"A New Attitude" is the eleventh episode of Arrested Development's fourth season.
G.O.B. accepts a job from his brother but is distracted by a scheme of his own.
Synopsis[]
At the model home G.O.B. and Michael talk about G.O.B.'s foiled Jesus' crucifixion illusion and how G.O.B. thinks it was Tony Wonder. G.O.B. plans to retaliate and ruin Tony's "gay magic" career. Michael offers G.O.B. a job of selling Sudden Valley homes and also gets his film rights.
G.O.B. lures George Michael to the Gothic Castle on gay night under the pretense of wanting to share a message from his father. G.O.B. has his nephew unwittingly pose as his boyfriend in order to sneak into the stage so he can lock all trap doors and openings before Tony's show. The show begins and Tony pops out of a beanbag chair. Following the performance, G.O.B. and Tony talk and Tony reveals he uses a body double in a mask to perform the illusion. They enjoy each other's company and agree to see each other later.
At the model home, G.O.B. tells Tobias about his plan to get revenge on Tony Wonder, saying only that he is dating a celebrity. When he sells Tobias a Bluth home, Tobias tells him that other sex offenders need houses too, so G.O.B. fills all the Sudden Valley homes with registered sex offenders. G.O.B. receives a call from Lucille who wants him to help get construction started on the US/Mexico wall. Unable to talk any Mexicans into building the wall, G.O.B. goes to the border to put in some manual labor himself where he meets China Garden who offers to find a Chinese crew for him.
Meanwhile, Sally Sitwell shaves Tony Wonder's legs (meaning the two are seeing each other) and they talk about how they stole $10,000 from Lucille Austero's campaign to start Tony's gay magic career. Tony also explains how he wants to reveal G.O.B. as gay and destroy his Christian magic career. Tony calls G.O.B. and sets up a date at The Little Ballroom but G.O.B. goes to the similarly named children's playplace instead. Michael follows him there and they fight over Rebel. G.O.B. finally convinces Michael that he is not seeing Rebel and tells him about the sex offenders. Michael then visits Lucille and rips up her film contract.
G.O.B. goes to Tony's house who is mad that G.O.B. stood him up. They make amends and flirt and bond as they drink wine and eat popcorn. For the first time in their lives they feel feelings so they decide to take things slow and agree to have sex on the night of Cinco de Cuatro. At Cinco, G.O.B. runs into Ann who had a child with Tony Wonder. Upset that he's not gay, G.O.B. recruits Ann to have revenge sex. At the model home, G.O.B. tells her to wear the G.O.B. mask and have sex with Tony. The straight video (taken using the cameras set up by John Beard) would prove he's not gay and he would lose his career. Ann suggests that G.O.B. wear the Tony mask and she wear the G.O.B. mask, and G.O.B. agrees.
Ann heads downstairs and convinces Tony to have sex with her while wearing the G.O.B. mask to out G.O.B. as gay, ruining his career as the Christian magician. Tony heads upstairs and the two presumably have sex. Later Michael arrives and sees Tony so G.O.B. forces a forget-me-now down his throat. The next morning Michael calls Lucille Austero and attempts to seduce her to get an extension on the loan. He then calls Rebel who tells him she has company, which turns out to be George Michael.
Appearances[]
- Main Cast
- Will Arnett as G.O.B.
- Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
- Michael Cera as George Michael Bluth
- Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth
- David Cross as Tobias Fünke
- Recurring
- Ben Stiller as Tony Wonder
- Mae Whitman as Ann Veal
- Christine Taylor as Sally Sitwell
- Isla Fisher as Rebel Alley
- Karen Maruyama as China Garden
- Martin Mull as Gene Parmesan
- Alan Tudyk as Terry Veal
- Peter Jason as Storage Dave
- Liza Minnelli as Lucille Austero
- Justin Grant Wade as Steve Holt
- Jay Johnston as Officer Taylor
- Daniel Amerman as Mark Cherry
- Bruce McCulloch as Father Marsala
- Guest
- Telly Kousakis as Gay clerk
- Adam Von Almen as Valet
- Trevor Larcom as Gregory
Recurring themes[]
References[]
- Julie Bowen - Michael and G.O.B. assume the other is dating actress Julie Bowen
- House of Cards - Tony Wonder and Sally Sitwell plotting in bed, sharing a (very loud burning) cigarette just as the main two characters of House of Cards often do. Sally warns that it could all be a house of cards.
