For British Eyes Only (26 Sep. 2005)

George Sr. drops a major bombshell that he was working with a British syndicate who conned him into building the house in Iraq. Michael decides to investigate the claim by heading to the ... See full summary »

Director:

John Fortenberry

Writers:

Mitchell Hurwitz (creator), Richard Day,

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 (credit only)
Tony Hale	...	Buster Bluth
David Cross	...	Tobias Fünke
Jeffrey Tambor	...	George Bluth Sr.
Jessica Walter	...	Lucille Bluth
Charlize Theron	...	Rita
Dave Thomas	...	Trevor
Jonathan Schmock	...	Lionel
Justin Grant Wade	...	Steve Holt
Harry Hamlin	...	Himself
B.W. Gonzalez	...	Lupe

Storyline

George Sr. drops a major bombshell that he was working with a British syndicate who conned him into building the house in Iraq. Michael decides to investigate the claim by heading to the British section of Orange County, where he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman named Rita.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Release Date:

26 September 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

When Lindsay says that Andy Griffith cancelled his appearance because he thought the Bluths were making fun of him, the narrator says "No one was making fun of Andy Griffith. I can't emphasize that enough." The narrator, Ron Howard, starred with Andy Griffith in the The Andy Griffith Show.

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Goofs

As Michael is being pursued by the foul mouthed British man, his (the British man's) car swerves toward the stair car, and then away. As the car swerves, the front tires do not move at all, but the car moves anyway.

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Quotes

Tobias Fünke: Ooh, I can taste those meaty, leading man parts in my mouth!

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Connections

References For Your Eyes Only (1981)

User Reviews

For British Eyes Only as seen by Canadian eyes

And so the decline of Arrested Development begins with the second episode of season 3. It's a season which doesn't really recover until its last five episodes. The decline isn't severe- not until Prison Break-In, anyway- and the show is still good, but not as good as it was in seasons 1 and 2.

This episode sets up the rest of the season: On a "Previously on Arrested Development" segment, which like the "On the next" segments of other episodes, doesn't actually refer to a real episode, we learn that George is now under house arrest at Lucille's apartment. That may have been a good choice; it keeps George in the show without doing things already done, like prison or the attic. Buster feels a bit ignored with his father living in the apartment again, which suggests it might have been a good idea to dedicate a whole episode to George moving back in, but the makers of the show instead chose to move onto other things. The problem is that some of these things spell trouble for the show: Michael suggests Buster should get a pet turtle (which will lead to a gross joke about its demise), Tobias gets hair plugs (which will be even more gross), George starts with his attempted escapes (which quickly become ridiculous), we start getting more recycled jokes (hop-ons become live-ins), and Rita is introduced. Rita may be a love interest for Michael, or she may be a British spy, or maybe she's just a stupid person. Her story is often selected by fans as being their least favourite part of the show.

At this point you may be wondering why I gave the episode a good rating. There's still some good material in this episode. Most of the writers of seasons 1 and 2 may have left the show, but some sharp humour remains. Be it a cutting shot at Donald Rumsfeld (yes, I am a liberal), or a double meaning of losing pounds or being "buy-curious," or GOB talking about feeling love and feeling erections, these are the things that make Arrested Development Arrested Development. We also get the ultimate chicken dances (we see George's for the first time, and it's good), with Michael's funny reaction, asking if any Bluth has "ever even *seen* a chicken." We also have the ultimate joke about Michael being a loser with women- the fact that he manages to compare Rita to a prostitute and himself to Jack the Ripper is good stuff. That's the Michael we love in what is still the show we love.