The One Where They Build a House
"The One Where They Build a House" is the second episode of season two and twenty-fourth episode overall of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Plot
Michael plans to save the Bluth Company by beginning construction on a new model home and holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Gob, now president-in-name-only of the company, promises the board the house will built in two weeks. Michael protests, and Gob suggests building a fake house, with nothing on the inside. Meanwhile, Buster suspects that Lucille and Oscar are having an affair. Lucille tries to end the relationship, but can't resist Oscar's luxurious hair. Buster gets upset and goes off to war. Lindsay and Tobias’s newly open marriage becomes more competitive. Lindsay makes a date with a homeless man, only to realize that he is actually an actor living on the street to research his role.
Gob cuts the ribbon on the hollow house, and all four walls collapse. Michael and Gob realize that their competitive attitudes stem from George Sr., who has always pitted them against each other. George Sr. is hiding out in Mexico with his former secretary, Kitty, who is driving him crazy. He asks Gob to wire him money, but the call ends when the police take down George Sr., thinking that he is Oscar.
Episode notes
- Tobias doesn't have a single scene in this episode without some kind of paint/makeup on him.
- The room where Gob signs some papers after making a firm offer on the boat is the same room where Michael signs some papers when purchasing his Corvette in "Queen for a Day".
- On the next...: "Lindsay finds out the true identity of her homeless man, and even though Lindsay didn't know who that was, hearing that he wasn't homeless was good enough for her, and Lindsay, crushed and alone, for the first time missed her husband Tobias."
Cultural references
- Blue Man Group - Tobias auditions for the Blue Man Group. He has yet to hear back from them, likely because his audition features him singing to a piano, while the Blue Man Group does not use vocals in their performances.
- Tobias is in blue makeup throughout the episode, using it to his advantage to hide in blue areas without being seen.
- Buster Keaton - The house falling on Buster is an homage to Buster Keaton's films One Week and Steamboat Bill, Jr..
- Friends - The title is a play on Friends-style episode titles, which usually begin with the phrase "The One Where."
- "Solid" - The song from Ashford & Simpson is featured prominently in this episode.
- The Big Lebowski - When Gob charges at Michael with the over-sized scissors, it parallels the end of the film's dream sequence.
- Evelyn Beatrice Hall - Buster announces his intention to go to war, saying to Lucille and Oscar, "I don't agree with your dirty doings here, but I will defend with my life your right to do it." This parodies Hall's quotation (often mis-attributed to Voltaire), "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - A movie poster for Tom Jane's movie has the tagline "They Shoot Heroin, Don't They?"
- Howard Dean - When Gob announces his plan to build a model home in two weeks, he finishes his presentation with an enthusiastic "Hey!", a reference to the exclamation famously made by politician Howard Dean while campaigning for president, the so-called "Dean scream."
- "Women and children first" -- Gob says this doesn't make any sense. He compares the phrase to Rock-paper-scissors, which he also asserts that doesn't make any sense.
Callbacks/running jokes
- Audition - Tobias' audition scene for the Blue Man Group mirrors his audition scene from the pilot. In both, he attempts to perform a song, but the scene is cut short just before he starts singing.
- Blendin - A "Blendin Moving and Storage" truck appears in this episode. "Blendin" is the fake company name that the government goes by when surveilling the Bluths, seen in a previous episode as "Blendin Dog Grooming."
- Blue dot - This is the first time that a blue dot (used here to obscure Oscar's erection) is used to censor something; earlier episodes used a traditional blur, and some later episodes use a white patch. The blue dot was first mentioned by Gob in "Missing Kitty," and appeared later in "Good Grief" and "Queen for a Day."
- Buster's real father - Oscar suggestively says, "I know where the boy (Buster) came from," while overly dramatic music plays. Lucille then looks down toward Oscar's waist area.
- Bluth Company board/workers are incompetent - The board chooses Gob's idea of building a house in two weeks (rather than Michael's, which was researched and well put together) after he performs a magic trick for them and brings in his business model, Starla.
- The Cornballer - The Cornballer, the dangerous device created by George Sr., appears in this episode. Introduced in "Bringing Up Buster," it had been banned due to the severe burns it frequently gave people, although it is still marketed successfully in Mexico (even though the narrator says The Cornballer wasn't legal anywhere). The Mexican warden and several prison guards have all fallen victim to the Cornballer.
