Arrested Development: Shock and Aww Rewatch
July 30, 2014 7:35 PM - Season 1, Episode 14 - Subscribe
Love is in the air: George Michael develops a crush on his ethics teacher, GOB takes Michael on a double date, and even George gets a lady caller.
--Annyong and Cindi Lightballoon, both characters with ulterior motives for getting close to the Bluths, are both introduced in this episode
--In a nice bit of foreshadowing, Maeby takes Annyong to the dance on the grounds that it'll be shocking because they're related (George Michael: Great, another uncle to compete with), but winds up dancing with Steve Holt...who's her cousin (maybe)
--Probably the most direct foreshadowing all season about George's dealings with Saddam Hussein
--Annyong and Cindi Lightballoon, both characters with ulterior motives for getting close to the Bluths, are both introduced in this episode
--In a nice bit of foreshadowing, Maeby takes Annyong to the dance on the grounds that it'll be shocking because they're related (George Michael: Great, another uncle to compete with), but winds up dancing with Steve Holt...who's her cousin (maybe)
--Probably the most direct foreshadowing all season about George's dealings with Saddam Hussein
[hello!]
posted by kagredon at 10:35 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by kagredon at 10:35 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Miss Baerly: Do you have a wife?
Michael: Yeah, but she’s dead. [both laugh]
Miss Baerly: Have you ever been married?
Michael: Yeah ... she died.
Miss Baerly: Oh, why are we laughing?
posted by John Cohen at 10:36 PM on July 30, 2014
Michael: Yeah, but she’s dead. [both laugh]
Miss Baerly: Have you ever been married?
Michael: Yeah ... she died.
Miss Baerly: Oh, why are we laughing?
posted by John Cohen at 10:36 PM on July 30, 2014
Some subtle foreshadowing in this episode: the "Hold On Surely Funke!" poster on the wall of the school hallway in the background of one of the scenes, and Michael's noticing the similarities between the model home and Saddam's palaces.
posted by crLLC at 8:57 AM on July 31, 2014
posted by crLLC at 8:57 AM on July 31, 2014
Hm, my least favourite episode of the season. Maybe it's sacrilege but I am not a fan of Annyong, the one-note wonder, and how they eventually wrapped up that storyline. I know repetition is a key element of comedy but there's a certain kind of repetition that grates on me. Annyong! There are lots of little bits though that are oft-quoted and yet never tickled my funny bone. The show is so dense with jokes it doesn't really matter.
I wasn't crazy about the double date either. I may be too sensitive about the idea of a man in drag as the epitome of ugliness to find that scene funny. That's personal though!
I will say, I did enjoy Michael's chemistry with the ethics teacher and Cindi Lightballoon sets the stage for some great FBI bits.
posted by Lorin at 9:02 AM on July 31, 2014
I wasn't crazy about the double date either. I may be too sensitive about the idea of a man in drag as the epitome of ugliness to find that scene funny. That's personal though!
I will say, I did enjoy Michael's chemistry with the ethics teacher and Cindi Lightballoon sets the stage for some great FBI bits.
posted by Lorin at 9:02 AM on July 31, 2014
"I can't believe that would have worked!"
I'm not crazy about Annyong either, especially how they wrapped it up.
With both Ms. Baerly and Surely introduced in the episode, I wonder if the writers originally had planned more characters with names like (bad example) Fairly or Mostly.
Continued adventures in pausing, from the signs in the Bluth Banana Jail Bars commercial:
I'm not crazy about Annyong either, especially how they wrapped it up.
With both Ms. Baerly and Surely introduced in the episode, I wonder if the writers originally had planned more characters with names like (bad example) Fairly or Mostly.
Continued adventures in pausing, from the signs in the Bluth Banana Jail Bars commercial:
I lost 60 pounds in just sixty days with my specially formulated nutritional bars.posted by bjrn at 10:19 AM on July 31, 2014
I guarantee you will be released from your very own jail bars of fad diets and misery.
I guarantee you will be released from your very own jail bars of fad diets and misery.
That's awesome, thank you for pointing that out. Caged wisdom changed my life.
posted by Lorin at 11:02 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's awesome, thank you for pointing that out. Caged wisdom changed my life.
posted by Lorin at 11:02 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ms. Baerly
I think it's specifically "Miss Baerly." As in: barely miss.
posted by John Cohen at 7:24 PM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think it's specifically "Miss Baerly." As in: barely miss.
posted by John Cohen at 7:24 PM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
I wasn't crazy about the double date either. I may be too sensitive about the idea of a man in drag as the epitome of ugliness to find that scene funny. That's personal though!
No, I agree. That subplot is basically "GOB tries to get back at Michael, but it backfires and he sleeps with a bunch of ugly women! Hahaha!", which is pretty mean-spirited.
I have a soft spot for Annyong, though, partly because the Bluths' long-running inability to realize when people speak other languages is a favorite gag, but yeah, they kind of dropped the ball on doing anything more with the character. He speaks some English in the next two episodes, which might have meant that they had some plans to do more with the character at some point, but that also seems to be forgotten really quickly.
posted by kagredon at 12:22 AM on August 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
No, I agree. That subplot is basically "GOB tries to get back at Michael, but it backfires and he sleeps with a bunch of ugly women! Hahaha!", which is pretty mean-spirited.
I have a soft spot for Annyong, though, partly because the Bluths' long-running inability to realize when people speak other languages is a favorite gag, but yeah, they kind of dropped the ball on doing anything more with the character. He speaks some English in the next two episodes, which might have meant that they had some plans to do more with the character at some point, but that also seems to be forgotten really quickly.
posted by kagredon at 12:22 AM on August 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
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hello
posted by freejinn at 10:32 PM on July 30, 2014 [2 favorites]