"Arrested Development" S.O.B.s (2006)

Director:

Robert Berlinger

Writers:

Mitchell Hurwitz (creator)
James Vallely (writer) ...

TV Series:

"Arrested Development" (2003)

Original Air Date:

2 January 2006 (Season 3, Episode 9)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

George Sr. suggests a last-ditch effort to save the family by holding a fund raiser to raise money to pay their legal expenses...

Plot Keywords:

Dysfunctional Family | Narration | Identical Twins | Orange County California | Sibling Rivalry

Cast

Jason Bateman	...	Michael Bluth
Portia de Rossi	...	Lindsay Bluth Fünke
Will Arnett	...	George 'Gob' Bluth II
Michael Cera	...	George-Michael Bluth
Alia Shawkat	...	Mae "Maeby" Fünke
Tony Hale	...	Byron 'Buster' Bluth
David Cross	...	Tobias Fünke
Jeffrey Tambor	...	George Bluth Sr. / Oscar Bluth
Jessica Walter	...	Lucille Bluth
Andy Richter	...	Donnie Richter / Chareth Richter / Rocky Richter-Wang / Emmett Richter / Himself
Bob Einstein	...	Larry
Tannis Vallely	...	Casting Director
Jack McBrayer	...	Country Club Waiter
Helen Slayton-Hughes	...	Mrs. Van Skoyk
Anne Bellamy	...	Woman at country club

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:13

Trivia:

The season three episode "S.O.B.s" is almost entirely one long in-joke about trying to save the show. As an example, a slew of celebrities are present in the episode, there's a brief moment of 3-D, and even a discussion of who might want the series after it left Fox (with references to HBO and Showtime).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the end, Buster's thumb is shot off. However, you can clearly see that he is holding his thumb down, trying to hide it for the camera.

Quotes:

Narrator: So the speech was disturbing, the food was inedible, the service lousy especially after GOB found out he wasn't going to get any tips, and that old racist woman choked on Buster's thumb. All in all, it was one of the Bluth's better parties.

Best middle finger ever given on television. Period.

...I mean that metaphorically, of course.

The episode is rife with subtle jokes that are both self-referential and pointing the finger at critics, fans, and their parent network (FOX) alike.

Using ridiculous ploys to open the show --such as "One of these people... will DIE!" montage showing the characters in quick succession, multiple TV celebrities appearing in the show, and a promised live finale of the episode, this chapter of the Bluths begins by the press all but writing off the Bluths. ...in court. Michael implores his family to tighten their belts and pull out all the stops to ensure their survival past the next few weeks (as the show was on the bubble of being canceled in a few weeks). A prompt immediately warns viewers to put on their 3D glasses, whereupon Gob throws a tomato at the camera. George Sr. suggests a "Save our Bluths" rally ("www.saveourbluths.org" appears on screen). Michael concedes that it's sad, but it's come to begging to ensure that the Bluth clan stays afloat (whereupon executive producer and series narrator Ron Howard flat-out tells viewers "Please, tell your friends about this show").

Even the title's episode "S.O.B.s" has a triple meaning: a message possibly to the network's executives for canceling the show, "sobs" (a sad state of affairs that such an intelligent show is being canceled), and the acronym itself for "Save Our Bluths"-- again, another plea for fans to recruit even more fans.

References to cable networks Showtime and HBO are made in sly fashion (as both networks were rumored to be in a war to lure the show to their programming lineup-- Showtime in fact had openly stated they would program 26 new episodes if series Mitch Hurwitz would sign off on it-- sadly, he didn't, fed up with dealing with the stress and network executive bull he'd accumulated over the past few years), in addition to references to the show's quick wit, self-references, complicated themes that are quickly resolved, running gags,and non-relatable characters that critics had stated about the show's formula ("If I may take off my acting pants and pull my analrapist stocking over my head", a spoken by Tobias Funke is one such line uttered, as it was a word he had used combining "analyst" and "therapist" to describe his career).

The show does fulfill every one of it's promises, giving guest stars, a dead character (a minor one-shot character who was quickly exposed as the soon-to-be victim long before it occurred), and a live ending, ensuring that it would end up as arguably one of the best episodes ever of the show's three-season run, and of most if not all sitcoms.