition.  Also, I was thrilled that Lindsay and Michael had become friends as they really are the only thinking adults in this series (so far.) I secretly hoped that Michael would not catch up to George as I wanted him to be free but that would ruin the show. However, I am glad that Buster and Lucille Ostero, or Lucille 2 as she is now called by the narrator, stepped out as a couple even though this clearly overwhelmed Buster. Additionally, I am very intrigued by this newfound alliance between Maeby and Lucille as I am curious to what their cunning minds will cook up for the rest of the family.

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 6-Visiting Ours

Rating: 4.5/5

             Once again, we begin with Michael visiting George who just cannot seem to get through his head the severity of the Bluth Company situation. While I was watching this I could not help but think about a question on the blog guideline sheet which stated “Was any sexual tension addressed this season?” and I feel that this episode more than addressed this issue.  By this I mean, Michael figuring out that George had an affair with his assistant Kitty as well as Lucille and George’s sexless marriage which was solved at the end.

                This all begins with Michael’s suspicion that Kitty knows something about the missing Bluth files but because he isn’t George, won’t tell. In order to get her to “spill the beans,” Michael asks Gob to seduce Kitty in order to obtain the files. However, Gob finds it pretty difficult to even look at Kitty because of her cross eyed and frizzy haired appearance. To overcome this barrier, Gob sleeps with Kitty with the lights turned off and avoids looking at her. Meanwhile, all Lucille can think about how embarrassing it is to be turned away from the country club golf course.

                Anyway, Michael finds Gob bumming around at the office in order to write a letter to the jail warden who refuses to categorize his stabbing as escaping jail. When Michael sees how attracted Kitty is to Gob, he offers him a touch lamp in exchange for getting information from her.

                Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias prepare for their first visit to a marriage counselor in an effort to save their relationship and figure out a way to cope with their unemployment even though Tobias believes he is a serious actor.

Lindsay and Tobias argue over how he has failed to satisfy her needs (sexual) as she pulls his towel off only to reveal him wearing booty shorts.

After the couple suspiciously trys to leave the house, Maebe convinces George Michael to follow them to see what they’re really up to. George Michael refuses to take her stating that he has plans to visit George but, is actually quite terrified of the idea of jail. When Michael returns home, happy with the thought that he would not have to visit George again, George Michael asks to be taken to visit George.

                While seducing Kitty, Gob tells her to take off her glasses in an effort to make her slightly more attractive. After seeing she is cross-eyed, he suggests she untie her hair only to reveal a frizzy mess.

Instead Gob opts for turning off the lights and even after having sex with her, fails to get any information about the international accounts. Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias role play during counseling in an effort to better understand each other as well as Tobias’ nonexistent acting career.  This role playing leaves Lindsay upset as she feels it is pointless. Therefore, the counselor steps in to play Lindsay’s part only to end up fueling the thought of Tobias being gay.

The counselor then reveals that this session has inspired him to become an actor as well.

                During their visit to George, George Michael experiences a really awkward moment in which George is clearly beginning to lose his mind.  Michael decides that jail is too much for George Michael to handle and asks him to wait in the stair car. The inmates see this as an opportunity to escape and one inmate successfully escapes with the help of the stair car leaving George Michael even more terrified.

                George reveals to Michael that prison isn’t as fun as it seemed at first and how Lucille has not even gone to visit him. He feels lonely which Michael interprets as sexually deprived and therefore convinces Lucille to visit him and spend time at the conjugal trailer to satisfy that need. However, Lucille takes this opportunity to basically extort the golf country club membership out of Michael. When the day finally comes for Lucille to go do George, Michael realizes that the woman George actually wanted to see was Kitty. George reveals that he had been sleeping with Kitty every Friday for the past 8 years.

George decides to first sleep with Lucille while Kitty ends up being stalled by Gob in the other trailer only to end up being caught escaping the trailer by the jail warden. During the next visit, George reveals that there is a chance that he might have committed light treason.

