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The O.P. • View topic - #307: Prison Break-In

#307: Prison Break-In

The final countdown?

Postby Billyball » December 19th, 2005, 9:38 pm

Did anyone notice during the scene where George Michael and Maeby are sitting in the room with the bunk beds and Maeby asks him if he's going to the Lock-Up, and George Michael says (something to the effect of): "Nah, I'm kinda burnt out on prisons lately anyway." Or burnt out on episodes of Prison Break interrupting new episodes of AD.
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Postby Beamer » December 22nd, 2005, 10:31 pm

I really enjoyed Prison Break-In... But then again, when I saw it ranked so low on The O.P, I knew I would like the episode. :P

Seriously, I saw nothing wrong with it, and there was DEFINITELY some over-reacting from fans in this thread... Granted, the characters were a bit more selfish than usual - but let's face it, there IS the occassional episode where the characters are like that. My Mother The Car, anyone? This actually felt very Season One-like to me, in the sense that the storyline was a bit more simpler, and it had that typical "the Bluths try to make their image better with a big publicity stunt but end up damaging their reputation even more" premise. It was a key theme of the first season, and was good to see that back again. I also liked how the Bluths manage to start ANOTHER riot in a fancy place (the first one being in Public Relations - nice touch using the same music for this scene, too).

Tobias actually cracked me up in this episode, though that might be that [spoiler]I know he's going to be okay[/spoiler]. Some people were complaining that Michael would've cut Tobias's hair... if Tobias himself didn't want to get it removed, then Michael knows he has no way of stopping him. They've been living together for two years, Michael would've figured out how stubborn Tobias is with things like this by now. Let's not forget Michael's been dealing with his own problems too lately - what with the break-up and all. It was actually good to see Michael take a back-seat roll in this episode, after having him the main focus of pretty much every Rita episode.

As for Oscar's appearance... well, I was stoked, as all fans were. I felt he could've had a bigger part in the episode, though. I mean, he was one of the main characters in Season 2, and him and Buster would've had a lot of catching up to do. The fact that his story was the C-plot to this episode (with Lucille and the warden, and the GVH fundraiser being the main storylines) seemed like a wasted opportunity. I would still like to see more of Oscar before the third season is over, since I feel there are still a few loose ends with his character that need tying up...

Some people have been complaining about the callbacks, and while I do agree that some are wearing a bit thin (especially "her?"), the callbacks have been a staple of the show since Season 2, and they're vital for keeping the show contained within its own universe of continuity. I LOVED the return of "The Man Inside Me," though. Other people also complained about Tobias' injuries from the end of The Ocean Walker being completely non-existant. In all fairness, we didn't actually see what happened to him, and Tobias tends to get over things like that pretty quick. Look at the end of Afternoon Delight, where he can't hear, he's covered in bandages, will die if he falls asleep, and gets run over by Lucille. He's FINE in the next episode. If he can do that, this doesn't seem like too much of a stretch. Speaking of Afternoon Delight, the pay-off with Buster's turtle eating Oscar's marijuana, and the fact that the Afternoon Delight picture in 206 depicted a high turtle? PURE GENIUS. :D

Nice to see a TV-PG episode for a change, too. As much as I like AD's more explicit humour, it doesn't have to be prominent in every single episode... though I don't see how this episode GOT a TV-PG. All the marijuana references, Warden Gentile's play, the clamydia thing, the "moisture" line... Not saying it necessarily warranted a TV-14, but I don't see how this was less offensive than any other episode this season. Still, I enjoyed it.

B+

On a side note, does anyone think this episode was originally intended to be after For British Eyes Only? Set-ups for many key things in this episode like Buster wanting a turtle, and Gob's cage being placed in Buster's room, were made in 302, and it seems a little odd for them to take 5 episodes to pay off. Not that it's unlike AD to do that, it just seems like it was intended to happen earlier, but was pushed back for the Rita plot or something (like how Bob Loblaw was going to be in 302 at some point, too - which would've made sense, given they have no lawyer in that episode, and it was about George Sr. chosing whether to plea innocent or guilty).
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Postby astrobread » December 23rd, 2005, 3:23 am

Maeby: Oh, great. You could take me through your thoughts about the screenplay, beat by beat.

George Michael: Sure, yeah. “Because anything can happen when two people share a cell, cuz.” It’s a line from New Warden.

Maeby: Oh. Oh! Okay, yeah. I don’t know what I was worried about.

Narrator: That would be the happiest moment George Michael would ever experience in his life.