- Gahb Bluth - Gob's name is mispronounced as the way it is spelled, which happened previously in "Pilot" and "Storming the Castle." This time it is Starla, the business model and Gob's supposed girlfriend, who pronounces it wrong.
- Ann - This episode begins the running gag that George Michael's girlfriend, Ann, is unmemorable, unremarkable, and boring.
- When Michael learns that George Michael is dating Ann, he says, "Her?"
- Michael is disgusted by the mayonnaise/egg combination that Ann has invented, which she calls a "mayonegg."
- Michael can't remember Ann's name, referring to her as "Egg."
- Michael tries to talk George Michael out of his plan to buy Ann diamond dust in order to get her "all glittered up for Easter."
- When Michael and Gob are reading the newspaper at the end of the episode, Gob mistakes Ann for a male in the picture.
- Hermano - George Sr. doesn't know the Spanish word for brother, instead saying "brothero." This is an allusion to the Season 1 episode "Marta Complex," in which G.O.B and Michael don't know that "hermano" is Spanish for "brother."
- Hole in his heart - Buster says that he has a "hole in my heart" during the Army physical, a reference to Lucille's comment in "Storming The Castle."
- I bleeped - Gob says, "I bleeped the business model," to Michael, a continuation of his using this phrase to announce (often untruthfully) that he had sex with someone. This began with "I bleeped Kitty" in "Visiting Ours." As in "Altar Egos," when Gob claimed to have consummated an impulsive marriage, the narrator tells the audience what actually happened between Gob's claims.
- "I've made a huge mistake" - George Sr. utters "I've made a huge mistake" to convey regret at his affair with Kitty.
- Lungs - Tobias gets diamond dust in his lungs. In the Season 3 episode "S.O.B.s", Maeby gets glitter in her lungs.
- Mission Accomplished - This is the first use of the "Mission Accomplished" banner, which returns in "The Immaculate Election" and "The Cabin Show."
- Mommy, What Will I Look Like? - A photograph of George Sr. and Kitty's possible baby is presented courtesy of Lindsay's photo manipulation business introduced in "Let 'Em Eat Cake."
- Moving out - When he's kicked out of Lucille's apartment, Oscar drags his belongings behind him wrapped in a bedsheet, just like Buster did in "Marta Complex."
- Panic attacks - Buster says that he has his "panic attacks under control" during the Army physical, referring to the panic attacks that he frequently suffered from in the first season.
- Phone - Gob's inability to use the company telephone system is displayed again. This time, he accidentally hangs up on George Sr.
- Police brutality - When George is arrested by the Mexican police, he is beaten over the head with a baton after he is already on the ground, as in "The One Where Michael Leaves."
- Portugal - Gob believes that George Sr. is in Portugal, when he is in fact in Mexico. Gob also mentions that Portugal is "down South America way." This is a callback to "In God We Trust," in which Gob and Maeby both think that Portugal is in South America.
- Rape horn - Lucille mentions her rape horn from "The One Where Michael Leaves," claiming that Oscar forced himself on her at the beach and that she didn't have it with her.
- Rock, Paper, Scissors - This children's game is referenced multiple times as Gob and Michael use it to settle differences; at the end of the episode, there is a combination visual and verbal pun as well.
- Taker - Michael says that Lindsay is a "taker," a callback to "Best Man for the GOB."
- What's wrong with him? - When Lindsay says she's got a man interested in her, Michael asks "What's wrong with him?" She says "There's nothing wrong with him—he is homeless." This mirrors Gob and Michael's conversation about Blind Attorney Maggie Lizer in Season 1.
- "Who wants to go to the hospital?" - This episode ends with Lindsay taking Tobias to the hospital, a running gag in the first few episodes of Season 2.
- "You're gross - Lindsay tells Tom Jane, "You're gross." She first said this to Johnny Bark in "Key Decisions."
Hidden/background jokes
- Blendin - A "Blendin Moving and Storage" truck rolls past Lindsay on the street. "Blendin" is the fake company name that the government goes by when attempting to bug the Bluth Company.
- Tobias, who is painted blue, blends in with the "Blendin Moving and Storage" truck.
- Blue paint - After he has removed his makeup, bits of blue paint remain on Tobias' face in the first scene of the episode and can actually be seen randomly throughout the house for the rest of the season.