- The Prestige - Tony Wonder's "Now Everybody's Gay!" illusion is an allusion to the original Transported Man as performed by Borden, which shares many similarities to G.O.B.'s "Free Chicken" illusion in "For British Eyes Only" and "Prison Break-In". The entire plotline of Tony and G.O.B., two rival magicians, ruthlessly attempting to destroy each other's magic careers parallels the plot of The Prestige.
Callbacks/Running Jokes[]
- Cross necklace - G.O.B. calls a cross necklace a "t" necklace. Maeby does the same in "Motherboy XXX"
- Gothic Asshole/Castle confusion - G.O.B. laughs over the idea that George Michael might have thought he said the Gothic Asshole when he requested they meet at the Gothic Castle.
- Candy beans - When using George Michael as a fake boyfriend G.O.B. refers to him as an "arm candy bean".
- Is Tobias gay? - Tobias says "I have a list of men who could fill every opening you have."
- Runaway Bride - G.O.B. refers to himself as having been a runaway groom; in "Fakin' It" Maeby says her mock wedding to George Michael will be like a film "without the corny runaway bride bit" then ends up reenacting the movie by running away.
- ANUSTART - Tony Wonder's initial suspicions that G.O.B. might not really be gay are assuaged when he hears the valet call this out as G.O.B.'s license plate.
- The still-frame images of G.O.B.'s evening with Tony Wonder mirror the images of G.O.B.'s first wedding and the experiences of G.O.B.'s ex-wife in the U.S. Army.
- After Lucille tells G.O.B. to make it look like major construction had begun on the wall, G.O.B. visits the Dr. House Improvement Center, whose sign features a cartoon character that resembles Tobias, whose actor, David Cross, auditioned for Dr. House (a piece of trivia referenced previously in Arrested Development).
- Whilst seen digging his mother's hole near the border of the U.S. and Mexico, G.O.B. says, "...show everyone that I'm not afraid of the sweet sting of sweat in my eyes." This is a reference to something Michael said in the pilot episode for Arrest - Buster! You can't do that on the balcony, buddy?
- The Sound of Silence
- While conspiring with Sally Sitwell, Tony Wonder has a similar half-revelation to G.O.B., in that he's planning on destroying the life of someone he cares about, "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel plays, a running musical motif for G.O.B's sadness when facing his pathetic magician lifestyle.
- When G.O.B. meets Ann at Cinco and believes she's saying that her child is his, an instrumental version of "The Sound of Silence" seems to play in G.O.B.'s head, before he realizes it's actually coming from the band passing behind him.
- Siri mispronounces G.O.B.'s name as "Gɒb", something that G.O.B. has apparently given up caring about.
- Balls in the Air plays over the scene of G.O.B. and Michael fighting in the ballpit.
- Contradicting the narrator - The narrator states that G.O.B. and Tony's feelings are friendship and they will now want to avoid making any specific commitments, but is interrupted before he can finish by the two of them committing to a specific date to have sex. The running joke of the narrator being interrupted by a comment that contradicts him also occurs with Lindsay in "Red Hairing" and Maeby in "Señoritis".
- While finalizing his near-incomprehensible plan to frame Tony Wonder as a heterosexual, G.O.B. references the Straightbait films in a manner implying that he, like Tobias, had watched them.
- Ann is unmemorable
- Recapping G.O.B.'s failed wedding illusion at the beginning of the episode, the narrator initially refers to Ann as, "his bride... uh, her." He interrupts his own narration a short while later to add, "Ann. Her name's Ann, by the way."
- When confronted by Ann in the model home, Tony Wonder forgets her name. She responds, "It's Ann. Awfully funny time to be running into you." But he misunderstands her, thinking she said, "It's an awfully funny time to be running into you." G.O.B. had previously mistaken Ann's attempt to inform him of her name as the word, "and".
- Ostrich - There is a stuffed ostrich amongst the backstage area of the Gothic Castle, seen when G.O.B. is locking every item he can find.
- You're mistaken - G.O.B. says this when Michael sees him in My Little Ballroom. He does it again in "Blockheads" and Dr. Norman says this when George Sr. calls out his name in "Double Crossers".
Hidden/Background Jokes[]
- Officer Taylor - The police officer in Tony's show turned out to be gay in "Hand to God". His two-time partner, Officer Carter, appears in the audience at the Gothic Castle sitting in front of G.O.B.'s table seat as the audience applauds for Wonder's illusion.
