Visiting Ours
Encyclopedia
"Visiting Ours" is the sixth episode aired, and the fifth episode in the DVD continuity of, the TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias prepare for their first marriage-therapy session. Maeby and George Michael decide to follow them, but George Michael is reluctant. He suggests instead they visit George Sr. George Michael is actually terrified of prison (he once watched HBO's prison drama Oz
after mistaking it for The Wizard of Oz
). Michael arrives home, elated that Gob's seduction of Kitty will get him the account information and eliminate any need for him to visit the prison again. Then George Michael tells him he wants to visit George Sr. Gob tussles with Kitty while Lindsay and Tobias examine their marriage. And Michael heads back to the prison. George Sr. is traumatized when he sees a prisoner bludgeon a guard with the baseball bat during their softball game; he becomes unstable in front of George Michael and, as the guards restrain him, begs his grandson to get him out of prison.
Once George Sr. calms down, he tells Michael that Lucille has never visited him. Michael later persuades her to make a conjugal visit
. Lindsay and Tobias play a role-reversal game in therapy; Tobias plays his part enthusiastically, but Lindsay opts out. The therapist then jumps into the role of "Tobias." After passionately acting out their reverse roles, Tobias and the male therapist are about to kiss when Lindsay ends the game. Michael arrives home to find that Gob is repulsed by the idea of his parents sharing a conjugal trailer. However, Gob has some good news -- he has "[bleep]ed Kitty." Michael asks if he got the information about the international accounts, which he did not. So Michael refuses to give Gob office supplies until the job is done.
Michael drops by the prison again, this time with his mother, and puts her into one of the conjugal trailers. George Sr. is shocked: Kitty, his secretary, is actually waiting for him in the other trailer. George asks for his help, and Michael wonders aloud if the help is "international accounts information" worthy. Michael calls Gob, who is already at the prison delivering his "strongly worded letter" to the warden. Gob tries to stall Kitty, but then sneaks out of the trailer. He immediately runs into the warden, who has just read his letter. Gob is detained against the window of the trailer in which his parents are being intimate. George Michael admits later to his dad that he is terrified of prison, and that if his grandfather could wind up there, anyone could. Michael gently explains to his son that, regardless of how much they love George Sr., he's guilty and belongs behind bars.
Plot
Michael Bluth visits his father to get information about some accounts, but George Sr. cares more about the prison softball team. Frustrated, Michael returns to the office and asks George Sr.'s loyal assistant Kitty for the information. Just then, Lucille calls Michael with an emergency: their club membership has been downgraded. She orders her son to rectify the situation. Meanwhile, Gob moves into the Bluth Company office, where he plans to write a "strongly worded letter" to the prison warden, who has denied the legitimacy of Gob's "escape." Noticing Kitty's obvious attraction to Gob, Michael sets about the business of manipulation.Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias prepare for their first marriage-therapy session. Maeby and George Michael decide to follow them, but George Michael is reluctant. He suggests instead they visit George Sr. George Michael is actually terrified of prison (he once watched HBO's prison drama Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
after mistaking it for The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
). Michael arrives home, elated that Gob's seduction of Kitty will get him the account information and eliminate any need for him to visit the prison again. Then George Michael tells him he wants to visit George Sr. Gob tussles with Kitty while Lindsay and Tobias examine their marriage. And Michael heads back to the prison. George Sr. is traumatized when he sees a prisoner bludgeon a guard with the baseball bat during their softball game; he becomes unstable in front of George Michael and, as the guards restrain him, begs his grandson to get him out of prison.
Once George Sr. calms down, he tells Michael that Lucille has never visited him. Michael later persuades her to make a conjugal visit
Conjugal visit
A conjugal visit is a scheduled extended visit during which an inmate of a prison is permitted to spend several hours or days in private, usually with a legal spouse...