- Construction worker cutting the ribbon - G.O.B tells Michael the president should be cutting the ribbon, not the construction worker. Later, when G.O.B cuts the ribbon, he is dressed as a construction worker.
- Cloudmir
- Gob has Cloudmir Vodka in his office.
- Tobias blends into a Cloudmir advertisement.
- In "Public Relations", Jessie hires Lindsay to promote Cloudmir, a callback.
- In "Missing Kitty", Kitty is wearing a pink Cloudmir Vodka shirt.
- C-Word - Michael tells G.O.B., "Get rid of the Seaward," referring to the new boat; Lucille replies, "I'll leave when I'm good and ready." In Season 3 it's revealed that GOB lives on a boat called the Seaward.
- Hole in the wall - A patch of spackle can be seen covering the hole in the wall of G.O.B.'s office after he used a sledgehammer to destroy it and find the briefcase in "The One Where Michael Leaves".
- Judaism - While a suntanned George Sr. talks to the Mexican police, a white spot from where his yarmulke sits can be seen.
- Les cousins dangereux - Tom Jane's movie poster for Junk says that it's "From the directors of Dangerous Cousins", the movie in My Mother, The Car.
- Lindsay's blouse - When Tobias disguises himself with the silver diamond cream he is wearing the same silver blouse that Linsay wore in the flashback scene at the beginning of the episode when she asked a man at a bar if she could buy him a drink. This is also a running joke where Tobias is often seen wearing Lindsay's or women's clothing.
- Covered by the paper - After Michael and G.O.B.'s rock/scissors fight, the Narrator says, "Unfortunately, the whole incident was covered by the paper," continuing with the rock-scissors-paper gag.
- Major Award - On the pool table/desk in G.O.B.'s office is a table lamp in the shape of a sexy woman's leg, just like the full-sized lamp the father won as a "major award" in the movie A Christmas Story.
- Señor Tadpole's - Kitty is wearing a Señor Tadpole's shirt. Señor Tadpole's is the restaurant that Kitty mentioned she went to in "Missing Kitty".
- Sign - The DJ's sign reads: "Events Elegance.com / Let us handle your event. / D.J.'s, Live Music, Catering, Floral Arrangements, Valet Parking, Invitations, Un-Invitations, Gift Baskets, Basket Cases, Clean up Crews, Preparations Crew, Funeral Services, and what ever [sic] else will make your party a party to remember! / There is no event too small and no budget too.."
- Sign - When Gob is buying a boat, the sign behind him reads "Nothing creates the illusion of Success like a Boat".
- Whisper - During the Army physical, Buster whispers that his "reproductive organ" is shaped like a "lobster tail, but without its shell". This is a callback to "Storming the Castle", in which it is mentioned that Lucille Austero changed Buster as a baby, and Buster whispers, "That's why she didn't look surprised..."
- Iraq - The way that Gob pronounces "Solid as a Rock" when cutting the ribbon makes it sound uncannily like he just said "Solid as Iraq".
Foreshadowing
- Buster refers to his genitals as "Charlie Browns", setting up "Good Grief", which was filled with Peanuts references, as well as setting up a later genitalia reference using "Linus", another Peanuts character.
- Oscar mentions that he knows how to avoid combat duty, then goes to cut off Buster's pinky. This sets up the fact that Oscar was in the Army (which is revealed in "Switch Hitter") and hints that Buster can get out of the Army by losing a body part. This pays off in "Hand to God".
Cameos
- Judy Greer makes her first appearance of the season in a brief scene with George Sr.
- Former MADtv castmember Mo Collins makes her first appearance as Starla, who later becomes a recurring character throughout Season 2. Starla is obsessed with Quincy Jones, who was the producer of MADtv.
- Thomas Jane guest stars in this episode as himself.
Goofs
- The narrator says that the Bluth Company "prepared to unveil Phase Two", however, in "Staff Infection", the company was working on Phase Three.
- Tobias, while talking to Lindsay and Michael, is seen holding a beer cozie in his right hand. In the next shot he is holding a wine glass in his left hand.
- At the beginning of the scene where Michael, George-Michael, Oscar, Buster and Jane start to build the house, at the top left of the frame, camera equipment is briefly visible.
External links