| # |
Title |
Writer(s) |
Director |
Original Airdate |
Designation |
|
| 1 |
"Pilot" (also available on DVD as an extended cut) |
Mitchell Hurwitz |
Anthony Russo and Joe Russo |
November 2, 2003 |
1AJD79 |
| Michael anticipates becoming the new president of his father's homebuilding company, having put up with his family for years in order to achieve it. This includes living in the attic of a model home with his son George Michael, and learning his sister Lindsay, brother-in-law Tobias and niece Maeby have been in town for a month without telling him. Instead, the position is given to his mother Lucille, shortly before his father George Sr. is arrested. Michael, reluctantly, returns to run the family business to steer them while his father is incarcerated, and Lindsay decides to become close to Michael again. |
|
| 2 |
"Top Banana" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and John Levenstein |
Anthony Russo |
November 9, 2003 |
1AJD01 |
| The family's frozen banana stand has burned down. Flashing back to a week before, we see the events leading up to this: Michael is trying to get George Sr. to tell him where company money is being hidden; George Michael has to work through his crush on Maeby when she begins working at the stand; and Tobias gets an audition for a commercial. |
|
| 3 |
"Bringing Up Buster" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Rosenstock |
Joe Russo |
November 16, 2003 |
1AJD02 |
| Lucille grows annoyed of Buster and leaves him to work with Michael for a day. Tobias takes over directing of George Michael and Maeby's school play to get closer to his daughter, but his false assumptions lead the production astray. |
|
| 4 |
"Key Decisions" |
Brad Copeland |
Anthony Russo |
November 23, 2003 |
1AJD03 |
| G.O.B. announces his intent to escape from the prison holding George Sr., but can't publicly pass a key he swallowed. In the meantime, Michael falls for G.O.B.'s girlfriend Marta while accompanying her to an awards show, where Buster accidentally flirts with Lucille's friend, Lucille Austero. Lindsay returns to her activist roots when trying to convince a man to get down from a Bluth property tree. |
|
| 5 |
"Charity Drive" |
Barbara Feldman |
Greg Mottola |
November 30, 2003 |
1AJD04 |
| In search of the company car among the family members, Michael is forced to send G.O.B. to break into a permit office at George Sr.'s encouragement, and to weather complaints of selfishness from family members participating in a charity bachelorette auction. |
|
| 6 |
"Visiting Ours" |
John Levenstein and Richard Rosenstock |
Greg Mottola |
December 7, 2003 |
1AJD05 |
| Michael convinces G.O.B. to seduce George Sr.'s assistant Kitty to gain bookkeeping information. Tobias and Lindsay begin attending marriage counseling. George Sr. reveals he's become horny - and wants a conjugal visit from his old lover. |
|
| 7 |
"In God We Trust" |
Abraham Higginbotham |
Joe Russo |
December 14, 2003 |
1AJD06 |
| George Sr. is to be released for an afternoon to take part in a pageant of living art representations, playing God in Michaelangelo's "The Creation of Adam", while George Michael, Buster and Tobias, all with different motivations, argue over who plays Adam. |
|
| 8 |
"My Mother, The Car" |
Jay Martin |
Jay Chandrasekhar |
December 21, 2003 |
1AJD07 |
| Michael and Lucille begin to bond while his siblings become especially ignorant. Lucille then pins a car crash on Michael, who was originally knocked unconscious in the passenger seat and is suffering short-term memory loss. Lindsay worries she's grown unattractive when she receives no attention from inmates while visiting her father. |
|
| 9 |
"Storming the Castle" |
Brad Copeland |
Greg Mottola |
January 4, 2004 |
1AJD08 |
| After Lindsay says that Michael is too much of a good guy to make a move on Marta, he devises a plan to have the girlfriend meet G.O.B.'s second lover during his magic act. George Sr. discovers Judaism. |
|
| 10 |
"Pier Pressure" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Joe Russo |
January 11, 2004 |
1AJD09 |
| A trap is set when Michael thinks his son has started using marijuana, when in fact Buster asked George Michael for the drug to treat Lucille Austero's vertigo. Maeby spends time bonding with her grandmother, to Lindsay's resentment. |
|
| 11 |
"Public Relations" |
Courtney Lilly |
Lee Shallat-Chemel |
January 25, 2004 |
1AJD10 |
| After a series of negative publicity, Michael hires a female publicist for the family, who turns against them when he decides they shouldn't date in the interest of George Michael. |
|
| 12 |
"Marta Complex" |
John Levenstein and Jim Vallely |
Joe Russo |