I do not follow this a hundred percent. Obviously GM is happy about sharing a cell with his cousin, but how exactly does Maeby's response trigger this? How is he misunderstanding Maeby's line to experience the happiest moment of his life?
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Postby littlesquish89 » December 23rd, 2005, 9:54 am

astrobread wrote:
Maeby: Oh, great. You could take me through your thoughts about the screenplay, beat by beat.

George Michael: Sure, yeah. “Because anything can happen when two people share a cell, cuz.” It’s a line from New Warden.

Maeby: Oh. Oh! Okay, yeah. I don’t know what I was worried about.

Narrator: That would be the happiest moment George Michael would ever experience in his life.


I do not follow this a hundred percent. Obviously GM is happy about sharing a cell with his cousin, but how exactly does Maeby's response trigger this? How is he misunderstanding Maeby's line to experience the happiest moment of his life?


He thinks that Maeby wants to have pop-pop with him, since he now knows she has nothing to worry about. Rmemeber, he thought that Maeby wrote the script, not the Warden, so he thought that Maeby was speaking directly to him with that "bunk" scene.
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Postby astrobread » December 23rd, 2005, 1:14 pm

Maeby: Oh, great. You could take me through your thoughts about the screenplay, beat by beat.

George Michael: Sure, yeah. “Because anything can happen when two people share a cell, cuz.” It’s a line from New Warden.

Maeby: Oh. Oh! Okay, yeah. I don’t know what I was worried about.

Narrator: That would be the happiest moment George Michael would ever experience in his life.

littlesquish89 wrote:He thinks that Maeby wants to have pop-pop with him, since he now knows she has nothing to worry about. Rmemeber, he thought that Maeby wrote the script, not the Warden, so he thought that Maeby was speaking directly to him with that "bunk" scene.


Ok so in GM's brain, Maeby wrote the script as an invitation for cuz luv at the gala, and therefore what worried her was that GM might turn her down? It kind of makes sense, but it still feels sort of flimsy for AD, like it almost sounds like Maeby was worried by GM's quote until he clarified it was from New Warden and not a sexual advance. Which makes his chance sound worse not better...

Though I absolutely love the juxtaposition of this scene with this earlier one:
Warden Gentiles: (Mumbling.) I don’t know why I always assume everyone’s read my screenplay.
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Postby Chelpo » December 23rd, 2005, 4:57 pm

Beamer wrote:On a side note, does anyone think this episode was originally intended to be after For British Eyes Only? Set-ups for many key things in this episode like Buster wanting a turtle, and Gob's cage being placed in Buster's room, were made in 302, and it seems a little odd for them to take 5 episodes to pay off. Not that it's unlike AD to do that, it just seems like it was intended to happen earlier, but was pushed back for the Rita plot or something (like how Bob Loblaw was going to be in 302 at some point, too - which would've made sense, given they have no lawyer in that episode, and it was about George Sr. chosing whether to plea innocent or guilty).


That's an interesting point. It especially makes sense when you consider how long they went without mentioning what happened to Oscar. Although if it was supposed to go after 302, they must have changed that fairly early on and rewritten a lot of the script -- Tobias' hair plugs would have grown way way too fast and things like Michael being sad about Rita wouldn't make any sense.
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Postby Beamer » December 23rd, 2005, 7:23 pm

That's true, but it would seem like Buster's storyline, at least, would've fit in nicely to 303. I think they pushed it back in favour of the army re-recruitment thing instead, though.

astrobread wrote:Ok so in GM's brain, Maeby wrote the script as an invitation for cuz luv at the gala, and therefore what worried her was that GM might turn her down? It kind of makes sense, but it still feels sort of flimsy for AD, like it almost sounds like Maeby was worried by GM's quote until he clarified it was from New Warden and not a sexual advance. Which makes his chance sound worse not better...


Maybe that's sort of the point? The fact that George Michael is able to somehow interpret that line as Maeby wanting pop-pop with him shows how desperate he really is. :roll:

On a side note, I didn't like the new music in this episode either. I normally love the background music in AD, but for this episode, it just felt... off. Like it belonged in the score of an old drama or something. The only new song that sounded remotely like AD's usual music style was the one that played when Oscar was "knocked out by a powerful lid."

Hopefully, they'll go back to their usual style soon. It wouldn't be the first time AD's gone through a weird musical patch - many of the new songs in Season 2 sounded like 1940's circus music or something... not that I'm complaining, it actually DID fit quite well - it was just quite different from the sound of Season 1's score. So far, I think that the music in every Season 3 episode has been up to AD's usual standards, but here, the new songs just didn't fit (the old ones were used well for the most part, though).

