Visiting Ours
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| Arrested Development episode | |
| "Visiting Ours" | |
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| Episode No | 1AJD04 |
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| Airdate | November 9, 2003 |
| Writer(s) | John Levenstein and Richard Rosenstock |
| Director | Greg Mottola |
| On the next: | “Tobias talks Lindsay into another session, and George Sr. makes good on his promise to come clean on the international accounts.” |
| Guest star(s) | Judy Greer as Kitty Sanchez Rocky McMurray as Warden Buck Bob Odenkirk as Dr. Gunty |
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Arrested Development Season 1 |
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| All Arrested Development episodes | |
"Visiting Ours" was the sixth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.
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[edit] Synopsis
Michael Bluth is visiting his father in prison, anxious to get to the bottom of some suspicious bookkeeping. George Sr. is also anxious, but about the quality of the prison softball team. Frustrated by his father, Michael returns to the office and comes across George Sr.'s loyal assistant Kitty, who he suspects might have the information he needs.
Just then, Lucille calls Michael with an emergency. Their club membership has been downgraded to "pool members only." Horrified by pool food, Lucille orders her son to rectify the situation. Meanwhile, G.O.B. is noisily moving a desk into an office so he can write a strongly-worded letter to the prison warden, who decried the legitimacy of G.O.B.'s "escape" from his walls. Noticing Kitty's obvious attraction to G.O.B., Michael sets about the business of manipulation.
Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias, who are having a tough time in their marriage, prepare for their first session with a therapist. Maeby and George Michael decide to follow them, but George Michael is reluctant to drive because he doesn't want to get in any trouble, which could hamper his stated goal of visiting George Sr. In reality, George Michael is terrified of prison since he watched HBO's prison drama Oz after mistaking it for The Wizard of Oz.
Michael arrives home, elated by the fact that G.O.B.'s seduction of Kitty will get him the information he needs and prevent him from having to visit the prison anymore. At least until George Michael tells him he wants to visit Pop Pop. G.O.B. begins placing his spell over Kitty while Lindsay and Tobias begin examining their marriage for the first time. And Michael heads back to prison for the first time since vowing never to return.
During this visit, it is revealed that Lucille has yet to visit her husband since his sentencing. And it is also revealed that daddy is horny. Michael then pays his mother a visit to persuade her to make a conjugal visit to the prison. Lucille asks her son if he really wants this. Wants it bad enough to get her, say, a golf membership?
Lindsay and Tobias are getting to the heart of their relationship with a role-reversal game. Which Tobias dives headlong into. But when Lindsay balks at it, the therapist jumps into the role of reverse Tobias. After passionately acting out their reverse roles, Tobias and the male therapist are about to make out until Lindsay brings the scene to an end.
Michael arrives home, happy to have a brother he can share the news of his day with. Except G.O.B. is violently repulsed by the thought of his parents sharing a conjugal trailer. But G.O.B. has some good news. He "bleeped Kitty." Horrified, Michael asks if he got the information about the international accounts, which he didn't. So Michael decides to hold out on G.O.B.'s office supplies until the job is done.
Michael drops by the prison again, this time with his mother and the news that "I took it upon myself to bring her." A surprised and grateful George Sr. opens the trailer door, only to be shocked to see his wife. You see, he has Kitty waiting for him in the other trailer. George Sr. asks his son for his help, and Michael wonders aloud if the help is "international accounts information" worthy. Coming to the rescue, Michael calls G.O.B. to ask him to come to the prison, but learns he is already at the prison to deliver his strongly-worded letter to the warden. G.O.B. tries to stall Kitty, but then decides he has to do the right thing. So he kicks out the bathroom window and sneaks out of the trailer. But on the way back to his car, he runs into the warden, who has just read his strongly-worded letter. And so G.O.B. is detained against the window of the trailer in which his parents are being intimate.
[edit] Episode notes
- Although this episode was broadcast as the sixth episode of the season, it was made as the fifth episode (and appears on the DVD as the fifth episode, too). Technically, while there's no lack of continuity, this episode should go BEFORE Charity Drive, as Kitty appears in both episodes, but receives a more in-depth introduction in this episode.
- Buster does not make an appearance during the episode.
[edit] References
- Oz - George Michael is afraid of visiting his grandfather in prison due to seeing an episode of the HBO series Oz at a young age. Oz was a fictional look at a maximum security New York prison. Pulling no punches, it routinely featured extremely coarse language, violence, murder, rape, etc., a far cry from the normally relaxed atmosphere of the Orange County Prison housing George Sr.
