There are two groups of people in this world; those that have seen Arrested Development and those that have yet to see it which the first group would like to bunch in the face for being so behind the times. To say the return of Arrested Development's dysfunctional Bluth family is anxiously anticipated by it's followers is like saying World War 2 was just a little misunderstanding over cheese. Unless you lived under a bus for the last 5+ years, you should have heard of how intelligent and amazing this American sit-com was even if you didn't want to.
From it's not-so-subtle references to itself, to it's now common documentary-style filming and the outstanding comedic ensemble from unseen narrator Ron Howard down to guest stars such as Charlize Theron and Scott Baio as Bluth love interests and Carl Weathers and Judge Reinhold as themselves, Arrested Development was put in the same league as the original Star Trek after it's cancellation; too smart for it's time and cancelled because of it. Most of it's current fan base have come from word of mouth after the release of it's 3 scaled down seasons on dvd and it's return on Netflix.
It is considered a victory by many on the internet that the Bluths have finally returned after a prolonged fight to get the cast all on the same timetable, a problem that resolved itself after Michael Cera, who was one of the more active actors immediately after the cancellation of the series, finally found his calendar free of upcoming film commitments thanks to his plummeting stock at the box office (despite some quality cult flicks in Scott Pilgrim and Year One) and the rising stock of the 'other Michael Cera', Jesse Eisenberg.
While Cera's shooting star film career had at times been blamed for the delay of AD to be truthful nearly all the main leads, including creator Mitch Hurwitz, have been pretty busy with other work in the intervening years. Thanks to Netflix, a one season exclusive distribution deal and feature film slated to hit direct viewing later this month will either finally shut a lot of people up or just increase the cult of Bluth, following the lead of other non-commerical break shows like Game of Thrones, House of Cards and Boardwalk Empire. The future is looking good for non-commercial interrupted television viewing.
It's impossible to formulate a 50 best Arrested Development jokes because all we would be doing is skimming the top of a veritable mountain of comedy. All this list should do for those awaiting AD's return is remind them of other jokes upon the other jokes, a hallmark of the show, an unending rabbit hole of amusement. Most of the one-liners are missed on first viewing because they are just a continuation of another joke that may have started episodes ago. Much of the comedy in AD comes from in-jokes, continual story-lines, comments on (then) current events, visual cues and cut-away inserts. The ability to stop and zoom in on those inserts are an Egg hunters dream. If you are able, I highly recommend it. For example; the sign in Wee Britain about Mary Poppuns (note spelling) states; “Caution: Please stay off my landing port... I’m not the tourist killing sort... But if you have a working girl to kill, please let her stay while I do my will.”
Impossible to read during normal viewing but just a quick example of the care taken in the commitment of the show to entertain.
Here are 50 pleasant memories to get us prepared for the return of Arrested Development and the subjects they address.
50 Yearbook pictures
In particular Steve Holt!'s yearbook pictures. This is an example of just one of the many Easter Eggs awaiting closer viewing. Although the pictures go too fast to actually read the captions, if you pause and scroll, you will see that each one is a set up to the next,
They read, in order: (1) “Nickname: Steve Holt!, Activities: Football, I’m out of here!” (2) “Nickname: Steve Holt! Activities: Drama, Quote: ‘See ya, suckers!’ (3) Nickname: Steve Holt! Activities: Food Services, Quote: ‘Study hard, guys — trust me.’
His mother's name was 'Eve Holt' (naturally) and as Gob just mentioned that he banged her, thereby opening up the possibility Steve Holt(!) is his son, her caption reads "What have I done?" which was also one of Gob's catchphrases.
49 Doctors who speak too literally
Lindsay: [Tobias was run over by a car] How is he?
Doctor: It looks like he's dead.
[everyone gasps in shock]
[everyone gasps in shock]
Michael Bluth: Wait, is he really dead or does it look like he's dead?
Doctor: It looks like he's dead. He's covered in blue paint or something.
48 Your son's girlfriend's lack of personality;
Michael - It's as clear as the ann on plain's face.
47 On speaking in code and failing to understand that;
George Sr. - There's always money in the banana stand.
46 The cost of business suits;
GOB - no Al, I wanna spill booze all over my fucking sixty three hundred dollar suit, COME ON!
GOB - yeah the guy in the four thousand dollar suit is holding the elevator for the guy who doesn't make that in three months...COME ON!
GOB - you certainly do love those suits - seven grand you better believe I love em. look at what you're wearing you look like crap.
45 On magic, money, and math
GOB; "Behold, i've changed 100 dollars into 100 pennies!"
Michael; "well, so far you've only lost us 99 dollars."
44 Charities;
TBA, the fundraiser - a show-long gag, explaining that the Bluths set up an annual yearly fundraiser, never having decided on a cause, so instead sent out invitations asking people to come support the fight against TBA.
43 Being Domestic
Lindsay: Yeah, check it out. I found that canned ham that we'd had forever, and I put it in a pot of boiling water, and guess what I'm calling it?
Michael: Soup?