Oh, and to whoever was asking that before - yes, I'm pretty sure Gob has the same shirt during the flashback. It looked to me like some old clips were mixed in with new ones during that, and it did appear as if he was wearing the same clothes.
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Postby Beamer » December 29th, 2005, 2:42 am

Sorry for the double-post, but it's been a few days, and I just wanted to point out something I don't think has been mentioned yet.

This joke:
LINDSAY: Oh, no, she is. She’s spending the night with him. She just called to ask me to bring her a tube of vag... *notices George Michael* is... table paste. Hi, George Michael.

Seems like it could be a reference to this joke from Beef Consomme:
TOBIAS: Oh, great. And now you’re mocking me. You selfish... cun.. *notices Maeby* try-music-loving lady. Hello, Maeby.

Eh? Eh? :wink:
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Postby TabooBluth » January 23rd, 2006, 11:01 pm

You know, Tobias looks an aweful lot like Surely in this episode.

I guess if you have long curley hair, glasses, are in a wheel chair and have a blanket covering your legs - you are destined to have money thrown at you in the Bluth world.
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Postby Pastor Veal » January 24th, 2006, 12:39 pm

I just thought about something. A different callback they could have done instead of overkilling the "Her?" gag, when Lucille said the whole "I'm trying to seduce him." She could have done the "Tobias wants to be an actor" laugh. That's another one of my favorite subtle jokes.
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Postby WhoamI » January 24th, 2006, 3:58 pm

Man they REALLY killed the "Her?" joke didnt they?
It brings me down just thinking abt the only real flaw in the show. I need Dr. Funke's Natural Feel Good Music.
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Postby getting_a_stew_on » February 21st, 2006, 3:44 pm

I don't know, this episode seemed off to me. I'd have to say that this is the only episode that is less good than the rest. Not soo much that the jokes weren't as funny. I just thought that overall the jokes just felt rushed or not as well executed. I think it has some very funny parts. But who knows maybe this episode was written differently.

Because they were expecting 22 episodes the jokes would of panend out and been expanded. If this is the weakest episode of this season, with all they've been through than i won't complain at all.

Now that the whole season is completed i'll have to watch it and see how it fits in with the rest.
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Postby Tv junkie » March 2nd, 2006, 4:41 am

Beamer wrote:

Hopefully, they'll go back to their usual style soon. It wouldn't be the first time AD's gone through a weird musical patch - many of the new songs in Season 2 sounded like 1940's circus music or something... not that I'm complaining, it actually DID fit quite well - it was just quite different from the sound of Season 1's score. So far, I think that the music in every Season 3 episode has been up to AD's usual standards, but here, the new songs just didn't fit (the old ones were used well for the most part, though).


I really enjoy season 2's music and I'm also a fan of this episode and it's music. The only bad music they've ever played is the teen music in Spring Breakout which was in the background anyway. Ad's music is fantastic though. I never have any complaints apart from that one which too be fair was playing because it was at a teen spring break thing. I also think Oscar deserved a larger role but losing 9 episodes may have contributed to that. They may have had an Oscar plot rolled out for later. Also Annyong's probably would have been a lot better. What would have been funny though was to have the mention Annyong in the apartment and then cut to Annyong quickly in the walls saying Annyong back.
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Postby Beamer » March 2nd, 2006, 9:24 pm

Tv junkie wrote:I really enjoy season 2's music and I'm also a fan of this episode and it's music. The only bad music they've ever played is the teen music in Spring Breakout which was in the background anyway. Ad's music is fantastic though. I never have any complaints apart from that one which too be fair was playing because it was at a teen spring break thing.


I actually enjoyed that music, it captured the setting perfectly. Just, the music in the episode felt... off. It wasn't bad, it just belonged in a drama, not a comedy. The show's always had a great score, but there were definitely some strange patches throughout Season 3.
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Postby littlesquish89 » March 2nd, 2006, 9:32 pm

Beamer wrote:
Tv junkie wrote:I really enjoy season 2's music and I'm also a fan of this episode and it's music. The only bad music they've ever played is the teen music in Spring Breakout which was in the background anyway. Ad's music is fantastic though. I never have any complaints apart from that one which too be fair was playing because it was at a teen spring break thing.


I actually enjoyed that music, it captured the setting perfectly. Just, the music in the episode felt... off. It wasn't bad, it just belonged in a drama, not a comedy. The show's always had a great score, but there were definitely some strange patches throughout Season 3.

Yeah, the music absolutely ruined Prison Break-In for me. That little clarinet thing they kept playing annoyed me to no end.
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