Arrested Development (2003–…): Season 3, Episode 2 - For British Eyes Only - full transcript

George Sr. drops a major bombshell that he was working with a British syndicate who conned him into building the house in Iraq. Michael decides to investigate the claim by heading to the British section of Orange County, where he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman named Rita.

Previously on Arrested Development.

Michael and his son were
camping out at the family cabin...

- before it was to be relocated.
- I'm just in the middle of a stupid girl problem.

I don't even have a girl,
much less a stupid one.

No, the problem is stupid.
The girl isn't stupid.

But if they ever had a child, it would be...

because the girl
was his cousin Maeby.

Tomorrow morning, before we tell
the cops that that's not Pop-Pop in prison...

we're gonna go down
to the lake, we're gonna discuss...

your girl problem man-to-man,
and it's gonna be fun.

Especially the part about the cops.



But Pop-Pop had other plans...

and Michael awoke to find
his camping trip going south.

Well, you better get up now
if you want to see the lake.

And that was when George Sr.
Made a desperate plea.

Promise me you won't
send me back to prison...

so I can be with my dear love Lucille...

in the twilight of her face.

Michael didn't send his father back to prison...

but instead arranged for him
to be placed under house arrest.

George, we're never going to be...

out of each other's sight.

Which made this woman his warden.

Oh, dear God.
Send me back to prison.

- You gotta send me back to prison.
- More touching.



Michael went to
his parents? penthouse to discuss...

his father's ever-worsening
legal situation.

- Where is everybody?
- How should I know, Michael?

As soon as Father came back,
I've been like the Invisible Man.

"Hello! Can anyone see me?"

- Where's your hand, anyway?
- Why even bother getting dressed up?

- I have no one.
- Buster, come on now.

If you're really lonely, maybe
it's time you went out there...

and you got yourself
a girlf... A pet.

- How about a turtle?
- Great.

I've always loved those
leathery little snappy faces.

You certainly have a type.

Mother, have you seen
my rubber hand?

Oh, it's in the dishwasher. Your father
and I were using it for something.

Oh, for God's sake.

- Can't you keep my hand to yourself?
- Uh, "used it for something"?

He's just jealous that I have
a man back in my life.

And guess what else is back.

- My breakfast?
- My friskiness.

- Mama horny, Michael.
- No, it's my breakfast.

I'm amazed Dad hasn't strangled
himself with his belt yet.

Oh, we're into all kinds of freaky stuff.

Why do I eat breakfast before I come here?

What the hell is this?

Well, now that Dad's back,
I'm going to perform...

one grand illusion for him
before he strangles himself with his belt.

- No, no. Turns out they're into that.
- Oh.

Well, check it.
The illusion is called "Free Bird."

A magical bird... me in a beak...
stands on a platform.

There's a puff of smoke, then I'm gone.

Then seconds later, high above
in a once-empty cage...

- Who should appear?
- A guy that kind of looks like you?

No. Not how I do the trick.

Even if it was, how'd
the look-alike get up there?

- He was hiding behind this mirror here?
- No!

For your information,
Dad asked me to do this...

on the day he pleads not guilty...

as a spectacular protest.

A "protest-acular."

Maybe even get it
on the local news.

Excuse me. I was just
looking for a marker...

A Magic Marker.

I want it out of my living room.
Put it in Buster's room.

That's where she keeps things
she has no need for.

Oh, God.

I'm gonna run this through again
on "Pots and Pans."

You know, Gob, instead of trying to impress
a father that couldn't care less about you...

why don't you try spending
some time with your son...

who's dying to reconnect with you?

Gob had discovered
he was the father of this boy.

- Well, then just tell him that Steve Holt stopped by, okay?
- Okay.

He'd been ducking him ever since.

Tom? Come on over here.
I've got a vitamin for you.

- He's the one who can't see me.
- Because you were hiding in the trick?

Illusion, Michael.

I so very much would like to be...

in your "prostate-icular"...

- as your look-alike.
- Right.

They're gonna see the ink.
It's more of a leading man role.

But it's not really done that way.

Guess I shouldn't have
used a permanent marker.

Starting to see why
you want that divorce.

Yeah, well, actually,
I've been thinking.

Instead of spending money
on a divorce...

which can be slow...
well, maybe I should get something faster.

Not the car.
I said no to the Volvo.

The Lexus. The Volvo didn't have
satellite radio, which is crazy.

I mean, what are we, Amish?

I knew you wouldn't have the guts
to go through with the divorce.

You're one to talk. You haven't had
a serious relationship since your wife.

And... you guys weren't even
speaking toward the end.

- Lot of that was the coma.
- Yeah. I've heard your side of it.

You haven't had the guts to meet someone else.

- Uh...
- Look who finally got his pants on.

