The Immaculate Election

Infobox Arrested Development episode
episode_name = The Immaculate Election
episode_no = 2AJD14
airdate = March 20, 2005
writer = Barbara Adler and Abraham Higginbotham
director = Anthony Russo
on_the_next = "Lucille finds a housekeeper that she won't lose her son to, and Steve Holt finally tracks down his real father." | guest_star =
Mae Whitman as Ann Veal BW Gonzalez as Lupe Justin Grant Wade as Steve Holt Abraham Higginbotham as Gary


season = 2
"The Immaculate Election" is the thirty-sixth episode aired of the TV comedy series "Arrested Development".

Plot

Michael is surprised to find the house still a mess a week after the fumigation, which Michael had Lindsay call and arrange, long before Michael had begun hiding his fugitive father in the attic. Michael complains about Lindsay's laziness, but she is preoccupied, having finally kicked Tobias out of the house, telling him that he would never work as an actor and that their relationship wouldn't work either.

With nowhere to go, Tobias ends up at the studio where he occasionally works as a guard, and takes up residence in the apartment of Detective Frank Wrench on the set of "Wrench". G.O.B. is concerned that Tobias took the video camera, which he needs it to make a magic video of tricks around the office. Michael wants G.O.B. to concentrate on work more, needing him for an upcoming project vote. G.O.B. laughingly mentions the time that George Michael used the video camera to recreate a Star Wars battle in the garage (a parody of the Star Wars kid).

Realizing that George Michael might be having self-esteem issues, Michael talks to his son, only to hear Ann has beaten him to it by suggesting George Michael run for student body president. She has offered to run his campaign and create a campaign video. Lupe takes pity on Buster for losing his hand, Lindsay feels sorry for herself for her loss of Lupe, because Lindsay now has to clean the model home by herself.

While looking for a spot to store all the garbage she's collected, Lindsay goes into the attic and comes upon an old friend, the doll she had as a girl, which had become George Sr.'s only friend in the world. At the office, Michael has come to regret having given G.O.B the video camera. During a meeting on the latest Bluth Company project, G.O.B. performs a magic trick. Michael, frustrated that G.O.B. didn't show to give his vote in support of the project, fires his brother. Michael then runs into Maeby, who is using the office copier to make campaign posters for Steve Holt. Michael, now informed that George Michael isn't as popular as he once imagined, heads to the school to prevent his son from signing up for the presidential race. Having been defeated himself in a high school race, Michael knows what a devastating blow this could be.

Lucille finds Buster in bed with Lupe and promptly fires her. Lindsay then comes upon the just-fired Lupe, but Lupe won't work for her. Michael arrives at the school to talk his son out of running for office, but George Michael has already collected the required signatures and is excited to run. Ann is hanging posters highlighting George Michael's chaste nature. G.O.B. arrives at Lucille's to complain that Michael has fired him. Lindsay finds a replacement maid, Tobias, who is dressed like Mrs. Doubtfire. He borrowed the costume from the studio in an attempt to see his daughter and prove to his wife that he has what it take to become an actor.

Michael returns home. He and Lindsay both immediately recognize Tobias in his costume, but neither say anything to him. Michael is more concerned with his son being crushed by Steve Holt in the school election. Lindsay says it's too bad that George Sr. isn't around because they could have used some of his dirty tricks to rig the election for George Michael. Unfortunately for Michael, George Sr. stumbles across a religious pamphlet left by Ann and has a profound realization. Michael instead goes to G.O.B., who he fired earlier that day. G.O.B. agrees to help, on the condition that Michael re-hire him.

