Arrested Development, which premiered on the FOX network in November 2003, tells “the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.” Arrested Development is narrated by Ron Howard and stars Jason Bateman (as Michael, the son who must keep the family together), Will Arnett (oldest brother/magician Gob), Portia De Rossi (Michael’s twin sister, Lindsay), Tony Hale (youngest sibling/mama’s boy Buster), David Cross (Lindsay’s husband/wannabe actor Tobias), Jeffrey Tambor (George Sr., father of the Bluth family, and Oscar, George Sr.’s twin brother), Jessica Walter (Lucille, the manipulative, alcoholic mother), Michael Cera (Michael’s teenage son, George Michael), and Alia Shawkat (Lindsay and Tobias’ rebellious daughter, Maeby). The show was created by Mitchell Hurwitz and has won numerous awards, including six Emmys. I’ve put together an episode guide for the show’s first season, but I’ve tried not to give too much away for anyone who hasn’t seen these twenty-two wonderful episodes.
“Pilot”: George Sr. plans to announce his replacement as president of the Bluth company at a retirement party on the family yacht. Michael has been led to believe that he will be his father’s successor, but George Sr. names wife Lucille instead. Moments later, the Securities and Exchange Commission boards the yacht and arrests George Sr. for defrauding investors and improperly using the company’s funds. Lucille decides to put Buster in charge of the company, but he is not cut out for the job. Memorable quote: “A trick is something a whore does for money…or candy!”-Gob
“Top Banana”: Michael is now president of the Bluth Company, since no one else in the family can handle the responsibility. George Michael asks to work more hours at the family’s frozen banana stand, so he can distance himself from cousin Maeby, who he has an inappropriate crush on. However, Maeby begins working there as well and steals money from the cash register, causing George Michael to take drastic measures. George Sr. wants Michael to give a job to T-Bone (Patrice O’Neal), a convict he befriended in prison.
Memorable quote: “I am having a love affair with this ice cream sandwich!”
-George Sr.
“Bringing Up Buster”: Tobias directs the high school’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, which stars Maeby and her crush, Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade), in the lead roles, with George Michael as Steve’s understudy. Michael begins spending more time with Buster, at their mother’s insistence.
Memorable quote: “That just makes me want to puke all over your head, sir!”
-Tobias
“Key Decisions”: Gob is jealous when Marta (Leonor Varela), his girlfriend, is nominated for a daytime Desi award (for Spanish soap operas), so he stages a publicity stunt in which he will escape from the prison where his father is being held. Michael is forced to take Marta to the Desi awards and ends up falling for her. At the same awards show, Buster inadvertently flirts with his mother’s best friend, Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli).
Memorable quote: “I know she’s a brownish area with points…and I know I love her!”-Buster
“Visiting Ours”: Gob seduces Kitty (Judy Greer), George Sr.’s former secretary, in order to get information for Michael. George Sr. asks Michael to set up a conjugal visit for him. Tobias and Lindsay try marriage counseling. George Michael visits George Sr. in prison, and it is a terrifying experience.
Memorable quote: “If I wanted something your thumb touched, I’d eat the inside of your ear!”-Lucille
“Charity Drive”: Lucille convinces Buster to bid $10,000 on her at a bachelorette auction, while Lindsay tries to prove to Michael that she is charitable by volunteering to help clean up the wetlands. Gob is angry when Michael refuses to give him a Bluth frozen banana for free. Tired of being told he’s selfish, Michael tries to do something nice by giving Lucille’s housekeeper a ride home; however, the woman he picks up is not the housekeeper, and she is afraid that Michael is going to kill her.
Memorable quote: “I need my rape whistle back.”-Buster
“My Mother, the Car”: Lucille is hurt when Michael is the only one of her children to show up at her surprise birthday party, and Lindsay is disturbed when she visits George Sr. in prison and none of the prisoners comment on her looks. Lucille tries to convince Michael that he wrecked the car because he was trying to scare Gob and lost control of the car, but in reality, Lucille was the one driving.
Memorable quote: “You’re my third least favorite child.”-Lucille
“In God We Trust”: The family pays $20,000 to have George Sr. released from prison for one day, so he can participate in the Living Classics Pageant on Christmas Eve. Michael is not happy with Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler), George Sr.’s attorney, and tries to replace him with the more professional Wayne Jarvis (John Michael Higgins). Lucille, annoyed that Michael and Lindsay are getting along, tries to turn them against each other.
Memorable quote: “I’ll never understand…that you can never be nude? I understand more than you’ll never know.”-Tobias
“Storming the Castle”: Michael comes up with an elaborate plan to break up Gob and Marta (Patricia Velasquez) without anyone getting mad at him. George Sr. decides to become Jewish. Tobias tries to bond with Maeby.
Memorable quote: “I’m gonna need a leather jacket for when I’m on my hog and need to go into a controlled slide.”-George Michael
“Pier Pressure”: When Gob tells Michael that George Michael asked him to get some marijuana for him (which is actually for Buster’s girlfriend, Lucille Austero, who has severe vertigo), Michael stages a fake drug bust to scare him. Lindsay punishes Maeby for making bad grades by forcing her to spend time with Lucille.
