Not Without My Daughter (Arrested Development episode)

Infobox Arrested Development episode
episode_name = Not Without My Daughter
episode_no = 1AJD20
airdate = April 25, 2004
writer = Mitchell Hurwitz & Richard Rosenstock
director = Lee Shallat Chemel
on_the_next = “Tobias loses his security job trying to solve the store’s mice problem, Lindsay, now without a job, goes with her initial instinct, and Annyong exacts his revenge.” | guest_star =
Justin Lee as Annyong Bluth Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn Judy Greer as Kitty Sanchez


season = 1

"Not Without My Daughter" is the twenty-first episode of the TV comedy series "Arrested Development".

Plot

As Michael heads off to work, his son, George Michael, reminds him of a yearly tradition: Bring your Daughter to Work Day. Not having a daughter, Michael would bring George Michael. He had first made the joke when his son was six, but it is a joke Michael is starting to grow concerned about as it had not worn well with age. He tries to talk George Michael out of going, but with no luck.

Meanwhile, Maeby is making plans to join Tobias for work. This entails sitting in front of the TV watching entertainment news. G.O.B. comes in, excited because he has the new "Girls With Low Self-Esteem" tape, filmed over Spring Break when G.O.B. made the family yacht disappear. G.O.B. expects his yacht illusion to revive his career, but instead the tape only features his flubs.Michael then notices that Lindsay is wearing a new outfit. Lindsay claims she got it from Lucille, but Michael knows better. Needing a better excuse, Lindsay claims she has been shoplifting. In reality, Lindsay has been working as a shop girl, but she is too embarrassed to admit it. G.O.B. does not believe Lindsay has the skills to shoplift, while Maeby is impressed that her mother is breaking the law. Michael, concerned about the example Lindsay is setting for Maeby, decides to take Maeby for Take Your Daughter to Work Day so he can provide her with a good role model. Maeby surprises her parents by agreeing to the plan.

During the drive to the office, Maeby makes it clear that she only agreed to come in order to get back at her parents, and she has no intention of actually going to work. She twice jumps out of the moving stair car to escape, but Michael brings her back. Before they can get to the Bluth Company, Lucille calls. They go to check on Lucille, who needs someone to pose as her husband at Annyong’s soccer game. Maeby seizes the opportunity to once again try and escape. Michael tells Lucille she is on her own, and leaves to track down Maeby and head to the office. Lucille decides to have Oscar go with her to the game.

Back at the model home, three of the Bluth men struggle with their manliness. George Michael is upset about Maeby taking his place for Take Your Daughter to Work Day. G.O.B. is insecure because Lindsay is apparently better at sleight-of-hand than him. Tobias is trying to find a job that will prove he is a man and impress his daughter. The three collectively decide to head to the mall.

Having found Maeby, Michael finally makes it to the office. He tries to teach Maeby about honest hard work, but she feigns sleep. Michael challenges her to go one day without telling a lie. She is reluctant, but when he promises her $50, Maeby agrees to participate as long as Michael does, too. Just then, two police officers (who are also having trouble keeping their daughters in line) arrive, investigating the disappearance of Kitty. Kitty was last seen flashing Michael, whom she claimed was threatening her, and the police want to ask Michael some questions.

Hearing laughter from the conference room, Michael and Maeby go to see what is happening. Several staff members are watching "Girls With Low Self-Esteem", which features an employee’s daughter. They notice that the tape shows Kitty on the yacht that G.O.B. blew up.

Meanwhile, Tobias has acquired a job at the mall as a security guard. G.O.B. and George Michael go to the pet store to buy some mice. At the prison, George Sr. has a surprise visitor. Buster has come to alert him that Annyong is violating George Sr.’s ban on organized sports. George Sr. explains to Buster that the rule only applied to him, because he was so bad at sports. Buster lets George Sr. know that Oscar is accompanying Lucille to the soccer game, much to his dismay. George Sr. makes Buster promise to get rid of Oscar.

Michael and Maeby go to the police station, where they meet up with Barry Zuckerkorn, the family's attorney. Barry suggests that Michael should lie about Kitty being on the yacht. After sending Maeby away, Michael agrees. Meanwhile, Lindsay is at her own job, and growing jealous that her daughter was with Michael. She calls to check in on Maeby. As she is doing this, G.O.B. arrives with George Michael and a box full of mice in tow. G.O.B. knocks the box onto the floor, releasing the mice. The diversion gives him the chance to start stuffing shirts into George Michael’s pants, and proving he is the real sleight-of-hand master. Lindsay, frustrated with Michael, loudly admits that she is a shoplifter, just in time for the new security guard to overhear. Using his cat-like agility, Tobias tackles Lindsay. G.O.B. and George Michael are caught in the act by the daughter of the head of security.

While the rest of the Bluths are in police custody, Lucille is with her brother-in-law. Oscar is elated to be with Lucille, but, after thinking about marijuana, soon heads to his camper. Buster comes to the camper, and tells Oscar he is not wanted, and should leave.

Michael submits to the detectives’ questions. He says he has no idea where Kitty is, but the detectives know she had evidence against George Sr. They offer Michael a deal: if he gives up evidence against his father, they will overlook the fact that Kitty is missing. At that moment, Michael gets a call from George Michael, telling him there is an emergency down at the mall.

Back at the soccer game, Buster emerges form Oscar’s trailer with a new sense of manliness, when a soccer ball hits him in the head. Seizing the opportunity to participate in an organized sport, Buster runs through the crowd of players, knocking them all over, before firing the ball directly at Annyong. Buster turns to see Oscar clapping, just before he leaves, and realizes he may have just scared away a man who supported him the way he’d always hoped his father would.

Michael arrives at the mall, where he tries to make sense of what has happened. Everyone claims to be innocent, forcing Lindsay to finally admit that she broke down and got a job. Unfortunately, she has been fired because they thought she was in cahoots with G.O.B., who is embarrassed to have been caught by a 13-year-old girl, and George Michael is still upset that Michael spent time with Maeby instead of him. Just then, Michael remembers that Maeby, who has promised to tell the truth, is still at the police station. Fortunately, her instincts to lie return, and she discovers the key to Michael’s freedom. Leaving the station, Michael asks Maeby what happened, and she reveals that Kitty is still alive, and the police were just bluffing to get him to testify against George Sr.

Character cameos

*Although this episode heavily centers around the character of Kitty, she does not actually appear in this episode (with the exception of flashbacks, and the Girls With Low Self Esteem video, which is actually just footage from Missing Kitty).
*This episode guest stars several of David Cross's fellow "Mr. Show" alumni, including Jay Johnston, Jerry Minor, and John Ennis.
*Former "Kids in the Hall" star Kevin McDonald plays a detective who gives Maeby the security code to the office.
*Former "Survivor" contestant Jonathan Penner also has a cameo (before his appearance on the reality T.V. show) as one of the detectives who interrogates Michael about the missing Kitty.

External links

* [http://the-op.com/episode/121 The-OP.com]
* [http://www.fox.com/arresteddev FOX]
*imdb title|0515232|Not Without My Daughter