One of the things that made Arrested Development so popular was the recurring jokes and callbacks that rewarded longtime viewers. While lots of the gags that fall into this category were visual like Tobias dyeing himself blue or the family's awkward attempts at the "Chicken Dance", the best ones usually come in the form of words or phrases that get repeated throughout the show.
Unlike in most sitcoms, the catchphrases used in the series aren't solely funny due to their repetition but due to the different contexts they're utilized in and, more specifically, who's saying them.
9 Steve Holt
Steve Holt was a student that attended school with George Michael and Maeby, the latter of which had a secret crush on him. Steve was portrayed as a typical jock, who would frequently announce his presence by shouting his own name while pumping his fists in the air. Steve was later revealed to be GOB's son and the cousin of both characters which led to him being included in a lot more episodes and making his signature exclamation sound less and less like a name.
8 "That's Why You Always..."
When the Bluth siblings were younger, their parents used a pretty traumatizing way to teach them lessons. They would enlist the services of a friend of theirs, J. Walter Weatherman, who would pretend to have his prosthetic arm get ripped off and then follow with whatever George and Lucille wanted them to learn. The first instance was in a flashback in episode "Pier Pressure" where he shows up and says "That's why always leave a note". While the lesson would always vary, the way it was taught always never changed and the phrase would always start the same way.
7 "Marry Me"
Tobias and Lindsay's daughter, Maeby Funke, is a master con artist. She has managed to trick countless people and get them to either do things for her or give her what she asks for, including money. Her greatest success was when she secured a job as an executive at Tantamount Studios at only 15 years old.
When her co-workers would start to raise suspicions about who she was and why she was so young, Maeby would simply reply with "Marry me" which would distract them long enough for the subject to be changed.
6 "Not Tricks...Illusions"
G.O.B. Bluth is the oldest of the siblings and a professional magician, a job that no one in his family takes seriously. Due to his constant desire to defend his line of work, he has had to clarify to his family that he doesn't perform tricks but rather illusions which he thinks makes them sound more serious than they actually are... which usually backfires since he isn't that great at his job.
5 "There's Always Money In The Banana Stand"
One of the Bluth's remaining businesses was the prized Banana stand which was founded by George Bluth Sr. in 1953. Whenever Michael would visit his father in prison to discuss the financial issues the family was experiencing, George Sr. would always insist that 'There's always money in the banana stand." Of course, Michael had always thought his father was speaking figuratively until he learned that there was actually a quarter of a million dollars lining the walls of the stand. Unfortunately, he only became aware of that information after he let it burn down.
4 "Her?"
When George Michael finally got a girlfriend, he was pretty excited, but he quickly learned that not everyone else was as thrilled as he was about the news as he was. It wasn't so much the fact that he was dating, but who he was dating that his family was extremely indifferent to.
George Michael's girlfriend, Ann Veal, constantly goes by unnoticed and ignored by the Bluth clan with George Michael constantly having to remind them who she is. His father and other family member's confusion would often be represented by them constantly asking "her?" while struggling to figure out what is significant about the girl.
3 "Annyong"
Annyong Bluth, whose real name was Hel-loh, was the adopted child of Lucille and George in an effort to make themselves look better. When he was introduced to others, the character would usually say "Annyong" which means "Hello" in Korean but his family started calling him that, mistaking it for his name.
2 "No Touching"
After George Bluth Sr. was put in prison for embezzlement and similar crimes, his family would come to see him on different occasions. However, the guards made it extremely clear that visitors were not allowed to have psychical contact with the inmates. Being the man that he is, George Sr. would frequently forget and have to constantly be reminded by the guards and would have it shouted at him as a command of "No touching".
1 "I've Made a Huge Mistake"
While catchphrases are often character-specific, "I've made a huge mistake" seems to be the anthem of the show as almost every member of the Bluth family has said the line at one point. It was first said and popularized by G.O.B in the episode "Key Decisions" after intentionally locking himself in prison and then realizing he would have to share a toilet with his father. The phrase is usually only uttered once the character repeating it realizes too late the hole they've dug for themselves.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/34Hts5q
No comments: