Motherboy XXX
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| Arrested Development episode | |
| "Motherboy XXX" | |
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| Episode No | 2AJD13 |
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| Airdate | March 13, 2005 |
| Writer(s) | Mitchell Hurwitz and James Vallely |
| Director | Joe Russo |
| On the next: | “Lindsay finds herself strangely compelled to be with Tobias, but not the one she’s married to; having finally had sex, G.O.B. can admit that he never consummated their marriage, but then G.O.B. caught a lucky break, but it didn’t last long; and Maeby impresses the kids at the Promise Land with her one scary campfire story.” |
| Guest star(s) | Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn Carl Weathers as himself Amy Poehler as Wife of G.O.B. Dave Attell as himself |
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Arrested Development Season 2 |
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| All Arrested Development episodes | |
"Motherboy XXX" is the thirty-fifth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Michael Bluth got up early in the hopes of avoiding his family. His mother, however, was already dressed, made up and waiting for him. Which put her wake-up time at the 3, 3:30 area. She always has trouble sleeping this time of year because she always gets excited before Motherboy -- a dinner dance aimed at promoting mother/son bonding. Lucille has gone with Buster over 25 times, and on a couple of occasions, even won Cutest Couple. But for Motherboy XXX, Lucille wanted to take Michael because Buster had become so moody after losing his hand. Michael chided his mother for not being there for Buster the one time he finally needed her.
Lindsay was also up early, upset that Tobias had re-connected with acting coach Carl Weathers. Tobias is excited about a possible role in Carl Weathers’ latest TV project, but Lindsay complains that Tobias always blows these chances and he’s not a take charge husband. Up in the attic, George Sr. has to hide when Maeby and George Michael come up looking for camping gear for George Michael’s upcoming Christian camping trip with Ann. Michael later catches news of the trip from George Sr., who overheard everything while hiding.
Michael tries to talk his son out of going, but when Maeby hears that George-Michael would be missing school for this trip, she decides to go too. Michael tells George-Michael that he thinks he should spend some time with Uncle Buster instead. Michael then goes to the office where he runs into G.O.B.. G.O.B. wants to know if Barry has mentioned his divorce case. And also, his soon to be ex is claiming that the seal G.O.B. released into the ocean – before it bit off Buster’s hand – was worth $250,000. Michael tells G.O.B. that if he admits he never consummated the marriage, he can have it annulled. But G.O.B. can’t admit that. Not even to Michael. Barry arrives and announces that the seal has been tracked and caught. If Buster’s hand is still intact, a transplant could be possible.
And Tobias meets with Carl Weathers at Burger King. Carl announces that he’s directing an episode of Scandal Makers. It’s about the Bluths, and Carl would be playing Ice. Carl doesn’t want Tobias for a role, he just wants him to sign a release. But he would be willing to give him the role of George Sr. in exchange for said release. George-Michael, meanwhile, spends an afternoon with Buster. But Lucille sees an opportunity. A new date for Motherboy!
Michael and G.O.B. set out to find the seal. Buster finds out and comes along. At home, Tobias begins to do some research on George Sr. in the attic. But angry that Tobias can’t master his voice, George Sr. appears and threatens Tobias. Which makes Tobias see the power in the man. Tobias asks George Sr. to teach him this power. Down at the docks, the search continues for Buster’s hand. But, in fact, turns out they had only found the seal’s left flipper, which was probably bitten off by a shark. Michael uses this to argue that, like Buster, the seal couldn’t survive in the real world. And so they set off to save George Michael from Lucille instead.
Lindsay is about to see a Tobias with the raw power of George Sr., which she is immediately attracted to. Elsewhere, Buster and Michael arrive at the hotel where Motherboy is being held. Seeing another matching sailor outfit, Buster knows Lucille would be in a room changing outfits. He also knows she will make George Michael wait on a balcony. And Barry prepares G.O.B. to meet with his wife.
