Previously, On Arrested Development

NPR's guide to the running gags from the show.

The Bluths

... teach lessons

The Bluths set out to teach each other lessons, often using fear of amputation.

  • Occurrence of a joke
  • Joke in the background
  • Foreshadowing
  • Combined joke

6 episodes feature this joke:

Season 1

  • 1: Pilot

    Maeby tries to teach her parents a lesson by kissing George Michael.

  • 4: Key Decisions

    "That's why you never leave the tree."

  • 8: In God We Trust

    Maeby tries to teach her parents a lesson by hinting she's running away to Portugal.

    Michael and Lindsay try to teach Lucille a lesson by ambushing her date.

  • 10: Pier Pressure

    J. Walter Weatherman is used to teach the Bluth children not to yell, leave a note, and close the door when the air conditioner is running.

    Michael tries to enlist J. Walter Weatherman and then the Hot Cops to teach George Michael a lesson about smoking pot.

    Related Joke: ... always leave a note

Season 2

Season 3

Sources: Joke data compiled by Adam Cole / NPR. Episode metadata from The TVDB via a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States (CC BY 3.0 US) license.