Top Banana (9 Nov. 2003)

Michael suspects that George Sr. is running the business from inside prison. George Michael is made manager of the banana stand, and Michael gives GOB a letter to mail after Lucille suggests that he be included in the business.

Director:

Anthony Russo

Writers:

Mitchell Hurwitz (creator), Mitchell Hurwitz,

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 (credit only)
David Cross	...	Tobias Fünke
Jeffrey Tambor	...	George Bluth Sr.
Jessica Walter	...	Lucille Bluth
Patrice O'Neal	...	T-Bone
Lillian Hurst	...	Luz
Scott Atkinson	...	Roger Danish
John F. Beard	...	Himself (as John Beard)
Kendall Clement	...	Fireman
Monika Jolly	...	Donna

Storyline

After getting some unexpected help at the family's frozen banana stand, Michael suspects that George Sr. has been running the business from inside prison. His suspicions are confirmed when he follows his mother's house keeper to the family storage unit, which has been burned to the ground. Michael and his son decide to teach their father a lesson by burning the stand to the ground. Meanwhile, GOB deals with a pet store who refuses to give him a refund, and George-Michael has a hard time adjusting to his new roommate.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | storage unit | fire truck | bananas foster | segway | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Release Date:

9 November 2003 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hurwitz Company, The, Imagine Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the scene that Michael makes his son manager of the banana stand, the info that runs on the screen says it's 2:07 p.m., but the clock on the wall clearly says 10:10.

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Quotes

Michael Bluth: You certainly haven't been shopping! The only thing I found in the refrigerator was a dead dove in a bag.
Gob: You didn't eat that dove, did you? Because I only have a couple of days left to return it.

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Soundtracks

"Taking Care of Business"
Written by Randy Bachman
Performed by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

User Reviews

Gonna be our best summer ever, buddy

Even as part of the incredible first four episodes of Arrested Development, Top Banana is a stand-out, one of my top 5 of the series. Being the second episode, Top Banana is the first to feature the title sequence (here with added winding noises later cut out), and the first to foreshadow the Iraq and never-nude plot lines.

In this episode, Michael is searching for information needed for reasons only explained in a deleted scene. However, his father, pulling strings from behind bars, has the information and the surrounding storage unit burnt to the ground. Michael promotes his 14-year-old son to manager of the banana stand, and Lindsay outperforms Tobias at an audition.

There are some great jokes in the episode, including Michael's surprised reaction at a dead dove in a bag (despite explicit labelling). GOB wants to return it and later throws it into the ocean- AD makes something disgusting like animal cruelty funny, quite the achievement. Some of the best jokes develop characterization, as you'd expect from one of the first few episodes. Lucille shows elitist insensitivity in yelling at her housekeeper, Tobias overacts and stupidly passes up an opportunity at a second chance in his audition, and George Michael's comment about working kids shows he's under too much pressure and consequently has some backwards logic. Tensions between George Michael and Maeby are strong here, and delicious.

GOB's character is also developed further as he expresses some jealousy that Michael has taken over the business despite being the younger brother. His resentment is reminiscent of Fredo expressing the same kind of jealousy of his younger brother Michael in The Godfather Part II (1974). However, note that insightful comparisons between AD and The Godfather on the Internet tend to equate Fredo, as the inept brother, to Buster rather than GOB. Buster is nowhere to be seen in this episode.

But it's the amazing ending to Top Banana that establishes it as a masterpiece. It's great to see Michael going the extra mile to be a great father to George Michael. Having the banana stand burnt to the ground is a radical and impressive step. Besides being touching, this ending is packed with misfortune, perhaps inevitably in taking such a reckless move. Michael only learns after the fire is started that the banana stand has no insurance and his father George hid substantial sums of cash inside it. Compounding the misfortune, both Lindsay and Tobias lose out on their acting gig. Ultimately, Top Banana is a masterful episode, part of what makes AD the greatest series of all time.