. Lindsay and Tobias play a role-reversal game in therapy; Tobias plays his part enthusiastically, but Lindsay opts out. The therapist then jumps into the role of "Tobias." After passionately acting out their reverse roles, Tobias and the male therapist are about to kiss when Lindsay ends the game. Michael arrives home to find that Gob is repulsed by the idea of his parents sharing a conjugal trailer. However, Gob has some good news -- he has "[bleep]ed Kitty." Michael asks if he got the information about the international accounts, which he did not. So Michael refuses to give Gob office supplies until the job is done.
Michael drops by the prison again, this time with his mother, and puts her into one of the conjugal trailers. George Sr. is shocked: Kitty, his secretary, is actually waiting for him in the other trailer. George asks for his help, and Michael wonders aloud if the help is "international accounts information" worthy. Michael calls Gob, who is already at the prison delivering his "strongly worded letter" to the warden. Gob tries to stall Kitty, but then sneaks out of the trailer. He immediately runs into the warden, who has just read his letter. Gob is detained against the window of the trailer in which his parents are being intimate. George Michael admits later to his dad that he is terrified of prison, and that if his grandfather could wind up there, anyone could. Michael gently explains to his son that, regardless of how much they love George Sr., he's guilty and belongs behind bars.
Call Backs/Running Jokes
- Tobias is gay
- One of his acting portfolio photos shows Tobias in a leather bondage suit with a ball-gag in his mouth.
- Several incidents during the marriage counseling session point to Tobias' orientation:
- Tobias and Lindsay try role playing with Tobias acting as Lindsay. He gets very into the part passionately talking about having a woman's needs.
- When Lindsay cannot stay in character as Tobias, Dr. Gunty (their male therapist) jumps in for her. As the scene progresses, Tobias and Dr. Gunty go in for a kiss, only stopping when Lindsay says, "End scene!"
- Dr. Gunty asks Lindsay if any of her questions were answered after the "scene" ends. She responds in the affirmative.
- Ice Cream - Tobias and Lindsay, not wanting anyone to know they are undergoing marriage counseling, tell Maeby and George Michael that he is going out for ice cream. Also, on the way to the prison Michael tells George Michael that all George Sr. does at the prison is play softball and eat ice cream sandwiches. Michael then buys some ice cream sandwiches for the three of them at prison.
- "No touching!" - George Sr., unnerved after witnessing a murder during the prison softball game, grabs George Michael's arm and is forcefully separated by prison guards who repeat, "No touching!"
- Stair car - While parked at the prison, the stair car provides one prisoner an opportunity to attempt escape by climbing the stairs and jumping over the prison fence. This is later repeated in Mexico in ¡Amigos!¡Amigos!"¡Amigos!" is the 25th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael tells his brother Gob of his plans to take George Michael to Legoland for the weekend. Gob says he plans to hang out with some of his friends, though Michael doubts that he has any...
and again at the prison in Prison Break-InPrison Break-In"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...
. - "Wonderful things" - Michael tells Lucille that George Sr. "said some wonderful things" about her. His exact words were "Daddy horny, Michael." In season two Michael later tells Lindsay that Tobias said some "wonderful things" about her rather than Tobias' actual words. Lucille and Rita, Michael's girlfriend in season three, both use their own version of George Senior's "Daddy horny, Michael" line in later episodes.
- "I f***ed ..." - Gob proudly brags about having sex with Kitty when he was only supposed to learn certain facts from her concerning the business. Gob uses various forms of this line throughout the series, though this is one of the few times he actually fulfilled his claim.
- George Michael/Maeby - Maeby hugs George Michael after they agree they are the only "normal ones" in the family. George Michael, however, awkwardly holds onto the hug for far too long.
- I want to be... - At the end of the episode, Dr. Gunty reveals that he wants to be an actor, and he then laughs very awkwardly. This laugh is similar to that of Tobias when he announced his desire to be an actor. Lindsay also uses a similar laugh in an episode in the third season.
