I believe this is the best episode of "Arrested Development". It has everything that Arrested needs; an over-the-top plot, great writing, and a wonderful way for the characters to clash. It is George Sr. at his most manipulative, Michael and Gob at their most bickering, and Buster...at his most "busterish personality" (lol). it also has the best plot with j walter weatherman, who i thought was the funniest recurring character on the show. this episode also has the brilliant pace; it's practically "the perfect episode". Arrested, despite being cancelled due to terrible advertising/marketing, truly is a wonderful series and the only good comedy to air this entire century. And I believe that after the film comes out, it will become enough of a box office hit to signal the re-airing of the television series. And when that happens, I think "Making A Stand" will truly become a classic episode. Highly Recommended for both Arrested fans and those interested in being introduced to the show!!!
4 Reviews
After massive head wounds, Tobias is recovering; so is the show
gizmomogwai4 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
One might think an episode as disastrously bad as Prison Break-In (which directly followed two weak Rita episodes) might spell a shark jump for any series, but somehow season 3 of Arrested Development recovered considerably in this episode before finishing with five strong episodes. Making a Stand is disappointing as a sequel to the masterpiece episode Pier Pressure but still fairly good in its own right.
The episode mostly involves George trying to play GOB and Michael against each other; the two brothers then attempt to turn the tables and scare George with J. Walter Weatherman, who terrorized the Bluth children with his one arm. Buster, now missing a hand himself, is appalled by the whole affair- and may just teach a lesson himself.
GOB is very good in this episode, including with his inept magic and when he talks about getting his mysterious religious girlfriend to "renounce God" and have sex. This episode is also notable for giving GOB and his son Steve Holt a closer relationship, though this isn't developed any further in the next five episodes (who knows, maybe it will be in season 4). Lindsay also shines in this episode with her "subtle hint" to Bob Loblaw.
As for the J. Walter Weatherman story, one might question whether Pier Pressure needs a sequel at all when George swore he made his last lesson, a promise he breaks in Making a Stand. If they were going to make a sequel, though, I expected new flashbacks to lessons from the Bluths' childhood. Instead, Making a Stand simply recycles the "leave a note" and "don't yell" gags from Pier Pressure. I was pretty disappointed. There are new "lessons" set in the present day in Making a Stand, but most aren't great. Nevertheless, it is nice to see Buster get the upper hand for once.
The episode mostly involves George trying to play GOB and Michael against each other; the two brothers then attempt to turn the tables and scare George with J. Walter Weatherman, who terrorized the Bluth children with his one arm. Buster, now missing a hand himself, is appalled by the whole affair- and may just teach a lesson himself.
GOB is very good in this episode, including with his inept magic and when he talks about getting his mysterious religious girlfriend to "renounce God" and have sex. This episode is also notable for giving GOB and his son Steve Holt a closer relationship, though this isn't developed any further in the next five episodes (who knows, maybe it will be in season 4). Lindsay also shines in this episode with her "subtle hint" to Bob Loblaw.
As for the J. Walter Weatherman story, one might question whether Pier Pressure needs a sequel at all when George swore he made his last lesson, a promise he breaks in Making a Stand. If they were going to make a sequel, though, I expected new flashbacks to lessons from the Bluths' childhood. Instead, Making a Stand simply recycles the "leave a note" and "don't yell" gags from Pier Pressure. I was pretty disappointed. There are new "lessons" set in the present day in Making a Stand, but most aren't great. Nevertheless, it is nice to see Buster get the upper hand for once.
Making a Stand
lassegalsgaard21 July 2022
The idea of "the sins of the father" is something that this show has dealt with on many occasions. The entire reason why everyone is in the problems that they're in are because of the things that George Bluth did to the company when he was boss. He's the big reason why they're in so much trouble. So, this is an element that kinda built the show from the ground-up and it has been a big part of it since. However, it has also created this division in the family that makes it undeniable that he has actually been a big help in building up their relationship again. There's denying that George Bluth Sr. Is a manipulative asshole and one of the worst people to probably be alive, with complete disregard for his brother and the rest of his family. However, the conflicts were created because of him, which had led to a lot of characters finding each other again, most importantly Michael and Gob. And that's something that George will never be able to understand, which is what leads to the events of this episode, which is a great episode, because it bolsters on those questions and dilemmas that have been started throughout the show. It's not as good as some of the real greats, but in comparison to other episodes of this season, this definitely shows its strengths because it seems like it has a real focus and is not trying to sell other storylines than the important ones.