February 8, 2004 |
1AJD11 |
| On Valentine's Day, Marta begins to fall for Michael, to his and G.O.B.'s misunderstanding; George Michael investigates his cousin's parentage for validation of his crush; Buster moves out of his mother's aparetment; and Lindsay wants a divorce from Tobias. |
|
| 13 |
"Beef Consommé" |
Chuck Martin & Richard Rosenstock |
Jay Chandrasekhar |
February 15, 2004 |
1AJD12 |
| An arraignment hearing for George Sr. in which the family must appear is jeopardized as Michael and Marta feel guilt in starting a relationship behind G.O.B.'s back, while he goes hunting for the man he believes to be sleeping with her. |
|
| 14 |
"Shock and Aww" |
Chuck Martin & Jim Vallely |
Joe Russo |
March 7, 2004 |
1AJD13 |
| Michael moves on to George Michael's ethics teacher before realizing he and his son share an attraction to her; Lucille's newly adopted Korean son, Annyong, arrives to Buster's annoyance. |
|
| 15 |
"Staff Infection" |
Brad Copeland |
John Fortenberry |
March 14, 2004 |
1AJD14 |
| Discovering the family had all been on the company payroll for doing nothing, Michael forces the family to work. G.O.B. and Buster to join a construction crew, while Lindsay works as Michael's receptionist. Annyong begins working at the banana stand. Tobias joins George Sr.'s prison to research an acting role. |
|
| 16 |
"Altar Egos" |
Barbara Feldman |
Jay Chandrasekhar |
March 17, 2004 |
1AJD16 |
| Michael has a deceitful one-night stand with a blind prosecutor, Maggie, who is arguing against his father, while George Sr. uses an undercover FBI agent who has fallen for him for information on the case. |
|
| 17 |
"Justice Is Blind" |
Abraham Higginbotham |
Jay Chandrasekhar |
March 21, 2004 |
1AJD17 |
| George Sr. wants G.O.B. to sneak into Maggie's house for evidence, but he instead sends Tobias, who breaks in while Maggie is still home, hoping to sneak around her. Michael, however, finds out her seeing-eye dog is blind, and thus Maggie must have been able to see all this time. George Michael confronts Maeby for posing as a terminally ill twin sister Surely. |
|
| 18 |
"Missing Kitty" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and John Levenstein |
Joe Russo |
March 28, 2004 |
1AJD15 |
| Michael and George Sr. argue over the firing of Michael's assistant and George's mistress Kitty. G.O.B. announces his intentions to sink the company yacht in a magic act on the beach, causing George Michael to find an idol in him. |
|
| 19 |
"Best Man for the GOB" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Rosenstock |
Lee Shallat-Chemel |
April 4, 2004 |
1AJD18 |
| Michael offers to plan G.O.B. a bachelor party after his drunken wedding appears to have stuck. G.O.B. refuses, saying George Sr. is his best man. Michael, hurt, tries to plan a fishing trip with George Michael for the same weekend. George Sr. plans to use the party in an elaborate attempt to scare an accountant out of testifying against him. Tobias attempts to convince Lindsay to reform a pharmaceutical jingle-based family band. |
|
| 20 |
"Whistler's Mother" |
John Levenstein and Jim Vallely |
Paul Feig |
April 11, 2004 |
1AJD19 |
| The family each beg money of Michael when the company funds become unfrozen. George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar shows up to attempt an affair with Lucille, and Michael makes a bad business deal with him after his father wished Oscar to have some of the money. Lindsay protests the Iraq War after her stylist is deployed. |
|
| 21 |
"Not Without My Daughter" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Rosenstock |
Lee Shallat-Chemel |
April 25, 2004 |
1AJD20 |
| Michael is hesitant to continue a tradition in which George Michael accompanies him on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, opting instead to take niece Maeby with him. He partly regrets this when the police question him in an investigation of Kitty's disappearance. Lindsay begins working at a clothing store to her embarrassment, which leads her to claim to be shoplifting. This in turn becomes a personal challenge to magician G.O.B. |
|
| 22 |
"Let 'Em Eat Cake" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Paul Feig |
June 6, 2004 |
1AJD21 |
| Michael and George Sr. prepare for a polygraph test on the company's business dealings. Kitty attempts to blackmail the company with information against George Sr. George Michael gets a new girlfriend, Ann, to Maeby's jealousy. Lindsay and Tobias enjoy new success when a book Tobias had written years earlier gains an audience. George Sr. escapes from prison. |
|
Note: Fox cut the production order for this season from 22 episodes to 18.