Lindsay: Hot ham water.
42 Magic tricks (illusions)
GOB - But still, where did the lighter fluid come from?
41 bilingualism.
Annyong.
Literally meaning 'hello' in Korean, was also the name of Lucille Bluth's adopted child, a not-subtle attempt at replacing Buster who started to find his own surrogate mother/companion in Lucille 2. What made this more amusing that whenever someone said Annyong, Annyong would repeat the greeting back to them yet nobody acknowledged him.
40 The internet
Oscar - "I'm Oscar. Dot com." (which also was a functional website that crossed media platforms from tv show to internet.
39 Fashion Labels
Maeby to Lindsay - "It's a shemale." (pronounced she-mall-ee), Maeby's custom shirt given to her mom with the word emblazoned on the front, in an attempt to convince Steve Holt(!) that her mother was a man.
38 Visual gags played a large part in some jokes, including a problem with a business card that Tobias had printed up too.
Tobias - Okay, Lindsay, are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over: an analyst and a therapist, the world’s first 'analrapist'.
Cut to business card with 'Tobias Funke, Analrapist' printed on it.
bonus; sign at boat show; 'Nothing gives the illusion of success like a boat'
37 Mother/child relationships
Michael (to G.O.B. telling him to sell the family yacht): Get rid of the Seaward.
Lucille: I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.
36 Alcoholism
Lucille: Get me a vodka rocks.
Michael: Mom, it’s breakfast.
Lucille: And a piece of toast.
35 Mother/daughter relationships
Lindsay: Oh, hi, Mom. I have the afternoon free.
Lucille: Really? Did nothing cancel?
34 Detaching from your mother
Buster: That’s what you do when life hands you a chance to be with someone special. You just grab that brownish area by its points and you don’t let go no matter what your mom says.
33 The truth on how your parents met
George Sr.: All right, now look, just because a woman gets pregnant doesn't mean you have to marry her. Too many lives have been ruined because some cheap waitress at a HoJo said she used an IUD.
Lucille: It was Stuckey’s.
George Sr.: But I believed you!
32 Dating older women or in this case, your mom's best friend and ex-girlfriend of your brother.
Lucille Austero:"What you did to me at lunch today -- you were ashamed to be with me."
GOB: "No! I was ashamed to be SEEN with you. I like being with you."
31 knowing your siblings' personal lives
Michael: Where is Gob?
George Sr.: Oh, who knows? I don't even know where he lives.
Buster: He doesn't live at Michael's?
Tobias: I've always pictured him in a lighthouse.
30 The continual narration of up to the moment changes by the narrator
Michael: Nichael Bluth? Am I N. Bluth? Is he trying to set me up? If I'm N. Bluth, I'm going to prison.
Narrator: Nichael was worried
29 Lawyers telling it like it is
Bob Loblaw: Why should you go to jail for a crime someone else noticed? You don't need double talk, you need Bob Loblaw.
28 Self-promotion
Michael: You know, your average American male is in a perpetual state of adolescence, you know, arrested development.
Narrator: Hey, that's the name of the show!
27 Father/son relationships
Gob: And guess what else ... Dad kissed me!
Michael: How? He looked pretty unconscious in that picture.
Gob: I didn't say he was totally into it!
26 Potential death of patriarch
Gob: Great news! Dad wasn't crushed to death!
Michael: Was there a risk of that?
25 Son/Mother perceptions
Gob: Well, gee, I didn't think the woman I'd be checking out at spring break would be mom.
Buster: She's better looking than the whores you date!
Gob: Don't call my escorts whores.
Buster: Mom still got it!
Gob: I don't date whores!
Lindsay: Stop it! Stop it! This objectification of women has to stop!
Michael: It's just mom and whores.
24 Higher education
Lindsay: You've had $80,000 worth of cartography lessons. Get us a channel to the ocean.
Buster: Okay, okay, okay.
(Pauses)
Obviously this blue part here is the land.
(Pauses)
Obviously this blue part here is the land.
23 Wearing fur
Lucille: (showing Michael her fox scarf) Michael, look. Look what happened to my fox. Someone cut off its little foot. Is it noticeable?
Michael: Well, you've got to remember you're going to be all splattered in red paint. That's gonna distract the eye.
22 Over-acting at auditions for a 'fire sale'
Tobias: Oh, my God! We're having a fire ... sale! Oh, the burning, it burns me! Evacuate all of the school children! This isn't a fever! Ama ... I can't even see where the knob is ... zing grace!
21 Quality of the Help
Lucille: Supposedly, Luz had to take her daughter to the hospital. That's Lupe, her sister.
Michael: I hope she's okay.
Lucille: She's awful. Can barely wash a dish.
20 Taking one for the team
35 Gob: Take off your glasses. Oh ... Wait, wait. Let down your hair. No, glasses on, hair back up. Let's just get that hair right back up.
Kitty: Let me turn the lights off.
Gob: Yes, yes, please.
Kitty: How's that? Is that better?
Gob: It just seems like there's still light coming in from under the door.
