After returning home from Iraq, George Sr. is finally cleared of all charges, and Michael is relieved to be the head of a successful company for a change. The real brains behind the madness is revealed, and just as the family begins to celebrate their victory, a whole new set of problems emerge.
Season 3 finale delivers 60 jokes in 60 minutes—the show's most balanced density before the creative collapse.
Directed by John Fortenberry · Written by Richard Day, Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Tatham
WAR
57.9
Wins Above Replacement
“Development Arrested” ranks #68 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 78.6 — Elite. The episode packs 60 scored jokes at 2.0 per minute, averaging 7.1 on craft and 6.8 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: I'm just not that into older women.
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Ron Howard: No, I, uh... I don't see it as a series. Maybe a movie.
Ron Howard Meta/Self-Referential Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Michael: I've made a huge mistake.
Michael Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Annyong: Because my grandfather vowed one day he would get even for banana stand you stole from him.
Annyong Callback Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Callback Multiple · Hello/Annyong: Annyong? - Annyong. But my real name is... - Hello. - Hello? - Annyong.
All Jokes — 60 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Narrator: Today, it looks like I succeeded. - So why is this man crying?
Narrator Setup/Punchline Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Narrator: Because now he'll have to stay with these people for a long, long time.
Narrator Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Narrator: It was the monster called lust, to which he'd recently succumbed.
Narrator: And although he'd only gotten to second base... he'd gone in head first, like Pete Rose.
Narrator Wordplay/Pun Observational ★ Rewatch Tobias: And there you are, Maeby, coming out of your mother's third base.
Tobias Cringe/Discomfort Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Maeby: What, I mean, so we can make out every night? Does that not work for your schedule?
Maeby Deadpan/Understatement Cringe/Discomfort George Michael: Actually, I've been wrestling with some pretty taboo...
Michael: Risky! There it is, we're doing it, huh?
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm George Michael · Michael: Family. - I was gonna say breakfast, but...
George Michael: I've heard that a couple times too.
Lucille: Look at that, Buster. You would have lost a hand anyway.
Lucille Dark/Subversive Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Lindsay: I've always pictured him in a lighthouse.
Lindsay Absurdist Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Lindsay Character Comedy Reaction Beat Lucille · Lindsay · Michael: It's the only hair he's got. What? - He's an alpaca. - He has alopecia.
Lindsay · Michael: Two million! Two million! That sounds like a lot more than it actually is.
Michael: You've already spent $1,200 on eggs, and that would be it forever.
Michael Character Comedy Observational George Michael · Maeby: We can't have kids. What's the matter... What are you say... It's not even an option really.
Gob: Might wanna start worrying about the table.
Gob Visual Gag Deadpan/Understatement Lindsay: You know, being twins, our birthdays are pretty close to one another.
Lindsay Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Gob · Lindsay: as she does of getting attacked by a shark. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were going to say seal.
George Sr. · Lucille: Girls just grow faster than boys. Dinner's ready. We're having Lindsay chops.
George Sr. · Lucille: What? I want her to be prepared in case some bully at school is as clever as I am. No bully ever would be.
George Sr. · Narrator: It wasn't. Although they marketed the idea better... the Frozen Banana itself was the brainchild of a Korean immigrant who threatened to sue them.
Narrator: Where his business never recovered.
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive George Sr. · Lucille · Michael: I'm concerned about you. Because I do not want to see... - He'll be fine. - You'll be fine.
Narrator: Lighthouse wasn't far off.
Narrator Callback Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Callback Gob: Yeah, well, somebody's drawing a little one on those checks. No big deal.
Gob Character Comedy Visual Gag Gob · Michael · Gob: You give a man a fish, he'll eat for a night. - If you teach a man to fish... - He'll wanna use your yacht.
Lucille: How would it feel to lose the company to a man who has less hair on his !@%$ than I have on my !@%$#.
Michael: It can't be worse than hearing that just was.
Michael Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement Michael · George Michael: How long has this been going on? - I don't know... 53 weeks?
Michael: Yeah, Ann is the girl for us.
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Lindsay: I hope that's not a crack about my hair color, lips, forehead, nose and teeth.
Sitwell: It's alpaca actually. Cruelty-free. Really narrows your choices.
Sitwell Deadpan/Understatement Observational Lindsay: Are you kidding me? This is the happiest I've been since the day I got my new nose.
Lindsay Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Lindsay · Sitwell: Uh, wait, three-year-old? You said it was 37 years ago. Oh, yeah, right. Hey, we should do something for your 40th next week.
Sitwell: Be gentle, she's almost 40!
Studio Executive: This is the biggest thing to happen since Uniprod hired that wee-brain to run drama development.
Lindsay · Michael: I'm not your sister. - What? Hey, Lindsay. - I'm adopted. And I'm three years older.
Michael: I'm just not that into older women.
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Michael: No, I mean, you can't spoon me like that.
Narrator: He also mentioned that we all only had three more weeks on Earth and that fossils were just something the Jews buried in 1924.
Lucille: Adopting a child we didn't want just to stick it to a competitor? Oh, that would make us look great.
Lucille Irony/Sarcasm Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Lucille: We loved her just as much as any of you normal kids. More than Gob.
Michael · Lucille · Michael: So, it's embezzlement, bribery and conspiracy? And a whole lot of love. All right, and perjury.
Tobias · Michael: Oh, no, no, no. It's a chain of popular nightclubs. Although I haven't been to this particular location. - It's on the Long Beach Harbor. - That's the ship.
Tobias · Lucille · Lindsay: Hot Sailors. Better yet, Hot Se... - I like Hot Sailors. - Mm, me too.
Gob · Narrator: What? I thought that's what all you guys lived for. While Gob debased everything they believed in.
Michael: Yes, she is my sister, no matter what any piece of paper says.
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Callback Narrator: It wasn't exactly a turn-on.
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Visual Gag Sitwell: Never seen a CEO cry like that before, except at his sentencing.
Sitwell Callback Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: I've made a huge mistake.
Michael Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback George Sr. · Oscar: Ah, this is why they dropped those other charges. You gave me up, George. - George? I'm not George.
George Sr.: Oscar, when are you going to learn there's no such thing as free shrimp?
Multiple · Hello/Annyong: Annyong? - Annyong. But my real name is... - Hello. - Hello? - Annyong.
Annyong: Because my grandfather vowed one day he would get even for banana stand you stole from him.
Annyong Callback Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Callback Narrator: I don't even wanna tell you what these guys thought that meant.
Hot Cop: This is degrading. I thought we were gonna strip.
Hot Cop Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Buster Callback Physical/Slapstick ★ Rewatch Callback Ron Howard: No, I, uh... I don't see it as a series. Maybe a movie.
Ron Howard Meta/Self-Referential Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Top Episodes — Arrested Development
