What's the subtlest joke in AD?

[Singlefiletobliss]

I was just wondering this after watching Spring Breakout, and noticing that when it shows George Sr taking the "monkey drug" whatever it was called, he winks at the bottle just like lucille had earlier, I know this isn't actually the most subtle joke by a long stretch, but I hadn't caught it before. But there are so many jokes where its just a slight implication of something, which is hilarious, but you could easily miss them. What do you guys think is the most subtle joke in AD?

And I don't really mean stuff which you see written down, like headlines and adverts and stuff. Thats a whole different thread. Hint.

[Clumsy Adolescence]

It's kinda hard.....


They're prolly all so subtle that I didn't get them. But on ewas where GOB just randomly says "Watch out my immigrant friend!" and Lupe like slowly puts back this thing. Or soemthign like that.



I can't come up with any other good ones.



Why don't you make the thread for written subtlties? I'm not drunk, but I'm willing ot be. HINt.

[vcalzone]

When Tobias is wearing cutoffs in the shower in the second episode?

[hocche1]

Possibly the writing on the banana stand in afternoon delight?

(ok, so I'm boasting my own discoveries, but still, it was pretty subtle.)

[HotCopsFan]

One joke i thought was subtle is in the one where they build a house and GOB is trying to buy the boat, the Seaward.

Michael (to GOB): Get rid of the Seaward.
Lucille: I'll leave when I'm good and ready.

I never quite got the joke, but it was of course a reference to the c-word... which just happened to be the name of GOB's boat in Development Arrested. This show always finds a way to bring things full circle. Home run!

[ahugemistake]

Technically there are two jokes hidden in their. wink

[HotCopsFan]

How can I talk you into never making that face again

[CVanOeveren]

When Buster is dancing to Mr. Roboto in the stair car, by far. It's a reference to an old car commercial Tony Hale acted in, from a few years ago.

[Amethyst]

This one might be obvious but I never put two and two together before until I rewatched this episode for the 3rd or 4th time the other night.

It's in "Visiting Ours", when Michael brings Lucille to the prison to visit George in the conjugal trailer, but George has Kitty in the other trailer. George says to Michael, "Oh, I've done a bad thing. I've done a repulsive thing," and Michael says something like, "Kitty's in there??" I always just thought that Michael had realized that George was sleeping with Kitty, and the "repulsive thing" comment was just referring to George cheating on Lucille with his secretary. But earlier in that episode, at the Bluth Company, Kitty is flirting with GOB and GOB makes a comment to Michael that Kitty is "repulsive". Kitty IS the "repulsive thing". Ha ha.

[mkilly]

One joke i thought was subtle is in the one where they build a house

What I think is a better, and perhaps more subtle, joke in that one is when Buster's trying to get an injury to get out of the army, so he stands where the house is falling, then happens to be standing where a window-hole is. Just like Buster Keaton did. BUSTER. keaton. BUSTER. BUSTER. BUSTER.

Wheels within wheels, my friends.

[smasherx]

The S. Funke joke from Alter Egos was insanely subtle. First of all, it was a call-forward (you could only get the joke after seeing the episode entirely at least once). And even then, it was hard to pick up on. Alia played that line perfectly. I did not know there was any hidden joke (I believed her about that single/married thing), but sure enough, there was method to her madness.

S. = Single = Surely
M. = Married = Maeby

[bigbear]

Hi all!

First time poster... long time lurker.

OK, so I think this is a subtle joke, if it's not then I'm chuckling to myself for no real reason...

In "Queen for a Day" Michael asks George Michael if he needs a ride to school and GM says he's going to ride with the Veals.

Michael: Oh. Well, you don’t need to be all penned up with them. I’ll drive you both. Come on, we’ll take the stairs.

A very subtle joke about cattle...

I agree with the person that mentioned the 'c-word' joke, I didn't get that one until I had seen the ep quite a few times.

[TomJane]

Another call forward joke:

In "For British Eyes Only," they begin the episode with a "Previously on Arrested Development" segment. In it, GM and Michael are in the log cabin talking and the exchange goes something like this:

GM: I'm just in the middle of a stupid girl problem.
Michael: I don't even have a girl, much less a stupid one.

Great foreshadowing of the whole Rita storyline, I definitely missed that the first time. And it goes with the whole Michael not listening to GM angle.

[littlesquish89]

I thought it was pretty subtle how they used the same actress for Adelaide and the woman in A Thoroughly Polite Dustup.

It was also pretty subtle how Judge Reinhold changed his outfit from a robe into something so tight that it actually constricted his movement.

[leez34]

I'm not drunk, but I'm willing to be. Hint.

I don't know that this is subtle, but it's the one remaining joke in Arrested Development that I will never understand completely. I've discussed it over and over, and it simply never fully makes sense. Oh well. The full discussion:

Mort Meyers: No, but you’re gonna fix it. It’s a spring break movie. Get down there and find out what they sound like.

Maeby: Oh, yeah, right. Do you really think I look college-aged?

Mort Meyers: I’m not drunk. But I’m willing to be. Hint.

Maeby: Oh, Mort. You’re going to be so easy to blackmail. Hint.

So Mort is obviously trying to hit on Maeby somehow...but I can't connect what he says with anything around it or make sense of what he's trying to convey exactly.