You've got 10 minutes.

You gotta get me out of here.

You're the one that said no to prison.

I was wrong. There you just had
to shut your eyes and take it.

Here you have to shut your eyes
and give it. Now listen.

We can't just go in there
and plead not guilty.

We have to have someone big
behind us. Our own private Matlock.

So I made some calls, and I got him.

- Got who?
- Andy Griffith.

- What, you never saw Matlock?
- Not a real attorney, Dad.

Now, for 10 grand, he'll actually...

sit behind us in court
and read the paper.

For 15, he'll actually sit
at the defense table.

For $20,000, he'll twice...

lean forward
and whisper something in your ear.

Oh. White suit...
That's extra.

Well, that's an awful lot of money
for the stupidest idea I've ever heard.

- The juries love him.
- That's just it, Dad.

There won't be a jury
because we are pleading guilty.

I am not guilt...
I didn't want to tell you this.

- Ready for the bombshell?
- Andy Griffith wasn't the bombshell?

I'm a patsy.
I was set up... by the Brits.

A group of British builders
operating outside the OC...

- Don't call it that.
- Contacted me...

for a partnership
to build homes overseas.

I did not know they meant Iraq.

We've got a picture of you
with Saddam Hussein.

I thought that was the guy
who played the Soup Nazi.

- Come on.
- I told him how much I liked his work.

The Brits used that picture
to blackmail me.

A picture like that, Michael,
can end your career.

Not in every case.

These are dangerous people, Michael.
They'll do whatever it takes...

to get inside this family
and just bring us down.

- British people.
- Oh, they're polite and the men all sound gay...

but they will rip out
your heart and...

- Their breath...
- And you want to go after these people?

Well, yes, it takes
a little courage, Michael.

I know that's not
your strongest suit.

You're... You're even scared
to ask a girl out on a date.

Wh... Why does everybody
think that I'm scared of girls?

- Because you're a chicken. You're a chicken.
- No, I'm not.

What are you doing?

Michael and women?

That's what I was just telling him.

Look, I haven't found the right girl.

When I do, I will ask her out.

Has anyone in this family
ever even seen a chicken?

Wait, wait. I've got the perfect thing!

That's enough.
I will give it one day.

All right? I'll see if there's any
evidence of these nefarious Brits.

But I'm warning you...
If I can't, we're pleading guilty.

You're either going to jail, of if the judge
shows absolutely no mercy at all...

you'll be staying here with my mother.

Lindsay, I didn't want to tell you earlier,
but I did get you a car.

- Is it the Lexus?
- It's more like a Lincoln.

Oh, come on!

There's no satellite radio,
but there's a banjo in the closet.

And watch out for live-ins.

You will get some live-ins.

Michael was investigating his father's case...

in the English section
of Orange County.

Lanes reverse!

You're driving on the wrong side,
you bloomin' idiot!

I need to check the records...

for any British-owned
building businesses...

that would have applied for license
about 10 years ago.

Oh, I'm so sorry. You need
a U.K. Passport to check those files.

They're for British eyes only.

Don't I look kind of British?

Perhaps if you're willing
to lose 20 pounds.

The clerk was asking for a bribe...

- but this was lost on Michael.
- You guys do go for the jugular.

If you find someone with a passport,
we're here till 8:00...

and do stay for the Poppins.

So Michael went to the local pub...

- Bloody Yank!
- to see if he could find someone...

- with a British passport.
- Welcome to the Yellow Fang.

I am Lionel, and the soup of the day is...

What's the soup of the day, Mum?

- Bread.
- And the soup of the day is bread...

Unless you?re just here for the Poppins.

And that's when Michael saw
the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Not her.

Wait for it.

Are you from Wee Britain?

Great Britain, actually.

I was wondering if you might
be willing to go somewhere with me.

- I will pay you.
- You'll pay me?

Not... Not for sex. You're gonna think
that I'm Jack the Ripper, right?

- Didn't he kill prostitutes or...
- I'm not a prostitute.

Then I shall let you live.

This is my worst hello.
Let me try again.

- My name is Michael.
- Rita.

So I need access to these files...

that are apparently
for British eyes only.

Well, lucky for you,
my whole face is British.

It's just across the street.
I really appreciate... Hello.

- I thought you said you were open till 8:00.
- Oh, yes... GMT.

Everything here is on Greenwich mean time.

What a curious street.

Uh... Wait, wait, Rita. I don't suppose
that you're here tomorrow morning?

Oh, no. Not in the morning, no.
I'll be back at Slowbrooke.

Slowbrooke... The private school.
You teach kids, huh?

I like to think they teach me.

- Like what? How to eat crayons, throw tantrums...
- Oh, no.

Not when I'm there.
I'm very good.

I didn't mean to impugn
your ability or, uh...

