Michael puts George Michael in charge of the Bluth Bannana Stand, and his son subsequently burns down the stand. Elsewhere, Tobias auditions for a commercial, and Lindsay inadvertantly gets the part.
Deadpan understatement drives 88.8 score with 2.35 jokes per minute across 56 gags.
Directed by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo · Written by Mitchell Hurwitz, John Levenstein
WAR
129.4
Wins Above Replacement
“Top Banana” ranks #33 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 95.8 — Elite. The episode packs 86 scored jokes at 3.6 per minute, averaging 7.6 on craft and 7.4 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Michael: 'You mailed that insurance check, right, Gob?'
Michael Setup/Punchline Callback Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Michael: Gob: 'I should be in charge. I'm the older brother.' / 'Please, do you even wanna be in charge?' / 'No! But I'd like to be asked.'
George Sr.: George Sr.: 'How much clearer can I say... There's always money in the banana stand?'
George Sr. Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · George Sr.: Michael confronts George Sr.: 'Burned it right down to the ground.' / George Sr.: 'Are you crazy? There was money in that banana stand.'
Maeby · George Michael: 'Pop-pop, he's a businessman. What would he do?' / 'Bananas Foster.'
All Jokes — 86 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Narrator: The narrator teases the banana stand fire as 'a delicious whodunit'
Narrator Wordplay/Pun Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch George Sr. · Michael: George Sr. in prison: 'There's always money in the banana stand' while lovingly eating an ice cream sandwich and trying to share it
George Sr. · Michael: George Sr.: 'I haven't had a vacation in years. This is my vacation.' / 'I'm doing the time of my life!'
George Sr. · Michael: George Sr.'s prison roommate T-Bone is introduced as 'a flamer'
Michael: Michael, after meeting T-Bone leaving prison: 'Well, I guess every vacation's gotta come to an end.'
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Callback Callback George Sr. · Michael: George Sr.: 'Because he's a flamer?' after Michael says he won't hire T-Bone
Narrator · George Michael · Maeby: Narrator: 'George Michael was having a hard time adjusting to his new one' — cut to cramped van with 'ass to ankles' crowding
Tobias: Tobias: 'Whoa, bumpy road ahead.' — presumably while driving the cramped van with his stepdaughter on his lap
Tobias Cringe/Discomfort Deadpan/Understatement Michael · George Michael: George Michael asks for more hours at the banana stand; Michael flashes back to his own childhood there
Michael · George Michael: George Michael starts to say 'Mr. Manager' again and Michael cuts him off: 'Manager. We just say...' / 'I know, but you just...' / 'It doesn't matter who.'
George Michael · Michael: George Michael says 'I'm Mr. Manager' again; Michael starts to correct him; George Michael cuts him off: 'I know, but you just...' Michael: 'It doesn't matter who.'
Michael · Lindsay · Tobias: Michael arrives home; Lindsay and Tobias are in the exact same positions as when he left that morning. 'Is nobody gonna even try to get a job?'
Lindsay · Michael: Lindsay: 'I have a job, Michael. It's called supporting my husband.' Michael: 'You haven't been shopping.'
Lucille · Michael: The dead dove in the freezer — Lucille trying to return it to a pet store
Lucille: Lucille asking about the return policy for the dead dove
Lucille Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Michael · Lindsay: Lindsay spent $68 on hair conditioner; 'A small price to pay for self-esteem, Michael. Or are you still jealous that you lost Best Hair to me in high school and got Dorkiest?'
Narrator: Narrator confirms: 'Lindsay's achievements in high school had always overshadowed Michael's'
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Callback Tobias · Michael: Tobias delivers a speech about rejection in the 'business of show'... but has never actually had an audition
Tobias: Tobias's indignant 'Well... excuse me!' after being told he's never had an audition, followed by another 'Excuse me.' as he leaves
Tobias Character Comedy Reaction Beat Callback Michael · Lindsay: Michael lectures Lindsay about setting an example for Maeby; Lindsay replies 'Yeah. Shoot me when that happens.' / Michael: 'Is there a carbon monoxide leak in this house?'
Michael: Michael worries about Maeby working at the banana stand: 'I don't know about this. I mean, it can get pretty hairy in there.'
Michael Wordplay/Pun Deadpan/Understatement George Sr. · Michael: George Sr.'s advice to Michael about Maeby: 'You stay on top of her, buddy. Do not be afraid to ride her. Hard.'
