We took a proverbial magnifying glass to episodes one and two. And then we carefully scoured episodes three and four. We’re exhausted, and we blame Mitch Hurwitz completely; following his “Don’t binge-watch” suggestion is making us go completely insane. But after another week of painstaking work, we deliver to you a basketful of Easter eggs from episodes five and six. Did you catch all of these? Did we miss anything? Let us know below!
Episode 5, “A New Start”
Again, without the closed-captioning, there are some things you will probably miss.
Aside from hosting episode one’s Good News O.C., former real-life news anchor John Beard is also the host of John Beard’s To Entrap a Local Predator: Orange County Edition: Super Creeps. This is an obvious allusion to the memorable Dateline NBC segment To Catch a Predator, hosted by Chris Hansen, which scared every parent into deleting AOL from their kids’ computers. Super Creeps’ wonderful tagline: “And now the story of the awful people who are about to lose everything and the one man who had no choice but to entrap them all together.”
Will Tobias ever reveal that he’s gay? Sure, his innuendos are suspicious, but even when Lindsay tells him that the confusion is “a running joke in the family” (not to mention ON THE INTERNET), he’s still baffled.
And it’s off to Shuturmurg, India. Curiously, shuturmurg is the Hindi word for ostrich.
Misinterpreting “anus tart” — an inventive insult hurled at him by a To Entrap a Local Predator producer — as the homophone “a new start” (hence the episode’s title), Tobias takes the comment as another sign that he needs to make some changes in his life — and to his license plate. But needing to shorten the more positive expression to fit the constraints imposed by California DMV, he naturally comes up with the worst possible solution, which just happens to spell out the phrase as originally intended: ANUSTART. Oh, that Tobias!
Thank you, Reddit, for pointing out that the makeshift sari Tobias dons for his trip to India looks way similar to Portia de Rossi’s actual wedding dress.
On the plane bound for India, the in-flight movie options include Fantastic Four (the superhero knock-off starring DeBrie Bardeaux — see below), Junk (the pet project of actor Tom Jane, the object of one of Lindsay Bluth’s many crushes) Homeless Dad (the big-budget Jane project produced by Maeby’s former employer, Tantamount Studios) and Love, Indubitably (starring Grant Hughes as Sir Trevor Sturbridge in another Tantamount production). Tobias’s complaint about the in-flight entertainment system’s offerings not including Failure to Launch (the real-life rom-com starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker) might well be a reference to Arrested Development’s own failure to launch as a runaway network hit.
Tobias flies into what appears to be California’s Burbank Airport — only the written language has changed (even the name “Bob Hope” is written out, which is Burbank Airport’s official name). After Tobias is hit by a bus and taken to the hospital, it’s revealed that the hospital is called City of Hopelessness Hospital.
While in the hospital, Tobias breaks his skull … in a new place (i.e., at the hospital).
And it won’t be the last time.
Ah, the return of the Shemalé shirt — looks like Tobias lost his luggage on the way home?
At James “I Don’t Sell” Carr(s)’s funeral — thelast rites of the agent who sold Lindsay and Tobias the house they couldn’t afford and who agrees to be Tobias’s agent and who is played by Ed Helms — there’s a sign-spinner in the back whose sign reads NOW BURYING and CARR FUNERAL. For a man who “doesn’t sell cars,” it’s awfully sad that Carr has the type of advertisement you’d find at a car dealership at his funeral, don’t you think?
Nearby, it appears that Pete the mailman is also being laid to rest.
At the “Method One Acting Clinic” (aka the Methodone Clinic), Tobias drinks what seems to be juice.
Did you know that DeBrie Bardeaux’s Fantastic Four is based on a movie that actually exists? Made for one million dollars, the unreleased low-budget was finished in 1994 after German producer Bernd Eichinger bought the rights to the Marvel comic and had to rush production before the option expired on December 31, 1992. After it was scheduled for actual release during Labor Day weekend of 1993, Marvel’s chief creative officer, Avi Arad, purchased the film for “a couple of million dollars in cash” and had it destroyed. He never watched it.
Recognize these two movie hecklers?
Both the “4” on Tobias’ Fantastic Four costume and the “4” on the sign for the law offices of Feinberg, Feinberg, Feinberg & Feinberg are blurred. Rights issues?
Although Sue Storm’s armband is reminiscent of something much more sinister …
“Paper beats rock” is a callback to season two’s “The One Where Michael Builds a House,” where Gob and Michael fight with giant rocks and scissors.
Lucille 2, just like everyone else in the Bluth clan, doesn’t know what a chicken actually looks (and sounds!) like.
Episode 6, “Double Crossers”
Herbert Love Rally? Family Love Michael!
Check out the related list next to Herbert Love’s viral video: “Herbert Love Gets a Big Hand From Vet” — sound like someone you know?
When George Sr. reaches out to touch his daughter Lindsay’s nose, it’s a callback to the fact that she has already had plastic surgery. In “Family Ties” she looks at a picture of herself as a child (without realizing) and says, “look at the beak on that bird.”
While driving, George Sr. sings the song his brother Oscar wrote for David Cassidy to sing it on The Mike Douglas Show, “All You Need is Smiles”. He was too embarrassed to perform it in front of John and Yoko, but it’s been stuck in the heads of the Bluth family since.
Beads? Beans? Bees? There has always been “bee” confusion in the Bluth family — dating all the way back to season one when Lindsay wanted to start a bead business. Gob thought she was saying “bee business”, so he decided to start his own. “How hard could it be?”
“Buster had indeed made the map,” and much like other maps Buster had made, he confused land (usually green) with water (usually blue), making Mexico blue and the water green.
Lucille’s shirt reads “07734” or “HELLO” backwards. Hello?
“Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
“President. We just say president.”
The sign that appears behind GOB and George Sr. as they cross paths at the drugstore:
Are You in a Roofie Circle?
HOW TO TELL:
- The shame feels like it won’t go away.
- People are surprised when you’re surprised to see them.
- Loss of Month
- Weight Gain
As GOB and Michael might not know, Mike’s Hard Lemonades are twist-off.
And after however many bottles of Mike’s, who wouldn’t remember your long abandoned son, Steve Holt? STEVE HOLT!