- POOF'S WOOPS!
- G.O.B.'s "magic smoke" referenced in "Colony Collapse" is causing his bees to drop like flies. Product Recalls lists "'China Wow! Smoke From Nowhere.' Not for use near rabbits, mice, bees, doves, or colonizing animals."
- One of the other entries on the Woops column is Tobias setting fire to hair spray in front of children when posing for pictures as Johnny Storm in "A New Start".
- G.O.B.'s ad inviting sex offenders to move to Sudden Valley names him as President of the GOB Bee Company as well as Vice President of the Michael B. Company.
- When G.O.B. runs at Michael and shoves him through the wall of the My Little Ballroom they crash through a sign that says "No Rough Play, No Running, No Hitting".
- The name of the knife store that Michael and G.O.B. crash through the wall of is called "Thin Wally's Knives".
- When at the bar, G.O.B. drinks from his glass after biting his tongue. For the rest of the scene, a bit of blood can be seen in his drink.
Foreshadowing/Future References[]
- Sex offenders - G.O.B. fills Sudden Valley with sex offenders, which concludes in "Blockheads".
- In a flashback to when G.O.B. was locked in the storage unit, it's implied G.O.B. hallucinates and receives advice from a drinking bird toy, "You know if tomorrow you won't open up and let someone else in, then the treasures you have inside may never come out." In "Off the Hook," it's revealed the message actually comes from a man discussing the storage unit on the TV show Locker Hawkers.
- Sally has alopecia - During the scene where Sally and Tony discuss their schemes, it's revealed that Sally had never shaved her own legs and has a false eyebrow hinting at the possibility that she has alopecia like her father.
In Comparison to the Remix[]
In the chronological re-cut of season 4, footage from A New Attitude is used in 9 different episodes. The original cut of Season 4 is slightly longer than the re-cut version. Because of this, various lines of dialogue and sometimes even scenes are cut. These changes, as well as which scenes appear in which remixed episode, are listed below:
- G.O.B. in his limo, G.O.B. & Michael outside model home (4x15 Locked and Loaded, 4x16 Mixed Messages)
- The footage is in 4x15 Locked and Loaded until G.O.B. says “Is it Julie Bowen?” which is in 4x16 Mixed Messages.
- G.O.B. & Michael in the model home, cut dialogue in italics (4x15 Locked and Loaded)
- Narrator: But soon the hard lemonade softened their competitive edge. And Michael confessed that he had grown estranged from his son.
- In the remix, the music from And As It Is Such doesn’t play through the flashback to G.O.B.’s wedding illusion (instead it’s the Final Countdown) and a red circle is now drawn round Ann.
- G.O.B. and Steve Holt on the phone (4x15 Locked and Loaded)
- This exchange is cut:
- Steve Holt: I mean, my dad's a magician. Huh, well, you're my dad, I mean, s-so you should know.
- G.O.B.: Right. Well, […]
- This exchange is cut:
- G.O.B.: You know what? You're mad at me. I get it, I totally get it. And guess what? I'm mad at you.
- Steve Holt: You know, Dad, that attitude might be why you're alone all the time. The way you treat people...
- This exchange is cut:
- G.O.B. & Michael in the model home, continued (4x15 Locked and Loaded)
- The original cut has a flashback to Mort Meyers saying “Just like Tony Wonder!” but the remix has Tony Wonder saying “I’m here! I’m queer! And now I’m in a speaker!”
- This exchange is cut shorter:
- Michael: G.O.B., you've got a chance to build a brand-new life. Don't run away from it again. Don't try to escape it.
- G.O.B.: I don't do that, Michael. 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.
- In the remix, Michael says “you’ve got a chance to make a life here” instead of “you’ve got a chance to build a brand-new life.”
- G.O.B. rings George Michael (4x15 Locked and Loaded, flashbacks in 4x16 Mixed Messages)
- G.O.B. and George Michael at the Gothic Castle (4x15 Locked and Loaded, 4x18 Turning on Each Other, flashbacks in 4x16 Mixed Messages, 4x19 Fast Company)
- Bouncer: You’re good.
- This exchange is cut shorter:
- G.O.B.: And don't make that face, you look homophobic.
- George Michael: No, I'm not being homophobic. No-
- G.O.B.: Why are you doing this?
- George Michael: I, I'm uncomfortable.
- G.O.B.: This is very important for me.