Memorable quote: “Oh, no, it’s the cops…and a construction worker!”-Gob
“Public Relations”: Michael hires a publicist (Jill Ritchie) to make his family look better and secure George Michael a spot at the prestigious Milford Academy. Tobias meets Carl Weathers, who agrees to give him acting lessons.
Memorable quote: “Jessie had gone too far, and she had best watch her mouth…”
-Narrator
“Marta Complex”: Gob suspects that Marta is cheating on him, and Michael agrees to help him find out, not realizing that Marta is acting distant because she has discovered that she has feelings for Michael. Lucille tries to set Lucille Austero up with Carl Weathers. Tobias lands the role of “Frightened Inmate #2” in a movie.
Memorable quote: “I deceived you, Mom. Tricked makes it sound like we have a playful relationship.”-Michael
Beef Consommé”: Lindsay attempts to help Tobias overcome his fear of nudity in order to play “Frightened Inmate #2.” Michael and Marta agree not to have a relationship until they tell Gob that they want to be together. Buster decides that he is also in love with Marta.
Memorable quote: “Where am I? Am I in two-thirds of a hospital room?”-Gob
“Shock and Aww”: Michael dates George Michael’s ethics teacher (Heather Graham), not realizing that his son has a crush on her. An adoption application that Lucille had forgotten about comes through, and a Korean boy she names Annyong (Justin Lee) comes to live with her; she decides to keep him because Buster is jealous of the boy.
Memorable quote: “George Michael, what are you doing at a high school dance?”-Gob
“Staff Infection”: After Michael finds out that his unemployed siblings receive paychecks from the Bluth Company, he forces Lindsay to work as the receptionist and Buster and Gob to work at a construction site. Tobias, researching his new role, becomes George Sr.’s new cellmate.
Memorable quote: “Chickens don’t clap!”-Buster
Missing Kitty”: Kitty returns from vacation with new breast implants and says she’s taking off some more time for spring break. Michael fires her, and George Sr. tells him to hire her back because she has too much evidence about the Bluth Company’s shady dealings. Gob plans to make the family yacht disappear as part of an illusion.
Memorable quote: “That’s the seventh nipple I’ve seen today.”-Michael
“Altar Egos”: Michael has a one-night stand with a blind lawyer named Maggie Lizer (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss), who turns out to be the prosecutor in George Sr.’s case. Gob also has a one-night stand, but ends up marrying the woman (Amy Poehler, Arnett’s real-life wife) on a dare. Barry Zuckerkorn doesn’t want to read the plea for George Sr.’s case because it is too long, and Michael is having trouble finding time to read it because he doesn’t want Maggie to think he is the type of guy who have a one-night stand with a blind woman and is spending time with her out of guilt.
Memorable quote: “The solution to all our problems is staring you right in the face, and it can’t even see you.”-Barry Zuckerkorn
“Justice Is Blind”: Michael discovers a shocking secret about Maggie. Maeby poses as Surely, a wheelchair-bound girl suffering from a life-threatening disease, in order to get money from people. Buster tries to ensure that George Sr. stays in prison.
Memorable quote: “I was made to understand there were grilled cheese sandwiches here.”-Buster
“Best Man for the Gob”: George Sr. involves Gob in a plan to scare the company accountant (Michael Hitchcock) into leaving the country, so he won’t testify against George Sr. Tobias tries to fix his marriage by reuniting Dr. Funke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Band Solution, a folk band including Lindsay, Maeby, and himself that sings about medications. Gob’s wife becomes smitten with another member of the family.
Memorable quote: “We have unlimited juice? This party is gonna be off the hook!”
-Buster
“Whistler’s Mother”: Michael decides to invest in some land that his Uncle Oscar is selling. Tobias and Gob ask Michael for money, so he tells them to come up with a business plan. Lindsay’s stylist has been called to serve in the war in Iraq, so Lindsay decides to protest the war. Michael encourages the Bluth Company employees to become whistle-blowers…literally.
Memorable quote: “Why have we been spending so much money on whistles?”-Lucille
Not Without My Daughter”: Lindsay secretly gets a job at a department store, but is embarrassed about it, so she tells the family that she stole her new clothes. Gob doesn’t believe that Lindsay could be good enough at misdirection to get away with shoplifting, so he comes up with a plan to prove that he is better at it; he involves George Michael, who has no idea that Gob is trying to get him to shoplift, in his scheme. Since Tobias is unemployed, Michael takes Maeby to work with him for “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.” Lucille asks Oscar to attend Annyong’s soccer game with her. The police question Michael about Kitty’s whereabouts.
Memorable quote: “Maybe a new pair of shoes will cheer me up.”-George Michael
Let Them Eat Cake”: Lindsay wants money to start a bead business; Gob says he will start a bee business, and they’ll see whose business is more successful. Kitty meets with Michael and tells him that she wants to be in charge of the Bluth Company. George Michael meets a girl (Alessandra Toreson) at the banana stand. Michael discovers that George Sr.’s crimes are more serious than he ever could’ve imagined.
Memorable quote: “I didn’t even know we were calling him Big Bear!”-Buster
