A New Attitude

"A New Attitude"
Directors: Mitch Hurwitz & Troy Miller — Writer: Mitch Hurwitz & Jim Vallely — Aired: May 26, 2013 — ◄ ►

"A New Attitude" is the eleventh episode of Arrested Development's fourth season.

G.O.B. accepts a job from his brother but it 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.

4x11 A New Attitude (16) — G.O.B. kisses George Michael.

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 unwillingly 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. and Tobias talk and he sells Tobias a Bluth home and 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 George 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. attempts 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 children's playplace with the same name. 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 finds Tony, to whom she gives the G.O.B. mask. Tony heads upstairs and the two presumably have sex. Later Michael arrives and sees Tony so G.O.B. forces a Forget-Me-Now (pill) 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

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"
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 Usarmy, G.O.B.'s ex-wife, in the U.S. Army.
After Lucile 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, who's 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?
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.
Siri mis-prounounces G.O.B.'s name as "Gahb", something that G.O.B. has apparently given up caring about.
While finalizing his near-incomprehensible plan to frame Tony Wonder as a heterosexual at that girl George Michael used to date, G.O.B. references the Straitbait films in a manner implying that he, like Tobias, had watched them. Though this is likely just totally innocent research into misdirection and is not an indicator that G.O.B. is a - homosexual! Maebe, please. Although she's probably right though, G.O.B. probably is a homosexual.
Like just about everybody, when confronted by Ann in the model home, Tony Wonder forgets Ann's 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".

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."
The name of the knife store that Michael and G.O.B. crash through the wall of is called "Thin Wally's Knives"

Foreshadowing/Future References

Sex offenders - G.O.B. fills Sudden Valley with sex offenders, which concludes in "Blockheads".
In a flashback to when GOB was locked in the storage unit, it's implied GOB 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.

Quotes

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.

SEASON FOUR EPISODES
1. "Flight of the Phoenix" 2. "Borderline Personalities" 3. "Indian Takers" 4. "The B. Team" 5. "A New Start"	6. "Double Crossers" 7. "Colony Collapse" 8. "Red Hairing" 9. "Smashed" 10. "Queen B."	11. "A New Attitude" 12. "Señoritis" 13. "It Gets Better" 14. "Off the Hook" 15. "Blockheads"
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five