                As if the family’s troubles could not get any worse, no one is really willing to help Michael in trying to clear the Bluth family’s name. I thought that the George having an affair wasn’t something too unbelievable but the fact that it was with Kitty was pretty much gross. Also, I love how when Gob was being  handcuffed by the jail warden, his face was pushed against the window of the trailer and looked directly at his parents having sex which as you could imagine, is pretty traumatic. I was really glad that episode gave me the material needed to answer the awkward sexual tension question.

Memorable Quotes

Kitty: “Do you like my outfit?”

Gob: “Not as much as I like what’s underneath it”

Kitty: “Gob!”

Gob: “No, I need your chair, get up, I’ve got a letter to write”

“Daddy horny Michael”-George Bluth

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 5-Charity Drive

Rating:4.2/5               

         This episode begins with the narrator stating the obvious which is, the fact that Michael rides his bicycle everywhere. It is particularly hilarious, that even in the burning California heat, he continues to ride his bike in a suit. This causes him to sweat more than average and eventually leads him to sweat all over presentation slides during an investors meeting which as Kitty (the secretary) states, leads the investors to believe he’s full of shit.

                As always, Michael is left fixing the problems George caused such as not filing permits for the company. He then decides to visit George about this which means having to ride his bike all the way to prison in 100°F weather. Kitty then suggests that he take George’s car.  Michael immediately refuses this idea as that car is perhaps one of George’s most valued possessions. Kitty informs him that Gob, Lindsay and even Buster have been using the car and have set it on fire, spilled nail polish on it and even set up a schedule which once again leaves Michael as the last one to know. When Michael confronts Gob about using the car, he asks why he just doesn’t use his precious stair car. Michael then informs him that Tobias, believing he was parking the car, left the car at the airport after the crew guided him onto the runway believing that the stair car was actually for plane use.

This of course is happening right outside the banana stand as Gob visits regularly to get frozen bananas for free. After Michael realizes this, he tells George Michael not to give him any more bananas which then upsets Gob who states that Michael is selfish. In reality, it is Gob who is selfish and Michael is actually the furthest thing from selfish as he sacrifices everything to get the family ahead.

                Michael, still searching for the car, visits Lucille’s condo in hopes of finding Buster there. However, as always, Lucille is no help to Michael as she is busy getting ready for the Bachelorette auction for the wetlands. Naturally, Lucille is involved just so she can beat her rival, Lucille Ostero who is still in pursuit of a relationship with Buster. Buster meanwhile is hiding as Lucille asks “Why do you always hide when the doorbell rings?” However, Buster was actually hiding from Lucille Ostero.

Lucille Ostero has not yet realized that Buster was not serious about pursuing a relationship with her. Michael eventually does get the car keys from Buster who stayed at home to later bid on Lucille Bluth at the Bachelorette auction.

                Michael finally gets around to confronting George about the unfiled permits. The only solution George has is that Gob break into the permits office and claim that the office messed up the application which as he claims, is what Gob is kept around for. He warns Michael to tell Gob that he asked him to do this for him as Gob is upset that Michael would not even give him a frozen banana. It’s pretty funny to see that everyone has somehow found out about the frozen banana incident.

                As Michael returns home, he receives a call from Lindsay stating that she has volunteered her time that day to clean up the wetlands which starts off terribly as she stabs a frog with her garbage pick-up stick.

In an effort to show how charitable he can be, Michael picks up a woman who he believed to be Lucille’s cleaning woman at a bus stop and offers to drive her home.

The woman, of course, is terrified after seeing the skeleton from Buster’s archeological dig, burnt seats that Gob caused, and red nail polish spilt all over which she thought was blood. Meanwhile, Lindsay calls Michael asking him to pick her up from the wetlands as she has learned they are not exactly what she thought. At the same time, the woman’s family has reported her missing after Michael’s attempt to take her home but is unable to understand her due to a language barrier.

                After Gob neglects to follow the number one rule of breaking in somewhere which is not to get noticed, he leaves this tremendous task to George Michael as Michael has told him to do anything he said. Maebe considers this a perfect opportunity for rebellion and quickly takes on the challenge of breaking into the permit office. George Michael gladly accepts her assistance as he sees this as another chance to spend more time with her. Lindsay finally finds her cab and leaves the wetlands but forgets to inform Michael of the fact that she left. The woman believed to be Lucille’s housekeeper sees Michael’s frustration as an opportunity to flee from her supposed captor.

                George Michael and Maebe go ahead with their plans to break into the permits office and naturally, are caught.

 As a way to show how much he cares for her, George Michael tells her to save herself as his record is clean. While all of this is happening, the rest of the Bluth family is at the auction and it is there that Michael realizes Lindsay had in fact gone to the wetlands. Buster arrives to the auction just in time to bid on Lucille Bluth only to end up bidding $10,000 on Lucille Ostero.

As Lindsay and Michael leave the auction, Michael is surprised by a police officer who asks if George’s car is his and he says that it is. He is then charged for the abduction of Helen Maria Delgado aka the woman he believed to be the Bluth housekeeper, Lupe.

                It is not too surprising to see that Michael and George Michael are both taken away in the same police car. When Michael asks his son why he is there, George Michael responds that he was trying to be a good guy which Michael responds too as “me too.” As seen in the previews, Michael gets away with not going to jail as Helen similarly blames the wrong white guy for her abduction.  

                Once again, this episode explores just how terrible each family member is and how every Bluth member’s lack of judgment ends up biting Michael in the a**. I honestly can’t see how things could possibly get worse for Michael although I am glad he did not go to jail for his attempt at being a good person.

I’m kind of upset that Buster did not pursue a relationship with Lucile Ostero as the last previews had suggested. Additionally, I am upset that Tobias has not been present in the last two episodes but Buster has been filling that void which I guess is fine for now.  Overall, I have found several moment of the show to be funny such as Lindsay stabbing the frog which is funny and absolutely disgusting and perhaps the funniest moment of this episode being Gob losing his tooth after biting into a candied apple which he bought in retaliation for not being given any more frozen bananas.

Memorable Quotes:

“They didn’t sneak into this country to be your friends”-Lucille Bluth

talking about Mexican cleaning ladies/Mexicans in general

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 4-Key Desicions

Rating: 4.8/5

In this episode, we really see what type of relationship Michael and Gob have and to some extent, the relationship Lucille and Buster have.  We begin with Lindsay and Michael once again arguing over the way Lindsay handles money as she has neglected to give back the rental car. This then forces Michael to return the can and instead give her the Bluth stair car which was once used in conjunction with the Bluth private jet which had to be sold. Michael points out that if Lindsay isn’t as materialistic as she says she is, then she should happily drive the car.

Gob once again visits the mini mansion after a dispute with his girlfriend Marta over how he feels he is just a piece of meat that sits through interviews with her and appears at award shows. Lucille and Buster then arrive at the mini mansion in an effort to find Michael so that he can tie Buster’s tie. This is in preparation to attend a Mexican novela award ceremony for Marta. It is during this moment that Michael asks if it’s date night for Lucille and Buster while Lucille point s out girls don’t appreciate him because of ” his glasses, they make him look like a lizard.”

In an effort to make money, Michael has decided to cut down trees in the space surrounding the mini mansion to make space for more mini mansions. This attracts nature activist, Johnny Bark who decides to live in the tree to protest the expansion of “high cost low quality mini mansions” such as the model house. This prompts a reporter to knock on the window to the house which then, falls down (the window not the house.)

In an attempt to make himself recognized for reasons other than being Marta’s boyfriend, Gob announces on a Mexican talk show that he will join his father at jail and break out within 24 hours.This causes Martha to be dateless for the daytime Desi award show in which case, Michael fills in for Gob.  Several funny things occur at this award show one of them being Martha and Michael showing up to the red carpet in the Bluth Stair Car.

