Gob accepts a job from his brother, but is distracted by a scheme of his own.
Lindsay's thread dominates with character-driven cringe; lowest joke density of season.
Directed by Mitchell Hurwitz, Troy Miller · Written by Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
WAR
150.4
Wins Above Replacement
“A New Attitude” ranks #65 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 93.0 — Elite. The episode packs 94 scored jokes at 2.1 per minute, averaging 7.7 on craft and 7.5 on impact, with Gob landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
Get weekly comedy rankings
Join comedy fans getting new analyses, score drops, and the funniest moments each week. Free, no spam.
Top Jokes
Gob · Tony Wonder · Narrator: 'I have... feelings for you.' Tony: 'I have feelings... for you.' Narrator: 'The feeling was friendship, but neither had ever experienced it.'
Narrator · Ann: Narrator: 'And that's how Ann not only performed a real-life version of Tony's most beloved illusion... / Now everybody's gay! / ...but was responsible for the first reported instance of a Christian straight-to-gay conversion.'
Narrator Ann Callback Dark/Subversive Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Tony Wonder: The 'Same / Same' beats score the scenes of Gob and Tony each preparing alone — 'Same. Same.' as Tony prepares, and the same word from Gob as he also prepares
Gob · Tony Wonder: 'It's, like, two same. That's in-same. Totally in-same.'
Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob says his younger brother is '42' — Tony: 'Same! My younger brother's 42, also.' — then both realize and say '32' simultaneously, escalating into 'Same! Same! Same!'
All Jokes — 94 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Narrator: The narrator calls their pissing contest a 'tinkling match'
Narrator Wordplay/Pun Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Gob · Michael: The Julie Bowen exchange — both brothers claim to be dating someone 'famousy' and immediately suspect it's Julie Bowen
Gob Michael Escalation Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Gob · Michael: 'Well, that's a funny way to phrase it' — Michael says 'I have not seen Julie Bowen' instead of 'I am not seeing Julie Bowen'
Gob Michael Wordplay/Pun Misdirection ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Michael: Gob asks Michael to pretend to be his boyfriend to get into a gay club to destroy Tony Wonder, and Michael says 'I'm going to say no, thank you. And don't you think it's a little inappropriate? I am your brother.'
George Michael: George Michael: 'I love magic, of course. I mean, my dad's a magician. Well, you're my dad, I mean, so, so you should know.'
Gob · George Michael: 'Well, it'd be sort of a, a father-son thing at a gay club.' / 'Well, technically gay night at a magic club.'
Gob: Gob asks George Michael to pretend to be his boyfriend, then adds 'And don't make that face; you look homophobic.'
Gob Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Gob · Michael: Gob presents a 'T' wedge as proof Tony Wonder sabotaged him. Michael says 'Jesus.' Gob replies: 'No, that would be a J. This is a T.'
Gob Michael Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Gob: Gob: 'He got the last laugh, which, in this case, happened to be the first laugh.'
Gob Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Gob: Gob: 'Listen, if you insist on speaking to me like you're my wife, then don't be surprised to find my [bleep] in you and then you never hear from me again.'
Gob Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Narrator: The episode title card: 'It's Gob's Arrested Development' — a parody of the show's own title card
Narrator Meta/Self-Referential Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Gob: 'Do I seem like a clown to you? I got it. Do I seem like some kind of a clown to you?' — Gob repeating the same line twice
Gob Character Comedy Running Gag Narrator: Narrator: 'which, that night, did actually kind of resemble the Gothicassle'
Narrator Callback Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · George Michael: Gob at the Gothic Castle / gay club: 'Uncle Gob.' / 'Don't call me Unc... Actually, no, that's good, that works here.'
Gob: Gob: 'I do know that your daddy wants you to get your hot, little, tight, little, hot ass right up there right away to see him.'
Gob Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Gob · George Michael: Gob admits the two things he told George Michael are 'unrelated' — he brought him all the way to a gay magic club just to be 'believable arm candy bean'
George Michael · Gob: George Michael mentions Fakeblock to Gob, and Gob has clearly already heard about it — then reveals 'I wonder if my dad thinks I'm blowing him off because that's starting to take off now'
Gob · George Michael: Gob licks the entry stamp off George Michael's hand, reacts: 'God, what is that inky taste?' / 'It's my stamp.' / 'I probably won't come back in.'
Gob · Bystander: Bystander: 'Bit my tongue, that little bitch.' Gob: 'Oh, no, he didn't.' Bystander: 'They're always doing that.' Gob: 'I mean, oh, no, he didn't.'
Gob: Gob's farewell to George Michael: 'Thank you, George Michael; honestly I owe you big-time... Now get out of here. I never want to sleep with you again. I mean, I probably will. I don't. But are we good?'