It's turning into one of my worst good-byes.

Farewell, and, uh...

our paths shan't cross again.

As you like it.

Michael would have walked away forever...

but he was struck by
something he remembered...

- from his childhood.
- You know...

Ladies and gentlemen,
it's the flight of the Mary Poppins.

- Mary Poppins will take...
- Well, must be the Poppins.

Oh, I'm sorry.
It's wrong to laugh.

No, no, it was good. I liked it.
I was just gonna ask you...

Pre-schools just go half day, right?

I'm not trying to pick you up, but
is there any way that I can come by...

- pick you up, bring you here?
- Yeah, l... I, uh...

I suppose I could sneak out at nap time.

- Yes? Perfect. Great.
- Mmm.

And I shall drop you
off alive, hooker or no.

Tobias, still hoping to be in Gob's trick...

- ventured into a costume shop he'd stumbled upon...
- Oh, look who's back.

- years earlier.
- Are you gonna buy this time, or you just curious?

I suppose I'm, uh, buy-curious.

I have a big TV opportunity.

This is where all the big TVs come.

- Uh, let's start with the Eve Arden.
- All right.

Michael, meanwhile, called his sister.

I wanted to tell you that I got myself
a date with a beautiful woman...

named Rita, and you're the chicken, not me.

Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck...

Okay. That's a pretty good chicken.

Watch out!

Crazy Brit!

What's the problem?

I know what you were
doing back there.

And if you've got half
a!@%$# brain...

- you'll leave it alone.
- You talking about back in Wee Britain?

- I was just asking a few questions.
- Yeah...

A few too many, if you ask me.

How would you like someone going
after some stupid person in your family?

Now, back off, you!@%$# ponce!

Wow.

Dad was not kidding
about their breath.

Michael had just been threatened...

by a foul-mouthed British man.

It's Michael. I'm not dressed.

Gob, this is Michael.

Shouldn't you be getting ready
for your "Free Bird" trick?

- I couldn't get the rights to "Free Bird."
- Oh.

I'm thinking about calling it "Free..."
I don't know. "Chicken."

I thought you were investigating Dad's
sinister British connection.

Yeah. I, uh, tried, but, uh...

when I was leaving...

one of those British guys
came after me and told me to back off.

Can't believe it, but Dad
may have been telling the truth.

- This might be dangerous.
- So you came back here to hide like a child.

- What are you doing locked in my office, exactly?
- Hiding from a child.

- Big difference.
- Gob, Steve Holt is your son.

- He probably just feels a connection.
- He doesn't know what he feels.

I'm tried of being told.

My God.
What is this feeling?

You know, the feeling that you're...

that you're feeling, it's just
what many of us call a feeling.

It's not like envy...

- Or even hungry.
- Could it be love?

I know what an erection feels like, Michael.
No. It's the opposite.

It's like my heart is getting hard.

Maybe I am ready to be a father.

- Hey, Dad?
- Whoa!

It's my son, Gob.

You know, and what is it with the fathers
in this family always trying to deceive their...

And that's when
Michael realized that the man...

who threatened him
must have been hired by George Sr.

I'm the patsy.

Well, I gotta go.
George Michael?

I'm sorry, but we're gonna talk
about that girl later, okay?

Now all I have to do
is find that look-alike, Michael.

Michael?

Hey!

That's a woman's wig.

I was told it was a bob.

- And Michael confronted his father.
- Find out anything?

Yeah, I found out no matter
how many times I promise myself...

I'm not gonna fall for it,
I always end up...

- getting hustled by you.
- What are you talking about?

The guy that you hired to threaten me
after I looked into the British connection.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Somebody threatened you?

It's a wonderful performance.
You're a regular Brad Garrett.

But I don't watch TV
at 3:00 in the afternoon...

and you can forget
about pleading not guilty.

- Guilty. We gotta plead guilty.
- What?

Michael, I didn't hire anyone,
I... I swear.

If someone came after you,
they're for real.

- Come on. You serious?
- I told you. These are bad guys.

They do not want
this information out.

He said he was gonna come
after somebody stupid in our family.

- That could be Buster.
- Could be Gob.

- You're not guilty.
- We have to plead guilty.

- We gotta plead guilty.
- We gotta throw ourselves on the mercy of the court.

- We gotta get Andy Griffith.
- In the suit.

And Michael went to cancel with Rita.

Sorry. I just wanted
to let you know...

that I'm not gonna be needing
your passport after all.

We're just gonna go to court, plead guilty.
That'll be that.

- So it's bye-bye to Rita, then?
- Yes, I'll shake your hand good-bye...

but, actually, I was wondering
if you might want to...

I wouldn't. I'll make you blue.

Rita was just talking about the finger paint...

- but Michael didn't know that.
- I was just wondering...

if you might want to bid me fair morrow.

