Michael learns that it's actually George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar serving time in prison, not George. After getting a tip from Barry, Michael heads to Reno to find George, but that costs him a camping trip he promised his son.
Season 3 premiere launches with 64 jokes in 27 minutes—2.4/min, the densest Arrested Development opener.
Directed by Paul Feig · Written by Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
WAR
166.9
Wins Above Replacement
“The Cabin Show” ranks #3 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 100.0 — Elite. The episode packs 93 scored jokes at 3.5 per minute, averaging 7.9 on craft and 7.7 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
Gob · Steve Holt · Narrator: Narrator reveals Steve Holt IS Gob's son through a montage of 'these girls got pregnant, this one had a baby, and that baby would grow up to be... Steve Holt!'
Gob · Narrator: Gob's speech about what he'll do if he has a son: will take him to the cabin / will promise to take him but not / but will never NOT tell him he's taking him and then NOT take him
Gob Narrator Character Comedy Absurdist Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch George Sr. · Young Gob · Narrator: Narrator reveals through flashback that young Gob was repeatedly ditched by George Sr. with escalating absurd excuses, ending in 'Come on, you're old enough to figure this out. I'm nailing this broad.'
George Sr. · Narrator: George Sr. hid as a Blue Man — 'until he choked on a marshmallow and almost died when no one noticed he turned blue'
Oscar · Other Inmates: Oscar's 'wrong twin' alibi is dismissed because 'You've got the wrong twin' is a popular alibi — other inmates chime in: 'We're quadruplets. You got the wrong two.' 'We're Larry and Dave, you want Curtis and Jeff.'
All Jokes — 93 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Stock Analyst · Michael: Stock analyst upgrades Bluth Company from 'Triple Sell' to 'Don't Buy' as if it's good news
Michael · Lucille: Michael says he's going to the prison to 'gloat' rather than 'visit'
Michael: Visit, no. Gloat, yes.
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Michael: This sink hole spread a little bit more last night? Anyway, I'm gonna go to the prison.
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Lucille: Lucille says she wants Buster to come live with Michael — 'and it's not because he has that horrible hook for a hand now'
Lucille Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Lucille: Lucille plays a recording she made of Buster snoring, labeled 'Buster snoring, Wednesday night'
Michael · Lucille: Michael: 'You seem more villainous than usual, Mom. Are you sober?' Lucille: 'Michael, it's 8:00 a.m.' Michael: 'So, it's not that.'
Michael · Lucille: Lucille went off her postpartum medication — 'You had Buster 32 years ago.' 'And that's how long I've been depressed about him.'
Lucille · Narrator: Narrator describes young Lucille releasing the emergency brake to roll her car into a lake, and Lucille responds 'Good for her'
Lucille: 'I must have gained three pounds' — Lucille's non-sequitur response after the car-in-lake story
Lucille Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Lucille · Michael: Lucille says mood-altering medication leads to street drugs because 'this very handsome young doctor said so on The Today Show' — that doctor was Tom Cruise
Michael · Lucille: 'That was Tom Cruise, the actor.' / 'They said he was some kind of scientist.'
Michael · Lucille: Michael asks 'How am I supposed to find someone willing to go into that musty old claptrap?' — he is talking about the cabin but the line lands as an insult to Lucille
Michael: 'Please get back on the meds, Mom. We miss the old, old you.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Gob: Gob: 'I didn't even know that we had a cabin.'
Gob Character Comedy Reaction Beat George Sr. · Young Gob · Narrator: Narrator reveals through flashback that young Gob was repeatedly ditched by George Sr. with escalating absurd excuses, ending in 'Come on, you're old enough to figure this out. I'm nailing this broad.'
Michael · Gob: 'Mine's sadder.' / 'I don't see you crying, robot.' / 'You taste these tears. Taste my sadness.'
Michael: Michael flatly refuses to lick Gob's eye: 'No. Not gonna lick your eye, okay?'