Michael and Buster survey the hotel looking for a bored-looking young man on a balcony. Spotting a Sonny Bono, Buster decides to zip line over to balcony. But he immediately falls off, crashing through a skylight. His hook, however, continues down the line and crashes into Lucille’s room. She realizes they need to change rooms and costumes. Tobias begins work on the set of Scandal Makers. At the courthouse, G.O.B. finally meets with his wife. He threatens to lie about not consummating the marriage, which greatly attracts her. So they finally consummate it.
And back at Motherboy XXX, Lucille is finding her new partner an asset. Meanwhile, Michael and Buster are staking out the ballroom after having retrieved Buster’s hook. Later, Buster goes to unplug the lights to create a diversion, but catches his hook on a sandbag. He slides down to the stage just as Lucille and George-Michael come out to dance. Michael tries to drag his son offstage, but Lucille won’t allow it. Buster, finally hearing the truth about Lucille’s desired Motherboy XXX date, offers to dance with her so Michael can save his son from a life of being sheltered.
[edit] Episode Notes
- The fast food restaurant chain Burger King paid FOX for product placement in this episode, which the writers decided to exploit as much as possible. In fact, the original title of this episode was “Tendercrisp Chicken Comedy Half-Hour”, mocking the "Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich" that Burger King was heavily promoting at the time.
- The eventual title is one of the most layered in the show’s catalogue.
- The “XXX” refers to the 30th Motherboy dance, via Roman numeral.
- It also refers to XXX, the action movie franchise.
- Lastly, it is used in the adult film sense, referencing the inappropriate relationship between Lucille and Buster.
- It could also be a reference to the types of meals Burger King and other such fast food restaurants offer.
- This episode's credits music is the "Motherboy" song from the dance.
[edit] References
- Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse - When GOB's wife presents the picture of the two of them in the office, it resembles one of the images from Abu Ghraib, complete with a bag over GOB's head and his wife as Lynndie England.
- Amy Poehler - When G.O.B. cannot remember his wife's name he vows to find out her name and turn it into a pun. "...if her name's Amy, I'll call her "Blame-y." This references the real-life marriage between G.O.B. and wife of G.O.B; actors Will Arnett and Amy Poehler.
- Arrested Development (the band) - When talking about the Motherboy dance, the narrator says he is legally required to make the distinction between the dance and the band named Motherboy. This parodies the Arrested Development band's lawsuit against the show. The band name is also a reference to the band Loverboy.
- Burger King - The fast food chain underwrites the Scandalmakers show in exchange for a scene being set there. This mirrors the real-life deal between Arrested Development and Burger King. The episode makes many not-so-subtle references to this.
- Carl Weathers says the words "Burger King" as often as possible in his inital conversation with Tobias.
- Tobias somewhat awkwardly declares Burger King to be "a wonderful restaurant", which is then seconded by the narrator; the scene transition then consists of the camera panning and zooming on a poster advertising Burger King's new breakfast menu before cutting to Michael and Barry.
- Barry says he skipped breakfast and leaves a meeting to eat at Burger King.
- At the end of the episode, Michael and George Michael are drinking from Burger King cups in the staircar.
- Captain Hook - Lucille and Buster pretend that Buster's hook is part of a costume, referencing the villain from Peter Pan.
- House - One of Tobias's vanity license plates says "DRHOUSE", referring to the role played by Hugh Laurie. David Cross who portrays Tobias nearly won the role, losing out as a finalist to Laurie.
- George W. Bush GOB's wife tells GOB that she misunderestimated him.
- Jump the Shark - Barry jumps over a shark on his way to Burger King, a reference to his character Fonzie on Happy Days doing the same, and also a reference to the phrase "jumping the shark" which means a television show has run out of ideas and can not regain its prior form.
- Sonny and Cher - Lucille and George Michael dress as the famous husband and wife entertainment duo.
- Swatch - G.O.B. is more concerned about retrieving Buster's expensive designer watch than his hand.
[edit] Callbacks/Running Jokes
- Arm off - Buster's "Alarm off" button is covered to say "Arm off", just as the bench was in Out on a Limb
- Barry is gay - Barry mentions that he ran into the judge for G.O.B.'s case in a drag club.
- Breast pumps - After George Sr. begins talking to the dolls in the attic, Michael regrets taking the pumps out of the attic in Sad Sack.