- Alias - Tobias's comment about having his own Alias-type show is a reference to the ABC spy series.
- Friends - While Maeby is listening through the door to her parents' therapy session, we hear Dr. Gunty and Tobias mention David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, and Lisa Kudrow, all cast members from the very successful American sitcom Friends.
- House of Pies - House of Pies is a chain restaurant prominent in Los Angeles, and known for pies and other American cuisine. It is said to be a popular hangout for Hollywood writers, which may explain its inclusion in the show.
- The Wizard of Oz - George Michael was shown to be a big fan of the film at a young age, as he prepares to watch it by wearing a hat like the Tin Man.
[edit] Callbacks/Running Jokes
- Affairs - This is the first time we learn of George Sr.'s many affairs while married to Lucille.
- Bear - This is the first instance of a character referring to George Sr. as a bear, which was later returned to in Let 'Em Eat Cake.
- Family First - George Sr.'s line "Family first" is first said by Michael in both Pilot and Key Decisions.
- G.O.B. Witnesses - This is the first time G.O.B. is forced to watch his parents have intercourse. The scene is later mirrored in the Season 2 episode Meat the Veals and the Season 3 episode Prison Break-In.
- Horny - George Sr.'s "Daddy horny" line is later mirrored in Season 3 by Lucille in For British Eyes Only, and then referenced again by Rita in The Ocean Walker.
- "I bleeped" - This is the first time G.O.B. says "I bleeped *name*" to announce that he has had intercourse with someone. The phrase later becomes an occasional running gag, appearing again next in Shock and Aww.
- Ice Cream - The Bluth children's predilection for ice cream is well-documented in Charity Drive, Pier Pressure and Altar Egos. Lindsay and Tobias say they're going out for ice cream when they leave for a marriage counselor.
- Klimpy's - While George Michael and Maeby are watching television, we hear an advertisement for Klimpy's, the family-friendly chain restaurant that Lucille and Lindsay later visit in Public Relations
- Repulsive - Kitty is first deemed "repulsive" by G.O.B. after taking her chair so as to set up an office for himself, and later on in the episode, George Sr. explains that he has done a "repulsive thing" which brings Michael to realize it is Kitty he has in a conjugal trailer.
- Softball - George Sr.'s love of softball, first mentioned in Key Decisions, is very prominent in this episode, as shown in the prison softball games. We later revisit the game again in Season 2's Switch Hitter.
- Stair Car - The stairway vehicle that the Bluths use is first introduced in Key Decisions.
- This is the first time a prisoner attempts to escape by running up the stair car. It later happens again in Prison Break-In.
- Tobias is Gay - Tobias and Dr. Gunty almost close out their 'role-reversal' performances with an agenda for each other...before Lindsay stops them at the last minute.
- Wonderful Things - Michael says "He said some wonderful things" in regards to George Sr.'s statement, "Daddy horny". He says the same thing later to Lindsay in the Season 2 episode The One Where Michael Leaves about Tobias's line, "I just blue myself".
[edit] Hidden/Background Jokes
- DogCandy - While sitting in Dr. Gundy's waiting room, Lindsay is reading a magazine called "DogCandy". The magazine headlines are: “The DogCandy Interview: Daisy,” “Just A Pup: Midwest Campus Beauties,” and “Don’t miss this months pictorial: Abby Esbona.” The marriage counselor’s office is also decorated with large number of dog-related items.
- Never Nude - In this episode, Tobias's inability to be nude (and his cutoff jeans) are presented directly for the first time, although they are not explained until In God We Trust.
[edit] Character Cameos
- This is the only appearance we see of Bob Odenkirk's character, marriage counselor Dr. Gunty. Both Bob Odenkirk and the actor who plays Tobias, David Cross, were the stars and executive producers of the HBO sketch comedy series, Mr. Show with Bob and David.
- If the episodes are viewed in Production order, this is the first appearance of Kitty Sanchez, George Sr.'s secretary.
[edit] Foreshadowing/Future References
- Iraq - This is the first time that we are given insight into the serious nature of the charges against George Sr., as while looking for the International Accounts information, he tells Michael that he may have committed some "light treason".
- "Give Pop-Pop Your Hair" - George Sr., rattled from the Softball game, asks George Michael for his hair. This is a subtle future reference to George Sr.'s twin and less-bald brother Oscar, whose hair is used in many future episodes as part of George Sr.'s escapes from the law.
[edit] Goofs
- Cameraman Visible - In the scene where Dr. Gunty and Tobias almost kiss, as Lindsay stands up, a cameraman can be seen briefly.