19 Sex in Prison
36 George Sr.: I haven't had sex in a month.
Michael: You know, you've been here two months.
(Pause)
(Pause)
George Sr.: It's hard to gauge time.
Michael: Yeah. I'll bet.
18 Marital relations
Lindsay: Well, you know, maybe I would be more attracted to you if you were in better shape. You know, if you were just more muscular and masculine. Does that make me shallow?
Tobias: No. I was going to say the same thing to you.
17 It's all in what's missing (Michael has inadvertently hired a prostitute as office manager)
Michael: (into the phone) Really? And all the guys like her, huh? That is - that is - that is great. Uh, you mean "away," though, right? Because, otherwise, it sounds a little different, but, uh, that's, uh, that's outstanding. You forgot to say "away" again. But listen, let me call you back in a bit, ok? Bye. (to Lindsay) Nellie has blown them all away.
16 Sibling Relations (added layer of comedy is that Nellie the prostitute is played by Justine Bateman, Jason Bateman's real life sister)
Michael: What the hell is going on? Nellie is not a, uh, uh, a prostitute.
Gob: Of course, she is. Oh, but I can see where the misunderstanding is. You didn't know. (yelling to
Nellie in the background) Maybe we can give him a family discount!
Michael: Family discount is right, Gob. This is the sister I've been talking about.
Gob: Maybe I should have been getting a family rate ... (breaking down) Oh, my God.
15 Faith in Technology
Gob: It's a jet-pack, Michael. What could possibly go wrong?
14 Perceptions of beautiful people (Rita is played by Charlize Theron)
Michael: You know Rita's amazing. You know she was in the Olympics?!
Narrator: She wasn't.
Lindsay: She's that Rita Leeds? Wasn't she on the cover of Newsweek?
Narrator: No. (cuts to a picture of Rita/Charlize Theron as a Special Olympian running)
Michael: Yes.
13 Being in Denial of your sexuality
Tobias: Ann, you need to decide whether you want a man or a boy. I know how I'd answer.
12 Condolenses
Lindsay: You haven't had a serious relationship since your wife, and you guys weren't even speaking towards the end.
Michael: A lot of that was the coma.
Lindsay: Yeah, I've heard your side of it.
11 The British
George Sr.: These are dangerous people, Michael. They will do whatever it takes to get inside this family and bring us down....Oh, they're polite and the men all sound gay, but they will rip out your heart. And their breath...
10 Gold diggers
I can’t believe you’re not supporting this.
George, Sr.:Because it is obvious what she’s after.
Lucille:Our money.
Buster:Oh, God, our money!
Michael:Let’s just all relax, and remind ourselves that we don’t have any money.
Buster:She’s already gotten our money!
9 Love is Blind and slightly retarded.
Michael:What, he locked the door? You can’t unlock this door?
Rita:I can’t even see half the locks!
Michael:Rita? What?
Rita: They’re invisible. Trevor’s the only one who can see them. I’m trapped!
8 Getting ready to be a Blue Man Understudy
Gob: Show tonight?
Tobias: Well, I won't know officially until 8:01. But I figured if I Blue myself early, I'd be nice and relaxed for a 9:00 dinner reservation.
7 Special talents of your son's girlfriend
George Michael: Way to plant, Ann.
Michael: George Michael, why don't you and Plant just wait in the stair-car?
6 implementing positive parenting
Michael: You know, instead of competing with Tobias, why don't you try just spending a little bit more time with your daughter?
Lindsay: Why? Tobias doing that?
5 class warfare
Sitwell: The only thing I ask is out of the four hundred and fifty homes we build, one be given to a disadvantaged family from the inner city.
Gob: That's great, so the other 449 families live in fear? Is that what we're saying? Come on!
4 Science
Gob; I heard the jury is still out on science
3 identifying religious s symbols
Maebe Funke: Do you guys know where I could get one of those gold T-shaped pendants?
Michael: That's a cross.
Maebe Funke: Across from where?
2 The Happy Days Connection/Jumping the Shark
Happy Days was a family sit-com that ran from 1974-84. Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, and Scott Baio all had significant roles on the show, a fact that was incorporated into Arrested Development on occasion. The best moment was the introduction of Bob Loblaw's character (Scott Baio aka Chachi) as he replaces the Bluth's family attorney Barry Zuckercorn (Henry Winkler aka the Fonz).
Bob Loblaw - You know, this isn't the first time I've been hired to replace Barry Zuckercorn
Bonus Happy Days nod; jumping the shark
Jumping the Shark, or the moment in time when a tv show has peaked in story arc is attributed to Henry Winkler literally jumping a shark as the Fonz in Happy Days. As a nod to the man who originally helped to coin the term, Arrested Development repeated another version of this pop culture idiom for the relative few fans that caught the reference and found themselves having to explain it to others later.
1 Being called a Chicken
What started as GOB taunting his brother with perhaps the worst chicken impression ever;
led to this amazing Bluth family moment and perhaps Michael's best line of what is ultimately wrong with his family.
'have any of you even seen a chicken?
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