Narrator · George Michael · Maeby: Narrator: 'George Michael's attempt to distance himself from his cousin proved unsuccessful.' — George Michael and Maeby are literally at the banana stand together
Maeby · George Michael: Maeby's scheme to drain the cash register by giving away bananas for free: 'Banana. Buck. Banana. Take a buck.'
Gob: Gob calling from the ocean, apparently calling Michael while he's clearly dumping the letter: 'Then why don't you marry an ice cream sandwich?'
Gob Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Lucille · Michael: Lucille: 'I don't know where they are.' (before Michael has finished his sentence) — Michael: 'You know, it's really more believable if you let me finish.'
Lucille: Lucille's increasingly vague description of the storage unit location: 'Something with Dale... Brookfeather... Raintree... It's hot. It's very hot there. I've never been. Get a warrant!'
Lucille: 'It's hot. It's very hot there. I've never been.'
Lucille Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Michael · Lucille: Michael: 'But he's not special, Mother.' — a sincere assessment of Gob delivered with complete seriousness
Lucille · Michael: Michael: 'Where's the storage unit?' / Lucille: 'It's with your warrant.'
Lucille: Lucille to her housekeeper Luz: 'Luz, that coat cost more than your house!' / 'Oh, that's how we joke. She doesn't even have a house.'
Lucille Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Tobias: Tobias stares longingly at an 'Actor Pull' classified ad — the visual of this sad moment
Tobias Visual Gag Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tobias · Michael: 'I was looking for work, and I blew it, Michael.' / 'I guess you've already seen that, huh?' / 'Yes, I have. Oh, right. This one.'
Michael · Lucille: Michael tricks Lucille by calling and mentioning the IRS wants to check for 'furs or...' — then following her housekeeper Luz to the storage unit
Narrator: Narrator: 'Oh, that poor woman.' — referring to Luz being sent on an errand, not to Lucille
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Tobias: Tobias at the commercial audition: 'Not if I do my job right' when told the audition is just one line
Tobias Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Tobias · Director: Tobias asks whether he should be 'panicked about the fire' or 'being brave for everyone else' — it's an ad for a fire sale
Tobias: Tobias performs the fire sale commercial: 'Oh, my God! We're having a fire... sale.' / 'Oh, the burning! It burns me!' / 'Evacuate all the schoolchildren!' / 'This isn't a fever!'
Tobias Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Tobias: 'I can't even see where the knob is!' — Tobias, during the fire sale audition
Tobias Character Comedy Escalation Callback Director · Tobias: Director after Tobias's performance: 'Would you like to try that a little simpler maybe?' / Tobias: 'No.'
Director · Lindsay: After Tobias's audition implodes, the director immediately calls for 'Lindsay Bluth' — her ex-boyfriend from high school who has moved on to casting commercials
Lindsay · Roger Danish: Lindsay and Roger reminisce about their 'crazy hair' in high school while Tobias is in the background
Michael · Narrator: The storage unit is on fire when Michael arrives — after following Luz all the way there
Fire Investigator · Michael: Fire investigator: 'Oh, definitely the work of a flamer.' — about the arson
Tobias: Tobias explains he 'made the fire too real' and 'probably failed to highlight the sale'
Tobias Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Gob · Michael: Gob: 'Well, isn't that ironic? I'm making a fortune at my new job, and you don't even have the job you thought you did.'
Gob · Michael: Gob, instead of helping Michael, asks him to mail a letter — 'You can't just give that to a mailman? / I can't trust a mailman with this. This is important.'
Narrator · Gob: Narrator: Gob 'couldn't return a completely frozen dove to a pet store and get the full refund he felt he was entitled to'
Narrator Gob Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · George Sr.: George Sr., hearing that George Michael is running the banana stand: 'George Michael is running the frozen banana stand now?' / 'That's right. Yeah. You sit with that. You think about that for a while.'
George Sr. · Narrator: George Sr. visibly panics after Michael leaves — 'George Sr. did think about that'
George Michael · Maeby: George Michael's employee math: 'We throw away a banana for every buck we take so no one finds out.' / 'Wait, I think you should do that math again.' / 'Is it wrong?' / 'It's fine.'
Narrator: Narrator: 'He's an arsonist, not an embezzler.' — about T-Bone working the cash register
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Narrator: Gob 'dramatically hurled the letter into the sea' — which proved 'a more difficult dramatic gesture than he'd anticipated'
Gob Narrator Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Lucille: Lucille's response to Michael's complaint about Gob: 'He's my son. I want you to make him stop calling me.'