Another, kind of offensive thing, is the fact that the Mexican actors being nominated, all look the same.

Marta unfortunately, loses in her category which causes her to leave the auditorium rather upset. When Michael finds her, he is surprised to find out that Marta did not care that she didn’t win but rather that Gob chose to do his little publicity stunt instead of being with her and her kids. She tells Michael that at the end of the day, family and values are all that really matter and it is at this moment, Michael realizes she is the most beautiful person in the world.

At the after party, Lucille runs into her frenemy, Lucille Ostero who is her Hispanic counterpart. Lucille Ostero honestly values her friendship with Lucille Bluth while Lucille Bluth only talks to Lucille Ostero to rub in her face the fact that her husband is dead. Meanwhile, Buster is off attempting to socialize but upon his mother’s request, does not wear his glasses.

This causes him several moments of talking to himself and neglecting to see that the woman flirting with him from across the room is actually Lucille Ostero.

Meanwhile, Gob is in prison with George and uses this time to vent about the fact that his father never played ball with him like he is doing in prison now. Although Gob truly feels this way, he remembers that he has to pass the key which he had so much trouble swallowing and realizes he can only use the bathroom with everyone watching him therefore leaving him no way out.

He then calls Michael to bring the stair car to help him escape but unfortunately, fails. The next day, a fellow inmate decides to stab Gob while he plays ball with his father after their first encounter in which Gob made a quarter appear out of his dirty ears therefore earning him the nickname, “Dirty-ears.”

Michael decides to visit Marta to profess his love to her only to be interrupted by a phone call from jail stating that “Gob has been stabbed in the back” which is both literal and figurative as Michael was about to steal his brother’s girl. As they arrive to the hospital, both Michael and Marta bump into Lucille who states Gob will be fine and instead of staying near her son’s bed, goes in search of the hospital bar. Buster, of course, accompanied Lucille to the hospital and runs into Lucille Ostero but was not aware that she is his “secret admirer.” After learning that she is in fact the “brownish area with points”, Buster faints which causes Lucille Ostero to panic and fall due to her severe vertigo.

Meanwhile, Gob tells Michael how his accident has caused to see how much he hasn’t appreciated Marta and how inspired he is to make their relationship work. Michael chooses not to interfere as he realizes Martha truly loves Gob and he cannot come between family. However, as Marta leaves, Gob states that he’s made a huge mistake which I’m not sure what he’s referring to but I hope that he realized he was not the right person for Marta and the she did in fact deserve someone like Michael.

While these events took place, Lindsay was trapped in the tree with Johnny Bark. At first, she was trying to convince him to come down which caused Maebe and George Michael to decide they had to save the tree. However, after realizing how materialistic she is and how she doesn’t believe in anything, Lindsay decides to stay in the tree (ultimately she had no choice as she got up the tree with the stair car and Michael had taken the stair car with him to the award show.) However, deep down, Lindsay realized she needed to sleep in a real bed and therefore, left the tree.

This causes Johnny Bark to also leave the tree and resulted in the tree being cut down.

Ultimately, I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for Michael. He puts so much hard work in keeping the family together and saving them that he often neglects his own needs as a man. I could not help but feel angry at Martha for not realizing that Michael was the type of man that she wanted and had been looking for. Also, I find Buster’s attempt at escaping his mother hilarious as he tried escaping Lucille Bluth and instead ran into the arms of Lucille Ostero who again, is just as materialistic as Lucille Bluth but a bit more compassionate. I loved the fact that Liza Minelli played Lucille Ostero although I secretly hoped they would have chosen a legit Mexican woman. This is because I am an avid viewer of Mexican novellas and I know that there are Mexican actresses capable of playing this role way better than Liza Minelli does. Overall, I loved this episode because of the funny (but kind of offensive) quotable moments such as:

“It’s his glasses, they make him look like a lizard”-Lucille Bluth

“A sea of waiters and no one will take my order”-Lucille Bluth, assuming all Mexicans are waiters

“I know she’s a brownish area, with points”-Buster, talking about his mysterious admirer

“Oh my god, Gob has been stabbed in the back!”-Marta

“You gotta put family first, that’s the stupid thing I believe”-Michael

Arrested Development: Season 1, Ep. 3-Bringing Up Buster

         I have just started watching this third episode and I swear I almost died when the paid programming commercial for the Bluth “Cornballer” machine was shown and featured Richard Simmons! This was the funniest thing I have seen so far on A.D.

             Anyway, I have now finished watching the whole episode and must say I really was not expecting some of the things featured. For example, Maebe’s decision to audition for the school play in order to get closer to Steve Holt who is the typical idiot high school jock and someone I would never have imagined a “rebellious” girl like Maebe to be attracted to. Secondly, George Michael’s decision to not go bike riding with his father and instead audition for the same play in order to get closer to kiss Maebe again. I must say, I am still completely grossed out by his crush on his own cousin. Thirdly, Buster’s realization that his mother is a complete nightmare and he must get away.

              I feel like the most important thing to discuss here, is Buster. He first appeared in the pilot and upon first seeing him, I thought he’d be a nerd but he’s actually a helpless momma’s boy. We see this through his exclusion from family gatherings and his inability to even dress himself. Buster continues to tag along with Michael and one of the most annoying things ever is Buster’s constant over the top yawning which of course, only makes me yawn.

When given the task to build George Michael’s new bicycle, Buster proceeds to put it together in the conference room while Michael attempts to hold a meeting.

               When Michael visits George, they discuss their parenting styles and question when it is time to let go. With George Michael, it is clear that he can function just fine with or without Michael but Buster, cannot. George explains how he does not know what happened to Buster and maybe his inability to function without his mother is due to the fact that he spent 11 months in the womb and left claw marks.

             Meanwhile, Gob continues with his depression after being dumped by “that Mexican.” Lucille gives him three days to leave her condo which prompts Gob to state “If I can’t find a horny Mexican in three days, then I don’t deserve to stay here,” which as a Mexican, offends me.

               After their visit to prison, Michael decides to take Buster on a bike ride after George Michael declined this offer. It is during this moment of stretching, that we see that perhaps Buster isn’t as dumb as he seems after saying multiple bad words which of course, are covered by bleeps. This of course leaves everyone (Michael and the viewer) aghast.

Later on, both Lindsay and Gob arrive to the model home where everyone “rags on Mom”. Of course, no one expected Buster to blow up in a rampage of cursing at his mom.

I feel like I must include the pictures of everyone’s reactions because they are priceless.

              Michael and Buster finally leave on their bike ride with Buster riding the faster bike meant for George Michael. However, Buster in his infinite wisdom, neglected to add the brakes therefore causing him to crash and much as a child would, scrape his palms.

 After this accident, Michael takes Buster to the office to finish their work when Lucille angrily arrives trying to take back her baby. Lucille tries to make Michael seem like a bad father which causes him to instead let Buster decide who he wants to go with. Buster decides to go with Lucille but asserts his newfound control over making his own decisions by stating he would now like to sit in the front seat.  I found it pretty hilarious that the family really doesn’t give a s*** whether they have these discussions in front of all the board members.

         I have realized several things while watching this episode. First, that Michael truly understands what it’s like to long for a family which is why he goes through so much to keep his intact no matter how dysfunctional they are. Second, that Buster really isn’t as stupid as he looks and is way underestimated by Lucille. Thirdly, the ending “previews” of the next episode are never actually shown in said episode.  Overall, I loved this episode for a.) the Richard Simmons paid programming commercial and b.) Buster’s surprising cursing rampages.  

Rating: 4.7/5