Michael Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement Gob · Narrator: Gob's speech about what he'll do if he has a son: will take him to the cabin / will promise to take him but not / but will never NOT tell him he's taking him and then NOT take him
Gob Narrator Character Comedy Absurdist Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Gob · Michael: Gob: 'Taste the happy, Michael. Taste it.' Michael: 'Tastes kind of like sad.'
Gob Michael Callback Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback George Michael · Narrator: Narrator reveals George Michael slept outside NOT to see Michael but to hide from his cousin after 'an awkward incident' — they share a bunk bed
Narrator · George Michael · Maeby: Narrator: 'They'd since been trying to avoid each other, which was difficult considering they shared a bunk bed.'
George Michael · Lindsay: George Michael: 'I'll be in the crawl space.' — his response when Lindsay says hi
Michael: Michael: 'I think the President of a Don't Buy company can afford to take a day off.'
Michael Callback Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Callback Michael · Narrator: 'There's only one sleeping bag, so we're gonna have to double up. Pigs in a blanket.' — immediately cut to: 'Sorry, pal, something came up.'
Michael · Oscar: Michael visits prison to gloat at his father — but it's Oscar, his father's twin, who no one believes
Michael Oscar Setup/Punchline Irony/Sarcasm Running Gag ★ Rewatch Callback Oscar · Other Inmates: Oscar's 'wrong twin' alibi is dismissed because 'You've got the wrong twin' is a popular alibi — other inmates chime in: 'We're quadruplets. You got the wrong two.' 'We're Larry and Dave, you want Curtis and Jeff.'
Oscar: Oscar keeps saying 'imoscar.com' after his name as if it's a domain name
Oscar Character Comedy Running Gag Absurdist Michael · Oscar: Michael: 'There's nothing you can say to make me believe that you are not my father.' Oscar: 'I understand. Your child comes first.'
Michael Oscar Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael · Lindsay · Lucille: Michael returns to the office and sees the 'Don't Buy' news — employees celebrate — then Michael sees the ticker on Lucille's butt from the copier
Michael · Oscar: Michael finally realizes: 'Oh my God, you're Oscar.' Oscar: 'Dot com.'
Lindsay · Michael: My husband dumped me and ran off to Vegas with Kitty, that bleached blonde whore. / Well, he's definitely got a type.
Lindsay: Lindsay gestures to 'this and these and this' as proof Tobias shouldn't have left — one of 'these' turns out to be the car on the lot
Lindsay Visual Gag Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Lindsay: Lindsay gesturing to her body: 'I can't believe he left me. I mean, this and these, and this.' Then points at a car.
Michael · Lindsay: Michael tries reverse psychology on Lindsay: 'The only reason you want Tobias is because you can't have him' — Lindsay immediately proves him right by not wanting the car once she can have it
Gob · Narrator: Gob says 'Yeah, like I'd ever hear from that son of a bitch' — cut to narrator revealing Gob received a letter from S.A.D. (a father-son reunion group) earlier that day
Gob Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Misdirection Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Barry's Assistant · Michael: Barry's assistant reveals Barry 'says a lot of things he doesn't mean' — including that he's been visiting George Sr. in prison when he's actually been in Reno
Lucille: 'Good luck, favourite son.' — Lucille's passive-aggressive farewell to Michael
Lucille Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Narrator: Narrator: 'So once again Michael went after the father who'd once again abandoned him, only to find he was about to do the same thing to his own son.'
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Observational ★ Rewatch George Michael · Michael: George Michael: 'It's not happening, is it?' Michael: 'Something came up.' — The second cancellation
Lindsay · George Michael: Lindsay tells George Michael to 'rub off on' Maeby — followed by a reaction beat
Lindsay · George Michael: Lindsay to George Michael: 'Hi. Why don't you pop a tent in front with your cousin Maeby?' Michael: 'What? No!'
Steve Holt · Gob: Steve Holt: 'Kind of feel like that kid who found the severed hand.' Gob: 'Hey, Dad, look what I found.'
Young Steve Holt · Narrator: Flashback visual: a boy with a severed hand saying 'Hey Dad, look what I found.' / 'Anything for his father's approval.'
