Prison Break-In
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"Prison Break-In" is the forty-seventh episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.

Synopsis

Michael Bluth pays an unexpected visit to his mother. Lucille figures he wants something, since he has been ignoring the family in favor of Rita. Michael reminds her that his relationship is over, though in fact he is so devastated by the breakup that he has brought out the old guitar.

Buster, meanwhile, is excited about the new pet turtle he has bought in a misguided attempt to make his mother jealous. He names the turtle Mother, and stores it in a box that Oscar uses to store marijuana. Michael reminds Lucille that he needs her as the co-chair of the Bluth Foundation Dinner. He wants to avoid a previous debacle in which the family couldn’t agree on a disease and sent out invitations reading “Disease: TBA”. The family ended up raising $25,000 to fight TBA, and then did it again the next year. When donors found out, they nearly rioted.

Lucille assures Michael that he has nothing to worry about because Warden Gentiles, the former warden of George Senior’s prison, is the new co-chair. The warden is installing cameras in Lucille’s penthouse because of George Senior’s frequent escape attempts, and to study George Sr. because he is the main character in the warden’s screenplay, New Warden. Although George Sr. insists that, thanks to his new hobby of making papier mache copies of his head, he is now happy at home. Lucille raves that the warden is letting them hold the dinner in a new wing of the jail.

Michael goes home to complain to Lindsay. This disappoints Maeby, as she had met with Warden Gentles to use his prison as a film location. Lindsey excitedly tells Michael about this year’s disease, GVH, for Graft-versus-host which Tobias already suffers from. His hair transplant, is rejecting his body, meaning that Tobias has to remove his graft or die. Lindsay, of course, is making Tobias keep the hair until the benefit dinner. Michael begins to worry that Warden Gentiles is using Lucille, but Lindsay figures he just likes her.
Buster is feeling abandoned by Mother, his now dead turtle, when Oscar returns, looking for his weed. When he learns that Buster’s turtle ate it all, he attempts to leave, wanting to avoid George Sr. Buster begs him to stay, suggesting he can hide in one of G.O.B.'s (Gob’s) tricks. Maeby, bored by New Warden, asks George Michael to read it instead. Michael races to warn his mother of Warden Gentiles’ intentions, but finds them having a romantic meal. Lucille tells Michael she is trying to seduce the warden, not the other way around.

Michael rushes home to tell G.O.B. and Lindsay what he has learned. George Michael has read New Warden, and takes it as a subtle signal from Maeby about their future. Realizing that nobody else will help, Michael approaches Buster about disrupting Lucille’s plans; Buster doesn’t care either. Michael decides to tell George Sr., who appears unmoved, mainly because he knows about it already. Michael, putting the dinner and the model heads together, realizes George Sr. is planning an escape attempt, which he is, with Lucille calling him with the code to remove his ankle bracelet. Then she tells George Sr. that if he is now free, so is she to spend the night with the warden.

An ambulance arrives to take Tobias and Lindsay to the charity dinner. George Michael says he is going to support Maeby. Feeling rejected, Michael decides to stay home and read. But the family has no books, so Michael finds New Warden, where he learns Warden Gentles’ true intentions: he is merely using Lucille to get even with George Sr. and to give her chlamydia.

George Sr. realizes his papier mache heads will not fool the cameras. So he searches through Gob’s magic stuff to find something to use. He finds Oscar, unconscious in one of Gob’s cages, having been knocked out by Buster. George Sr. orders Gob to get his magic stuff out of the penthouse, which allows George Sr. to hide in the magic box instead.

Michael finds G.O.B. at the model home and implores him to help him break into the prison to save Lucille. Buster finds Oscar, who once again had been shaved to look like George Sr. Although Buster frees Oscar, the police quickly arrest him. The guys arrive at the prison to stage their break in. Gob dons George-Michael’s jet pack, but forgets to strap it on. As a backup plan, he had drawn the prison blueprints on his stomach. Upside down. To read them, Gob has to lie on the ground, meaning Michael has to straddle him in a very compromising position. A prison guard finds them, but thinks they are part of the gala and motions them inside.

