The Immaculate Election

"The Immaculate Election"
Arrested Development episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 14
Directed by	Anthony Russo
Written by	Barbara Adler Abraham Higginbotham
Production code	2AJD14
Original air date	March 20, 2005
Guest stars
Mae Whitman as Ann Veal BW Gonzalez as Lupe Justin Grant Wade as Steve Holt Abraham Higginbotham as Gary
Season 2 episodes
November 2004 – June 2005 The One Where Michael Leaves The One Where They Build a House ¡Amigos! Good Grief Sad Sack Afternoon Delight Switch Hitter Queen for a Day Burning Love Ready, Aim, Marry Me Out on a Limb Hand to God Motherboy XXX The Immaculate Election Sword of Destiny Meat the Veals Spring Breakout Righteous Brothers
All Arrested Development episodes

"The Immaculate Election" is the 14th episode of season two and thirty-sixth episode overall 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. Produced by G.O.B, George Michael's video is an offensive hit piece mocking the fact that Steve Holt doesn't know his own father, accidentally followed by George Michael's Star Wars scene, which was on the tape previously. Steve Holt drops out of the race to find his father. The Indian kid wins with 97% of the vote and George Michael finished dead last. However, he does win back Ann as she is wowed by George Michael's mock lightsaber skill.

Episode notes

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. Michael parodies John Kerry, while Steve Holt represents George W. Bush and Rav Nadir (Omi Vaidya) has a name which is similar to Ralph Nader.
• 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, "A Spoonful of Sugar".

• Tobias disguises himself as a British nanny in order to spend time with his daughter, which mirrors the plot of the film Mrs. Doubtfire.
• George Michael videotapes himself pretending to fight with a lightsaber. During the parody, George Michael play-acts the loss of his hand; the camera immediately cuts to a close-up of Buster. This is a parody of the Star Wars Kid video that had been popular on the internet of an overweight boy swinging a fake 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.
• An actor referencing Frank Wrench is heard off-screen while Tobias is using the bathroom of the Wrench set. "This cop is dirty, so Frank Wrench is gonna clean them!.. Why is this door locked?" Then Ron Howard says "Is somebody using the set bathroom!?"
• 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.
• When George Michael's campaign video is shown, Mr. Banana Grabber appears in the fast cycle of superstitious symbols.

External links

• "The Immaculate Election" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Immaculate Election" at TV.com
• "The Immaculate Election" at The-OP.com