- George Michael: I'm uncomfortable.
- G.O.B.: Don't worry, you're blending in here perfectly.
- Photographer: A newbie!
- G.O.B.: Except, even if he does post that somewhere, the Fakeblock thing'll scrub it away.
- George Michael: You know about Fakeblock? You know, that's my software. I wonder if my dad thinks I'm blowing him off because that's starting to take off now.
- G.O.B.: Well, you should go find out, 'cause I do know that your dad is really, really, really upset with you.
- This exchange is cut shorter:
- Narrator: Oh, no, he didn't.
- G.O.B.: They're always doing that.
- Narrator: I mean, oh, no, he didn't.
- G.O.B.: Thank you, George Michael; honestly I owe you big-time. Not a lot of nephews would do this for their uncles. (loudly) Now get out of here. I never want to sleep with you again. I mean, I probably will. (whispering) I don't. But are we good? We're good.
- G.O.B. tries to sabotage Tony Wonder’s act (4x15 Locked and Loaded, 4x6 The Parent Traps)
- G.O.B.: (locking dumbwaiter) Who's the dumb waiter now?
- In the remix, the flashback to the storage locker happens when G.O.B. is in hospital with Ann not when he tries to sabotage the act and sees the ostrich statue.
- The advice given in this episode only appears at the end of 4x6 The Parent Traps when the Locker Hawkers is shown. This advice is "You know, if tomorrow you won’t open up and let someone else in then the treasures you have inside may never come out." However, earlier in 4x6 The Parent Traps, the advice given when G.O.B. remembers his time in the storage locker is different and is spoken by someone else. The advice given then is "If you don’t open up and let someone else in, the treasures you have inside will never come out and you’ll never be happy."
- Tony Wonder’s show (4x15 Locked and Loaded, flashbacks in 4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- Man: There! Stay in there! We don't want you out here!
- G.O.B. and Tony after the show (4x15 Locked and Loaded, flashbacks in 4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- The music in this scene is no longer Shot By Love and What Could Be Better in the remix.
- This exchange is cut:
- Tony Wonder: See, it's like a quotation mark, but with a "W."
- G.O.B.: Oh, yeah, right, I got ya. That's... I should do that.
- Tony Wonder: Hey, don't. Okay?
- G.O.B.: Uh, I, I won't. Yeah, uh, no, the marriage was unsuccessful.
- This exchange is cut:
- Tony Wonder: Well, makes sense now, doesn't it?
- G.O.B.: What do you mean?
- Tony Wonder: Well, I mean, you are gay, right?
- G.O.B.: Oh, yes, right, yeah. Very. Because of what I'm dressed- and my boyfriend was here earlier. And, and he bit my tongue.
- Narrator: And that's when G.O.B. did a magic trick of his own.
- G.O.B.: (biting his tongue) Want to see?
- Tony Wonder: No, I believe you. I'm just surprised, though, because you are the Christian magician. Although you did look awfully shredded on that cross.
- G.O.B.: You should have seen me when they took me out of the storage locker.
- Tony Wonder: Hmm.
- G.O.B.: But how'd I get in the storage locker?
- This exchange is cut:
- Narrator: And that's when G.O.B. came up with a new revenge plan.
- G.O.B.: Yeah, let's risk it. Right? Let's risk it!
- G.O.B. and Tobias at the model home (4x15 Locked and Loaded, flashbacks in 4x18 Turning on Each Other, 4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- G.O.B.: Good. Seems like you're done talking.
- This exchange is cut:
- Tobias: Sounds like you're really into this girl.
- G.O.B.: Don't call me girl, friend. No, this is purely an act of revenge, filled with white-hot hate.
- G.O.B. rings Tony Wonder (4x15 Locked and Loaded)
- Narrator: Not wanting to appear desperate, G.O.B. waited till late afternoon to continue his plan to make Tony fall in love with him.
- The caption “later that afternoon…” doesn’t appear.
- Lucille calls, G.O.B. begins building the wall (4x15 Locked and Loaded, 4x18 Turning on Each Other, flashbacks in 4x21 Cinco de Cuatro II)
- Mostly in 4x15 Locked and Loaded, only this line is in 4x18 Turning on Each Other “Sorry, I, I thought you were somebody else. I can't tell you who, 'cause I'm, I'm dating... someone... famous.”
- China Garden: Aw. You need help to make your sign stand up?