I've always liked the idea of certain meta jokes, but I think this episode takes that to the next level, as it presents a scenario where many of the main characters puts each other through these pranks in an attempt to teach a lesson. What I think the episode is saying is that there's not ultimately a lot of be learned from this, and if there's anything to take away from this episode, it's that the characters are definitely far out if that think that the only ways of making people better is by traumatizing them with fake limps and pretending to kill each other.
There is something to say about the complexity of comedy writing. A lot of sitcoms like to pretend that they're actually smarter than they are, and it often results in bad writing. However, when this show tries to pretend like they're smarter, it just ends up in hilariocity. The big setpiece at the end of this episode is obviously dumb down to the smallest detail and even though the people who wrote probably thought it was legendarily awesome, it's not, but that adds to the humor of it, and since this is a comedy show, that's all I really want.
Again, we get a great demonstration of the relationship between Michael and Gob, with Gob really standing out in this episode. There's something about this relationship they have and the idea that the "sins of the father" is coming upon both of them, and George isn't able to accept that they could potentially be good with each other because he never was with his brother. That's where the brilliance of this episode lies. Not the attempted complex storytelling, but the amazing underlying message of brotherly love and the "sins of the father" haunting them both because of their psychopathic father.
There's also the funny thing happening with Lindsay and Tobias, who are now going through a divorce, so Lindsay can sleep with a lawyer that she finds attractive. Unfortunately, Tobias has hired him as his lawyer, which puts a bit of wrench in that idea. They really have one of those relationships that I'm sure will endure, but probably shouldn't. Hey, it may actually be the least toxic relationship in this entire show, but that doesn't change the fact that there has never been two people who seem less attracted to each other than Lindsay and Tobias, so we'll see.
"Making a Stand" is both about the literal idea of making a banana stand, but also about standing up to the oppression of George Bluth. It came with some long-needed climaxes that put the lit on some important ideals throughout the show, served up in the general funny and impressive fashion that this show does well.
I've always liked the idea of certain meta jokes, but I think this episode takes that to the next level, as it presents a scenario where many of the main characters puts each other through these pranks in an attempt to teach a lesson. What I think the episode is saying is that there's not ultimately a lot of be learned from this, and if there's anything to take away from this episode, it's that the characters are definitely far out if that think that the only ways of making people better is by traumatizing them with fake limps and pretending to kill each other.
There is something to say about the complexity of comedy writing. A lot of sitcoms like to pretend that they're actually smarter than they are, and it often results in bad writing. However, when this show tries to pretend like they're smarter, it just ends up in hilariocity. The big setpiece at the end of this episode is obviously dumb down to the smallest detail and even though the people who wrote probably thought it was legendarily awesome, it's not, but that adds to the humor of it, and since this is a comedy show, that's all I really want.
Again, we get a great demonstration of the relationship between Michael and Gob, with Gob really standing out in this episode. There's something about this relationship they have and the idea that the "sins of the father" is coming upon both of them, and George isn't able to accept that they could potentially be good with each other because he never was with his brother. That's where the brilliance of this episode lies. Not the attempted complex storytelling, but the amazing underlying message of brotherly love and the "sins of the father" haunting them both because of their psychopathic father.
There's also the funny thing happening with Lindsay and Tobias, who are now going through a divorce, so Lindsay can sleep with a lawyer that she finds attractive. Unfortunately, Tobias has hired him as his lawyer, which puts a bit of wrench in that idea. They really have one of those relationships that I'm sure will endure, but probably shouldn't. Hey, it may actually be the least toxic relationship in this entire show, but that doesn't change the fact that there has never been two people who seem less attracted to each other than Lindsay and Tobias, so we'll see.
"Making a Stand" is both about the literal idea of making a banana stand, but also about standing up to the oppression of George Bluth. It came with some long-needed climaxes that put the lit on some important ideals throughout the show, served up in the general funny and impressive fashion that this show does well.
Pier Pressure 2.0
mateomathew19 October 2020
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