Inside, George Michael invites Maeby to pick a cell to share with him. In the warden’s office, guards lead Oscar into Warden Gentles’ office. In the dining hall, Gob’s video begins playing. When the patrons learn that removing his hair plugs will cure Tobias, the crowd grows unruly.

Michael catches up with his mother in a conjugal trailer and begs her not to go through with her plans. When she resists, Michael tells her about the screenplay, which she knew about. In fact, she gave him the Chlamydia. George Sr. breaks into the trailer and demands that Lucille give their relationship one last shot. Warden Gentles comes in and asks if George Sr. is in here, who was being deloused at the moment. George Sr. admits that it was Oscar, and tells the warden that if he frees Oscar and gives George Sr. and Lucille one hour alone, they can call everything even. The warden agrees.

Episode notes

  • Although this episode's production code suggests it is the eighth episode of the season, it should in fact be the seventh one (which it was aired as), as the episode begins by mentioning that Michael had just broken up with Rita, which happened in the previous episode "The Ocean Walker
    The Ocean Walker
    "The Ocean Walker" is the 46th episode of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael informs George Sr. and Lucille that he plans to marry Rita. Michael's parents are skeptical about his decision....

    ", and Tobias has his hair plugs removed in the next episode, "Making a Stand
    Making a Stand
    "Making a Stand" is the forty-eighth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:At a meeting at the Bluth Company, Michael tries to follow his father's wish that Gob be included in the business...

    ".
  • The title of this episode is a reference to the Fox drama Prison Break
    Prison Break
    Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...

    . The title also refers to how Michael and G.O.B. try to break into the prison, with George Sr. successfully doing so at the end. It also serves as a callback to the Season 2 episode "Spring Break-Out".
  • This is the only episode of Season 3 to have received a TV-PG rating when it aired, despite the references to marijuana and chlamydia.
  • In a recent interview, Jessica Walter
    Jessica Walter
    Jessica Walter is an American actress, known for the films Play Misty for Me, Grand Prix, and for her role as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development...

     said this was one of her favorite episodes of the show.
  • The music playing at Lucille's first dinner with the Warden is the first movement of Bach's
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

     Italian Concerto
    Italian Concerto
    The Italian Concerto, BWV 971, original title: Concerto nach Italienischem Gusto , published in 1735 as the first half of Clavier-Übung II is a three-movement concerto for two-manual harpsichord solo composed by Johann Sebastian Bach...

    .

Callbacks/Running Jokes

  • Wood Block In a flashback scene, George Michael breaks out the wood block again to add percussion for Michael's guitar playing.
  • Bad cover-up Lindsay says "She just called to ask me to bring her a tube of vag...is...table paste. Hi, George Michael," trying to cover up what she was really saying when George Michael walks in the room. This directly mirrors Tobias' "Oh! So now you're mocking me, you selfish cun...try...music loving lady. Hello, Maeby" line from "Beef Consommé
    Beef Consommé
    "Beef Consommé" is the thirteenth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth, Lucille, George Sr., and their attorney, Barry Zuckerkorn meet at the prison to discuss George Sr.'s arraignment the next day. Barry tells them they should all show up and appear loving and...

    ".
  • Big Yellow Joint The song from "Pier Pressure" is heard repeatedly in this episode. This song is occasionally heard in the background throughout the series, usually used during scenes involving drug use (which is no exception for this episode).
  • Cage The cage in Buster's room was for the trick that G.O.B. did in "For British Eyes Only
    For British Eyes Only
    "For British Eyes Only" is the 42nd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth and George Michael Bluth are having a last chance camp-out in the cabin before it is due to be moved. While they are sleeping, a returning George Sr. drives the cabin away for use...

    ". Lucille told G.O.B. to put the cage in Buster's room in that episode.
  • Tobias falls Tobias falls from the stairway and crashes through the table in the Bluth living room again, reprising a similar incident with Mrs. Featherbottom in Meat the Veals
    Meat the Veals
    "Meat the Veals" is the 38th episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Oscar wants to throw Lucille a party to celebrate her wedding anniversary. He got the idea from Buster, who said that it would show how Oscar has been there for Lucille while George Sr. has been a...