Lucille Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Tobias: Tobias declares: 'Who would have imagined — two actors in one family? We're like the Lunts!'
Tobias Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Lindsay · Maeby · Narrator: Lindsay and Maeby both celebrate jobs they didn't actually do, at the same restaurant, with unearned money
Lucille · Lindsay: Lucille to Lindsay at the restaurant: 'Not as much as you enjoyed yours. You want your belt to buckle, not your chair.'
George Michael · Maeby: George Michael's math realization: 'For every dollar you take, you're actually taking two dollars because we paid for the bananas.'
George Michael · Maeby: George Michael and Maeby panic at seeing their mothers at the same restaurant — 'Oh, my God! It's your mom and Gangy.'
Maeby · George Michael: 'Pop-pop, he's a businessman. What would he do?' / 'Bananas Foster.'
Lucille · Maeby: Lucille to Maeby about the flaming Bananas Foster: 'You might wanna let that fire go out before you stick your face in it.'
Maeby · Lucille: Maeby: 'That's funny, 'cause I was gonna say, You might wanna lean away from that fire since you're soaked in alcohol.' / Lucille: 'Mine was better.'
George Michael: George Michael's banana stand pitch to a customer: 'Welcome to Bluth Bananas, where bananas are our business. May I interest you in a banana this day?'
T-Bone · Michael: T-Bone appears at the banana stand: 'Your dad gave me this job.'
Michael · T-Bone: Michael asks T-Bone 'You burn down the storage unit?' T-Bone: 'Oh, most definitely.'
Gob: Gob: 'Michael, having a nice day at the beach while the rest of us are busting our asses to deliver your mail?'
Gob Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Michael: Gob: 'I should be in charge. I'm the older brother.' / 'Please, do you even wanna be in charge?' / 'No! But I'd like to be asked.'
Gob · Michael: Gob: 'Better than being treated like the goofball, the joker, the magician.' — then attempts a fireball that doesn't go off
Gob Michael Character Comedy Physical/Slapstick ★ Rewatch Gob: 'These things never go off when you want them to. My least consistent trick.'
Gob Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Maeby · Michael: Maeby calls Michael to rat out George Michael: 'He's about to do something really irresponsible.' / Michael: 'You think it's irresponsible? I'll be right there.'
George Michael: George Michael, caught burning the banana stand: 'I was just, uh... I was burning down the banana stand.'
George Michael: George Michael's desperate apology: 'I'll work weeknights. I'll lay people off. I'll give up my summer, all my summers. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.'
Michael: Michael's response to George Michael's distress: 'Burn it down.' / 'What?' / 'Let's burn this son of a bitch.'
Michael Setup/Punchline Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Michael · George Michael · Gob: The three Bluth men — Michael, George Michael, and Gob — bonding over the burning banana stand
Michael · George Michael · Gob · Narrator: Michael, George Michael, and Gob bond while burning the banana stand together — narrator: 'Michael, his son and his brother together enjoyed the cathartic burning of the banana stand.'
Michael: 'You mailed that insurance check, right, Gob?'
Michael Callback Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: 'You mailed that insurance check, right, Gob?'
Michael Setup/Punchline Callback Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Narrator · Lindsay · Tobias: Narrator: Lindsay 'had slept through' her one day of employment, and Tobias 'couldn't hear the phone over the sound of the shower'
Tobias · Lindsay: Tobias discovers Lindsay's conditioner improves his self-esteem; Lindsay compliments him: 'You look very handsome today.' / 'Thank you, Lindsay.'
Michael · George Sr.: Michael confronts George Sr.: 'Burned it right down to the ground.' / George Sr.: 'Are you crazy? There was money in that banana stand.'
George Sr.: George Sr.: 'How much clearer can I say... There's always money in the banana stand?'
George Sr. Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Prison Guard · Michael · George Sr.: 'No touching! No touching!' — both Michael and George Sr. through the prison glass
Gob: Tag: Gob protests the pet store's frozen dove exchange policy. 'Return from whence you came!'
Gob Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Michael: Tag: Michael tells others the banana stand is being rebuilt; Gob complains: 'You couldn't have called me? I can't swing a hammer?'
Michael: Tag final line: 'I got a rabbit to buy.' — Michael or George Michael on the banana stand reconstruction
Michael Absurdist Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Gob: 'I got a rabbit to buy.' — Gob's response/explanation
Gob Absurdist Character Comedy Top Episodes — Arrested Development
