Afternoon Delight (Arrested Development episode)
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| Arrested Development episode | |
| "Afternoon Delight" | |
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| Episode No | 2AJD06 |
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| Airdate | December 19th, 2004 |
| Writer(s) | Abraham Higginbotham and Chuck Martin |
| Director | Jason Bateman |
| On the next: | "The Blue Man Group finally calls for Tobias with a life-changing opportunity. Unfortunately, he can't hear it, so his life stays the same." |
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Arrested Development Season 2 |
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| All Arrested Development episodes | |
"Afternoon Delight" was the 28th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.
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[edit] Synopsis
Michael Bluth finds the frozen banana stand vandalized by teenagers, a local holiday tradition, and heads home to find his son, George Michael, to engage in their tradition of rebuilding the stand. He finds his son both too busy to help him with the stand or to attend the upcoming Bluth family Christmas party. George Michael, instead, has to go to Ann's family Christmas party. Maeby meanwhile, has been told not to attend by her mother, Lindsay, who has big plans of finding a man at the party. G.O.B. likewise is excited for the Bluth celebration, as he believes his co-workers are going to roast him, only he has been alienating the employees by boasting about his expensive suits.
Michael visits George Sr. in the attic, who warns Michael that George Michael is pulling away from him. There, they receive a call from a stressed Lucille, who George Sr. points out must not be "getting any" from his brother, Oscar.
Michael goes to his mother's, finding that she seems to be a little lonely with Buster gone to Army, Annyong sent to the Milford Academy, and Oscar having gone on his 420 mile walk along the coast (he's never made it past UC Irvine). Of course, Buster never made it to Army. When he changes the $100 bill Lucille gave him for the bus ride into a plethora of quarters, he becomes hooked playing with the nearby Skill Crane machine.
Michael takes to rebuilding the stand alone and soon finds company in his niece. The two decide they should start spending more time together, as Maeby feels abandoned by her mother, and Michael feeling ignored by his son. The two decide to attend the Christmas party together.
They arrive at the party to find G.O.B., who is a little nervous about having kids at the party, thinking they might get their sticky little fingers all over his $2600 pants. Michael says he's just there to have fun, to which G.O.B. cautions they shouldn't have too much fun, as he's just given an explicit sexual harassment speech to his employees, threatening anyone who flirts with his sister.
Lucille shows up at the party, again in need of companionship after Buster has given her the false impression that Army is going well, by showing her the fruits of his labors: stuffed animals he won playing the crane game. Michael decides to send Tobias over to Lucille's to give her some company, only he just blue himself in case the Blue Man group needs him.
As Michael and Maeby entertain themselves by sticking candy all over the back of G.O.B.'s suit, Lindsay finds the party less enjoyable. Because of her brother's harsh warning to the employees, no one will flirt with her. George Michael shows up after a creepy experience with Ann's uber-religious family. As George Michael and Lindsay watch Michael and Maeby perform karaoke together on stage, they now feel abandoned, and both leave the party.
They were not around to discover as Michael and Maeby did, that the song "Afternoon Delight" isn't as innocent as the melody suggests. Michael cuts the song short and gets off stage, making way for G.O.B. who is eager to hear an employee roast him. He calls up a worker, Tom, and soon, G.O.B. doesn't like what he hears. And when he finds the entire staff is laughing at him, he proceeds to fire them all.
Michael and G.O.B. decide to throw a new party, and also to go back to their old way of doing things, with Michael doing all the business work and G.O.B. being the fun useless party guy. Meanwhile, Tobias' visit to Lucille's did not go well, as she became afraid at the sight of a man covered in blue in her house, and blew an air horn into his ear.
Michael decides he needs to retrieve Oscar to relieve Lucille's stress, telling his uncle to give her some "Afternoon Delight". Only Oscar mistakenly believes Michael is referring to a particular kind of marijuana ("Afternoone Deelite"), and tells Michael that he'll put it in her brownie.
Lindsay and George Michael, meanwhile, decide they should be spending more time together, and opt to go to the second Bluth party together. So, the second Bluth party begins at the docks by the banana stand, and G.O.B. shows up in the family's banana suit, looking to make his employees laugh.
Lindsay and George Michael decide to sing some karaoke of their own, but make the same discovery as Michael and Maeby did, that "Afternoon Delight" is an adult themed song. Lucille, under the affects of Oscar's "Afternoon Deelite", plows her car through the party and toward the banana stand, running over Tobias, who has been deafened by the air horn blow. She crashes into the banana stand, trapping G.O.B. inside.
