Charity Drive

After losing the family stair car because Tobias (David Cross) left it at an airport, Michael (Jason Bateman) begins biking to work. After a heatwave, Michael's assistant Kitty (Judy Greer) tells him that his family has been using his father's car. Upset, Michael tracks the car down to Buster, who hands over the keys. Meanwhile, Lindsay volunteers to clean up the wetlands, having been told by Michael that she isn't charitable. Feeling out of her comfort zone, Lindsay calls and asks Michael to pick her up. On his way, Michael confuses a woman, Helen, for his mother's new housekeeper, Lupe. Lindsay leaves on a cab, forgetting to tell Michael, and Helen escapes at the wetlands when Michael is looking for Lindsay.

After Kitty tells Michael that George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) never filed several building permits, he sends Gob (Will Arnett) off to misfile them. Having chipped his tooth, Gob sends George Michael (Michael Cera) and Maeby (Alia Shawkat) to go do it. At the Permit Office, George Michael and Maeby are caught by security, but George Michael allows Maeby to run away, promising to take the blame.

Lucille (Jessica Walter) prepares for the Save the Wetlands Bachelorette Auction and instructs Buster to bid $10,000 on her. Buster, arriving late to the auction, accidentally bids $10,000 on Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli), having heard the name Lucille being called. Lindsay also arrives at the auction, and Michael, realizing she actually spent a day at the wetlands, bids $1,000 on her to save her from humiliation. After leaving the auction, Michael is arrested for Helen's kidnapping and is put in a police car with his son, George Michael.

During a police lineup, Helen confuses Michael with another guy. Having given up animation rights for a show about bananas, Gob begins to regret the decision.

"Charity Drive" was directed by Greg Mottola and written by producer Barbie Feldman Adler.{{Cite web |last=Manager |first=Mr |date=2019-02-24 |title=Season 1, Episode 6: Charity Drive |url=https://deconstructingad.com/2019/02/24/season-1-episode-6-charity-drive/ |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=Deconstructing Arrested Development |language=en}} It was Mottola's second directing credit and Feldman Adler'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 fifth episode of the ordered 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 }}

In the United States, the episode was watched by 6.77 million viewers on its original broadcast. It received a 3.1 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 3.1% of all households in that demographic.{{cite news |last=Kissell |first=Rick |date=December 1, 2003 |title=Fox takes 'Mac' tack |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117896442 |accessdate=August 31, 2012 |newspaper=Variety}}

The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode's writing, stating that "As with “Visiting Ours,” the various plotlines in “Charity Drive” are fairly scattered, though they do come together more definitively by the end."{{cite web |author=Noel Murray |date=June 15, 2011 |title=Arrested Development: "Visiting Ours"/"Charity Drive" |url=https://www.avclub.com/arrested-development-visiting-ours-charity-drive-1798168592 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |publisher=The A.V. Club |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726203743/https://tv.avclub.com/arrested-development-visiting-ours-charity-drive-1798168592 |url-status=live }} In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode as the eleventh 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 |archive-date=2020-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708110816/https://www.vulture.com/article/arrested-development-every-episode-ranked-worst-to-best.html |url-status=live }}

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Category:2003 American television episodes

Category:Arrested Development season 1 episodes

Category:Television episodes directed by Greg Mottola