Gob Cringe/Discomfort Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Gob: Gob locking everything in the club: 'Who's the dumbwaiter now?'
Gob Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Tony Wonder: Tony Wonder's illusion: 'I don't want to look at you, son. Just go to work. Why can't you be like your brother?' — voices from his childhood closet, then popping out of a beanbag chair: 'I'm in a chair!'
Tony Wonder Absurdist Physical/Slapstick Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Tony Wonder · Narrator: 'Did somebody say Wonder?' Narrator: 'Nobody actually did that time, but I think he got away with it.'
Narrator: Narrator on the illusion: 'it really brought the crowd to their feet. Although it was pretty easy to figure out how he did it. They started out gay.'
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Setup/Punchline Tony Wonder · Gob: Tony reveals his beanbag trick: 'I put it on another guy, and then I was in the bean bag chair the whole time.' / 'Oh, well, that's... that's... that's why they put that sign on the bean bag chair that says, Do not steal this...'
Tony Wonder: Tony: 'Also it's very hard to get out of at the end, when I appear.' — his dramatic entrance is ruined by struggling with a beanbag chair
Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob: 'I haven't seen you since your wedding, when you did the Jesus gag.' Tony: 'See, it's like a quotation mark, but with a W.' Gob: 'Oh, yeah, right... That's... I should do that.'
Gob · Tony Wonder: Tony: 'I guess you could say I was a runaway groom.' Gob: 'Well, makes sense now, doesn't it?' Tony: 'What do you mean?' Gob: 'Well, I mean, you are gay, right?'
Tony Wonder · Gob: Tony: 'I resorted to using my own legs in the Saw the Lady in Half gag. I even shaved them. Want to feel?' Gob: 'Wow, they are smooth. Like a lady's. I think.'
Gob · Valet: Valet announcement: 'The Cabriolet — license plate: ANUS TART.' Gob: 'That's me.'
Gob Valet Character Comedy Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Tobias · Gob: Tobias: 'I, too, am in a relationship, but mine is purely a revenge-based deal. Plan on making this person fall in love with me and then destroying them by breaking their heart.' Gob: 'How do you make someone fall in love with you?' Tobias: 'Can you pass the mustard, please?'
Tobias · Narrator: Tobias describes his romance: 'Last night, for instance, we both got a case of the munchies, and then we went out and we stole these pies...' Narrator: 'As it turns out, they did a lot more than steal pies.'
Tobias · Gob: Tobias: 'they remind us both of my crooked smile.' / 'Sounds like you're really into this girl.' / 'Don't call me girl, friend. No, this is purely an act of revenge, filled with white-hot hate.'
Tobias Gob Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Tobias · Gob: 'Sounds like you're really into this girl.' 'Don't call me girl, friend.'
Tobias Gob Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Tobias: Tobias: 'Oh, I have a list of men that could fill every opening you have.'
Tobias Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Callback Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob calls Tony Wonder, who answers: 'It's Tony. I'm not here right now, because I'm right behind you.' — it's his voicemail message
Gob · Lucille Bluth: Gob: 'Wow, that was fast, you hot little...' — Lucille Bluth answers instead of Tony
Gob: Gob recruiting workers for the wall: 'Who wants to help me build a wall... to keep Mexicans out of America?' (bleep) 'Who wants to help me build a wall for no reason?' (bleep) 'It's a different wall.'
Gob Escalation Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Gob · Chinese man: Chinese man at the border: 'You should get the Chinese to build your wall. We make great walls.' / Gob: 'That would be great. How can we make that happen?' / 'I'm Chinese; I know all Chinese. I hook you up.'
Lucille Bluth: Lucille Bluth: 'Well, if I wasn't sure you were gay, I am now.' — responding to Gob telling his mother off in front of Tony Wonder on the phone
Tony Wonder: Tony Wonder planning his scheme: 'The only thing I'm better at than [sleeping with] women is pretending I'm gay.' / 'Trust me, I am all man.' / 'Give me a little leg shave?'
Sally Sitwell: Sally Sitwell reveals she stole $100,000 from Lucille Austero to rebrand Tony as the gay magician, then adds: 'And I don't want to have to sell that closet as a sweat sauna on Craigslist.'
Narrator: Narrator: 'And as long as we're recapping things that we already know...' — the 'inside source' reveal about Fakeblock
Narrator Meta/Self-Referential Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Tony Wonder · Narrator: Tony trying not to react when he hears 'wonder': narrator notes 'It took a lot of restraint for Tony to not pop out when he heard the word wonder'
Tony Wonder: Tony: 'Poor guy doesn't realize I'm about to destroy our life.' / 'Our life?' / 'I mean, destroy our life with Gob. Dest... I'm going to destroy our life-- my life-- with Gob.'