Buster, who is nearby playing the skill crane, decides to be a hero. He spots a real crane on the docks, and takes control, grabbing G.O.B. out of the crushed banana stand. As he's lifted up out of the stand, G.O.B. hears the sweet sound of laughter from the employees. Buster hadn't learned the art of lowering gently, and G.O.B. is abruptly released and plummets into the ocean.
And so, Michael again takes to rebuilding the banana stand, and is happy to find that this time, his son is by his side. Michael apologizes to George Michael, acknowledging that he has a right to spend time with Ann. The two go about reconstructing the stand, singing "Afternoon Delight" before quickly realizing, that despite its catchiness, it's probably not the most appropriate song to sing.
[edit] Episode Notes
- Jason Bateman directed this episode.
- This is officially regarded as the Christmas episode for Season 2. Season 1's Christmas episode was In God We Trust, though had less of a Christmas theme applied to it than this one.
[edit] References
- 4:20 - According to the Narrator, Oscar attempts a 420-mile walk from Newport Beach to Berkeley, California. 4:20 is slang for marijuana. Incidentally, the walk really is approximately 420 miles.
- Afternoon Delight - This episode is named after (and features) the sexually suggestive song from the Starland Vocal Band.
- Blue Man Group - Tobias mistakes caller ID for the "Bluth" company (written "BLU") as the Blue Man Group. Thinking they're calling him for a role, Tobias paints himself blue in preparation.
- At the end of the episode, the Blue Man Group DOES call Tobias with a life-changing role, however, Tobias cannot hear the phone.
- The Simpsons - A Bart Simpson doll can be seen in the crane machine Buster uses. Buster attempts to pick up this doll, but fails to do so.
[edit] Callbacks/Running Jokes
- Banana Suit - This is the first appearance of the banana suit, which would later be used again in Making a Stand.
- Big Yellow Joint - The song from Pier Pressure is heard repeatedly (due to this episode's use of marijuana), and in new arrangements.
- Bleeps - G.O.B.'s censor-bleep-filled sexual harassment speech is a callback to Buster's two highly censored tirades in Bringing Up Buster. It was also mirrored in a nearly identical scene, in the later episode Family Ties.
- Blow Myself - Tobias says, "Oh, I got blown," referring to Lucille’s rape horn.
- Come on - G.O.B.'s "Come on!" becomes a heavily used phrase not only by himself, but by other characters throughout the remainder of the show. It is used again in the very next episode Switch Hitter.
- Egg - Michael once again forgets Ann's name, referring to her as "Yam."
- Family First - Michael says it’s "family first" at the holidays.
- Hammer - The family's inability to use a hammer (first displayed by G.O.B. in Top Banana) is demonstrated again when Maeby damages the Banana Stand by swinging a hammer through the door. Michael can also be seen mis-hitting a nail in the same scene.
- "Hey" - G.O.B. greets Buster with "Hey, Buster," to which Buster replies "Hey, brother."
- Incest - G.O.B. once again makes an unknowingly incestual comment when he says that he finally got into his dad's pants. He had made a comment about Lindsey sounding sexy on the phone in Staff Infection
- Marijuana - Oscar is the source of many pot jokes throughout the series. His having favorite brands of marijuana, in this case "Afternoon Deelite", comes up again in Prison Break-In when he asks for some "Sweet Freedom".
- Missed Phone Call - This is the second time Tobias misses an acting opportunity when he can't hear the phone. It first happened in Top Banana.
- Teaching Lessons - G.O.B. says he fired everyone to teach a lesson "to the others."
- Lucille says she adopted Annyong to teach Buster a lesson; and sent Annyong to Milford Academy to teach him a lesson.
- "They’re laughing with me" - This is the first use of G.O.B.'s line "They’re laughing with me," later used again in Spring Breakout.
- Tracy - Poor Tracy Bluth doesn't seem to ever get much respect amongst the living Bluths, and in this case, it is George Sr. who is the culprit, when referring to her death as things "working themselves out." Dialogue treating Tracy with very little respect is delivered by Tobias in ¡Amigos!, Lindsay in For British Eyes Only and George Sr once again in Prison Break-In.
- "Who wants to go to the hospital?" - Tobias is forced to go to the hospital twice in this episode. This is the fourth episode this season where Tobias goes to the hospital.
- Wink - When Michael tells George Michael that they "might even snatch a gift from the charity barrel" he passes him a wink and George Michael shows discomfort similar to Michael's discomfort when Lucille winks at him.
