Family Ties (Arrested Development)
"Family Ties" is the 11th episode of season three and fifty-first episode overall of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Synopsis
Michael thinks he has made a shocking discovery when he finds a picture of himself as a baby with a girl named "Nellie." He shows it to Lindsay and they theorize that their parents had given up Nellie years before and were now trying to pin the family's crimes on her--the mysterious "N. Bluth." During their discussion, Tobias enters the kitchen ready for a day of bulking up at the gym to Lindsay would find him more attractive. Tobias and Lindsay had made an awkward attempt at lovemaking the night before, but Lindsay was turned-off by Tobias' lack of masculinity (and Tobias was turned-off by Lindsay's lack of masculinity). They decided to try again in 31 days--after exchanging a list of "can't"s and "won't"s.
G.O.B. enters, complaining that his religious girlfriend dumped him after he suggested a "Holy Trinity," which he thought was a threesome. Uninterested in G.O.B.'s relationship troubles, Michael asks him if he remembers growing up with a sister. Despite Lindsay sitting right in front of him, he does not.
Upstairs, George-Michael breaks the news to Maeby that their fake hospital wedding was real and shows the marriage certificate he got in the mail. He wants it framed; she wants it destroyed.
Deciding to find out more about Nellie, Michael went to see his parents. In Buster's room, he finds George Sr. surrounded by computer equipment from the Bluth Company's office and worries that George Sr. is on one of his "Black Friday" firing sprees. Actually, he's trying to delete the hard-drives on the company's computers with an electromagnet. Lucille complains to Michael that she knows Buster is faking his coma (although she doesn't know that the reason was that he had fallen for his nurse). All Michael gets when he asks about "Nellie" is another dig about Tobias.
Michael returns to an office full of old computers and paranoid employees; he assures the employees, who had not received pay, that they won't be fired. Investigating the old machines, Michael finds an old Kay-Pro computer containing what he thinks is information on his missing sister. Unfortunately, Tobias arrives from the gym dripping with sweat and shorts out the PC. Michael is upset that he won't be able to copy Nellie's phone number from the unit, until Tobias tells him to hit the "print screen" key and print out whatever had been showing on the screen. Then Tobias tells Michael that he's attracted to the female trainer as his gym, who is also named Michael.
While visiting Buster in the hospital, Lucille finds Rep. John Van Heusen standing besides Buster's bed, protecting his right to life. He claims that he was tipped off earlier in the day by someone who wanted to save Buster. That somebody was actually Buster himself.
Meanwhile, Michael's search for Nellie turns up "Frank," an acquaintance of hers, who sets up a meeting for them at a hotel bar. Michael feels a connection with Nellie that he has never felt with another family member. The next day Michael introduces Nellie to the company staff. As they still haven't been paid they aren't happy to see her, but he encourages them to take full advantage of Nellie's "expertise." As Michael leaves for more important business, Nellie specifies exactly what kind of work she will do for them. Michael plans to tell Nellie that he thinks she's his sister over drinks that evening. Lindsay also plans to have drinks, but with a man other than her husband.
Michael arrives for his meeting with Nellie, only to find Tobias waiting for his trainer, "Michael". He soon realizes that the "Girl-Michael" Tobias was there to meet was actually a man. Upstairs, Nellie confesses that she's mildly attracted to Michael, but it's a setup for Michael to be confronted by her pimp, Frank. Recognizing the pimp's voice, Michael turns on the lights and discovers Franklin, voiced by his brother G.O.B. Franklin informs Michael that Nellie is a prostitute, and Michael reveals that he thinks she is their sister. Downstairs at the bar, Lindsay arrives for her date and finds Tobias sitting with fitness trainer "Michael", whom she was also there to meet: Fitness trainer "Michael" was under the assumption that the two had wanted a "Holy Trinity."
Michael confronts his father about Nellie. George Sr. insists that Nellie is his prostitute, not his daughter. When Michael says he gave Nellie access to the "N. Bluth" account earlier, George Sr. rushes to his computer to try to close the account. But it's too late: the account has been emptied.
The next day, Michael heads to the office to tell the employees that they'll be fired after all. Fortunately for Michael, Nellie used the "N. Bluth" account money to pay herself and the employees and upgrade the company's computers; she tells Michael that "It's only embezzlement if the money is spent outside the company." Impressed by her handling of the situation, Michael offers Nellie a job at the Bluth company, but she declines. After all, she made $300,000 last year.
Episode notes
- The episode title, "Family Ties" has multiple meanings: It references the 1980s sitcom of the same name starring Justine Bateman, also the fact that star Jason Bateman and guest star Justine Bateman are siblings. Additionally, it references the plot of the episode.
Cultural references
- Enron Nellie says she heard about a couple of prostitutes "consulting" at Enron, referring to the Enron scandal, which (along with other companies) served as inspiration for the premise of the show.