    .
  • Forget-Me-Now During the flashback to "Visiting Ours
    Visiting Ours
    "Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...

    ", some extra footage is added on at the end where G.O.B. tries to get knocked out so he doesn't have to see his parents having sex. He says to the old warden, "I’ve got a thing of pills in my pocket. I don’t suppose I could convince you to grab me one?" referring to the roofies (or "Forget-Me-Nows," as he calls them) he carries around with him in his pocket.
  • G.O.B. Witnesses G.O.B. refers back to "Visiting Ours
    Visiting Ours
    "Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...

    " when he saw his parents having sex when he was detained against their conjugal trailer. At the end of this episode, the very same thing happens again.
    • The conversation that Michael and G.O.B. have about G.O.B.'s sense of propriety when it comes to his parents having sex is very similar to a conversation they had in "Visiting Ours
      Visiting Ours
      "Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...

      ", as Michael points out during the scene.
  • "Her?" Michael says "Her?" when Lindsay tells him that Warden Gentiles might be interested in Lucille. Later, the Narrator says "Her" when Michael realizes that Lucille is trying to seduce the warden.
    • When George Sr. hears that Lucille plans on spending the night with the Warden, he says "Him?"
  • Hey Buster greets Oscar with “Hey, Uncle/Father." He later greets who he thinks is George Sr. with "Hey, Father/Uncle Dad.”
  • Jetpack The jetpack from "Mr. F
    Mr. F
    "Mr. F" is the forty-fifth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth sneaks out of work to see a British film, "Love Indubitably," with Rita, his English girlfriend. Afterwards, they come upon a toy store, and Rita tells Michael he should buy a train set for...

    " makes its second appearance in this episode.
  • New Warden Warden Gentiles's screenplay was first seen in "Staff Infection
    Staff Infection
    "Staff Infection" is the fifteenth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth had begun working weekends, but he keeps up the weekly "bike ride" with son George Michael. He receives an emergency call from Lucille and heads over to her apartment...

    " when he tried to get Tobias to hand it over to Carl Weathers.
  • Stair Car The guard says that stair car parking is not permitted at the prison, referring to "Visiting Ours
    Visiting Ours
    "Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...

    " when an inmate escapes by running on the stair car stairs. An inmate once again tries to escape by running up the stair car, though doesn't make it this time.
  • Star Wars Kid George Michael's Star Wars
    Star Wars
    Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

    re-enactment video from "The Immaculate Election
    The Immaculate Election
    "The Immaculate Election" is the thirty-sixth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael is surprised to find the house still a mess a week after the fumigation, which Michael had Lindsay call and arrange, long before Michael had begun hiding his fugitive father in the...

    " is seen again in this episode.
  • Switch This is the second time George Sr. shaves Oscar's head and switches places with him in order to escape. This first happened in "Righteous Brothers".
  • "That was a freebie" George Sr. says "That was a freebie" when he discovers Oscar knocked out in the cage. Later, G.O.B. says the same thing when he and Michael get let into the prison by the guard. "That was a freebie" was first said by Maeby in a season two episode.
  • Police Brutality After George Sr. escapes, Buster frees Oscar who immediately runs outside and is taken down in the usual fashion by nearby prison guards.
  • The Man Inside Me The only books in the Bluth house are copies of Tobias’s book The Man Inside Me, first seen in "Let 'Em Eat Cake
    Let 'Em Eat Cake (Arrested Development episode)
    "Let 'Em Eat Cake" is the 22nd episode of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:The Bluth Company is in trouble. Because of the low-carb diet fad , the banana stand has been struggling. Meanwhile, the model home is falling apart because of shoddy workmanship. Lindsay thinks she has a...

