Top Banana (Arrested Development)

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"Top Banana"
Arrested Development episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed by Anthony Russo
Written by Mitchell Hurwitz
John Levenstein
Cinematography by James Hawkinson
Editing bySteven Sprung
Production code1AJD01
Original air dateNovember 9, 2003 (2003-11-09)
Running time22 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Pilot"
Next 
"Bringing Up Buster"
Arrested Development season 1
List of episodes

"Top Banana" is the second episode of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development . It was written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producer John Levenstein, and directed by producer Anthony Russo. It premiered on Fox in the United States on November 9, 2003. 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, the Bluth's banana stand is burned down, and Tobias, now wanting to become an actor, auditions for a commercial.

Contents

"Top Banana" received positive reception from critics upon release, being labeled by several as one of the best episodes of the series. Critics have noted the episode for expanding on ideas that were introduced in "Pilot". It contains the line "There's always money in the banana stand", an often quoted in-joke amongst the series' fans. The episode's major focus, the banana stand, was inspired by a cookie stand run by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and his brother when they were younger.

Plot

Michael visits his father George Sr. at the county jail, questioning him on the location of his flight records. George Sr. refuses to answer and instead introduces Michael to one of his jail mates, T-Bone, an arsonist, which causes suspicion amongst Michael following the burning down of the family's banana stand. At home, Michael questions his mom Lucille about the records and is once again unanswered, though Lucille hints about a secret storage unit. Determined to find the records, Michael ventures to the storage unit, only to find it burned down, causing him to immediately suspect T-Bone. At home, George Michael decides to work at his dad's frozen banana stand to try and stay away from Maeby, his cousin who he has started to grow feelings for. He tells his father Michael, who orders him to work with Maeby. At the stand, Maeby and George Michael start taking money from the register to play skeeball.

Later, George Sr. sends T-Bone, who has been released from prison, to work with Maeby and George Michael. While eating with stolen money from the stand, George Michael thinks about the money they took and decides to burn down the banana stand to make it seem as if the money was burned. Michael visits the banana stand and finds T-Bone, who confesses to burning down the storage unit. Michael goes to the beach to relax, where he finds Gob, his brother. Earlier, Gob had been tasked with delivering a letter containing an insurance check, which he defiantly threw into the ocean. At the beach, Michael receives a call from Maeby, who tells him about George Michael's plan to burn down the banana stand. Michael manages to catch George Michael in the act, but after a conversation, Michael allows his son to burn the banana stand down. Michael tells his father of the stand's burning down, only to be told that there was roughly $250,000 lining the walls of the stand.

Meanwhile, Tobias, now wanting to become an actor after his incident with multiple gay actors, [a] goes out to look for work. He auditions for a commercial about a firesale but fails to get the part. His wife Lindsay, hearing about the sale, becomes excited and accidentally gets the part. The next day, Lindsay, hungover after drinking with Lucille, misses the commercial shoot. Tobias, who was next on the commercial call-list, doesn't hear the phone call due to his crying in the shower.

Production

Anthony Russo directed the episode. Anthony Russo (48385343301) (cropped).jpg
Anthony Russo directed the episode.

"Top Banana" was written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producer John Levenstein, and was directed by producer Anthony Russo. [1] It was Hurwitz's second writing credit for the series, [2] and Levenstein's first. [3] It was the first episode of the ordered season to be filmed following "Pilot". [4]

A major focus of the episode is on the Bluth family's banana stand. [1] The stand is based on a cookie stand that Hurtwiz and his brother ran when they were younger. It was titled The Chipyard, and was built out of an abandoned taco stand in Newport Beach, California. As of 2011, The Chipyard was still being run by Hurwitz's father, Mark. [5] "Top Banana" was first released on home video in the United States on October 19, 2004 in the Complete First Season DVD box set. [6]

Analysis and legacy

"Top Banana" has been called an expansion on the ideas of "Pilot", with Vulture reviewer Brian Tallerico writing "If the pilot set the foundation, [this episode] built the house". [7] [8] Gob's defiance of Michael's wishes by throwing the letter into the ocean has been described as him showing his weakness and faults; he wishes to be taken as a professional but is still "Vain, gullible, [and] lazy". [9] Gob's anti-professionalism attitude has been contrasted to Aristotle's "account of professional excellence", with him being the "antithesis of the competent modern illusionist. [9] Critic Rebecca Rosén of Flipscreen noted the episode's theme of living up to expectations, citing Tobias' dream of becoming an actor, and failure to do so, as an example of this. [10]

Legacy

George Michael (left) and Maeby at the banana stand. AD Banana Stand.png
George Michael (left) and Maeby at the banana stand.

When talking to his son Michael whilst in prison, George Sr. says "There's always money in the banana stand". Michael takes this as his father saying that the banana stand is a successful business, but he instead is referring to the money he stores in the stand itself. [11] The line would later become a reoccurring gag, [10] and has become a popular in-joke amongst fans of the series. [8] [12]

Reception

Viewers

In the United States, the episode was watched by 6.70 million viewers on its original broadcast. It received a 3.0 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 3% of all households in that demographic. [13]

Critical reception

In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode as the fourth best of the whole series. [8] The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode for being able to be as good as the pilot, stating that it was "a second episode which proved the Arrested Development team could sustain a manic, digressive style from episode to episode, as well as showing that they were planning to proceed as an intensely serialized sitcom." Murray made note of the innuendos present in the episode, saying the series "loves its sexual double-entendres". [14]

In 2015, Megan Walsh from Screen Rant ranked "Top Banana" as one of the top ten best of the series, saying it was "the originator of some of the most enduring, meme-inspiring jokes." [7] Joe George of y!entertainment listed it as one of the series' "episodes you'll wanna rewatch", highlighting its script for having "plenty of space for misunderstandings and foolish one-up-manship". [1] Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club listed it as one of the series' funniest episodes, calling it "immaculate dissection of the chaos and comedy that's about to unfold". [15]

Notes

  1. As seen in "Pilot".

References

  1. 1 2 3 George, Joe (March 7, 2025). "The Funniest Arrested Development Episodes You'll Want to Rewatch". Yahoo Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 10, 2025. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  2. "Mitchell D. Hurwitz - WGA Directory". directories.wga.org. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  3. "John S. Levenstein - WGA Directory". directories.wga.org. Archived from the original on July 8, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  4. "20th Century Fox - Fox In Flight". October 30, 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  5. "'Arrested Development': 13 Things We Learned at the Bluth Family Reunion - TheWrap". TheWrap. October 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  6. "Arrested Development: Season One". DVD Talk. October 13, 2004. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Megan Walsh (November 12, 2015). "10 Best Episodes of Arrested Development". Screen Rant . Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Tallerico, Brian (March 18, 2019). "Every Episode of Arrested Development, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Irwin, William (November 8, 2011). Arrested Development and Philosophy: They've Made a Huge Mistake. Wiley. ISBN   9781118146262.
  10. 1 2 "'Arrested Development' at 20: A List of the Iconic Sitcom's Most Quintessential Episodes". Flip Screen. January 6, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  11. Ketner, Kevin (March 2, 2020). "Arrested Development: Why There's Always Money In The Banana Stand". ScreenRant. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  12. Galarza, Daniela (May 8, 2013). "There's Always Money in the Banana Stand". LAmag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  13. Kissell, Rick (November 11, 2003). "The rescue squad". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  14. Noel Murray (June 1, 2011). "Arrested Development: "Extended Pilot"/"Top Banana"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  15. "The 10 funniest episodes of Arrested Development". AV Club. Retrieved May 11, 2025.