| "Righteous Brothers" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrested Development episode | |||
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| Episodeno. | Season 2 Episode 18 | ||
| Directed by | Chuck Martin | ||
| Written by | |||
| Cinematography by | Greg Harrington | ||
| Editing by | Richard Candib | ||
| Production code | 2AJD18 | ||
| Original air date | April 17, 2005 (2005-04-17) | ||
| Running time | 22 minutes | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| Arrested Developmentseason 2 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Righteous Brothers" (also titled "The Righteous Brothers" on the season 2 DVD) is the eighteenth and final episode of thesecond season of the American televisionsatiricalsitcomArrested Development. It is the 40th overall episode of the series, and was written by series creatorMitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producerJim Vallely, and directed by Chuck Martin. It originally aired onFox on April 17, 2005.
The series, narrated byRon Howard, follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy,dysfunctional family, who made their money from property development. The Bluth family consists ofMichael, his twin sisterLindsay, his older brotherGob, his younger brotherBuster, their motherLucille and fatherGeorge Sr., as well as Michael's sonGeorge Michael, and Lindsay and her husbandTobias' daughterMaeby. In the episode, the model home collapses and Tobias and Kitty head to Las Vegas together.
An extended version of the episode was released as a special feature on the DVD home release.[1] The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. At the57th Primetime Emmy Awards, Hurwitz and Vallely received theOutstanding Writing for a Comedy Series award for this episode.
Having been told that the house is sinking and that a city inspector is on the way,Michael (Jason Bateman) tellsGeorge Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) that he needs to move out of the attic. Having made a music CD with his puppetFranklin,Gob (Will Arnett) asks Michael if he heard it, and Michael assures Gob that he did. Realizing that George Sr. doesn't want to leave the attic, Gob knocks him out withether and drives him in the stair car to the police station to turn him in. Seeing that the Franklin CD he made for Michael hasn't been opened, Gob makes it seem as if Michael drove George Sr. to the station.
After signing anaffidavit stating that he doesn't know where his father is, Michael is arrested after a security camera photo shows Gob holding a picture of Michael on his face, making it seem as if Michael had met with his father earlier in the day. Meanwhile,George Michael (Michael Cera) andAnn (Mae Whitman) protest the American remake of the filmLes Cousins Dangereux, in which two cousins fall in love.Maeby (Alia Shawkat), who created the remake, is told by producers to cut down the movie into a mere 52 minutes. At home, George Michael and Maeby share a kiss on the living room couch, but after she jokingly says that they "didn't get swallowed up into hell," the house fully sinks.
Gob arrives to retrieve his father who he put underground the house, only to realize George Sr. had escaped earlier in the day. Earlier, George Sr., having escaped, knocked out his brotherOscar (Tambor), shaved his head, and placed him in the police station's bathroom. He then witnessed Gob arriving outside the police station and starting a fight with Michael. George Sr., stopping the fight, stated that he was turning himself in, only to lead the cops into the bathroom where Oscar was located, which resulted in Oscar being arrested.
Having burnt his hands on the family Cornballer, which erased his fingerprints, Oscar has trouble explaining to the cops who he really is. Having broken up withLindsay (Portia de Rossi),Tobias (David Cross) decides to quit his job at the Bluth Company and move toLas Vegas with his new girlfriendKitty (Judy Greer). Having arrived at Las Vegas, Tobias is told that his dream job has been filled in by a mysterious man, who happens to be George Sr.
"Righteous Brothers" was directed by Chuck Martin, and written by series creatorMitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producerJim Vallely. It was Martin's first and only directing credit, Hurwtitz's 14th writing credit and Vallely's tenth writing credit.[2] It was the eighteenth and final episode of theseason to be filmed.[3]
In the United States, the episode was watched by 5.99 million viewers on its original broadcast.[4]
The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray wrote that the season finale didn't feel much like a finale, saying that "there's a fumbling-for-an-ending aspect to "Righteous Brothers" that keeps it from being one of the classic Arrested Developments. Chalk it up to the reduced episode order, which makes this finale feel like a big finish and just an ordinary episode, all at once."[5] In 2019, Brian Tallerico, writing forVulture, ranked the episode 42nd out of the whole series.[6]
"Righteous Brothers" was honored at the57th Primetime Emmy Awards.Mitchell Hurwitz andJim Vallely received theOutstanding Writing for a Comedy Series award for writing the episode, andJeffrey Tambor was nominated for theOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award for his supporting role as George Sr.[7]