    ", labelled with the sticker “Free with purchase of any other book (or magazine).”
    • Michael refers to this book after reading "New Warden" screenplay , he says "I wish I'd read The Man Inside Me."
  • Tobias is gay Numerous jokes are made in this episode about Tobias' questionable sexuality.
    • Tobias wonders why Warden Gentiles is interested in Lucille, saying "The guy runs a prison, he can have any piece of ass he wants."
    • Tobias refers to the gala as the "gay-la."
    • Tobias tells George Michael not to "leave your Uncle T-Bag hanging."
  • Turtle Buster has a pet turtle in this episode, which he names Mother, part of the running gag about Buster's disturbing relationship with his mother. Buster first mentioned he wanted a pet turtle in "For British Eyes Only
    For British Eyes Only
    "For British Eyes Only" is the 42nd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth and George Michael Bluth are having a last chance camp-out in the cabin before it is due to be moved. While they are sleeping, a returning George Sr. drives the cabin away for use...

    ".
    • In "Afternoon Delight
      Afternoon Delight (Arrested Development episode)
      "Afternoon Delight" is the 28th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth finds the frozen banana stand vandalized by teenagers, a local holiday tradition, and heads home to find his son, George Michael, to engage in their tradition of rebuilding the stand...

      ", a symbol used for the drug was a picture of a turtle who had just taken some Afternoon Deelite, with a snail riding on it saying "Whee!" This picture can be seen on the box that Buster puts it in, and eventually plays out in the show when Buster's turtle consumes the marijuana that Oscar left behind.
  • Michael sees the truth After following a trail of seemingly unrelated clues Michael catches his father slip up by knowing too many details about Lucille's date with Warden Gentiles. He correctly deduces that George Sr. is using Lucille to get information from the Warden in order to escape house arrest.

Hidden/Background Jokes

  • Franklin While rifling through G.O.B.’s “magic stuff,” George, Sr. briefly holds up Franklin.
  • Candyball machine G.O.B. makes the gumball machine disappear. A few seconds later, it can be seen in the background lying on the floor in the office. He also refers to the candies as "candy balls" rather than the more common "gumballs," echoing the family's use of the term "candy beans" for "jellybeans."
  • Hand When Buster picks up the turtle, its left hand falls off (the same hand that Buster lost in "Out on a Limb
    Out on a Limb (Arrested Development episode)
    "Out on a Limb" is the 33rd episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael and Sally Sitwell are having Sunday brunch at Skip Church's Bistro when he spots George Michael and Maeby at the same restaurant, and Michael introduces Sally to them. Once Michael leaves, Ann arrives...

    ").
  • Happy Days
    Happy Days
    Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....

    When G.O.B. mentions "Happy Days star Donny Host," the Narrator (Ron Howard
    Ron Howard
    Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...

    , a Happy Days cast member) corrects him with "It's Most."
  • Jetpack A prisoner can be seen escaping on a jet-pack in the background of the last shot (where G.O.B. is detained against the trailer).
  • Marijuana The Narrator refers to Oscar being “knocked out by a powerful lid.” “Lid” is an older slang term for a bag of marijuana. George Bluth also knocked out Oscar with a toilet lid at the end of season 2 episode "Righteous Brothers"
    • Buster puts his turtle Mother in Oscar’s box of Afternoon Deelite (label seen in "Afternoon Delight
      Afternoon Delight (Arrested Development episode)
      "Afternoon Delight" is the 28th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth finds the frozen banana stand vandalized by teenagers, a local holiday tradition, and heads home to find his son, George Michael, to engage in their tradition of rebuilding the stand...

      ").
    • Oscar says he couldn’t leave a little “bud” (marijuana) behind which Buster misinterprets as "friend"
    • Oscar wants to cremate Buster's turtle, as it has consumed his marijuana.
  • Ovarian cancer When the Bluths are deciding what disease to raise funds for, George Sr. reads the suggestion ovarian cancer and wonders out loud, "Gee, I wonder who that was" and the camera locks onto Michael looking askance, implying his late wife Tracy died of it.
  • Prison like school George Michael, who used to be afraid of prisons, remarks that the new prison "isn't that bad. It's a lot like school, except it's air conditioned". In fact, the room which they walk by is labeled "Classroom".
  • P2252 The code that unlocks George Sr.’s ankle bracelet is the same as the “code” seen on a Mexican wall in "Good Grief
    Good Grief
    "Good Grief" is the twenty-sixth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:The bounty hunter that Michael hired has found George Sr. supposedly died in Mexico, and George Michael is dumped by his girlfriend, Ann. Maeby seeks advice from Barry Zuckerkorn on divorcing her parents...