Gob · Steve Holt · Narrator: Narrator reveals Steve Holt IS Gob's son through a montage of 'these girls got pregnant, this one had a baby, and that baby would grow up to be... Steve Holt!'
Narrator · Gob · Steve Holt: Heartbreaking. / You look familiar. / I think that's because we actually kind of look alike.
Narrator: Remember when I said Gob had a son? / I'm Gob. / I wasn't just saying that.
Narrator Meta/Self-Referential Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Steve Holt · Narrator: Narrator: 'If Steve had had a father, he would've warned him not to go into the woods with strange men. But he didn't.' Steve Holt: 'Sure, let's go! Yeah, baby. Steve Holt!'
Narrator: Reno is competing with Vegas's 'What happens in Vegas' campaign — the Reno version is implied to be much sadder
Narrator Observational Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Person in Reno: Michael asks for 'the seedy underbelly' of Reno — 'The Christian League had the Seedy Underbelly shut down. Now it's a Swallows.'
Narrator: Swallows is 'a family-style restaurant by day and an anything-goes pan-sexual bazaar by night'
Tobias · Michael · Narrator: Tobias is working at Swallows as a waiter — having 'destroyed his life' to join Blue Man Group, only to find the role was already cast
George Sr. · Narrator: George Sr. hid as a Blue Man — 'until he choked on a marshmallow and almost died when no one noticed he turned blue'
Tobias: Tobias: 'Leaving Lindsay was the biggest little mistake I've ever made.' Then: 'Damn this pride of mine!' — immediately followed by his boss telling him to flip cushions in the grind room
Tobias Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Irony/Sarcasm Kitty · Tobias · Michael: Lindsay reveals Kitty's blue handprints — Tobias: 'Say goodbye to these!' — the handprints are also blue
Michael: Michael's rapid deduction: 'Dad's in Reno, Kitty's in Reno, Dad's in Kitty, and he must be a Blue Man.'
Michael Setup/Punchline Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tobias · Michael: 'I just have to break down the salad bar and set up the leather pony.' — Michael: 'What's a leather pony?' Tobias: 'I don't know. We don't have that at lunch.'
Tobias Michael Absurdist Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael · Lindsay: Michael tells Lindsay he found Tobias — 'I'll just bring him back with me. Against his will. Well, knock him out if you have to. He's my husband.'
Narrator · George Michael · Maeby: Narrator: 'The kids found themselves closer than ever on the bumpy road to Reno.'
Tobias: Tobias calls Lindsay from Swallows: 'I can't leave Kitty. Just with, all the sexual intercourse and whatnot.'
Tobias Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Deadpan/Understatement Tobias · Lindsay: Lindsay assumes the person on the phone is Kitty — 'What if Kitty's not there and I'm less of a Blue Man and more of a cocktail waitress?'
Barry · Michael: Barry shows up with $250,000 and a passport for George Sr. — '...Just a passport.' 'Well, I was up for so long.'
Barry · Michael: Michael fires Barry. Barry: 'You're my only client. What am I supposed to do now? Turn tricks on the street? How much do you think I can get for that? What about making out? $50, or is that just L.A.?'
Barry: Barry continues: 'What about making out? $50, or is that just L.A.? Am I just...'
Barry Escalation Character Comedy Callback George Michael · Maeby · Lindsay: George Michael and Maeby discuss finishing the half-kiss 'to get it out of the way' — then Lindsay arrives: 'Kids, bring the bags. We're sharing a room.'
George Michael · Steve Holt: George Michael claims he's watching the Reno sunset: 'Isn't it behind you?' 'There's... Yeah, but there's mirrors. It'll actually look closer.'
Gob · Steve Holt · Michael: Gob and Steve Holt are both at the hotel getting cabin keys, calling each other 'son' — 'I'll go buy some fishing stuff, son.' 'Where did you get this kid?'
