Bringing Up Buster
Encyclopedia
"Bringing Up Buster" is the third episode of the American television series Arrested Development.
for breakfast (a Bluth family tradition) in preparation for another tradition: the Sunday bike ride. However, George Michael is ambivalent about the plan. Gob comes in and announces he's had another fight with his girlfriend Marta; he asks if he can stay with Michael, but Michael declines.
When Tobias finds out that his daughter Maeby is auditioning for the school play, he assumes it is to get closer to him. In fact, Maeby hopes to be cast as the romantic lead alongside a boy named Steve Holt. George Michael is also auditioning for the play in the hopes of starring alongside his cousin Maeby. Maeby and Steve Holt get the lead roles, and George Michael, cast as the stand-in, is ready to quit, until he learns that on the days Steve Holt has football practice, George Michael as stand-in will be kissing Maeby during rehearsals.
Since Buster's post-graduate studies are on permanent hiatus due to reduced family funds, Lucille begins to resent her son's constant presence. She chides Michael for not spending more time with Buster, and drops Buster off to spend the rest of the day with him. Michael tries to adjust to less time with George Michael by spending more time with Buster, who begins to join in the family's venting about their mother. Maeby is startled when Tobias arrives at school: he is the play's new director. Tobias immediately criticizes the apparent lack of chemistry between George Michael (standing in for the play's lead, Steve Holt) and Maeby, but he won't let the scene continue long enough for them to kiss. Frustrated by her father's interference, Maeby quits. Tobias sees George Michael talking to Steve Holt, and concludes that George Michael is gay. Tobias gives George Michael Steve's role, and casts Steve in Maeby's former role. Frustrated by Tobias's direction and worried by the thought of kissing Steve Holt, George Michael quits the play; Tobias then casts Maeby as the lead male opposite Steve Holt as the lead female.
Over at Bluth Co., Lucille hears from Lindsay that Buster has been talking disparagingly about his mother. Lucille barges into the office to take Buster back home. She then advises Michael to hold tight to his son like she does with Buster; when Michael returns home, he finds a contrite George Michael ready to make cornballs with his father.
Plot
Michael is making cornballsHushpuppy
A hushpuppy or cornbread ball is a savory, starch-based food made from cornmeal batter that is deep fried or baked in small ball or sphere shapes, or occasionally oblong or ring shapes...
for breakfast (a Bluth family tradition) in preparation for another tradition: the Sunday bike ride. However, George Michael is ambivalent about the plan. Gob comes in and announces he's had another fight with his girlfriend Marta; he asks if he can stay with Michael, but Michael declines.
When Tobias finds out that his daughter Maeby is auditioning for the school play, he assumes it is to get closer to him. In fact, Maeby hopes to be cast as the romantic lead alongside a boy named Steve Holt. George Michael is also auditioning for the play in the hopes of starring alongside his cousin Maeby. Maeby and Steve Holt get the lead roles, and George Michael, cast as the stand-in, is ready to quit, until he learns that on the days Steve Holt has football practice, George Michael as stand-in will be kissing Maeby during rehearsals.
Since Buster's post-graduate studies are on permanent hiatus due to reduced family funds, Lucille begins to resent her son's constant presence. She chides Michael for not spending more time with Buster, and drops Buster off to spend the rest of the day with him. Michael tries to adjust to less time with George Michael by spending more time with Buster, who begins to join in the family's venting about their mother. Maeby is startled when Tobias arrives at school: he is the play's new director. Tobias immediately criticizes the apparent lack of chemistry between George Michael (standing in for the play's lead, Steve Holt) and Maeby, but he won't let the scene continue long enough for them to kiss. Frustrated by her father's interference, Maeby quits. Tobias sees George Michael talking to Steve Holt, and concludes that George Michael is gay. Tobias gives George Michael Steve's role, and casts Steve in Maeby's former role. Frustrated by Tobias's direction and worried by the thought of kissing Steve Holt, George Michael quits the play; Tobias then casts Maeby as the lead male opposite Steve Holt as the lead female.
Over at Bluth Co., Lucille hears from Lindsay that Buster has been talking disparagingly about his mother. Lucille barges into the office to take Buster back home. She then advises Michael to hold tight to his son like she does with Buster; when Michael returns home, he finds a contrite George Michael ready to make cornballs with his father.
Episode notes
- The first three episodes in general earned the show a Red Light from the Parents Television CouncilParents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
(PTC), who took objections to the incest theme between George Michael and Maeby, the innuendos used such as "cornholing," "flamer," or Tobias's homosexual comments, and the common usage of "censoring" expletives with a bleep. However, many fans argue that the innuendos used on the show are fairly vague, and would not be understood by children who didn't already know those terms. Additionally, while the PTC acknowledges that "'bleeps' are scripted into the program," it referred to Buster's speech in this episode as being "censored by the network." In reality, the two times Buster cursed, he was actually reciting the alphabet.
Cultural References
- The high school is putting on a production of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
- Gob briefly plays a bit from Foreigner'sForeigner (band)Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
"Cold as IceCold as Ice (song)"Cold as Ice" is a 1977 song by British-American rock band Foreigner from their self-titled debut album. It became one of the best known songs of the band in the U.S., peaking at number 6 in the Billboard Hot 100. It was initially the B-side of some versions of the "Feels Like the First Time" 45...
" on the piano. - The title, Bringing Up Buster, alludes to Bringing up BabyBringing up BabyBringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
, the 1938 screwball comedyScrewball ComedyScrewball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums.-Track listing:...
starring Katharine HepburnKatharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
.
Callbacks/Running Jokes
- Cornballer - This is the first appearance of the Cornballer, which reappears several times throughout the series in both dialog and set dressing.
- Tobias trying to connect with Maeby - This is one of many instances where Tobias makes a misguided attempt to connect with his daughter.
- Tobias failing to get an acting job - At the beginning of the episode, Tobias says "When I was a psychiatrist, and this is before I became an actor..." Lindsay interrupts him with "Still not an actor," making it clear that Tobias doesn't qualify as an actor as he hasn't yet landed a gig.
- Steve Holt! - This is the first appearance of the character Steve Holt and his signature way of shouting his name while pumping both fists in the air.
- Tobias being gay - Tobias' sexuality is alluded to several times in this episode. (He tells George Michael and Maeby that they are "playing adults with fully formed libidos, not two young men playing grab-ass in the shower.")
- Tobias crying in the shower - In the "On The Next" clip, Tobias is shown crying in the shower after receiving a poor review in the school newspaper.
- Tobias giggle - Tobias giggles when he announces that he is the director of the school play, in the pilot episode he giggled after announcing his intention to become an actor.
- Buster's distractions - like in the pilot (when he was playing a drum that sounded like a dramatic score to the show), an off-screen noise interrupts Michael. The camera pans to Buster taking part in an activity that isn't quite appropriate for the context (here, he is building a bike as Michael holds a business conference).
Goofs
- The line "I would kiss before I spoke," which is used in the audition scene by George Michael and Steve Holt, is from As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, not Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, the play they're supposed to be performing.
External links
- Quotes for this episode on WikiQuote