    ".
  • Ready, Aim, Marry Me! A poster for Uncle Jack’s film (from the episode "Ready, Aim, Marry Me
    Ready, Aim, Marry Me
    "Ready, Aim, Marry Me" is the thirty-second episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth arrives home to find his mother Lucille in a state of agitation. She's concerned that Lucille Austero is making a power play by buying up shares of Bluth Co...

    ") can be seen in Warden Gentiles’s office.
  • Seeing the inside In his video, G.O.B. remarks about Tobias, "we couldn't see what was really inside, but lately that's all we've been able to see". Tobias is reading his book The Man Inside Me, introduced in "Let 'Em Eat Cake
    Let 'Em Eat Cake (Arrested Development episode)
    "Let 'Em Eat Cake" is the 22nd episode of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:The Bluth Company is in trouble. Because of the low-carb diet fad , the banana stand has been struggling. Meanwhile, the model home is falling apart because of shoddy workmanship. Lindsay thinks she has a...

    ".
  • Startled Straight Maeby says that Warden Gentiles spoke at her school for a Startled Straight assembly. Startled Straight is a reference to the Scared Straight!
    Scared Straight!
    Scared Straight! is a 1978 documentary directed by Arnold Shapiro. Narrated by Peter Falk, the subject of the documentary is a group of juvenile delinquents and their three-hour session with actual convicts...

     program, first mentioned in the show in "Notapusy
    Notapusy
    "Notapusy" is the forty-fourth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth is on his way to the office when he sees something he wasn't used to seeing before lunch: his sister, Lindsay. She has recently taken a job with the Bluth's lawyer, Bob Loblaw, as his...

    ".
  • Woodblock George Michael is holding a woodblock, first seen in "Best Man for the GOB
    Best Man for the GOB
    "Best Man for the Gob" is the nineteenth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael meets with the company's accountant, Ira Gilligan, who informs him that the company's books do not balance, and that there is money missing. If he is asked to testify, he says, he will not...

    ", when he wanted to join Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Band Solution.
  • When G.O.B. is moving the cage out onto the street, he gets distracted by a group of young girls, allowing George Sr. to escape unnoticed. G.O.B.'s attraction to younger girls has come up several times on the show, most notably in "Shock and Aww
    Shock and Aww
    "Shock and Aww" is the fourteenth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael is sharing his bed for the first time in years; unfortunately, it is with his younger brother, Buster. George Michael has developed a crush on his ethics teacher...

    ", "Notapusy
    Notapusy
    "Notapusy" is the forty-fourth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Synopsis:Michael Bluth is on his way to the office when he sees something he wasn't used to seeing before lunch: his sister, Lindsay. She has recently taken a job with the Bluth's lawyer, Bob Loblaw, as his...

    " and "Development Arrested
    Development Arrested
    "Development Arrested" is the 53rd episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development. It is the season finale for Season 3, as well as the series finale before the announcement of Season 4 over five years later.-Episode:...

    ".

Character Cameos

  • James Lipton
    James Lipton
    James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...

     stars again as Warden "Stephan Gentiles," who hasn't been in the show since the Season 1 episode "Altar Egos
    Altar Egos
    "Altar Egos" is the seventeenth episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth and family gather to discuss George Sr.’s upcoming trial. They've received a plea offer, but lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn hasn’t read it yet because he is too busy picking up cross-dressing...

    ". This is his third appearance in the show.
  • Oscar makes his second appearance in Season 3, with only a total of three appearances throughout the season. This is the only episode in the season where he has his distinctive long hair.

Goofs

  • In the beginning of the episode, when Michael drops his guitar and knocks over his music stand. In the next shot of Michael, the stand is again upright.

Sources


External links

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