- Family Ties Multiple references are made to the sitcom starring Justine Bateman, most notably the episode title and a mimicking of the show's theme song.
- Sleeping Beauty Lucille makes a reference to this fairy tale and famous animated movie in regards to Buster.
- Terri Schiavo Several references are made to the controversial case of Terri Schiavo.
- Representative John Van Heusen's involvement in removing Baby Buster’s feeding tube parodies the involvement of various U.S. congressmen in the Terri Schiavo case.
- Van Heusen comments that he believes life is sacred, except in the case of lethal injection. This is a shot at the stance of politicians who spoke against abortion and euthanasia during the Schiavo case but were staunch supporters of the death penalty.
- Buster's excitement as Van Heusen dangles the balloon in front of him mimics a video used by Schiavo's parents as evidence that their daughter still had consciousness and awareness of her surroundings.
- True Lies Nellie and Michael enter a hotel room to be confronted by Nellie's pimp, Frank, who hides his face in shadow. This is similar to the scene when as part of a mock spy mission, Jamie Lee Curtis poses as a call girl for a mysterious man.
- Veronica Mars George Michael asks Maeby if she wants to watch a DVD, but the name of the DVD is bleeped. Subtitles reveal that under the bleeping was a "reference to off-network high school private eye drama censored by Fox," referring to a show aired on UPN whose creator and stars professed their admiration of Arrested Development many times. Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat, who play George Michael and Maeby, also made guest appearances on the same Veronica Mars episode, The Rapes of Graff. It is unknown if this part was actually censored or just a joke, especially since the next episode contained a full-blown crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, another off-network show.
Callbacks/running jokes
- Banner During the office party that Nellie throws for the workers, a banner reading "Workers Love Nellie" can be seen. This is a callback to the "Family Love Michael" banner from "Forget-Me-Now", and the "Michael Love Marry" banner from "The Ocean Walker". This time, however, the banner could be grammatically correct.
- Bleeps Nellie's speech to the Bluth Company employees listing her "ground rules" is almost entirely bleeped, and mirrors the sexual harassment speech given by G.O.B. in "Afternoon Delight".
- Boyfights Buster refers to himself as "Baby Buster", the name used for him in the Boyfights videos George Sr. marketed from "Making a Stand". Lucille later states that no one has called him that since High School.
- "Excuse me, Judge Reinhold" Call back to the previous episode, "Fakin' It", where the Bluths took part in a pilot for a courtroom television show with Judge Reinhold presiding.
- Faker Lucille calls Buster a faker, a name which comes up several times in future episode "Exit Strategy". It was also used in the previous episode, "Fakin' It".
- "Her?" When Michael sees Tobias's "date," he asks, "Him?"
- Bar Music When Lindsey and Tobias meet Girl Michael at the bar, the music playing in the background was first heard in the first season of the show, when G.O.B. defiantly throws a letter into the sea.
- "I did" G.O.B. lying about sex, and the narrator calling him on it, mirrors the scenes with G.O.B.'s wife from "Altar Egos" and "Motherboy XXX", and Starla from "The One Where They Build a House".
- Ignorance Michael misses Nellie's not-so-subtle hints that she is a prostitute, just as he missed Maggie Lizer's (pretend) blindness, and Rita's (real) mental condition.
- Illusions G.O.B. refers to Nellie as a girl who "turns illusions." ("Turning tricks" is slang for prostitution. Ironically, G.O.B. insists on calling his performances illusions for this very reason; in the series pilot, when Michael refers to his "magic tricks," G.O.B. corrects him, "Not tricks, Michael, illusions. A trick is something a whore does for money." Then, seeing a group of children watching in shock, he adds, "Or candy!" (Cocaine in the Extended pilot))
- "Marry Me!" Michael uses Maeby's deflection at the end of the episode when Nellie tells him how much money she makes.
- Mr. F When Franklin is discovered, the "Mr. F" theme plays in the background. It is also played when Lindsay reminds Michael of the Mr F incident.
- Oscar When George Sr. asks if Michael has seen Oscar, he is planning to use his brother to escape prison, as he did in "Righteous Brothers" and "Prison Break-In".
- Tobias is gay Tobias comments that he'd be more attracted to Lindsay if she were more masculine.
- Lucille and George Sr. call Tobias a woman, and refer to him as "Nellie", as does the maitre d' at the hotel bar.
- Tobias mentions being "jacked up on amyl and disco music", two things stereotypically related to homosexual men.
- Tobias asks Michael for a "jaw session."
- Tobias insinuates that he would be willing to date Michael in the future ("Flattered? Yes. Interested? Not tonight.").
- Tobias goes on a date with someone named Michael who is, presumably, a man.
