Charity Drive

"Charity Drive"
Arrested Development episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 6
Directed by	Greg Mottola
Written by	Barbie Feldman Adler
Cinematography by	James Hawkinson
Editing by	Mark Scheib
Production code	1AJD05
Original air date	November 30, 2003 (2003-11-30)
Running time	22 minutes
Guest appearances
Liza Minnelli as Lucille Austero Judy Greer as Kitty
Episode chronology
← Previous "Visiting Ours" Next → "My Mother, the Car"
Arrested Development season 1
List of episodes

"Charity Drive" is the sixth episode ^{[lower-alpha 1]} of the first season of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development. It was written by producer Barbie Feldman Adler and directed by Greg Mottola. It originally aired on Fox on November 30, 2003. ^[2]

The series, narrated by Ron Howard, follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family, who made their money from property development. The Bluth family consists of Michael, his twin-sister Lindsay, his older brother Gob, his younger brother Buster, their mother Lucille and father George Sr., as well as Michael's son George Michael, and Lindsay and her husband Tobias' daughter Maeby. In the episode, Michael finds out his siblings have been using his father's car.

Plot

After losing the family stair car because Tobias (David Cross) left it at an airport, Michael (Jason Bateman) begins to go to work on his bike. After a heatwave, Michael is told by his assistant Kitty (Judy Greer) that his family has been using his father's car. Upset, Michael tracks the car down to Buster, who hands over the keys. Meanwhile, Lindsay volunteers to clean up the wetlands, having been told by Michael that she isn't charitable. Feeling out of her comfort zone, Lindsay calls and asks Michael to pick her up. On his way, Michael confuses a woman, Helen, for his mother's new housekeeper, Lupe. Lindsay leaves on a cab, forgetting to tell Michael, and Michael drops Helen off at the wetlands.

After Kitty tells Michael that George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) never filed several building permits, he sends Gob (Will Arnett) off to misfile them. Having chipped his tooth, Gob sends George Michael (Michael Cera) and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) to go do it. At the Permit Office, George Michael and Maeby are caught by security, but George Michael allows Maeby to run away, promising to take the blame.

Lucille (Jessica Walters) prepares for the Save the Wetlands Bachelorette Auction and instructs Buster to bid $10,000 on her. Buster, arriving late to the auction, accidentally bids $10,000 on Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli), having heard the name Lucille being called. Lindsay also arrives at the auction, and Michael, realizing she actually spent a day at the wetlands, bids $1,000 on her to save her from humiliation. After leaving the auction, Michael is arrested for the kidnapping of Helen and is put in a police car with his son, George Michael.

On the next Arrested Development...

During a police lineup, Helen confuses Michael with another guy. Having given up animation rights for a show about bananas, Gob begins to regret the decision.

Production

"Charity Drive" was directed by Greg Mottola and written by producer Barbie Feldman Adler. ^[3] It was Mottola's second directing credit and Feldman Adler's first writing credit. ^[4] It was the fifth episode of the ordered season to be filmed after the pilot, ^[5] with James Hawkinson as the director of photography and Mark Scheib as the editor. ^[3]

Reception

The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode's writing, stating that "As with “Visiting Ours,” the various plotlines in “Charity Drive” are fairly scattered, though they do come together more definitively by the end." ^[6] In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode as the eleventh best of the whole series. ^[7] In the United States, the episode was watched by 6.77 million viewers on its original broadcast. It received a 3.1 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 3.1% of all households in that demographic. ^[8]

Notes

1. The episode is listed as the sixth episode of the season on the DVD collection, ^[1] but originally aired as the fifth episode.

References

1. https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/12729/arrested-development-season-one/
2. Mottola, Greg (2003-11-30), Charity Drive, Arrested Development, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, retrieved 2024-07-07
3. "Arrested Development" Charity Drive (TV Episode 2003) - IMDb . Retrieved 2024-07-06– via www.imdb.com.
4. "Arrested Development". directories.wga.org. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
5. "20th Century Fox - Fox In Flight". web.archive.org. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
6. Noel Murray (June 15, 2011). "Arrested Development: "Visiting Ours"/"Charity Drive"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
7. Tallerico, Brian (2019-03-18). "Every Episode of Arrested Development, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
8. Kissell, Rick (December 1, 2003). "Fox takes 'Mac' tack". Variety . Retrieved August 31, 2012.

External links

• "Charity Drive" at IMDb