[edit] Hidden/Background Jokes
- Acting Like a Man - Tobias is reading the same book from Whistler’s Mother.
- Blue Man Group - There is a Blue Man Group advertisement at the gas station that reads "Coming to Orange County."
- Change machine - The text on the change machine specifically indicates it can return one or two $10 rolls of quarters. Buster puts in a $100 bill and loses $90.
- Cloudmir - G.O.B. takes boxes of alcohol, including Cloudmir, from Lucille’s for the office party.
- When a box of Cloudmir rolls past her, Lucille says "Thank God they’ve got my brands here."
- Go Lean - Tobias is drinking a can of "Go Lean."
- Hornblower - When Michael and his son reunite to rebuild the banana stand, a "Hornblower - Events and Cruises" ship can be seen in the background, possibly a reference to Lucille's rape horn.
- Oceanside Wharf - Unlike the goof in Top Banana, the signs at Fisherman’s Village (where the banana stand scenes are shot) have been replaced with "Oceanside Wharf" signs.
- Poof - Lindsay is thumbing through the pages of Poof magazine.
- Sign - When Michael is trying to talk Oscar into giving Lucille some Afternoon Delight, a sign reading "Parking In Rear" can be seen behind them. Since Michael thought "put it in her brownie" referred to sex, this is an obvious double entendré.
- Timeline - This episode has a very interesting timeline, where various flashbacks all tie into each other.
- First, we learn that someone broke into Lucille's house, which we later find out was G.O.B. who was stealing the liquor.
- When Buster returns to the penthouse, G.O.B. can be seen quickly going past the screen with Lucille's liquor.
- G.O.B. can be seen with Lucille's liquor at the Bluth company, saying "-king 63 hundred dollar suit. Come on!" to Al. Later in a flashback, we see Al offer a hand to carry the alcohol, to which G.O.B. replies "No, Al. I want to spill booze all over my fu..."
- Zanotab - There is a can of Zanotab, the drug the Fünkes pushed in Best Man for the GOB, on the company refrigerator.
[edit] Character Cameos
- J. J. Wall makes his first appearance as Ann's Uncle Paul. He would later return again in Burning Love and Development Arrested.
- This is the first appearance of the awkward Bluth employee Tom (the man who George Sr. fired in the flashback). Tom is played by staff member Tom Saunders, who would later write the Season 3 episode Forget-Me-Now.
- Charlie Hartsock as Ted, an employee who Lindsay tried to flirt with at the Bluth Company Christmas party.
[edit] Foreshadowing/Future References
- Annyong's Revenge - When the Banana Stand is being pulled up from the water, there is some graffiti on it saying "I'll get you Bluth - Hello." In Season 3's finale Development Arrested, we learn that Annyong's real name is "Hel-loh", and that he had a secret agenda to bring down the Bluth company after they stole the idea for the banana stand from his grandfather. This is a set-up to this, and marks the longest amount of episodes between a set-up and a pay-off in the show.
- It is also revealed in Development Arrested that "Hel-loh" translates to "One Day," so the graffiti on the Banana Stand can also be read as "I'll get you Bluth - One Day."
- Crane - The start of the episode reveals that the Bluths have their own crane machine located near the Banana Stand. It is later revealed in Out on a Limb that the bus stop Buster waits at to go to the army is near the beach, and we learn in this episode that the arcade the skill crane is located in is right near the bus stop, therefore the skill crane is just a few seconds away from the Banana Stand. These two things are important for the episode's pay-off, in which Buster rushes from the skill crane to the banana stand to pull G.O.B. up using an actual crane machine.
- Scream - When Lucille phones Michael up to complain, she starts the conversation off by screaming. Lucille later does this again in Hand to God, to which Michael tells her that she has to stop starting her phone calls that way.
- Seal attack - Buster sees a plush seal in the skill crane, wearing a shirt that says "Good Luck." Buster then points to the seal and says "That could be good for Army," implying that a seal with clothing will help him get out of the army, something that later happens in Hand to God.
- The narrator later says that Buster had "gotten hooked playing the skill crane," placing particular emphasis on the word "hooked." This foreshadows Buster's hand being replaced with a hook in the same episode.
[edit] Goofs
- In this episode, we learn that local teens dump the Banana Stand into the bay as part of their annual tradition. However, why would George Sr. hide money in the banana stand (as shown in Top Banana) if he knew it would eventually be destroyed at Christmas time?