Michael was filled with self-loathing.

Had he been Jack the Ripper,
he would have soothed himself...

in a most unsavory way.

But instead he just
sat in his car...

and ate a whole thing
of candy beans.

And back at the penthouse,
Gob had been called to see his father.

New plan, right?

You put me in the trick.
You make me the guy in the cage.

Okay, I just gotta say
I'm really blown away by this.

You really want to be part of my world.

- I do.
- God, I feel like my heart is straining through my shirt.

They take the ankle monitor off
when I get to court.

So, you make me disappear,
you put Tobias in the cage...

and by the time they realize
that that guy is not me...

I'm running through
the storm drains to freedom.

Where every day it rains...

pennies from heaven!

It was a... bird day...

Gob, I know you're looking
for a twin for your illusion...

and there's somebody
I'd like to put in a plug for.

Uh... Correction.
Make that 4,000 plugs.

- Oh, God!
- Oh, come on.

Mr. Gay, he's bleeding.
Mr. Gay...

No, no, no, no...
I was scared too...

but I realized it was
of being a leading man.

Oh, I can just taste those meaty
leading-man parts in my mouth.

All right, listen to me. The trick
has changed. We want you to play me now.

Oh, but that would mean
I'd have to sh...

Shave my very...
tender head. I see.

Okay. Well, perhaps
I jumped the gun...

on those new head shots.

And later that day,
Michael arrived at the courthouse.

I can't believe you're
just giving up like this.

Well, the guy threatened our family.
We have to plead guilty.

No, I'm talking about that girl
you said you have a date with.

All right, so I lied.
It wasn't a date.

But you could have
made one with her.

I think that Poppins knocked
the courage out of you.

I guess I'm just not in her league.

- How did you hear about the Poppins?
- It was on the news.

An unlicensed Mary Poppins
takes down another tourist.

Is this the work of the Itsy Bitsy IRA?

I don't want to talk about this.

Dad, we're gonna go in there,
Andy Griffith's gonna whisper something.

We're gonna plead guilty.
Nice and simple.

- You didn't hear. We lost Andy.
- What are you talking about?

- He didn't like his trailer.
- He thought we were making fun of him.

No one was making fun of Andy Griffith.

I can't emphasize that enough.

Oh, God. Don't look now...

but Gob's doing his magic show.

Oh, boy, a stupid magic show.
We gotta watch this.

- A big turnout.
- A lot of people are probably here for the free chicken.

Gather round, humans...

and I will show you the plight...

of an innocent man
who yearns to be...

free as a bird!

I've gotta start labeling these suits.

Who shall I send on this journey...

to that dangling cage?

Oh, pick me. Look, could I be
in this stupid trick?

- Please?
- Steve Holt, what are you doing here?

I just came to see the magic show.

I didn't know it was you.

- Do you like magic?
- No.

- I love it.
- And at that moment...

Gob chose to show his own son
what he was capable of.

I've decided I will be
performing the feat...

myself.

- Wait. We're back to hair?
- Fortunately for Tobias, however...

- he'd found it too painful
to part with his new hair.

- Boy. Did I catch a break.
- So he opted to wear a bald cap.

This chicken...

shall be wrongly cooped.

- Is that a chicken?
- Oh, my God.

- Dad, are you all right?
- I fooled his own son.

I am a leading man.

And Gob himself
was running through the storm drains...

I'm sorry, Steve.

- free as a chicken.
- I need to be a father.

And George Sr. needed to escape too.

I got him.

Keeps him out of the kitchen.

And Michael,
seeing what a life of cowardice leads to...

decided he'd had enough of it.

And soon George Sr. came to,
and it was time...

- to render a plea.
- Oh, no.

Prosecution's got that stud from L.A. Law.

- It's Harry Hamlin.
- I love my trailer.

In the matter of The People v. Bluth...

- how do you plead?
- We plead... not guilty.

Order in the court!

- Who let a flashbulb camera in?
- What are you doing?

I'm tired of the cowardice. You're not guilty.
We're gonna fight this.

They don't have a!@%$# prayer.

Send the check to my accountant.

- This is where Andy could have helped us.
- I'm proud of you.

It's about time I showed a little courage.

I just hope those Brits
aren't as dangerous as Dad said.

Well, they're not gonna
get any closer to us.

If they do, we're gonna see them coming.
Oh, my God. That's Rita.

I told her I was coming here and she came.

- That's Rita?
- Yeah.

Wow. She is way out of his league.

I'm glad you're here.

I wanna call you sometime
and take you out.

Oh.

I'd really like that.

And then, just to prove
to himself he wasn't a coward...

he went one step further.

And Rita was happy
to be in Michael's life as well.

For you see, Rita
had a secret of her own.