Michael, G.O.B., Ann and George Michael meet to discuss the campaign. G.O.B. asks for every awful rumor about Steve Holt, which causes Ann to walk away in disgust. Maeby meets her new singing nanny, which doesn't go well. After a few days, G.O.B. is ready to unveil George Michael's new message. Steve Holt plays his campaign video, which has been produced by his new campaign manager, Ann. In the Christian-themed video, Steve says that although he didn't know his father, he felt like he had a new father, Jesus. George Michael's video is a hit piece mocking the fact that Steve Holt doesn't know his own father, followed by George Michael's Star Wars scene. Steve Holt drops out of the race to find his father. The Indian kid wins with 97% of the vote and Ann is wowed by George Michael's mock lightsaber skill.

Cultural references

*The title is a play on the Christian Feast of the Immaculate Conception, referring to G.O.B.'s fathering of Steve Holt.
* Many references compare the school election in this episode to the 2004 U.S. Presidential election that took place the preceding fall.
**When Michael remembers his participation in the race, he says that there were many in the school that wanted to overturn the decision, but didn't want to put the school through that, parodying Al Gore.
**After Steve Holt's religious-themed video garners the sympathy of the voters, Michael says that they underestimated the religious vote. George W. Bush won the 2004 election largely due to his dominance of the religious vote.
**The Indian student running against Steve Holt and George Michael is named Rav Nadir, similar to Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate in the 2000 election and independent candidate in the 2004 election.
**Steve Holt's supporters chant "Four more years!" at his rally, echoing the rally cry of the 2004 Republican Convention (as well as pointing out that Steve Holt has spent well over four years in high school).
*"Chicago" Buster is shown dancing in similar style to the musical, his favorite film.
* When Tobias moves out, Michael mentions that he noticed they stopped Tivoing the Christopher Lowell show, an interior decorating show hosted by an openly gay man.
* Tobias tells Maeby to "take [her] Fun-Fun", referring to the anti-obesity medication banned by the Food and Drug Administration.
* After his religious awakening, George Sr. compares G.O.B. and Michael to the "brothers, Gallant and Goofeth".
* The wedding anniversary video with the living statue is a parody of the famous birthday party video used by prosecutors in the Dennis Kozlowski trial during the Tyco scandal.
* The song that Tobias sings as Mrs. Featherbottom is a parody of a "Mary Poppins" song.
* Tobias disguises himself as a British nanny in order to spend time with his daughter, which mirrors the plot of the film "Mrs. Doubtfire".
*Roomba After firing Lupe, Lucille replaces her with one of these robotic maids.
*Star Wars kid George Michael videotapes himself pretending to fight with a lightsaber.

Cameos

*Gary (the gay employee at the Bluth Company) makes his third appearance, operating the camera for G.O.B.'s "Tricks Around the Office" video.
*Moses Taylor (playing Frank Wrench) is heard off-screen while Tobias is using the bathroom of the Wrench set.
*Phyllis Smith makes a brief credited appearance as "Carla" during the office meeting, but has no lines. Within several weeks of this episode's original air date, she would begin appearing regularly in NBC's "The Office".

Foreshadowing

*Several moments foreshadow the revealing of Steve Holt's paternity, which is explored further in season three. Each of these instances are accompanied by dramatic music.
**G.O.B. says that if a religious woman gets pregnant, she stays pregnant. He knows this because he dated a girl like that in high school.
**When Michael enlists G.O.B.'s help for the campaign, he says that Steve Holt is basically a young version of G.O.B.
**Upon seeing Steve Holt for the first time, G.O.B. says that he looks like a girl he did in high school.
**When Steve says during his campaign tape he never knew his real father the camera immediately turns to G.O.B.
*Referencing the fact that George Sr. may be building homes in Iraq, Michael asks if that is Qusay Hussein standing at the omelet bar during the 40th anniversary video.
*At one point in the "Star Wars kid" parody, George Michael play-acts the loss of his hand; the camera immediately cuts to a close-up of Buster.

External links

* [http://the-op.com/episode/214 The-OP.com]
* [http://www.fox.com FOX]
* [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arrested_Development#Immaculate_Election_.5B2.14.5D| Quotes for this episode on WikiQuote]