| # |
Title |
Writer(s) |
Director |
Original Airdate |
Production Code |
|
| 23 |
"The One Where Michael Leaves" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Rosenstock |
Lee Shallat-Chemel |
November 7, 2004 |
2AJD01 |
| Michael and George Michael leave for Phoenix but go back to ensure the family misses them. Lindsay wants to have an open marriage, which causes Tobias to try to join the Blue Man Group under the impression that they are a support group for depressed men. Lucille signs Buster up for the Army after being goaded by a Michael Moore look-alike. Gob becomes president of the Bluth Company. |
|
| 24 |
"The One Where They Build a House" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Patty Jenkins |
November 14, 2004 |
2AJD02 |
| Gob promises a model house for a new development in only two weeks. To meet this commitment, everyone in the family helps to build a fake house that is empty on the inside. Also, Lindsay buys a cream made of powdered diamonds. |
|
| 25 |
"¡Amigos!" |
Brad Copeland |
Lee Shallat-Chemel |
November 21, 2004 |
2AJD03 |
| Lucille hires a detective who locates George Sr. in Mexico. Michael goes to collect his father, accompanied by George Michael and his girlfriend Ann. Gob hires a bounty hunter named Ice to keep tabs on Michael (and to be his friend). |
|
| 26 |
"Good Grief" |
John Levenstein |
Jeffrey Melman |
December 5, 2004 |
2AJD04 |
| After Ice reveals that George Sr. has been executed in Mexico, the family holds a wake. Gob performs a magic trick in which he is buried in place of his father's body, which upsets Buster, who was told that it was a birthday party. George Michael discovers George Sr. alive in an underground bunker and hides him in the attic. |
|
| 27 |
"Sad Sack" |
Barbara Feldman |
Peter Lauer |
December 12, 2004 |
2AJD05 |
| George Sr. is concerned about the romance growing between Lucille and his twin brother Oscar. The prosecutor turns up new evidence supporting the Bluths "light treason" charge. |
|
| 28 |
"Afternoon Delight" |
Abraham Higginbotham and Chuck Martin |
Jason Bateman |
December 19, 2004 |
2AJD06 |
| The annual Bluth Company Christmas party. |
|
| 29 |
"Switch Hitter" |
story by Courtney Lilly, teleplay by Barbara Feldman |
Paul Feig |
January 16, 2005 |
2AJD07 |
| Gob goes to work for their competitor, Stan Sitwell, armed with Michael's good ideas. George Sr. thinks Sitwell is just trying to win the company softball game. |
|
| 30 |
"Queen for a Day" |
Brad Copeland |
Andrew Fleming |
January 23, 2005 |
2AJD08 |
| The Bluth company stock is unfrozen. Michael sells his shares to buy a new Corvette, and Tobias uses his shares to purchase a gay nightclub called "The Queen Mary". |
|
| 31 |
"Burning Love" |
Chuck Martin and Lisa Parsons |
Paul Feig |
January 30, 2005 |
2AJD09 |
| Love is in the air, as Michael pursues old childhood crush Sally Sitwell, Lindsay tries to entice a right-wing actor by wearing her mother's furs, and Gob and Lucille 2 continue their illicit relationship. George-Michael stages a Christian "music bonfire" for his girlfriend Ann. George Sr. installs a hot-tub in his attic hideout. |
|
| 32 |
"Ready, Aim, Marry Me" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Paul Feig |
February 13, 2005 |
2AJD10 |
| Thinking Lucille 2 (the majority shareholder) and Stan Sitwell are plotting against the Bluth company, Michael sets up Lindsay to go on a romantic get-away with her fake Uncle Jack on the condition that Jack would bail out the company again. Lucille 2 and Stan Sitwell are followed on their date by Gob and Buster. |
|
| 33 |
"Out on a Limb" |
Chuck Martin and Jim Vallely |
Danny Leiner |
March 6, 2005 |
2AJD11 |
| Gob's wife files for divorce. Michael, upon learning his former lover (and known liar) Maggie Lizer is pregnant, has Tobias and Lindsay break into her house to collect a pee sample to confirm her pregnancy. Buster swims in the ocean and has his hand bitten off by a loose seal. |
|
| 34 |
"Hand to God" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Chuck Martin |
Joe Russo |
March 6, 2005 |
2AJD12 |
| Buster tries to come to terms with the loss of his hand, as Michael tries to find a way out of raising Maggie's baby. |
|
| 35 |
"Motherboy XXX" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Joe Russo |
March 13, 2005 |
2AJD13 |
| Lucille, ashamed of Buster's missing hand, recruits George-Michael to compete in the annual "Motherboy" contest with her. |
|
| 36 |
"The Immaculate Election" |
Chuck Martin & Jim Vallely |
Joe Russo |
March 20, 2005 |
2AJD14 |
| George-Michael runs a doomed campaign for class president against Steve Holt. Lindsay kicks Tobias out, but he returns, disguised as Mrs. Featherbottom, to become their singing British housekeeper. |
|
| 37 |
"Sword of Destiny" |
Brad Copeland |
Peter Lauer |
March 27, 2005 |
2AJD15 |
| Gob performs the Sword of Destiny illusion as Buster's assistant. Michael takes his first sick day. |
|
| 38 |
"Meat the Veals" |
Barbara Feldman and Richard Rosenstock |
Joe Russo |
April 3, 2005 |
2AJD16 |
| Michael introduces the Bluths to Ann's conservative parents in hopes of turning them against George-Michael and Ann's pre-engagement. Oscar throws Lucille a party to celebrate her wedding anniversary. |
|
| 39 |
"Spring Breakout" |
Barbara Feldman and Abraham Higginbotham |
Anthony Russo |
April 10, 2005 |
2AJD17 |
| Michael checks Lucille into rehab, but instead she challenges Kitty to a drinking contest with George Sr. as the stakes. |
|
| 40 |
"Righteous Brothers" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Chuck Martin |
April 17, 2005 |
2AJD18 |
| The model home collapses. Tobias and Kitty head to Las Vegas together. |
|
Note: Fox cut the production order for this season down to 13 episodes.
