Not Without My Daughter (Arrested Development)

"Not Without My Daughter"
Arrested Development episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 21
Directed by	Lee Shallat Chemel
Written by	Mitchell Hurwitz Richard Rosenstock
Production code	1AJD20
Original air date	April 25, 2004
Guest stars
Justin Lee as Annyong Bluth Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn Judy Greer as Kitty Sanchez
Season 1 episodes
November 2003 – June 2004 Pilot Top Banana Bringing Up Buster Key Decisions Visiting Ours Charity Drive My Mother, the Car In God We Trust Storming the Castle Pier Pressure Public Relations Marta Complex Beef Consommé Shock and Aww Staff Infection Missing Kitty Altar Egos Justice Is Blind Best Man for the Gob Whistler's Mother Not Without My Daughter Let 'Em Eat Cake
All Arrested Development episodes

"Not Without My Daughter" is the twenty-first episode of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.

Plot

As Michael heads off to work, his son, George Michael, reminds him it is "Take Your Daughter to Work Day." Long ago, Michael brought George Michael as a joke, and has done so every year since; now he wants the tradition to end. Maeby plans to join Tobias for his "work": watchng entertainment news. Gob comes in with the new "Girls with Low Self-Esteem" tape, filmed over spring break when Gob made the family yacht disappear ("Missing Kitty"). Gob expects the yacht illusion to revive his magic career, but instead the tape features only his flubs.

Michael comments on a new outfit Lindsay is wearing; she says she stole it, but actually she works at the shop and is too embarrassed to admit it. Gob does not believe Lindsay has the skills to shoplift, while Maeby is impressed that her mother is breaking the law. Michael, concerned about the example Lindsay is setting for Maeby, takes Maeby to work that day to show her a good role model (and so he can avoid taking George Michael). Before they get to the office, Lucille summons them: she needs someone to pose as her husband at Annyong’s soccer game. Michael refuses, so Lucille decides to have Oscar accompany her.

Back at the model home, George Michael is upset about Maeby taking his place. Gob is insecure because Lindsay is apparently better at sleight-of-hand than he is. And Tobias wants to find a job that will prove he is a man and impress his daughter. The three decide to head to the mall. At the office, Michael challenges Maeby to go one day without telling a lie, which she agrees to, for $50 and Michael's promise that he will do the same. Just then, two police officers (and their daughters) arrive; they are investigating the disappearance of Kitty, who was last seen flashing Michael at a restaurant. In the conference room, several staff members are watching Girls with Low Self-Esteem, because it features an employee’s daughter. The tape shows Kitty on the yacht that Gob blew up.

At the mall, Tobias gets a job as a security guard while Gob and George Michael purchase mice at the pet store. At the prison, Buster visits George Sr. to reveal that Annyong is violating George Sr.’s "ban on organized sports." George Sr. explains to Buster that the rule applied only to him, because he was so bad at sports. Buster mentions that Oscar escorted Lucille to the soccer game, and George makes him promise to get rid of Oscar.

Michael (and Maeby) go to the police station to answer questions about Kitty, where they meet up with Barry Zuckerkorn, the family's attorney; he suggests Michael lie about the tape showing Kitty on the yacht. Lindsay, working at the shop, calls to check on Maeby. As she does so, Gob arrives with George Michael and the box of mice. He knocks the box onto the floor, releasing the mice, and starts stuffing shirts into George Michael’s pants, thus proving he is the real sleight-of-hand master. Lindsay, on the phone with Michael, loudly proclaims that she is a shoplifter. Using his cat-like agility, Tobias tackles Lindsay. Gob and George Michael are caught by the daughter of the head of security.

While the rest of the Bluths are in police custody, Lucille is with her brother-in-law. Oscar is elated to be with Lucille, but, after thinking about marijuana, soon heads to his camper. Buster comes to the camper and tells Oscar he is not wanted there. At the police station, Michael is questioned. The detectives know Kitty had evidence against George Sr. They offer Michael a deal: if he gives up evidence against his father, they will overlook the fact that Kitty is missing. At that moment, Michael gets a call from George Michael, telling him there is an emergency at the mall. Back at the soccer game, Buster emerges from Oscar’s trailer with a new sense of manliness; just then, a soccer ball hits him in the head. Seizing the opportunity to participate in an organized sport, Buster runs through the crowd of players, knocking them all over before firing the ball directly at Annyong.

Michael arrives at the mall. Everyone talks at once, and Lindsay admits that she works there. Unfortunately, she has just been fired because they thought she was helping Gob shoplift. George Michael is still upset that Michael spent time with Maeby instead of him. Just then, Michael remembers that Maeby, still committed to truth-telling, is at the police station. Maeby has discovered the key to Michael’s freedom: she has seen Kitty alive; the police were just bluffing.

Character cameos

• Although this episode partly focuses on Kitty, she does not appear in this episode except for flashbacks from "Missing Kitty" and in the Girls with Low Self Esteem video.
• This episode guest stars several of David Cross's fellow Mr. Show alumni, including Jay Johnston, former short-lived Saturday Night Live castmember Jerry Minor, and John Ennis.
• Former The Kids in the Hall star Kevin McDonald plays a detective who gives Maeby the security code to the office.
• Former Survivor contestant Jonathan Penner has a cameo (before his appearance on the reality T.V. show) as one of the detectives who interrogates Michael about the missing Kitty.
• A sound bite from the fictional cartoon Mr. Banana Grabber can be heard when Oscar is alone in his camper.

Callbacks/running jokes

• Tobias is gay - while watching Girls with Low Self-Esteem, Michael asks if Tobias "wants [that]." Tobias instinctively answers "oh God, no" before realizing Michael meant it as a warning that Maeby could become one of those girls as a result of bad parenting.
• Tobias is catlike - after becoming a security officer at the mall, the narartor refers to Tobias as a "catlike [guard]".
• Because it is Take Your Daughter To Work Day, numerous characters (police officers, security guards, etc.) are accompanied by their daughters. Barry Zuckerkorn is accompanied by a prostitute who calls him "daddy." One of the jail guards' daughters says "No touching." This is a long running joke throughout the series.

External links

• The-OP.com
• FOX
• Not Without My Daughter at the Internet Movie Database