- Tony calls G.O.B. (4x15 Locked and Loaded)
- Narrator: But Tony Wonder had a secret, too.
- Sally Sitwell & Tony Wonder (4x18 Turning on Each Other, flashbacks in 4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- Tony Wonder: Trust me, I am all man.
- This exchange is cut:
- Narrator: It seemed Sally Sitwell had a secret also.
- Tony Wonder: I know that. Why are you telling me all this?
- Sally Sitwell: 'Cause if she finds out, we both go down. And I don't want to have to sell that closet as a sweat sauna on Craigslist.
- This exchange is cut:
- Tony Wonder: Poor guy doesn't realize I'm about to destroy our life.
- Sally Sitwell: Our life?
- Tony Wonder: I mean, destroy our life with G.O.B. Dest... I'm going to destroy our life... my life... with G.O.B. Destroy my life with G.O.B.
- Music: Hello darkness, my old friend...
- Tony Wonder: (shrugging) Destroy my life with G.O.B.
- G.O.B. and Siri (4x18 Turning on Each Other)
- Narrator: And he was on his way to a hot date with Tony Wonder.
- This exchange is cut:
- Siri: (repeating herself) Did you say "the grayest"?
- G.O.B.: I need the gayest Little Ballroom!
- Siri: Okay, "Gob." Try this one.
- At The Little Ballroom (4x18 Turning on Each Other, flashbacks in 4x19 Fast Company, 4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- This exchange is cut:
- Michael: Well...
- Gene Parmesan: I'm fine...
- Clerk: Okay, I-
- This exchange is cut:
- Lucille and Michael at the prison (4x18 Turning on Each Other)
- G.O.B. and Tony Wonder's date (4x18 Turning on Each Other, flashbacks in 4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- At Cinco de Cuatro (4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- This exchange is cut:
- Ann: Oui.
- G.O.B.: What...? We what?
- Ann: No, oui. It's French for "yes." As in, "Yes, I have a son […]
- Narrator: G.O.B. felt betrayed by a person he was starting to trust, and he decided to do something about it.
- Ann: Uh, uh, Jacqueline, could you, uh...?
- This exchange is cut:
- At the model home (4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- This exchange is cut:
- Tony Wonder: Wait a minute. Sex with you? G.O.B. is straight?
- Ann: Oh, yeah. He is.
- This exchange is cut:
- Ann: How do you know so much about Dreamgirls?
- Tony Wonder: 'Cause it's my business to know about Dreamgirls.
- This exchange is cut shorter:
- Tony Wonder: Yes, of course.
- Ann: Are you still your own legs? And do you have toenail polish on you right now?
- Tony Wonder: Are you asking, am I wearing any, or do I have any extra? Because the answer to both questions is yes.
- Ann: Then we're covered.
- This exchange is cut:
- Previously on Arrested Development (4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- Although the Previously on Arrested Development section doesn’t occur in thre remix, the scene still appears during an episode.
- This exchange is cut:
- G.O.B.: Bad example. If you were ashamed of being in love with a man, suddenly discovered these new feelings, something that you only allowed to happen because you thought he was gay and you were hoping to exact revenge, but then you found out he was straight, then you wanted to get even, so maybe you put a mask on someone and then tried to convince yourself that the sex you were about to have was with yourself, but it turned out to be him, and all you ended up doing was proving that your feelings were real... then I might say something like, "Homo much?"
- Michael: It's not that.
- G.O.B.: I said, "Bad example."
- Narrator: And G.O.B. decided to be generous with his last Forget-Me-Now...
- Narrator: And for the first time, it was Michael who forgot his shame, and G.O.B. who remembered.
- Michael rings Lucille 2 & then Rebel Alley (4x22 Cinco de Cuatro III)
- Michael: I don't care. The thing with the other guy, it's... you know, that's over, so we don't... we don't ever have to talk about that ever again. It's going away.
Quotes[]
- → See more quotes from "A New Attitude" at Transcript of A New Attitude.
Notes[]
- In the opening credits, G.O.B.'s instrument is an electric guitar.
- George, Maeby, Lindsay, and Buster do not appear in this episode.
Images[]
- → See 108 pictures from A New Attitude at Images from A New Attitude.
External Links[]
- ANUSTART fan page based on the anustart running joke
SEASON FOUR EPISODES | ||
---|---|---|
1. "Flight of the Phoenix" |
6. "Double Crossers" |
11. "A New Attitude" |
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five |