Tony Wonder · Sally Sitwell: Tony's increasingly mangled self-correction: 'Destroy my life with Gob.' ♪ Hello darkness, my old friend... ♪ 'Destroy my life with Gob.' / Sally: 'Just be careful. Could be a house of cards.'
Sally Sitwell · Narrator: Narrator: 'It seemed Sally had two secrets.' — after she reacts with terror to a caterpillar/moth that is clearly a reference to something else
Gob · Siri: Gob asks Siri for 'the gayest' Little Ballroom. Siri hears 'grayest' both times. Gob: 'I need the GAYEST Little Ballroom!' Siri: 'Okay, Gob, try this one.'
Gob · Michael: Gob arrives at the wrong Little Ballroom — a children's ball pit venue. Michael is there.
Gob · Michael: Gob: 'First of all, that's very dated of you, Michael. He's don't like to be called she's and I don't who this he-man is...' Michael: 'No, no, it's a she. My girlfriend. Rebel. Rebel Alley. Where is she?'
Michael · Gob: Michael: 'I know what you do. Mom told me you were bragging about seeing somebody in showbiz. Then I see a frozen dove in a freezer.' Gob: 'That could be anything.' Michael: 'It said Love each other on the foot band.' Gob: 'Yeah, that does sound like one of mine.'
Michael: Michael: 'If I want to see bad acting, I'll go see Tobias in A Jew Comes to Dinner.'
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Rebel Alley · Narrator: Rebel puts a dead dove in a bag, writes down 'species and location from which she'd acquired it' and then 'one further caution' — narrator: 'It was a merry mix-up.'
Gob · Michael: Gob: 'If ever we were gonna have a fight, Michael, this would be the safest place to do it.' / Michael: 'Right! Let's do it!' / Gob: 'This gay bar would be the best—!' Michael: 'Let's do it!'
Gob · Michael: Gob running from Michael through a ball pit: 'You'll never catch me, Michael!' / ♪ You raped and pushed and struggled / All those balls in the air... ♪ / 'You have to find me, Michael!'
Gob Michael Physical/Slapstick Visual Gag Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Gob: After the fight: Gob says 'I'm just surprisingly tired. So tired... and so not hurt.'
Gob Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Gob · Michael: Michael: 'With who?' / Gob: 'With sex offenders.' — the reveal of who Gob filled the homes with
Michael · Lucille · George Bluth Sr.: Michael visits Lucille, gets a black eye; Lucille assumes it's from Gob; then discovers George Senior was on the call with Gob; the call gets passed around on hold while everyone tells each other 'you're out of the movie'
Lucille Bluth · Michael · George Sr.: Michael goes back to Lucille and while relaying the story, George, Sr. calls in on the phone — 'I beg your pardon? Did you say George? Is that Dad? 'Cause he's the one who told me to hire Gob.'
Gob · Tony Wonder: Tony to Gob: 'Or is it because your boyfriend is 20 and I'm nearly twice that?' / Gob: 'You think that I care that you're... three years older than me?'
Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob says his younger brother is '42' — Tony: 'Same! My younger brother's 42, also.' — then both realize and say '32' simultaneously, escalating into 'Same! Same! Same!'
Gob · Tony Wonder: The 'Same!' bonding sequence: 'My younger brother's 42, also.' / 'Same!' / 'I mean 32.' / 'Third...two...' / '32!' / 'Same!' / 'Same! I was gonna say it.' / 'Same?' / 'I was thinking the same.' / 'That's so weird!'
Gob · Tony Wonder: The 'Same!' montage — Gob and Tony finding they have everything in common: wine preference, childhood sayings, scuba diving, Captain Crunch
Gob · Tony Wonder: 'It's, like, two same. That's in-same. Totally in-same.'
Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob: 'I think I got into misdirection 'cause I just... maybe I was trying to hide my feelings or something.' Tony: 'I was just doing it to get out of gym.' Gob: 'Who's Jim?'
Gob · Tony Wonder: The popcorn fight: 'Ooh! / Oh... / Don't stop. / Oh! / Popcorn fight!'
Gob or Tony Wonder: 'It almost went down my throat.' — after the popcorn fight
Narrator · Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob sees Tony's phone and chose not to take it. Tony sees Gob's mask and chose not to sabotage it — narrator describes both men's moments of choosing not to scheme
Narrator · Gob: Narrator: 'although he did put the mask down his pants. Ah.'