- Upon seeing Michael's "KAYPRO" computer, Tobias comments, "Oh, K-Y Pro, huh?" This is a reference to K-Y Jelly, a lubricant often associated with gay men.
- After Michael says, "I can't stand to hear one more lie out of this family," Tobias enters in the background and says, referring to Lindsay, "There's the woman I'm sexually attracted to", after which Michael says "Okay, but that's the last one".
- Tobias calls sex 'heterosexual intercourse.' Michael corrects him and says that he can just call it intercourse.
Hidden/background jokes
- Buster's Hand Buster's hook becomes attached to George Sr.'s magnet.
- Holy Trinity G.O.B. mistakes the religious term "Holy trinity" for a threesome. Later on, Girl Michael refers to a threesome as this.
- Penus G.O.B.'s program on Michael's Kaypro 10 computer is the word "PENUS" repeated over and over.
- Slut Careful examination of Nellie's profile on George Sr.'s computer reveals that she is a "conSLUTant", not "conSULTant." This is a hint to Nellie's true profession.
- There is also a picture of Nellie in ASCII art, a note: "Call on Weekdays, Tough Negotiator" and a phone number: 310-555-0057.
- "Weird on so many levels" Michael's comment after asking Nellie to marry him is in reference to Justine Bateman being Jason's real life sister, and Michael believing that Nellie is his sister in the show.
- In the background of George Michael and Maeby's marriage certificate, where the State Seal of California should be, there is instead a picture of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- When Lucille realizes her necklace was not actual gold, George Sr. replies that it wasn't really her 50th birthday, a reference to traditional wedding anniversary gifts.
- Nellie finishes Michael's sentence at the end of the episode.
- A number of classic computers can be identified in the Bluth Co. office, including the Commodore PET, Osborne 1, Apple II and Kaypro 10, which Michael uses. However, many of them have their brand labels removed.
- When a reference is made to Mr. F, Michael replies "that was retarded" a callback to his relationship with Rita.
Character cameos
- Justine Bateman, Jason Bateman's real-life sister guest stars in this episode as Nellie, a woman who Michael believes might be his own long-lost sister. Jason Bateman mentioned in several interviews prior to this episode, that he wanted to have his sister guest star as a potential love interest. His final words after saying "Marry me!" are "That is weird on so many levels", which is a reference to the fact that he had just asked his real sister to marry him.
- Bluth Company employee Tom makes another appearance in the show. He had previously appeared in "Afternoon Delight", "The Cabin Show" and "Making a Stand". Tom is played by writer Tom Saunders ("Forget-Me-Now").
Foreshadowing
- Nellie Bluth In "Development Arrested", we learn that the "Nellie" from the photo was, in fact, Lindsay, who was adopted into the family at the age of three. Several hints to this are made in this episode.
- Several comments are made about the size of Nellie's nose in the photo, most of which come from Lindsay herself. The fact that Lindsay has had plastic surgery on her nose has been stated several times on the show in the past.
- When asked about having a sister, G.O.B. doesn't mention Lindsay.
- Michael mentions that siblings can finish each other's sentences, and Lindsay is unable to do this with Michael. Interestingly, Tobias and Lindsay finish Michael's sentence the same way (sandwiches). [Even more, this is a play on the repeated joke of Gob stealing and eating Michael's sandwiches when one enters the room with the other eating.]
- Nellie's picture in the computer printout bears a resemblance to Lindsay's picture under the entry of "hermosa" in the Spanish-English dictionary shown in the season 1 episode "Beef Consommé".
- In the episode "The Ocean Walker" George Michael states that California does not allow cousins to marry, yet he and Maeby are legally married.
- Religious girlfriend Although we see the woman who slaps G.O.B., we never get a look at the other person he's talking to. In "Development Arrested", it is revealed that the off-screen girl is in fact Ann Veal.
- Frank is Franklin Frank's real identity is hinted when he says that he "ain't no dummy" and "you're gonna feel my hand up your ass" during a phone conversation with Michael.
Goofs
- Birthdays According to the marriage certificate, George Michael was born on November 2, 1990 and Maeby was born on September 22, 1990. However, in "Hand to God", George Michael said that he was older than Maeby, and in "S.O.B.s" he says his age is 16 when introducing himself at his new school. Also, this would make their characters only 15 years old in this episode, which contradicts information given in previous episodes.
- Marriage certificate Mothers' names on marriage certificates are typically required to be maiden, rather than married names; thus, for Maeby's mother, it should have listed Lindsay Bluth, not Lindsay Fünke, and George Michael's mother Tracy would not have been listed as Tracy Bluth. Her maiden name was not otherwise revealed.
- The marriage certificate lists the address as “1 Lucille Lane / Newport Coast, CA 92606”. The zip code 92606, however, actually lies in Irvine, a neighboring city of Newport Beach (of which Newport Coast is a part).
External links