- Buster says hey - Buster's friendly greeting, "Hey campers", is misinterpreted as the creature's call from Maeby's campfire story.
- Caged Wisdom - While doing research for his role as George Sr., Tobias comes across tapes of the video series George produced in Season 1.
- Carl Weathers is cheap - Carl Weathers continues to look for money-saving opportunities, discovering that you can get free drink refills at Burger King.
- Consummate - G.O.B. continues to insist that he has had sex with his wife, even though the narrator continually reminds the audience that he is lying.
- Gahb Bluth - G.O.B.'s ex-wife mispronounces his name as the way it is spelled, much to G.O.B.'s annoyance (despite the fact that he can't even remember her name). G.O.B.'s name was first mispronounced this way in the Pilot.
- Her? - When George Sr. mentions that George Michael is "going on that church thing", (referring to the Promise Land) Michael thinks the church thing is Ann.
- "I bleeped" - G.O.B. again announces he has had sex with someone by saying "I [bleeped] my wife" after finally consummating his marriage.
- "I'm a monster!" - Buster screams this for the second consecutive episode after scaring away the campers.
- Ice - Carl Weathers is playing Ice in the Scandalmakers episode. Ice appeared earlier in Season 2 in ¡Amigos! and Good Grief.
- J. Walter Weatherman - Michael and G.O.B. are terrified of Buster's lack of a hand due to Weatherman lessons involving a prosthetic arm.
- Lindsay's nose - Lucille says George Sr. didn't take Lindsay to the father/daughter equivalent of Motherboy because it was before they did her nose.
- Mispronunciation - G.O.B. pronouces "consummate" as "sonsummate", a reference to his inability to pronounce "circumvent" in ¡Amigos!.
- Never-nude - Dave Attell misinterprets Tobias's psychological affliction by wearing cut off jeans outside of his regular clothes.
- Seals - Buster is haunted by the stuffed seal he won in Afternoon Delight after being attacked by a real one.
- Stripper pants - Before consummating his marriage, G.O.B. rips off his pants as he did in Good Grief.
- Tobias is gay - Dave Attell says that if Tobias is straight, then he is sober.
- Bride of G.O.B. - G.O.B. still doesn't know his wife's name, referring to her as "Usarmy" after reading her dog tags.
- "Zip me up" - Buster no longer does a satisfactory job of zipping up Lucille's dress now that he has a hook for a hand. George Michael is also issued this command when Lucille changes into her Cher jumpsuit.
[edit] Hidden/Background Jokes
- Actors - On the Scandalmakers set, Tobias walks past the actors playing Buster and Michael. Later in the episode, an adult actor playing Annyong passes the screen.
- Mispronounciation - George Michael accidentally calls Buster "Knuckle Buster" instead of "Uncle Buster."
- Missing P - George Michael's costume reads "USS ENTER RISE," clearly missing the P. This may also be a callback to the "P" falling off G.O.B.'s segway in The One Where They Build a House.
- Overreaction to Buster's Missing Hand - In the hotel lobby when Buster is speaking to Michael, the hotel employee Michael was just talking to can be seen staring at Buster's hook in horror.
[edit] Character Cameos
- Judge Ping appears briefy in this episode. He presided over the Bluth's trial in Season 1 and Barry's fat case in Out on a Limb and Hand to God.
- Dave Attell makes his only appearance of the series, playing himself, who is playing Tobias.
[edit] Foreshadowing/Future References
- Michael and Buster's "Operation Hot Mother" mission is turned into a movie script by Meat the Veals. The two brothers also undertake "Operation Hot Brother" when rescuing G.O.B. from an Iraqi prison in the Season 3 episode Exit Strategy.
- George Sr begins talking to the dolls in the attic in this episode. This would continue for the rest of Season 2.
- Kitty learns from a rerun of the Scandalmakers episode in Spring Breakout that George Sr. is hiding in the attic.
- George Sr apologizes to Tobias and the dolls that he mixes up the names Polly and Nellie, which is the nickname of Tobias as revealed in Family Ties in the next season.
[edit] Goofs
- When Buster falls through the skylight and leaves his hook on the zip line, his left hand is clearly visible.