| # |
Title |
Writer(s) |
Director |
Original Airdate |
Production Code |
|
| 41 |
"The Cabin Show" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Paul Feig |
September 19, 2005 |
3AJD01 |
| When Michael realizes that Oscar, not George Sr., is serving time in prison, he sets off to find his father while trying to find time to reconnect with George-Michael at the family's cabin. Gob learns he has a son. |
|
| 42 |
"For British Eyes Only" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Day |
John Fortenberry |
September 26, 2005 |
3AJD02 |
| Michael falls for a British woman named Rita while investigating a claim by George Sr. in which he says a British construction firm tricked him into doing business with the Iraqis. |
|
| 43 |
"Forget-Me-Now" |
Tom Saunders |
John Amodeo |
October 3, 2005 |
3AJD03 |
| The family's new attorney works on George Sr.'s defense even as George Sr. plans his escape. Michael tries to destroy all evidence that his family exists, so that he won't have to introduce them to Rita. Gob demonstrates his "Forget-me-now" pills. |
|
| 44 |
"Notapusy" |
Ron Weiner |
Lev L. Spiro |
November 7, 2005 |
3AJD04 |
| Michael volunteers to participate in the father-son triathlon with Gob's son to prove his masculinity to Rita. Maeby attempts to expose the hypocrisy of an "Inner Beauty Contest" by appearing as her disabled alter-ego Surely, while George Sr. mistakenly delivers a "Scared Straight" lecture to a gathering of gay men. |
|
| 45 |
"Mr. F" |
Richard Day and Jim Vallely |
Arlene Sanford |
November 7, 2005 |
3AJD05 |
| Gob tries to trick the company's Japanese investors by building a "Tiny Town," but Tobias ruins everything after he mistakes a CIA agent for a talent agent from CAA. |
|
| 46 |
"The Ocean Walker" |
Jake Farrow and Sam Laybourne |
Paul Feig |
December 5, 2005 |
3AJD06 |
| When Michael decides to marry Rita, his parents oppose the idea - until they learn she's worth millions of dollars. |
|
| 47 |
"Prison Break-In" |
Karey Dornetto |
Robert Berlinger |
December 12, 2005 |
3AJD07 |
| Michael is worried when he finds out that the prison warden is dating his mother and that the Bluth Foundation dinner is being held in the prison's new wing. |
|
| 48 |
"Making a Stand" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Chuck Tatham |
Peter Lauer |
December 19, 2005 |
3AJD08 |
| Tired that his father has once again found a way to pit Gob and him against each other, Michael decides to teach his father a lesson. |
|
| 49 |
"S.O.B.s" |
Richard Day and Jim Vallely |
Robert Berlinger |
January 2, 2006 |
3AJD09 |
| In order to get enough money to hire a new family lawyer, everyone has to pitch in and prepare for the upcoming company fundraiser, aptly named "Save Our Bluths." |
|
| 50 |
"Fakin' It" |
Dean Lorey and Chuck Tatham |
Lev L. Spiro |
February 10, 2006 |
3AJD10 |
| Although George Sr. finally gets a lawyer, Michael worries when he learns of a mysterious witness and Buster pretends he's in a coma so he doesn't have to testify. |
|
| 51 |
"Family Ties" |
Ron Weiner |
Robert Berlinger |
February 10, 2006 |
3AJD11 |
| Michael hires a woman who turns out to be his long-lost sister, Nellie, and who may be just what the company needs. |
|
| 52 |
"Exit Strategy" |
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely |
Rebecca E. Asher |
February 10, 2006 |
3AJD12 |
| George-Michael's surprise birthday party for Maeby gets her in big trouble, and Michael and Buster make a startling discovery when they go to Iraq to rescue G.O.B. |
|
| 53 |
"Development Arrested" |
story by: Mitchell Hurwitz and Richard Day, teleplay by: Chuck Tatham and Jim Vallely |
John Fortenberry |
February 10, 2006 |
3AJD13 |
| Michael is relieved to have all the charges against his father dropped and is also shocked to learn who holds the real power in his dysfunctional family. |
|
