Bringing Up Buster

In the mid-70s, George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) had attempted to market a cornball maker called the "Cornballer", but was unsuccessful, as the machine was made illegal all over the world after multiple people burned themselves while using the device. The Cornballer, however, managed to become popular in Mexico.

In the present, Maeby (Alia Shawkat) auditions for a play at her school, wanting to get closer to her crush, Steve Holt (Justin Grant Wade), who also auditioned. George Michael (Michael Cera), wanting to get closer to his cousin Maeby, also auditioned, but only got the part titled "Stand-in for Steve Holt." Tobias (David Cross), thinking Maeby auditioned so she could be an actress like him, talks to the school and becomes the new stage director, resulting in Maeby quitting the play. After a conversation with Michael (Jason Bateman), Tobias begins to suspect that George Michael has a crush on Steve, which later results in George Michael quitting the play, only to learn Maeby joined the play once again. At the end of the day, George Michael watches as Maeby kisses Steve Holt, unaware Maeby didn't enjoy the kiss.

Because the family funds are frozen, Buster (Tony Hale) has to cancel his yearly summer studies and stays at home with his mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter). She becomes annoyed by his presence and begs Michael to spend time with him. Michael reluctantly agrees and spends the entire day with his brother, though he also finds his presence annoying. At the end of the day, Buster returns with his mom, and Michael and George Michael spend the rest of the day making cornballs on the Cornballer.

File:Tony Hale by Gage Skidmore.jpg portrays Buster Bluth.]]

"Bringing Up Buster" was directed by producer Joe Russo and written by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz and consulting producer Richard Rosenstock. It was Russo's second directing credit, Hurwitz's third writing credit and Rosenstock's first writing credit.{{Cite web |title=Arrested Development |url=https://directories.wga.org/project/192692/arrested-development/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=directories.wga.org}} It was the second episode of ordered the season to be filmed after the pilot.{{Cite web |date=2011-10-30 |title=20th Century Fox - Fox In Flight |url=http://www.foxinflight.com/tv/8/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030035137/http://www.foxinflight.com/tv/8/ |archive-date=2011-10-30 }}

During Buster's swearing rant, his speech is bleeped for a prolonged period of time. Tony Hale, who portrays Buster, claims that he "[screamed] out the alphabet" to make it look like he was actually swearing. He later joked that he only has "three solid words [in my] cuss vocabulary".{{Cite web |title=Here's what Buster was saying in that classic, bleeped-out tirade from Arrested Development |url=https://www.avclub.com/heres-what-buster-was-saying-in-that-classic-bleeped-o-1826421173 |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}} Hale noted the episode for introducing further background information on Buster, calling it "great" in that aspect.{{Cite web |last=Hinson |first=Mark |title=Limelight cover story: Highway to Hale: Emmy-winner Tony Hale comes home |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/entertainment/2014/02/27/limelight-cover-story-highway-to-hale-emmy-winner-tony-hale-comes-home/5858699/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US}} The Cornballer, an invention created by George Sr. in the 1970s, was a meta joke from series creator Mitchell Hurwitz. Hurwitz said he knew the episode would "end with a father-son rapprochement", and originally wanted to include the phrase "That's a little cornball". The phrase, which was inspired from slang used in "old Broadway", also came from Hurwitz's time on The John Larroquette Show, a period he described as "obnoxious".{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Denise |date=2024-02-02 |title=The True Origin Stories Behind Six Classic Arrested Development Jokes |url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/arrested-development-jokes-blue-man-cornballer-mayonegg.html |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Vulture |language=en}}

Hale later screened the episode in 2014 at the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, to open his talk entitled "Hey Brother! An Evening with Buster Bluth featuring Tony Hale". The Cornballer would become a reoccurring gag for the series, notably reappearing in "The One Where They Build a House" and "Good Grief".{{Cite book |last=Irwin |first=William |title=Arrested Development and Philosophy: They've Made a Huge Mistake |date=November 8, 2011 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9781118146262}}

In the United States, the episode was watched by 5.78 million viewers on its original broadcast. It received a 2.6 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 2.6% of all households in that demographic.{{cite news |last=Kissell |first=Rick |date=November 17, 2003 |title=Listen to the 'Music' |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117895826 |accessdate=August 31, 2012 |newspaper=Variety}}

The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode's main message overall, stating that "A lot of 'Bringing Up Buster' is concerned with the characters’ opinions of each other’s parenting choices, which means a public family squabble suits the theme."{{cite web |author=Noel Murray |date=June 8, 2011 |title=Arrested Development: "Bringing Up Buster"/"Key Decisions" |url=https://www.avclub.com/arrested-development-bringing-up-buster-key-decisio-1798168499 |access-date=July 25, 2020 |publisher=The A.V. Club}} Olivia Armstrong from Decider praised the simplicity of the episode, stating that "As far as television writing goes, 'Bringing Up Buster' is as flawless as it gets. Though the subplots become a bit convoluted over the life of the series, this is an episode anyone unfamiliar with Arrested Development can grasp and get to know the dynamics within the Bluth family without having to backtrack."{{cite web |author=Olivia Armstrong |date=July 3, 2014 |title='Arrested Development' Season One, Episode 3: "Bringing Up Buster" |url=https://decider.com/2014/07/03/decider-classic-arrested-development-bringing-up-buster/ |accessdate=July 25, 2020 |publisher=Decider}} In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode as the twelfth best of the whole series.{{Cite web |last=Tallerico |first=Brian |date=2019-03-18 |title=Every Episode of Arrested Development, Ranked |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/arrested-development-every-episode-ranked-worst-to-best.html |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Vulture |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb episode|0515212|Bringing Up Buster}}

{{Arrested Development}}

Category:2003 American television episodes

Category:Arrested Development season 1 episodes

Category:Television episodes written by Mitchell Hurwitz

Category:Television episodes directed by Anthony and Joe Russo