Bringing Up Buster
"Bringing Up Buster" is the third episode of the season 1|first season] of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development. It was written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and consulting producer Richard Rosenstock, and directed by producer Joe Russo. It originally aired on Fox on November 16, 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 List of [Arrested Development characters#Lindsay Bluth-Fünke|Lindsay], his older brother Gob, his younger brother Buster, their mother Lucille and father George Sr., as well as Michael's son Michael Bluth|George Michael], and Lindsay and her husband Tobias' daughter Maeby. In the episode, Michael spends a day with Buster, while George Michael auditions for a school play.
Plot
In the mid-70s, George Sr. had attempted to market a cornball maker called the "Cornballer", but was unsuccessful, as the machine was made illegal all over the world after multiple people burned themselves while using the device. The Cornballer, however, managed to become popular in Mexico.In the present, Maeby auditions for a play at her school, wanting to get closer to her crush, Steve Holt, who also auditioned. George Michael, wanting to get closer to his cousin Maeby, also auditioned, but only got the part titled "Stand-in for Steve Holt." Tobias, thinking Maeby auditioned so she could be an actress like him, talks to the school and becomes the new stage director, resulting in Maeby quitting the play. After a conversation with Michael, Tobias begins to suspect that George Michael has a crush on Steve, which later results in George Michael quitting the play, only to learn Maeby joined the play once again. At the end of the day, George Michael watches as Maeby kisses Steve Holt, unaware Maeby didn't enjoy the kiss.
Because the family funds are frozen, Buster has to cancel his yearly summer studies and stays at home with his mother, Lucille. She becomes annoyed by his presence and begs Michael to spend time with him. Michael reluctantly agrees and spends the entire day with his brother, though he also finds his presence annoying. At the end of the day, Buster returns with his mom, and Michael and George Michael spend the rest of the day making cornballs on the Cornballer.
Production and aftermath
"Bringing Up Buster" was directed by producer Joe Russo and written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and consulting producer Richard Rosenstock. It was Russo's second directing credit, Hurwitz's third writing credit and Rosenstock's first writing credit. It was the second episode of ordered the season to be filmed after the pilot.During Buster's swearing rant, his speech is bleeped for a prolonged period of time. Tony Hale, who portrays Buster, claims that he " out the alphabet" to make it look like he was actually swearing. He later joked that he only has "three solid words cuss vocabulary". Hale noted the episode for introducing further background information on Buster, calling it "great" in that aspect. The Cornballer, an invention created by George Sr. in the 1970s, was a meta joke from series creator Mitchell Hurwitz. Hurwitz said he knew the episode would "end with a father-son rapprochement", and originally wanted to include the phrase "That's a little cornball". The phrase, which was inspired from slang used in "old Broadway", also came from Hurwitz's time on The [John Larroquette Show], a period he described as "obnoxious". The prop of the invention used in the episode was made out of parts of a deep fryer and an aquarium, according to Hurwitz.