Gob: Gob describes meeting Steve Holt 'at the garden where the little boy found the arm'
Gob Dark/Subversive Callback Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Michael: Gob: 'I wish he could be my dad.' Michael: 'Okay, your dad's not trying to find you, your son is. That kid's your son. You're the dad.'
Gob Michael Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Gob: 'I've made a huge tiny mistake.'
Gob Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael sees his own son in the parking lot in Reno and says 'He drove all the way up here to be with me. Wow.' Then: 'Well, I guess I'm no better than...' [pause] '...No, I'm better.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Michael · George Michael: George Michael wakes up in the car — 'You were out like a light, pal. Our dreams are about to come true.' He thinks it's Maeby: 'Definitely. We are going camping.'
George Michael · Narrator: 'It's finally happening.' / 'It's never happening.' — Narrator's deadpan response to George Michael's excitement
Michael · Narrator: Michael promises to tell the cops about Oscar 'before' taking his son camping — framed as a moral concession — 'Your uncle Oscar can stay in prison one more day, right?'
Narrator: Narrator: 'Not according to that day's blog on imoscar.com'
Narrator Callback Running Gag Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback George Michael: George Michael: 'Me, too.' — in response to Michael saying he was 'very close' to finding Pop-pop in Reno
George Michael Irony/Sarcasm Cringe/Discomfort Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Narrator: Narrator: 'As Michael was forcibly taking his son out to the cabin, Lucille was ready to forcibly throw hers out.'
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Observational Character Comedy Lucille · Narrator: 'Well, that was a freebie.' — After Lucille presumably accidentally hits/hurts Buster (the narrator's commentary on off-screen slapstick)
Lucille Narrator Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Tobias: Tobias stages a fake tableau with a Kitty lookalike to make Lindsay jealous using the Blue Man makeup — delivered with a rhyming couplet: 'If this tableau I recreate, perhaps I can re-snare my mate.'
Tobias Character Comedy Absurdist Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Narrator: Narrator: 'Gee, why wouldn't she want him back?' — after the Tobias tableau reveal
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Michael · George Michael · Narrator: The cabin has had its bedrooms 'trucked off' — Michael and George Michael are in an empty living room shell of a cabin
Lucille · Buster: Lucille discovers Buster has been sleeping in the car the whole trip — having made a recording of his own snoring to avoid detection
Lucille Buster Callback Character Comedy Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Callback Lucille · Buster: Lucille offers to drop Buster 'by this light' — Buster: 'Or I could come with you.'
Lucille Buster Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Deadpan/Understatement Buster: Lucille and Buster's cabin car scene: 'This is just like when we used to live up in the attic.'
Buster Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael · George Michael: George Michael says his problem is 'about a girl' — Michael: 'Is it about Ann?' George Michael: 'No.' Michael: 'Of course I'm gonna like it. I like Ann.'
George Michael: Michael: 'That and cheating on Gangy.' — George Michael's explanation of what the cabin is for
George Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Narrator: Narrator: 'And the next morning, Michael rose early to spend the day with his son, only to find himself, once again, dragged away by his family.'
Narrator Running Gag Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Callback George Sr. · Michael: George Sr. appears from under the cabin floor: 'Dad, what the hell are you doing?' 'Sorry. I can't let you let Oscar out of prison or they'll come for me. How do you like the cabin?'
Lucille: Lucille arrives at what she thinks is the cabin: 'There's no cabin.' — The cabin she expected is not there (it's been relocated/is now occupied by Michael)
Lucille Running Gag Setup/Punchline Visual Gag Callback Lucille: Lucille reacts to seeing Michael at the cabin: 'Oh, my God! Are you still doing breakfast burritos?'
Lucille Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement Maeby · George Michael: Maeby finds someone to help her forget her cousin — it turns out to be her cousin George Michael. 'Stood up.' 'Yeah, me too.' 'Wanna make out?' 'Yeah, sure. Why not?'
Lindsay · Tobias · Barry: Lindsay catches Tobias with (fake) Kitty: 'Get your hands off my husband, Kitty.' Then: 'I want a divorce.' Barry: 'And I would be thrilled to represent either one of you. That'll be $50.'
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