Cultural references
- George Michael is afraid of visiting his grandfather in prison due to seeing an episode of the HBO series OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
at a young age mistaking it for The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
. OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
was a fictional look at a maximum security prison. Pulling no punches, it routinely featured extremely coarse language, violence, murder, rape, etc., a far cry from the normally relaxed atmosphere of the Orange County Prison George Sr. is accustomed to. - Tobias's comment about having his own AliasAlias (TV series)Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
-type show is a reference to the ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
spy series. - While Maeby is listening through the door to her parents' therapy session, we hear Dr. Gunty and Tobias mention David SchwimmerDavid SchwimmerDavid Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
, Jennifer AnistonJennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
, and Lisa KudrowLisa KudrowLisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
, all cast members from the American sitcom Friends. - House of Pies is a chain restaurant prominent in Los Angeles, and known for pies and other American cuisine. It is said to be a popular hangout for Hollywood writers, which may explain its inclusion in the show.
- At the end of the softball game's 14th inning, George Sr. imitates Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
's character in Rain ManRain ManRain Man is a 1988 drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son,...
, waving his hand and exclaiming, "No batter, no batter." - When Michael goes back into the prison to see his father, he leaves George Michael in the stair car to watch the rest of the softball game. An inmate who looks remarkably like Manny RamirezManny RamírezManuel "Manny" Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a retired Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28...
is then seen dropping a softball that should have been an easy catch.
Character Cameos
- Bob OdenkirkBob OdenkirkRobert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, co-star and co-executive producers of HBO sketch comedySketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
series Mr. Show with Bob and David alongside David Cross, appears as one-time character Dr. Gunty, Lindsay and Tobias' marriage counselor. - When viewed in production order, this is the first appearance of Kitty Sanchez, George Sr.'s secretary.
Foreshadowing/Future References
- This is the first time that we are given insight into the serious nature of the charges against George Sr., as while looking for the International Accounts information, he tells Michael that he may have committed some "light treasonTreasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
." This is one of the few occasions that during the 'Next time' segment actually contains information that ends up in show. - Tobias and Lindsey have a fight in which Lindsey pulls a towel off Tobias, revealing that he is wearing jean shorts underneath. Their exchange shows that this is a problem in their relationship. This is a reference to Tobias being a "never-nude," which has not yet been explained to the audience.
- While George Michael is visiting George Sr. in prison, George Sr. begins to exclaim that he needs to get out of prison. He repeatedly says, "Give me the hair," a reference to his later escape attempts involving wigs in an attempt to pass as his brother Oscar.
Episode notes
- Although this episode was broadcast as the sixth episode of the season, it was made as the fourth episode and appears on the DVD as the fifth episode. Technically, while there's no lack of continuity, this episode should go before "Charity DriveCharity Drive"Charity Drive" is the fifth episode aired, though the sixth episode in DVD continuity, of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
," as Kitty appears in both episodes, but receives a more in-depth introduction in this episode. Also, George-Michael is scared of prison in this episode, but in "Charity DriveCharity Drive"Charity Drive" is the fifth episode aired, though the sixth episode in DVD continuity, of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
" he and his father both go to prison at the end. Also, the Bluth family still has the "stair car" throughout this episode, but lose it at the very beginning of "Charity DriveCharity Drive"Charity Drive" is the fifth episode aired, though the sixth episode in DVD continuity, of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:...
." - Buster does not make an appearance in this episode.
- A cameraman is temporarily visible to the right of the screen during Lindsey and Tobias' therapy session. This could be intentional because it occurs immediately after Tobias and the therapist finish their "scene." They talk about the scene in a scene as if they had really improvised it, and the camera pulls back showing the other cameraman as if they had stopped filming.
- In the conjugal trailer, Lucille says George Sr. is "my husband the bear," followed by George Sr. stating "This bear needs some honey." In "Let Them Eat CakeLet Them Eat Cake"Let them eat cake" is the traditional translation to English of the French phrase "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche", supposedly spoken by "a great princess" upon learning that the peasants had no bread...
" G.O.B. refers to George Sr. as "Old Bear" and says "He likes the honey."
External links
- The-OP.com
- FOX
- Quotes for this episode on WikiQuote