Motherboy XXX (13 Mar. 2005)

Lucille recruits George Michael to take Buster's place at the annual mother son dinner dance. While Michael and GOB are busy tracking down the seal that ate Buster's hand, Tobias signs away... See full summary »

Director:

Joe Russo

Writers:

Mitchell Hurwitz (creator), James Vallely,

Stars:

Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Bateman	...	Michael Bluth
Portia de Rossi	...	Lindsay Bluth Fünke
Will Arnett	...	Gob Bluth
Michael Cera	...	George-Michael Bluth
Alia Shawkat	...	Maeby Fünke
Tony Hale	...	Buster Bluth
David Cross	...	Tobias Fünke
Jeffrey Tambor	...	George Bluth Sr.
Jessica Walter	...	Lucille Bluth
Henry Winkler	...	Barry Zuckerkorn
Dave Attell	...	Himself
Amy Poehler	...	Bride of Gob
Michael Paul Chan	...	Judge Lionel Ping
Carl Weathers	...	Carl Weathers
Timothy Brennen	...	Announcer at Dance

Storyline

Lucille recruits George Michael to take Buster's place at the annual mother son dinner dance. While Michael and GOB are busy tracking down the seal that ate Buster's hand, Tobias signs away the family's life rights in order to get a part with his former acting coach Carl Weathers.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Release Date:

13 March 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 5, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Did You Know?

Trivia

Barry Zuckerkorn (played by Henry Winkler) says, "I missed breakfast, so I'm on my way to Burger King" and then jumps over the dead shark on the pier. This is, of course, a reference to Henry Winkler's character in Happy Days jumping over a shark while on water-skis, signaling the moment when that show lost its relevance. The phrase "Jumping The Shark" was made popular in the 1990's as a metaphor for when a television show reaches its creative nadir.

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Goofs

At 4:11 into this episode, a crew member is visible on the left side of the frame. He is holding a camera and filming perpendicularly to the angle at which we are viewing.

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Quotes

Carl Weathers: [at Burger King] I'm going to go get a refill. You know you can get a refill on any drink you want?
Tobias Fünke: It's a great restaurant!
Narrator: It sure is!

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Connections

Spoofs Happy Days: Hollywood: Part 3 (1977)

User Reviews

Man-eating seals, badly named mother-son dances and other oddities

When Buster loses his hand to a seal bite in the episodes Out on a Limb and Hand to God, it was unclear whether this would be a permanent development or temporary; indeed, in this episode, the Bluths think they can track the seal and restore Buster's hand with a transplant. In the mean time, what one thinks of the hand storyline might be mixed- I've heard of fans who liked it and didn't like it, but got used to it. I fall into the second category. Motherboy XXX is a good enough episode that, when I realized the hand would not be reattached, I nevertheless accepted the hand loss story (which isn't to say Out on a Limb and Hand to God are bad, just that the storyline is odd at first). Part of how Motherboy XXX does justice to the storyline is by tying it in with a previous episode: The Bluths remember being psychologically tormented by a one-armed man growing up (see the episode Pier Pressure), and are thus a little afraid of Buster. But they eventually accept him.

From a comedic perspective, this episode is good, complete with some Ann jokes, George going crazy in the attic, and a mother-son dance badly titled Motherboy XXX (as in 30). It's an episode that utilizes the odd characters Buster, Lucille and Michael well. Nominated for an Emmy for editing.