Gob · Tony Wonder: Gob: 'I would definitely stay and have gay sex with... or normal sex with you, but...' Tony: 'Yeah, I would totally have gay sex or whatever, but... just drank a lot of water, you know.'
Gob · Tony Wonder · Narrator: 'I have... feelings for you.' Tony: 'I have feelings... for you.' Narrator: 'The feeling was friendship, but neither had ever experienced it.'
Gob · Tony Wonder · Narrator: Narrator: 'All they had to do now was avoid making any specific...' / Gob: 'Why don't we have normal sex on Cinco?' Tony: 'Let's have normal sex on Cinco.' Narrator: 'I guess they figured they could get out of it later. I'm not sure why they said that.'
Gob · Tony Wonder · Narrator: 'Why don't we have normal sex on Cinco?' / 'Let's have normal sex on Cinco.' / Narrator: 'I guess they figured they could get out of it later. I'm not sure why they said that.'
Narrator: Cinco de Cuatro — the Newport Beach 'celebration' of Cinco de Cuatro
Narrator Running Gag Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Gob · Almost Ex-Wife: Gob runs into an 'almost ex-wife' — 'How long has it been?' / 'It's been five years.' / 'What are you doing here?' / 'I'm taking my five-year-old to see Fantastic Four.' / 'I'm pretty sure that's an adult...'
Almost Ex-Wife · Gob: 'Oui.' / 'What? We what?' / 'No, oui. It's French for yes. As in, Yes, I have a son, and his father's a magician.'
Gob · Almost Ex-Wife: Woman: 'Oh. It's not us.' Gob: 'Don't worry. It's not you. It was a real magician.'
Gob · Ann: The Gob mask / Tony Wonder mask / 'Straight bait' plan — Gob explains an increasingly convoluted plot to Ann involving masks, hidden cameras, and 'fake gay but actually straight sex'
Gob Ann Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Gob · Ann: Ann: 'I have a child with him!' Gob: 'Okay, yes, new plan. I'm going to wear this Tony Wonder mask, you're going to wear the Gob mask, and... I am going to have sex with you.'
Gob Ann Escalation Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Gob: Gob: 'And you know what it is? It's a straight bait. I just realized, it's a straight bait. You ever watch those?'
Gob Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Gob: Gob to Ann: 'I need a little while to get same. To be the same.'
Gob Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Tony Wonder · Ann: Tony pops up in the model home looking for somewhere to hide: 'Hello? Hello?' — and finds Ann
Tony Wonder: Tony's monologue about why David Geffen pretends to be gay, and Doug Henning being 'a secretly straight guy,' leading to: 'I mean, they can't give everything to Doogie Howser, right? Biggest fake gay there is, by the way.'
Tony Wonder Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Absurdist ★ Rewatch Tony Wonder: 'I mean, they can't give everything to Doogie Howser, right? Biggest fake gay there is, by the way.'
Tony Wonder · Ann: Tony to Ann: 'I just thought that if you had to have sex with a man, wouldn't it be more of a turn-on to have sex with someone that looks like you?'
Tony Wonder: Tony: 'Put these on, and then meet me in the bedroom in five minutes for some serious secular intercourse. With myself.'
Gob · Tony Wonder: The 'Same / Same' beats score the scenes of Gob and Tony each preparing alone — 'Same. Same.' as Tony prepares, and the same word from Gob as he also prepares
Narrator · Gob: Gob dims the lights — preparing for his assignation with Ann (wearing a Tony mask), apparently unaware he's about to have sex with the woman while both wear masks of the man each loves
Narrator · Ann: Narrator: 'And that's how Ann not only performed a real-life version of Tony's most beloved illusion... / Now everybody's gay! / ...but was responsible for the first reported instance of a Christian straight-to-gay conversion.'
Narrator Ann Callback Dark/Subversive Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael's long speech to Gob about feeling shame: 'If you were ashamed of being in love with a man, suddenly discovered these new feelings... tried to convince yourself that the sex you were about to have was with yourself, but it turned out to be him... then I might say something like, Homo much?'
Michael Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Gob · Michael · Narrator: Gob gives Michael the forget-me-now pill — Michael takes it, forgetting Rebel Alley; Gob remembers. Narrator: 'Stupid, forgetful Michael.'
Narrator · Michael: Michael wakes up and the TV is showing an anti-abortion ad: '700,000 abortions every year...' Narrator: 'The amount of money he owed because Tobias wanted to mount this abortion.'
Tobias: The TV plays: ♪ Fantastic Three, Fantastic... ♪ — implying Tobias's musical is called 'Fantastic Three' (not Four)
Tobias Visual Gag Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Rebel Alley: Rebel to mystery caller: 'Who was that?' / 'No one.'
Top Episodes — Arrested Development